Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the April 13th, 2026 rules committee meeting.

I am your chair, Supervisor Shaman Watson, joined by Vice Chair Stephen Sherrow and President Rafael Mandelman.

Today's clerk is Victor Young, and I want to thank Seuss Inhos from SFGov TV for making sure that this meeting is publicized and available to the public.

Mr.

Clerk, you have any announcements?

Yes, public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda when your item of interest comes up and public comment is called.

Please line up 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.yo N G at SFgov.org.

If you submit public comment by email, it will be included as part of the file.

San Francisco, California, 94102.

Please make sure to sign us all cell phones and electronic devices.

Items to act upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of April 21st, unless otherwise stated.

That completes my initial announcements.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

Please call item number one.

Item number one is a resolution affirming the importance of keeping the independence civilian oversight of the San Francisco Police Commission.

Thank you.

And colleagues, you know, this item was forwarded and continued to this week to discuss amendments and concerns that colleagues had about the resolution.

This resolution is in place to really affirm that this board of supervisors supports independent oversight of the police department, which is really in line with what the field is even across the country.

I know there were concerns from uh President Mandelman, and I don't agree with supporting his amendments.

I would love to move this forward without recommendation, like we always have when this body doesn't necessarily agree.

There are five co-sponsors for this.

We only have 10 members who are currently actively serving on the board, and I don't think it's fair that we don't allow this to go to the board and let everyone say how they feel about independent oversight.

And my colleagues may support the amendments and may want to move them forward, and that can definitely happen at a full board of supervisors meeting.

President Mandelman.

Thank you for your consideration of my amendments.

What I take to be the main point of this resolution.

And I absolutely can vote for and support a resolution for that.

And as I said at our last meeting, insofar as we are contemplating uh amendments to the charter this year, I have no intention of including in those the uh proposed changes to the disciplinary process that uh was recommended by the Proppy Task Force.

So I think there's consensus around that.

Um there are some things in this resolution that particularly as we are working through charter reform this year, as the mayor has three measures out in the field that his supporters are trying to get signatures for, and as we think about the additional, frankly, I think modest but important um uh proposals that I'm gonna be putting forward.

Um, I am not okay voting for or encouraging the board of supervisors to uh to say that we do not support the mayor having higher fire authority over the chief of police.

Um I think that uh in light of the history of the last few years, um it is a quirk of our of our existing charter that the uh mayor of the city and county of San Francisco, who is the chief executive, can lose the ability to sit to uh direct policy uh and can have a majority of the police commission not agreeing with that person's position, and a not be able to do anything about that, or that body's positions, not be able to do anything about that, and not be able to be sure that if a vacancy arises in the position of the chief, that the mayor is gonna have people put forward for his or her consideration that are someone he that include at least one person that he or she would want to hire as chief.

There is language in here that suggests that uh this board opposes that change in the mayor's um in the in the mayor's proposed charter amendment, and I don't support that, can't vote for it, can't put it forward.

Um that is the main disagreement that I have.

There's also lurking in here a little conversation.

I mean, as I said, absolutely independent, disciplinary disciplinary authority.

Uh I can agree with not making changes uh that would transfer or compromise anything about that or oversight without a lot of process that we're certainly not going to be able to do this year, can support all of that.

But that was sort of the nature of the changes.

I generally don't believe in trying to like co-opt my colleagues legislative I mean, not that I'm promising to never do this, but if if the author would rather have this voted down here, um I I don't need to introduce these amendments and make them and try to make them over the author's objections.

I'm not gonna do that.

Um, but I'm not gonna vote to forward this as is.

Thank you, President Mandelman.

I will say that one, there are three members on this committee.

Um if you want to vote on these amendments, I I would take that better as, because you're kind of talking out of both sides of your mouth.

You don't want to force the amendments on me, but you won't let me send it out without recommendation.

So you have options to do.

Um, President Mandelman, I'm sorry.

I mean, I guess I would like some direction from the author.

Uh I understand you don't like either of the options that I I'm proposing two bad options, uh, both of which the chair disagrees with.

I want this board to make a decision to say that we want to affirm independent oversight of the police commission.

Okay.

Well, then I will take that uh and tell me if I'm wrong here.

Um I'm I am gonna move these amendments after public comment.

Um I anticipate the chair will vote no because I don't think the chair thinks that these are good amendments, but that will get the basic thrust of the resolution to the full board of supervisors with the um arguably objectionable amendments in them.

So that's that's what I'll do.

Thank you, President Madeline.

And I would say I don't necessarily a hundred percent disagree with whether or not the mayor should or should not have the ability to fire and hire a police chief.