February 25, 2022
Contact: Michael Canning (415) 252-3100
The Ethics Commission called the Special Meeting to order at 10 am to hear from members of the public on proposed amendments to strengthen the City’s gift and ethics laws that it has been considering as draft ballot measure and as amended Commission regulations. With all Commissioners in attendance, a quorum was present.
Under Item 2, the Commission took general public comment on matters not appearing on the Agenda but within the Ethics Commission’s subject matter jurisdiction.
Under Item 3, heard comments from representatives of City Departments on the proposed gift and ethics proposals and engaged in discussion with those representatives.
Due to a scheduling conflict by the City’s Labor Negotiator, the Commission paused consideration of Item 3 to take up its Closed Session under Item 4.
Under Item 4, unanimously (5-0) approved a motion by Commissioner Chiu and seconded by Commissioner Romano to proceed into closed session for an update with its Labor Negotiator regarding Labor Negotiations on the status of the meet and confer process with the Employee Organization, San Francisco Municipal Executives Association, regarding the Ethics Commission’s proposed June 2022 ballot measure and regulation amendments. The Commission then moved into closed session for that discussion.
After reconvening into public session the Commission unanimously (5-0) adopted a motion by Commissioner Chiu and seconded by Commissioner Romano to not disclose any action taken or discussions held in Closed Session.
The Commission then resumed its consideration of Item 3 and heard further comment from departmental representatives. Following those comments, the Commission held an extended period of public comment under Item 3 to hear from individuals and organizations about the proposals and engage in further discussion with commenters.
Following the conclusion of its discussion and public comment, the Commission unanimously voted (5-0) to adopt the following statement offered in a motion by Commissioner Bush and seconded by Commissioner Chiu:
“The Ethics Commission expresses appreciation to all participants in today’s meeting, and to the Controller for the work that Office has done in examining corruption issues. The Ethics Commission’s policy action relies on continued discussions with partners, and while not expected to have a measure for the June ballot, we are hopeful to have something to present to the voters.”
Under Item 5, provided the opportunity for additional public comment on matters not appearing on the agenda pursuant to Ethics Commission Bylaws Article VII Section 2.
Under Item 6, adjourned the meeting at 3:04 pm.
Draft Minutes for the February 25, 2022 Special Meeting will be available upon their completion and will be included on the Agenda for the Commission’s next Regular Meeting, which will be made available on the Commission’s website at sfethics.org.
Meeting agendas and materials are available at https://sfethics.org/ethics/category/agendas.
For further information, please contact the Ethics Commission at ethics.commission@sfgov.org or (415) 252-3100.
SFGovTV provides a continuous archive of selected Commission, council and board meetings that allows viewers to watch those meetings online in full at the viewer’s convenience. Video, audio, and closed-captioning archives of Ethics Commission meetings may be accessed here.