>> thank you, everyone. i'm london breed the mayor of san francisco a hero today with so many of our small businesses and we're here and pass at the company and here with the persons in charge of the merchants association with the treatment department i don't, i don't know they're hiding the two people instrumental in working with small businesses and working with our night life and entertainment and trying to bring not just a lot more easy

to do business in san francisco but a little bit of fun i'm higher to sign the legislation that will make that simple getting to, yes and in fact, ann this or that can tell his story one of the projects that has benefited from proposition a we worked through the changes was regulation and how if you see something, say something are agriculture to commissioner president walton didn't have to do have an architect redo a posting it is saving how much money anthony. >> that's what i'm talking about open farther and provide services and still able to pay taxes we definitely need for to. so this is how we need to make sure that businesses grow and i thrive and not 90 to mention

first floor one of our first places able to get city fees and permits and other things waved as a way to generate business opportunity in our variation corridors as a result of this program been in existence for two years about the 36 hundred new businesses will have opened in san francisco and excited and proud to be here decide to sign legislation that will change offer one hundred - well, i have to say katie tang came to my office and said all the things yourself been talking about i was upset with cool valley a coffee shop wanted to interest to play guitar and add another pop up to sell outside of coffee

the process to get live music into their establishment to maybe sell a local persons jewelry in a coffee shop shouldn't be hard as san francisco is in mostly saying in our new model how to say yes to small businesses and, yes to new opportunity and make that easier for people to set up shop as it thrives and be an incredible community access that's why we're hearing sprooimg got the pieces in of the legislation with the board of supervisors and we didn't want to celebrate at city hall but with an example of a business that is not only bend but continues to benefit from many of the changes that we introduced and hopefully as i

said make your neighborhoods more fun ms. special neighborhood we're 200 if i see sxalg is joining us thank you for being here. and thank you to the other businesses throughout san francisco from the haight from you check up and other are mvrnts came here to provide support? wonderful and we can't just say we port small businesses and then not do anything about it this is doing something about it i'm excited and proud of what we've been able to do. now you or. okay - >> i was going to say talk about the fun parts of legislation. um, but to talk about you know, just a few things how that will benefit others and i know you never thought weed see significant changes but not only the head six the merchants and small

business owner an k4re789d street welcome ladies and gentlemen. >> (clapping) thank you for making all of us comfortable i'm a little bit nervous um, good morning. i'm sandy lee the president of the small business commission and you know, small business owners are passionate, resourceful and creative people. i opened my shop with my ask his in 2010 and with my family before that. this opportunity to create and business in the neighborhood changed my life as bayview native this in the city but raised my family and fortunate to represent small businesses in the richmond districtcy citywide for the past several years and for the whole time i've been

here in san francisco, and living in the bayview been proud to call this my home. >> our city it full of initiative people and passionate people today with the new pieces of legislation we will navigate by allowing more businesses to on on the ground floor with consistency and new life into the corridors now if they want to have retail stores social services food or drinks they can i'm excited to see see new ideas and businesses come to life and mayor breed thank you for listening to the meat and bones to share their story you'll find them on the internet and definitely during our holiday celebration. and thank you very much for making the dream of

opening a business that much more assessable for those who have the dream. thank you. (clapping.) few i'm excited to pass is mic to the vice president of the entertainment commission. >> hey everyone. um, so i was the principle on prop h a few years ago from a document i put together in the mayor's office with unflagging leadership. with incredible published material i realized when i started to advocate for the small businesses in san francisco everyone agrees there are problems but everyone wants a simple solution and unfortunately? the result of a hodgepodge of decades of zoning and permitting and fees and

legislation all kind of overlapped one another and onion sidewalks and never get to the bottom to undue the red tape instead of a big splash but prop h we're neurology to put in measures into that that or near and dear to my heart that is the night life in san francisco i want to talk about what this new piece of legislation does for night life a big deal more importantly it allows night life to in clubs to restaurants own wine bars to serve wine to avail themselves of 90 day exposed permit this is wonky but a big deal while you're waiting for months and months and planning

you are paying rent before our opening we need to simply go back to investors and no guarantee you'll get no guarantor they'll approve this is a huge, huge for the businesses and so thrived thank you for that. um, and, secondly, it allows a planning code remedying for 90 like licenses and there are very, very big deal for music venues and allows the venues a lot better chance to have a code for that locally and a lot of things just removed zoning restrictions and wouldn't cloud one person from playing a guitar in the coffee shop. makes no worldly sense whatsoever thank you, to the mayor's office

