Findings and Purpose. | |
Citation. |
The Board of Supervisors and the People of the City and County of San Francisco find and declare:
(a) Government's duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public.
(b) Elected officials, commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people's business. The people do not cede to these entities the right to decide what the people should know about the operations of local government.
(c) Although California has a long tradition of laws designed to protect the public's access to the workings of government, every generation of governmental leaders includes officials who feel more comfortable conducting public business away from the scrutiny of those who elect and employ them. New approaches to government constantly offer public officials additional ways to hide the making of public policy from the public. As government evolves, so must the laws designed to ensure that the process remains visible.
(d) The right of the people to know what their government and those acting on behalf of their government are doing is fundamental to democracy, and with very few exceptions, that right supersedes any other policy interest government officials may use to prevent public access to information. Only in rare and unusual circumstances does the public benefit from allowing the business of government to be conducted in secret, and those circumstances should be carefully and narrowly defined to prevent public officials from abusing their authority.
(e) Public officials who attempt to conduct the public's business in secret should be held accountable for their actions. Only a strong Open Government and Sunshine Ordinance, enforced by a strong Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, can protect the public's interest in open government.
(f) The people of San Francisco enact these amendments to assure that the people of the City remain in control of the government they have created.
(g) Private entities and individuals and employees and officials of the City and County of San Francisco have rights to privacy that must be respected. However, when a person or entity is before a policy body or passive meeting body, that person, and the public, has the right to an open and public process.
(Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Proposition G, 11/2/99)
Definitions. | |
Passive Meetings. | |
Meetings To Be Open and Public; Application of Brown Act. | |
Conduct of Business; Time and Place For Meetings. | |
Agenda Requirements; Regular Meetings. | |
Public Notice Requirements. | |
Agenda Disclosures: Closed Sessions. | |
Additional Requirements for Closed Sessions. | |
Agendas and Related Materials: Public Records. | |
Closed Sessions: Permitted Topics. | |
Statement of Reasons For Closed Sessions. | |
Disclosure of Closed Session Discussions and Actions. | |
Barriers to Attendance Prohibited. | |
Video and Audio Recording, Filming and Still Photography. | |
Public Testimony. | |
Minutes. | |
Public Comment By Members of Policy Bodies. | |
Whenever in this Article the following words or phrases are used, they shall have the following meanings:
(a) "City" shall mean the City and County of San Francisco.
(b) "Meeting" shall mean any of the following:
(1) A congregation of a majority of the members of a policy body at the same time and place;
(2) A series of gatherings, each of which involves less than a majority of a policy body, to hear, discuss or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City, if the cumulative result is that a majority of members has become involved in such gatherings; or
(3) Any other use of personal intermediaries or communications media that could permit a majority of the members of a policy body to become aware of an item of business and of the views or positions of other members with respect thereto, and to negotiate consensus thereupon.
(4) "Meeting" shall not include any of the following:
(A) Individual contacts or conversations between a member of a policy body and another person that do not convey to the member the views or positions of other members upon the subject matter of the contact or conversation and in which the member does not solicit or encourage the restatement of the views of the other members;
(B) The attendance of a majority of the members of a policy body at a regional, statewide or national conference, or at a meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern and open to the public, provided that a majority of the members refrains from using the occasion to collectively discuss the topic of the gathering or any other business within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City; or
(C) The attendance of a majority of the members of a policy body at a purely social, recreational or ceremonial occasion other than one sponsored or organized by or for the policy body itself, provided that a majority of the members refrains from using the occasion to discuss any business within the subject matter jurisdiction of this body. A meal gathering of a policy body before, during or after a business meeting of the body is part of that meeting and shall be conducted only under circumstances that permit public access to hear and observe the discussion of members. Such meetings shall not be conducted in restaurants or other accommodations where public access is possible only in consideration of making a purchase or some other payment of value.
(C-1)* The attendance of a majority of the members of a policy body at an open and noticed meeting of a standing committee of that body, provided that the members of the policy body who are not members of the standing committee attend only as observers.
