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State Legislation Committee

April 17, 2008

3pm

City Hall, Room 288

Meeting Minutes

MEMBERS Present:

Mayor’s Office (Chair) – Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez

Supervisor Peskin – David Noyola

Supervisor Alioto-Pier – Manish Goyal

City Attorney’s Office – MaryJane Winslow

Treasurer’s Office – David Augustine

Assessor’s Office – Alissa Pines

MEMBERS Absent:

Controller’s Office – Peg Stevenson

AGENDA

I . ROLL CALL – 6 of 7 members present; Manish Goyal represented Supervisor Alioto-Pier.

II. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

The Committee approved the minutes of the March 27, 2008 meeting of the State Legislation Committee.

III. REVIEW OFDEPARTMENT STATE LEGISLATIVE PLANS

The Committee voted to take the recommended City position for the following Department State Legislative Plan affecting the City and County of San Francisco, at the April 17, 2008 State Legislation Committee:

(See attachments under Supporting Documents link of the State Legislation Committee: http://www.sfgov.org/site/slc_meeting.asp?id=23016)

A. Treasurer/Tax Collector, Presented by David Augustine – Support first paragraph, tabled second paragraph

B. Dept. of Environment, Presented by Mark Westlund – Support with amendment to Dept. State Plan

C. Dept. of Emergency Management, Presented by Amiee Albertson Alden – Support

D. Assessor/Recorder, Presented by Alissa Pines – Support

E. City Attorney, Presented by MaryJane Winslow – Support

IV. PROPOSED LEGISLATION

The Committee voted to take the recommended City position for the following Bills affecting the City and County of San Francisco, at the April 17, 2008 State Legislation Committee:

(Lynn Suter, Suter & Associates, has been notified of the status of these Bills)

A. PUC Bills

B. SFPD Bills

C. Human Rights Commission Bills

D. City Attorney’s Office Bill

E. Treasurer’s Office Bill

F. Arts Commission

SFPUC SUBMITTED BY: NATHAN PURKISS, 554-3404

AB 1062 (Ma)

As Amended 2-15-08, in Senate Appropriations. SFPUC Bill Sponsor.

Support

AB 1062 as amended would require the California Division of the State Architect (CDSA) to develop a streamline permit process for installation of solar power facilities on public school properties. The CDSA has a standardized, lengthy, confusing process for approving any construction on public school properties, and AB 1062 directs the CDSA to review their own approval process and develop a streamline, efficient permit process for authorizing solar power installations on public school properties. The CDSA has met with the SFPUC and Assemblywoman Ma's office and is working closely with the proponents of this legislation to ensure its success. The SFPUC has had difficulty securing contractors in the past to install solar on school property because the contractors complain about the arcane CDSA review process, so this bill will address that problem.

SB 1258 (Lowenthal)

As Introduced 2/15/08

Support

SB 1258 would require the Department of Water Resources (DWR), in consultation with the Department of Public Health, to adopt statewide standards for various uses of gray water that go beyond the current regulations which only allow gray water use for subsurface irrigation 12 inches below the surface. The SFPUC asked Senator Lowenthal to include language permitting gray water for non-potable indoor use (toilet flushing) and Senator Lowenthal has agreed to add this language to the bill. Gray water from sinks, showers and washing machines is legally permitted for indoor non-potable uses in other countries where water shortages have required the development of widespread use of gray water. This legislation would permit the safe use of gray water and allow the City of San Francisco to include gray water as a component of future Green Building legislation.

SFPD: SUBMITTED BY: TOM SHAWYER, LT., CHIEF’S OFFICE, 553-9866,

PRESENTED BY: OFFICER CHRISTOPHER PUTZ, 278-9654

AB 1767

Ma, and coauthored by Senator Yee

Assembly Committee on Public Safety.
Support

This bill would amend Section 1377 of the Penal Code and would add acts of graffiti vandalism to the list of crimes in which a civil compromise is not allowed. The City of San Francisco spends more than $20 million annually to clean up graffiti. Many taggers are currently settling cases outside of court by agreeing to pay the property owner the costs of removing the graffiti. It’s called Civil Compromise and is legally permitted for certain types of criminal cases. San Francisco is the only county in California that utilizes Civil Compromise as a way to settle graffiti vandalism cases.
A civil compromise allows a tagger to escape a misdemeanor vandalism charge and prevents the offender from appearing before a judge and performing community service. Persons arrested for graffiti vandalism are permitted to have their defense attorney contact the victim (property owner) and offer them money in exchange for dropping criminal charges. This is a common occurrence in San Francisco.

