The Ballot Simplification Committee (hereinafter called "Committee") shall consist of five voting members, two of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor and three of whom shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The City Attorney, or his or her designated representative, shall be an ex officio member and shall have a voice but no vote in committee proceedings. Each appointive member shall be a registered San Francisco voter, shall possess an understanding of ballot issues and shall possess writing skills and training which provide for a high capability in written communication to the general public.
Of the two members to be appointed by the Mayor, one shall be appointed from persons whose names have been submitted by The Northern California Newspaper Guild and one shall be an educational reading specialist recommended by the Superintendent of Schools of the San Francisco Unified School District. Two of the three members appointed by the Board of Supervisors shall be appointed from persons whose names have been submitted by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Northern California Chapter, or the Northern California Broadcasters Association. The third member appointed by the Board of Supervisors shall be appointed from persons whose names have been submitted by the League of Women Voters of San Francisco.
The term of each appointive member shall be two years unless earlier removed by their respective appointing authority. In the event of such removal or in the event a vacancy otherwise occurs during the term of office of any appointive member, a successor shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the office vacated in a manner similar to that described herein for the initial members. The Committee shall elect a chair from among its appointive members. The term of office as chair shall be for the calendar year or for that portion thereof remaining after each such chair is elected. Members of the Committee shall serve as such without compensation.
(Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)
(a) The Committee shall have the power and duty to:
(1) Prepare a digest of each measure that will be voted on only in the City and County of San Francisco;
(2) Assist the Director of Elections in preparing the additional materials set forth in Article V of this Code.
(b) In the exercise of its powers and duties under this Article, the Committee shall have access to any appropriate officer, department, board or commission of the City and County for consultation and assistance. When preparing a digest, the Committee shall give consideration to the analyses prepared by departments pursuant to Section 350 of this Code.
(c) Prior to submitting any digest measure to the Director of Elections, the Committee shall provide a 24-hour period to receive and act on written requests for reconsideration of a digest. The Committee shall consider only those requests provided in writing and including the specific language in the digest that the requestor wants to amend, the alternate language the requestor recommends, and the reasons for that recommendation.
(d) Digests of measures prepared by the Committee shall, no fewer than 85 days prior to the election to which they relate, be transmitted by said Committee to the Director of Elections for printing and inclusion in the voter information pamphlet.
(Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; Ord. 291-06, File No. 061375, App. 11/29/2006)
The place, date and time of meeting of the Committee shall be prescribed by rule of the Committee; provided, however, that the Committee shall give at least one week's advance notice of any meeting, whenever possible, to the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors and the official proponents, of any initiative ordinance, Charter amendment or declaration of policy, any other person who has notified the Director of Elections of his or her interest in the measure, and the public. All meetings, except as provided by law, shall be open to the public.
(Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)