(D) Proceedings of the Department of Social Services Child Welfare Placement and Review Committee or similar committees which exist to consider confidential information and make decisions regarding Department of Social Services clients.
(c) "Passive meeting body" shall mean:
(1) Advisory committees created by the initiative of a member of a policy body, the Mayor, or a department head;
(2) Any group that meets to discuss with or advise the Mayor or any Department Head on fiscal, economic, or policy issues;
(3) Social, recreational or ceremonial occasions sponsored or organized by or for a policy body to which a majority of the body has been invited.
(4) "Passive meeting body" shall not include a committee that consists solely of employees of the City and County of San Francisco created by the initiative of a member of a policy body, the Mayor, or a department head;
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (4) above, "Passive meeting body" shall include a committee that consists solely of employees of the City and County of San Francisco when such committee is reviewing, developing, modifying, or creating City policies or procedures relating to the public health, safety, or welfare or relating to services for the homeless;
(d) "Policy Body" shall mean:
(1) The Board of Supervisors;
(2) Any other board or commission enumerated in the Charter;
(3) Any board, commission, committee, or other body created by ordinance or resolution of the Board of Supervisors;
(4) Any advisory board, commission, committee or body, created by the initiative of a policy body;
(5) Any standing committee of a policy body irrespective of its composition.
(6) "Policy Body" shall not include a committee which consists solely of employees of the City and County of San Francisco, unless such committee was established by Charter or by ordinance or resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
(7) Any advisory board, commission, committee, or council created by a federal, State, or local grant whose members are appointed by City officials, employees or agents.
(Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Ord. 129-98, App. 4/17/98; Proposition G, 11/2/99)
Editor's note
*The drafters of Proposition G (November 2, 1999) inadvertently omitted section 67.3(b)(4)(C-1), formerly section 67.3(b)(4)(D), from the text of the ordinance submitted to the voters.
(a) All gatherings of passive meeting bodies shall be accessible to individuals upon inquiry and to the extent possible consistent with the facilities in which they occur.
(1) Such gatherings need not be formally noticed, except on the City's website whenever possible, although the time, place and nature of the gathering shall be disclosed upon inquiry by a member of the public, and any agenda actually prepared for the gathering shall be accessible to such inquirers as a public record.
(2) Such gatherings need not be conducted in any particular space for the accommodation of members of the public, although members of the public shall be permitted to observe on a space available basis consistent with legal and practical restrictions on occupancy.
(3) Such gatherings of a business nature need not provide opportunities for comment by members of the public, although the person presiding may, in his or her discretion, entertain such questions or comments from spectators as may be relevant to the business of the gathering.
(4) Such gatherings of a social or ceremonial nature need not provide refreshments to spectators.
(5) Gatherings subject to this subsection include the following: advisory committees or other multimember bodies created in writing or by the initiative of, or otherwise primarily formed or existing to serve as a non-governmental advisor to, a member of a policy body, the Mayor, the City Administrator, a department head, or any elective officer, and social, recreational or ceremonial occasions sponsored or organized by or for a policy body to which a majority of the body has been invited. This subsection shall not apply to a committee which consists solely of employees of the City and County of San Francisco.
(6) Gatherings defined in subdivision (5) may hold closed sessions under circumstances allowed by this Article.
(b) To the extent not inconsistent with State or federal law, a policy body shall include in any contract with an entity that owns, operates or manages any property in which the City has or will have an ownership interest, including a mortgage, and on which the entity performs a government function related to the furtherance of health, safety or welfare, a requirement that any meeting of the governing board of the entity to address any matter relating to the property or its government related activities on the property, or performance under the contract or grant, be conducted as provided in Subdivision (a) of this section. Records made available to the governing board relating to such matters shall be likewise available to the public, at a cost not to exceed the actual cost up to 10 cents per page, or at a higher actual cost as demonstrated in writing to such governing board.
(Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Ord. 287-96, App. 7/12/96; Proposition G, 11/2/99)
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