in any mind been impact full. >> thank you maggie and katie camping and mayor breed a very, very big deal. thank you. >> i want to introduce anthony strong i come to for the pasta au or you're a skilled chef heat it up and put it together this is anthony. thank you very much. >> (clapping) thanks bear with me, i'm a cook thank you, everyone for coming a big thanks to mayor breed for getting in legislation passed to remove the barriers it is a lot of small businesses faced getting on and growing. um, and thanks to prop h i had a

notification process i was trying to get a wine and beer permit but thanks i didn't have to spend in excess time and money and hiring and architect and producing plans when construction is not done at small business owners we need to serve our customers and operating our businesses and and we just have to time to spend own requirements that doesn't make sense it is important for the decision markers and the government to continue to removal any of those barriers and courage enterpriseship and encourage thanks things that make our community to be fun and grow. we're labor day to something should be done hoping

having a pasta supply iso improvements will help in continuing with you're permitting journey so, thank you. >>. (clapping.) easy. you licensed to the folks you make the changes in policies and define the legislation and you get back to your jobs simple the last time we'll see the legislation [off mic.] (laughter.) >> oh, you made some samples. >> 3, 2, 1. >> all right. >> okay. >> let's

city. >> hi other supervisor joel representing the great district and want to say congratulations on thirty years of sfgovtv. you know. if when i was a kid mtv revolutions my tv now we want my sfgovtv and revolutions.

>> join the center in celebrating thirty years of sfgovtv. thank you for promotin >> good morning, everybody. >> let me start by triathlon all 6 it to bring attention how big tobacco trying to hook the new generations on tobacco produces and tobacco companies

appeal to the public with with threatening decades of people. a few years ago san francisco put children first and young people first and banning the sale of flavored tobacco products to rest our space and city have enforced against brick-and-mortar rashlt by online arrangements are the nexus next frontier on the study was experienced today, our city attorney's office has announced a lawsuit against three california companies by selling flavored tobacco products online to people in san francisco and you'll hear the press we have some of the products in front of us and after the press veteran you will see the three meanwhile, one incorporated the

technical an llc and the smokey an llc sell a variety of tobacco products and e circumstances to commissioner green and one of the online sellers with not ship products to the jurisdictions the website of those have two indication will not ship the products. in study by office each defendant sold to our office and fruit or flavors designed to appeal to young people like strawberry and have an he will and all monday and shipped them to the city in violation of the law we are bringing reputes i lawsuits to clear message to the tobacco retailers will not be tolerated in san francisco. we're going bringing to lawsuit to protect the lawsuit especially you from the health risks of tobacco this

year alone mill middle school high schools students have currently using e significance with 89 percent of flavored products over 20 percent of our high school students have tried e cigarettes we're bringing to lawsuits to shop the tobacco companies through their flagrant disregard of the law and seeking the defendants past violations of the law. now to address this public health crises the advocates and health professionals behind me in the city and state have worked tirelessly, tirelessly against the tobacco companies and a number of people i introduce each of the affair speakers but thank you for the organizations campaign for tobacco for kids represented ken gibbs today

thank you and a little known fact i worked with this organization they're work as literally saved miles of lives i want to thank the to for the work (clapping.) and for its work in meeting and global listed advocacy because of our vocabulary our first speaker will pass a law that is critical to the lawsuit. working with my preserve dennis herrera and spear hesitate did local law in retail of e cigarettes thank you for being a vocal champion (clapping.) thank you, city attorney good morning, everyone you first of all, we know how along the fight has been. tobacco big tobacco

that's been in the city and nationwide go back to in 1998 we had all the first first commissioners to take resources from tobacco and equate young people not to use tobacco and then come to find in 2018 that true lab is here in san francisco targeting our children and making sure that they can doing everything we can to addict them to a lifetime of tobacco use we gathered together and figure out hard and goat egging e on the other hand, cigarettes band from san francisco and across the state and across the country and eventually internationally and everyone who understands their directly targeting our young people seen the data and demonstrates that at the focused

on making sure the youngest children in our city will become and i indicted and now we have every responsible company doing the same thing and articulating our residents and articulating our young 0 people by trying to skirt our laws and by products online three come directly into san francisco we're not going to take down for people skirting around our laws and thank you, city attorney chu for bringing this lawsuit and want to thank all of my colleagues, all my sports here with us today for fire hydrant because this lawsuit is important. because we need to make sure that not only do those big companies not 25eshg9 our residents here but didn't happen anything in the nation and for too long that people are being using online