AB1767 will add graffiti vandalism types of cases in which civil compromise is not allowed. This will ensure that graffiti offenders actually have to perform community service and are deterred from committing future acts of vandalism.

This piece of legislation is good for San Francisco and is supported by the Graffiti Advisory Board, DA’s Office, Supervisor Aaron Peskin, numerous community groups, BOMA (Business Owners Managers Association), Safe CleanGreen and other community groups. Its support was also recommended by the SF Legislative Analysts Office as a way to reduce graffiti vandalism in SF.

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: SUBMITTED BY: CYNTHIA GOLDSTEIN, 252-2515

Senate Bill 1066 (Migden)

Support

This bill would change the eligibility requirements for opposite-sex couples seeking to register with the State's domestic partnership registry.

As currently written, an age restriction is imposed on opposite-sex couples seeking to register with the State's domestic partnership registry that is not imposed on same-sex couples. Opposite-sex couples must include at least one partner who is age 62 or older to be eligible, whereas same-sex couples simply must be of the age of consent (18) or older. Senate Bill 1066 would remove this age disparity and allow opposite-sex and same-sex couples to register on the same basis.

This change would positively impact San Francisco. First, it would extend the rights, responsibilities and protections of domestic partnership to more couples and their children. For example, more people would have access to employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement plan and other benefits (and therefore fewer uninsured individuals would to look to the City to subsidize their health care needs). In addition, this change would bring the State's definition of domestic partner in line with the definition used in San Francisco (and most of the other domestic partnership registries sponsored by local governments in California). This would greatly assist the Human Rights Commission in our administration of the City's Equal Benefits Ordinance. Having conflicting definitions of domestic partnership has created a great deal of confusion and extra work on the part of City contractors trying to comply with the City's Equal Benefits requirements. Aligning these definitions would streamline our implementation efforts significantly.

CITY ATTORNEY: SUBMITTED BY: MARY JANE WINSLOW, 554-4276

SB 1147 (Calderon) Medi-Cal eligibility: juvenile offenders

Support

SB 1147 requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to develop procedures to ensure that Medi-Cal eligibility of minors is not terminated when they are incarcerated. This bill would allow an ongoing continuum of care for youth in the juvenile justice system upon release from incarceration. The current policy of DHCS requires that Medi-Cal eligibility be terminated when a minor is incarcerated. As a result, the time-consuming reapplication process leaves many without needed prescriptions, mental health services, and medical treatment.

The City and County of San Francisco and the County of Santa Clara have sued DHCS over the current treatment of incarcerated minors. We have asked the court to halt the current DHCS policy that terminates eligible minors and then requires subsequent reapplication. A primary issue in the lawsuit is that federal and state law requires Medi-Cal recipients receive the benefits to which they are entitled. The State of California is depriving eligible recipients of those benefits by terminating and delaying the restoration of eligibility. SB 1147 is consistent with the goal of the City's lawsuit.

SB 1147 is sponsored by Youth Law Center and is supported by Santa Clara County, Chief Probation Officers of California, Urban Counties Caucus, and Western Center on Law and Poverty.

TREASURER/TAX COLLECTOR: SUBMITTED BY DAVID AUGUSTINE, PRESENTED BY PAULINE MARX, 554-5260

AB 2676 (Calderon)

Oppose

This bill would restrict the ability of a locality to fully enforce a transient occupancy (hotel) tax. Specifically, the bill would prohibit a locality from retroactively imposing hotel tax unless every item that is sought to be taxed is "expressly and with unambiguous specificity" set forth in a jurisdiction's hotel tax ordinance. The bill would also prohibit the retroactive collection of hotel tax where the jurisdiction attempts to collect additional documentation that has not previously been required to prove an exemption under law. The bill would deny

Flexibility to local taxing authorities, effectively require voter approval for

Every change to hotel tax enforcement, and is probably unconstitutional.

ARTS COMMISSION: SUBMITTED BY LUIS CANCEL, 252-2591

Assembly Bill 2728 (Karnette)

Support

The City and County of San Francisco supports full funding for the California Arts Council, at a level that would bring state investment in the nonprofit arts to at least the national median of $1.00 per person.

The City and County of San Francisco supports current legislation being considered in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 2728 (Karnette), that would direct 20% of sales and use tax on works of art and similar items to the California Arts Council to enhance the agency's grant programs in communities throughout the state, and which includes certain triggers related to the state's fiscal stability. The City and County of San Francisco urges the California State Legislature and the Governor to pass and enact said legislation in this legislative session.