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The Port Commission shall have all the powers and duties given to boards and Commissions by Section 3.500 of the Charter and shall have the power to establish such departments and bureaus as may be necessary or convenient for the conduct of its affairs. Subject to the terms and conditions of the transfer and any supplemental agreements relating thereto, the Port Commission shall have the control and management of all real and personal property transferred under the Statutes 1968, ch. 1333, or otherwise acquired or purchased with funds under its control or acquired or purchased by it within the scope of its authority, or otherwise placed under its management, supervision and control. The property under the control and management of the Commission shall be known as the port area. The Port Commission shall have the power and duty to use, conduct, operate, maintain, manage, regulate, and control the port area of San Francisco and to do all things it deems necessary in connection with the use, conduct, operation, management, maintenance, regulation, improvement and control of said port area, or which may further the interests of the port in world trade, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the exclusive power to perform or accomplish the following:
(a) The improvement, operation and conduct of the harbor, and any and all improvements or facilities located thereon;
(b) The construction, reconstruction, repair, operation and use of all works, buildings, facilities, utilities, structures and appliances incidental, necessary or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of commerce and navigation, or located within the port area;
(c) The establishment, improvement and conduct of railroad and aviation facilities and all works, buildings, facilities, utilities, structures and appliances incidental, necessary or convenient for the promotion and conduct of air commerce and navigation and railroad transportation;
(d) The construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance and operation of public buildings, parks, playgrounds, public educational and recreation facilities and all works, buildings, facilities, structures and appliances incidental, necessary or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of any such uses;
(e) The preservation or restoration of marine resources consistent with the primary mission of the Harbor of San Francisco;
(f) The grant of franchises thereof for limited periods not exceeding 66 years for wharves and other public uses and purposes and the lease of said lands, facilities, or any part thereof for limited periods not exceeding 66 years, and the collection and retention of rents and other revenues from such leases, franchises, permits, licenses and privileges. Such lease or leases, franchises, permits, licenses, and privileges shall be for purposes consistent with the trusts upon which the lands are held by the State and with the requirements of commerce and navigation, or if the Port Commission of the City and County of San Francisco determines that any portion of the transferred lands is not required for the foregoing uses described in this section, such lease or leases, franchises, permits, licenses, and privileges, may be for the purposes of such development and use as the Commission finds will yield maximum profits to be used by the Commission in the furtherance of commerce and navigation;
(g) Leases and franchises granted or made by the Port Commission shall be administered exclusively by the operating forces of the Port Commission;
(h) The power to nominate for appointment a Port Director who shall be the chief executive of the Port Commission and who shall have the management of all the affairs and activities placed under the jurisdiction of the Commission. The Mayor shall appoint a Port Director. He shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office and his salary shall be fixed by the Commission. He shall hold his office at the pleasure of the Commission and shall have the management of said harbor and of all of the facilities and equipment thereof and all bureaus and departments established for the operation of said harbor or for the operation of any equipment or facility thereof. Subject to the approval of the Commission he shall appoint and remove any and all heads of departments or bureaus, who may not be subject to the civil service provisions of the Charter. He shall possess the necessary administrative, executive and technical qualifications necessary to enable him to perform the duties of his office. His compensation shall not exceed prevailing salaries paid those holding similar positions in comparable maritime employment. The Commission may confer on him such additional powers and authority as it may see fit;
(i) To regulate the berthing, anchoring, towing, loading and unloading and mooring of vessels within the port;
(j) To issue receipts, negotiable or otherwise, for property or merchandise in its charge or possession;
(k) To fix all rates, dockage, rentals, tolls, wharfage, and charges, for the use and occupation of the public facilities or appliances of the port, and for services rendered by the Port Commission, and to provide for the collection thereof;
(l) To enter into contracts, agreements, or stipulations germane to the scope of its powers and duties;
(m) To give such bonds or assurances as may be required by the United States in the operations permitted hereunder;
(n) To provide and equip offices within or without the port, within other states, or in foreign countries, and through such employees and agencies as it may deem expedient;
(o) To contract for and operate foreign trade zones within the port area or auxiliary to the port area, or such zones or sub-zones as have been operated by the San Francisco Port Authority. Agreement may be made with the Public Utilities Commission for operation of future zones or sub-zones in other areas;
(p) Members and officers of the Port Commission shall be exempt from the provisions of the City Charter relating to absences from the State, but shall advise the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors in advance of such absences;
(q) May promote the maritime and commercial interests of the harbor by advertising its advantages and facilities and by the solicitation of business. The advertising and solicitation may be conducted within or without this State and through such agencies, mediums, employees and agents as are determined by the Commission. The Commission may, in its discretion, publish and distribute a magazine, pamphlets, booklets and other printed and advertising matter for the purpose of developing traffic and promoting and maintaining the commerce and prestige of the port, and may use any moneys of the harbor fund for the special purposes authorized by this provision. Members and employees of the Commission in attending conventions of port authorities and meetings of transportation clubs, trade associations and business organizations that may advance the interests of the port shall be allowed their actual necessary expenses in the performance of such services as may from time to time be deemed desirable by the Commission and shall be allowed hospitality expenses necessarily incurred in furthering the interests of the port;
(r) To issue revenue bonds as provided in Section 7.305;
(s) To expend all funds necessary to the carrying out of the powers and duties herein expressed;
(t) This section does hereby vest in the Port Commission all of the powers set forth in Section 3 and Section 5 of the Statutes of 1968, Chapter 1333, which provisions are hereby incorporated in the Charter by this reference.
