Rules Committee Meeting - March 24, 2025: Parental Leave Policy, Nonprofit Safety Redactions, Castro Entertainment Zone, and Appointments
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Rules Committee Meeting - March 24, 2025
The San Francisco Rules Committee, chaired by Acting Chair Supervisor Stephen Sherrill and joined by President Mandelman, met on March 24, 2025, to consider five agenda items. The committee voted to advance a parental leave policy for the Board of Supervisors, amend a 2023 nonprofit disclosure law to protect organizations serving vulnerable communities, approve the Castro Upper Market Entertainment Zone, confirm Meghan Wallace to the Treasury Oversight Committee, and appoint America Sanchez to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force. All items were passed with positive recommendations to the full Board, with one item continued for further amendments.
Consent Calendar
No consent calendar was noted; all items were considered separately.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 2 (Nonprofit Safety Redactions): A public speaker criticized President Mandelman for his 2023 repeal of a travel ban for anti-LGBTQ states, but acknowledged the current legislation as a positive step for LGBTQ+ safety. Beverly Upton (San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium) expressed strong support for the amendments, stating they protect survivors and marginalized communities from harassment and violence.
- Item 3 (Castro Entertainment Zone): A speaker argued that the city is not seriously addressing homelessness and affordability, which impacts businesses. Leilani Powers (Starbelly restaurant) supported the entertainment zone but requested its boundaries be expanded to include her restaurant at 16th and Market.
- Item 5 (Sunshine Ordinance Task Force): Peter Chudinoff spoke in support of applicant Honest Charlie Bodkin, citing his dedication to transparency and data-driven advocacy. Another speaker read a statement from the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club expressing disappointment that President Mandelman allegedly derailed the application of queer candidate Cynthia Dye, calling it “politics, plain and simple.” Falo Fuza spoke in support of applicant America Sanchez, praising her prior commission service and commitment to transparency.
Discussion Items
- Item 1: Amending Rules of Order – Parental Leave Policy (File 250239) – Jen Lowe (legislative aide to Supervisor Melgar) presented the motion, which adds Rule 5.22.1 to allow board members on parental leave to participate via teleconference. She noted the policy mirrors state and city standards and builds on a 2006 charter amendment and a 2021 ordinance. She thanked President Mandelman’s office, the clerk, and the city attorney for assistance. The committee voted unanimously to send to the full board with a positive recommendation.
- Item 2: Administrative Code – Redacting Information That May Compromise Personal Safety (File 241209) – President Mandelman described amendments to the 2023 nonprofit disclosure law. The amendments: (1) raise the reporting threshold from $0 to $1 million (aligned with federal Single Audit standards); (2) remove itemized disclosure requirements for contracts, grants, and payroll, though that information will still be reported elsewhere; (3) change the redaction standard to “to protect personal safety where an organization has a reasonable basis to believe disclosure may lead to harm to their agents, employees, or officers.” Mandelman stated the changes respond to threats against LGBTQ+ and domestic violence service organizations. The committee voted to accept the amendments and continue the item to the April 7 meeting.
- Item 3: Administrative Code – Castro Upper Market Entertainment Zone (File 250126) – President Mandelman requested the committee forward the ordinance to the full board with a positive recommendation, noting it had been continued from a prior meeting. The zone covers parts of 18th Street, Market Street, Church Street, 14th Street, Noe Street, and 16th Street. The committee voted unanimously to approve.
- Item 4: Appointment, Treasury Oversight Committee – Meghan Wallace (File 250240) – Meghan Wallace, interim deputy director of finance and administration at the Port of San Francisco, presented her qualifications, including prior service on the same committee (2019–2022) representing SFUSD. She emphasized 17 years of public service and financial oversight experience. The committee voted to amend the motion (striking “rejecting”) and forward to the full board with a positive recommendation.
- Item 5: Sunshine Ordinance Task Force Appointment (File 250120) – Two applicants spoke: America Sanchez (school principal, Southeast Community Facilities Commission and Human Rights Commission member) and Honest Charlie Bodkin (former LA Times employee, founder of CityandCounty.com). Bodkin discussed a 2024 SF Gate article he claimed was inaccurate about a past incident, and proposed task force improvements such as reducing average hearing time from 333 days and partnering with city departments on data transparency. Supervisor Sherrill emphasized the importance of balancing transparency with efficiency. The committee voted to approve America Sanchez for the seat, term ending April 27, 2026.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Motion to send to full board with positive recommendation passed (Sherrill, Mandelman aye; Walton excused).
- Item 2: Motion to accept President Mandelman’s amendments and continue the item to the April 7, 2025 meeting passed (Sherrill, Mandelman aye; Walton excused).
- Item 3: Motion to send to full board with positive recommendation passed (Sherrill, Mandelman aye; Walton excused).
- Item 4: Motion to amend (delete “rejecting”) and send to full board with positive recommendation passed (Sherrill, Mandelman aye; Walton excused).
- Item 5: Motion to appoint America Sanchez to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and send to full board passed (Sherrill, Mandelman aye; Walton excused).
All items are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda of April 8, 2025, unless otherwise noted.
Meeting Transcript
Meeting will come to order. Uh good morning everyone and welcome to the March 24th, 2025 Rules Committee meeting. I'm Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, acting chair of the Rules Committee. And I'm joined this morning by President Mandelman. Our clerk is Victor Young. And I would like to thank Eugene Labadia from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes. Public comment will be taken in on each item on this agenda when your item of interest comes up and public comment is called. Please sign up to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VICTOR dot Y O U N G at SFgov.org. If you submit public comment via email, it'll be included as part of the file. You may also send written comments via USBO to our office at City Hall, one Dr. Carleton B. Goodly place. Room 244 San Francisco, California 94102. Please make sure to send all cell phones and electronic devices. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of April 8th, 2025, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Yes, on the motion to excuse Chair Walton. Member Maddleman. Madam Munai. Acting Chair Cheryl. Aye. Cheryl. Aye. Walton excused. That motion passes without objection. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Would you please go to item number one? Yes, item number one is a motion amending the Board of Supervisors Rules of Order by adding a new Rule 5.22.1. Members participation during parental leave and adopting a parental leave policy for the Board of Supervisors. And I want to welcome Jen Lowe, legislative aide to Supervisor Melgar, to the chambers today to speak on this motion. Thank you, Acting Chair Sherrill and President Mandelman. This motion, as you've heard, will amend the board rules of order to formally include a parental leave policy that mirrors state and city policy to provide the ability for members to take official leave to bond with their new children and to be supported in that role. It will also allow a board member on parental leave to participate via teleconference as provided by the Brown Act. So this effort has taken quite some time. As many of you know, it has taken dec decades since former Supervisor Aliota Pierre led the way by having to navigate her own pregnancy and parental leave as an elected official on this very board. She brought this issue to the voters in 2006 through a charter amendment to allow for the remote teleconferencing ability for a board member or commissioner to teleconference in the event they aren't physically unable to attend due to pregnancy or childbirth. However, the Brown Act was very limited at that time and required that anyone using the teleconferencing provision had to publicly disclose their remote locations to utilize that ability, which, as you can all know, that maybe having that public of information about your home or your hospital room might not really be very practical. So in 2021, through an ordinance uh by Supervisor Melgar, we finally put into effect what the Charter Amendment would do. And it was passed UNED NYASWE by this board of supervisors. So it put it in the admin code the ability to allow for parental leave policy for both the board and commissions. Um and we were actively working with state legislature uh to um update the Brown Act so that it could accommodate for childbirth, parental leave, and other a whole host of other issues since we have seen during the during the pandemic. Unfortunately, many of those failed.
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