San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting - March 2, 2026: Appointments and Police Surveillance Policy
San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting - March 2, 2026
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee, chaired by Supervisor Shimon Walton and joined by Vice Chair Stephen Sherrill and President Mandelman, met on March 2, 2026, at City Hall. Clerk Victor Young presided. The committee considered two agenda items: an appointment to the Assessment Appeals Board and a proposed ordinance approving a police surveillance technology policy for electronic location tracking devices. No public comments were made on either item.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were listed or acted upon.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during the public comment periods for either agenda item.
Discussion Items
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Item 1: Appointment to Assessment Appeals Board – The committee held a hearing to consider appointing one member for a term ending September 7, 2026, and one member for a term ending September 6, 2027, to the Assessment Appeals Board No. 3. Candidate Elena Rivkin testified, detailing her experience as an administrative law judge with the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board since 2023, and prior work as a real estate litigation attorney focusing on title disputes, deeds, and Proposition 19. She expressed a desire to serve the city. Chair Walton moved to appoint Rivkin to seat three with a residency waiver, which was approved unanimously (Sherrill aye, Walton aye; Mandelman joined but vote not recorded separately). The appointment was forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with a recommendation.
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Item 2: Police Surveillance Technology Policy for Electronic Location Tracking Devices – Lieutenant Brent Bradford of the SFPD presented the proposed ordinance (administrative code 19B policy) governing the use of electronic location tracking devices, including GPS trackers, radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, radio frequency beacons, and Star Chase—a vehicle-mounted GPS tracking system in pilot use since December 2024. The policy outlines authorized uses (valid warrants, recognized warrant exceptions, vehicle pursuit mitigation per General Order 5.05, and theft abatement operations) and prohibited uses (monitoring based on protected characteristics, enforcing bans on gender-affirming or reproductive care, and immigration enforcement). Star Chase has additional restrictions: tracking must cease upon apprehension of the target vehicle. The department is the sole custodian of data, with three-year retention, and sharing is limited to lawful criminal and administrative processes. From December 2024 through December 2025, Star Chase was deployed 17 times; an example case on September 12, 2025, involved a stolen vehicle tracked via Flock license plate readers, a drone, and Star Chase, leading to an arrest in Oakland. Chair Walton questioned theft abatement operations and civil rights protections; Bradford assured that deployments are limited to serious crimes and that Star Chase tracks only the target vehicle, not bystanders. President Mandelman, a co-sponsor, moved to forward the ordinance without recommendation. The motion passed unanimously (Sherrill aye, Mandelman aye, Walton aye).
Key Outcomes
- Appointment: Elena Rivkin was appointed to Assessment Appeals Board seat three with a residency waiver, forwarded to the full board with a favorable recommendation.
- Surveillance Policy: The ordinance approving the police surveillance technology policy for electronic location tracking devices was forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors without recommendation.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning and welcome to our March 2nd Rules Committee meeting. I am your Chair Supervisor Shimon Walton. I'm joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, and soon to be joined by President Mandelman. Our clerk today is Victor Young, and we are joined by Jamie Eshevery with SFGov TV, who will make sure that this meeting is publicized and that information is made to the public. Mr. Clerk, do we have any announcements? Yes. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. Where your item of interest comes up and public comment is called. Please line 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 BICTOR dot Yo U N G at SFgov.org. If you submit public comment via email, it will be included as part of the file. You may also uh send your written comments via U.S. mail to our office in City Hall, one Dr. Carleton B. Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Documents be included as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of March 10th, 2026, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much, Mr. Clerk. Would you please call item number one? Item number one is a hearing to consider appointing one member term ending September 7, 2026, and one member term ending September 6, 2027 to the assessment appeals board number three. Thank you so much. And so I believe we have candidate Elena Rivkin who is here. And if you would come up and just tell us a little bit about yourself, why you want to serve. Is that the appropriate place to say? Um either one works. Thank you. Um good morning, Board of Supervisors and members of the rules committee has stated. Uh my name is Elena Rifkin. It would be my pleasure to serve on the board. I believe my experience is well aligned with the requirements of this role. Uh first off, I'm presently an administrative law judge with the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. I've been acting as an ALJ since 2023. In this role, I conduct hearings approximately 31 per week, primarily with self-represented litigants. The topic of my hearings relates to generally unemployment and disability appeals. Prior to becoming an administrative law judge, I was a attorney in private practice. My focus was on real estate litigation. Um through my practice in real estate litigation, I had uh issues related to title disputes, quiet title actions, partition actions, real estate transfers, mortgage finance related matters. I would also review deeds, title history, ownership claims, and I advised clients on various real estate and business transactions. I have some foundational knowledge of Proposition 19. Um I understand how to review operating agreements as well as uh draft them. I have a basic understanding of the state planning, including drafting trusts and wills. I really enjoy being an administrative law judge in my present role, and I believe that my experience and my background would allow me to serve the city and county of San Francisco. I would be thrilled to serve in this role. Thank you. Thank you so much.
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