The City and County of San Francisco shall accept the transfer and assume jurisdiction and control of the Harbor of San Francisco and the facilities thereof in accordance with the terms and conditions of Statutes 1968, ch. 1333. All the powers and duties incident to the management, government, control and administration of said harbor and all properties and utilities used in connection therewith, shall be vested in the Port Commission of the City and County of San Francisco.
The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco shall have and is hereby granted power to enter into any agreement with the State of California, the Director of Finance, or any officer, agency or Commission of the State of California, and to pass all necessary legislation and to do or perform any other act or acts deemed necessary to effect the transfer of the jurisdiction and control of the Harbor of San Francisco, or any of the facilities thereof, to the City and County of San Francisco.
All employees of the port authority who, at the time the transfer provided for herein shall go into effect, are members of the Public Employees' Retirement System of the State of California shall continue to be members of said Public Employees' Retirement System, with all the rights, privileges and benefits of said system and they shall not be members of the San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System; and, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter, the City and County shall perform all acts necessary to continue the membership of such employees in said Public Employees' Retirement System.
All employees of the port authority who, at the time the transfer provided for herein shall go into effect, are covered under the provisions of a retirement program other than the Public Employees' Retirement System of the State of California shall thereafter continue to be covered under such retirement program and they shall not be members of the San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System; and, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter, the City and County shall perform all acts necessary to continue the coverage of such employees under such retirement program.
Persons who, after the transfer provided for herein has gone into effect, become employees of the City and County in positions related to the operation of the State Belt Railroad and who become covered under the provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act by virtue of their employment in such positions shall not be members of the San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System.
In the matter of the control and operation of the harbor and of the facilities and equipment thereof, including the matter of budgets and appropriations, the Port Commission shall be subject to the budgetary and fiscal procedure elsewhere provided for in this Charter.
The City Attorney shall be the legal advisor of the Commission, and may, with the approval of the Commission, compromise, settle or dismiss any litigation or legal proceeding, pending for or on behalf of the Commission relative to any matter under its jurisdiction, and said Commission may with the consent of the Mayor and the approval of the City Attorney appoint special counsel.
The revenues of the harbor and of all properties and facilities incident thereto, or used in connection therewith, shall be deposited in a separate fund in the treasury of the City and County; and a harbor trust fund or trust funds shall be established by the City and County; and the City and County shall deposit in the fund or funds all monies received attributable to facilities on the transferred lands in the harbor.
Subject to the terms and conditions of Statute 1968, ch. 1333, appropriations from such funds shall be made for the following purposes and in the order named, viz:
(a) for the payment of maintenance and operating expenses, pension charges and proportionate payments to such compensation and other insurance and accident reserve funds as the Commission may established the Board of Supervisors may require;
(b) for the payment of principal, interest, reserve funds, sinking funds, and other funds established for the benefit of any forms of indebtedness issued or undertaken by or on behalf of the Commission for any purpose authorized under this Charter, including, but not limited to, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, infrastructure financing district bonds, certificates of participation, lease revenue bonds, commercial paper, variable rate demand notes, auction rate securities, bond anticipation notes and other evidences of indebtedness:
(c) for capital improvements to, and reconstruction and replacement of, the properties, equipment and facilities of the harbor , and
(d) to establish a reserve, surplus or sinking fund for harbor operations, capital improvements, reconstruction, and replacement of equipment or facilities used in connection thereto as the Commission may establish.
In the event of a conflict between any trust indenture or other instrument securing or evidencing indebtedness outstanding as of January 1, 2009 and authorized in this Charter and the priorities set forth in this Section B6.406, the priorities of the debt instrument will control.
(Amended by Proposition D, 11/4/2008)
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