platforms to skirt laws and target residents and in different cities we're going to make sure they don't get away with that here in san francisco. we have it continue to protect people we understand the harms of the cigarettes and what is necessary do to the target young people and lead them to a lifetime of tobacco so just like we passed a law in 2019 and fought against big tobacco to make sure they don't over turn laws we're going to do did same thing with the tobacco companies and thank you, for coming up in support of this law and fight and let big companies and corporation know we'll not tlofrnt targeting our young people thank you, (clapping.) thank you, supervisor walton to your leadership we had a number

of policymakers part of fight. >> thank you leah accordingly our extraordinary banning tobacco products and someone next in the city attorney's office like to invite up matt dorsey chp you thank you, city attorney chu. and, you know. more than 25 years ago there was a former city attorney that filed had becomes a groundbreaking lawsuit against big tobacco and hold them accountable and in starting that created a altercation it's city attorney's office of leadership analyzed against big tobacco and the chambers has harms is causing something that dennis herrera continued i'm proud and grateful it is something the

city attorney david chiu it the national leader against big tobacco honored to be here as someone working with the district attorney's office city attorney's office for years and occurred to me a furious i had the opportunity to stand with another important leader my clearance shamming anyone walton and the labs was proposed to spend this city got ground and spending millions and shadow shoulder to shoulder with some a ragtag bunk 7 advocates we didn't know governor 0 bloomington burger about coming come up but i'm proud of shamming anyone it stands in history as is biggest 2023 as lost for big tobacco several thousands of dollars we spent

per vote a losing effort sends a powerful message how much san francisco protects kids and others from the harms of tobacco thank you, very much to be port of that and hand side. >> shoulder to shoulder with folks for years to come. thank you. >> thank you. matt dorsey and would not be successful without the leadership the san francisco medical associate and past president the leader in our stay and country (clapping.) >> thank you doctors. >> is always the national heart association and cancer society. >> (calling names.) >> and others and take a a moment to thank the department of health staffers with the endorsement of laws and the next

who represents the doctors leading this work please join me in welcoming the san francisco health officer. >> (clapping) good morning. my name is did susan philip the health officer for the city and county of san francisco and the direct the population health against or distinction at department of health i'm so happy to be here with the zoo david chiu and others and our wonderful leadership and all of you for decades the department of health has sought so reduce the access to public tobacco and provides services to help people to quit in recent years enforced the restriction of product sales in san francisco. this labor library mu-n thalamus and cheri are marketed to our communities

of color and including other vaping products this restriction is critical to protect the happy earth day of those in 20 percent of high school students and others eying e seconds are a high concentration of nick tone and can harm the developing brain. adversely effecting the attention and additional starts lifetime addiction before 18 continued to have serious illness of heart disease and flavored product is easily to start and harder to quit i applaud city attorney for protecting the health of san franciscans and for the continued advocacy of supervisor walton and dorsey with the

leadership. san francisco adults can go to sf quit.org and call at 62867678 request a director howard together we'll continue to help the community if tobacco smoking related issues. thank you. (clapping.) thank you, dr. philip and colleagues for your tremendous work and our efforts will the no be successful without the grassroots for young people the first nonprofit board i joined in any 20s which for decades to train young people to lead comments and stand up for generations i met the next speaker was one of the young

applicants come on up. >> (clapping) good morning, everybody. um, you know. the youth leaders institutes along with the city of san francisco buildings in the voice tobacco is an issue and a justice issue we've come a long way reducing the access it critical for targeted from the to destroys and culture vat another generation of young people the to destroy masks the hash environment and um, young adults to think they vap and sentencing them to a lifetime of

vaping and this may sound harmless but have done traded ingredients and dangers to our community and public health. an interesting fact vap are three times more likely to somebody cigarettes within a year and the lierpdz like the folks support of efforts of david chiu and those on stage to reducing accessed to the abstract retailers and again, it will not stop we can't either thank you, (clapping.) thank you. so our last speaker is the more important here because of impact of the actions everyone or of omicron tobacco retailers and the next generation is the leader.

>> (clapping) good morning you my name is (unintelligible). >> i'm 23-year-old i was born and raised in the bay area i will be congratulating into college and have been in the er merging community leader with over a year. i help lead the community action model program where people are working to address the negative feedback and the policy alternatives that protect the community health i'd like to not referring to the ceremonial use the problem is that tobacco that the tobacco destroy prioritizing the young people tobacco retail marketing

strategy specifically charges the next door communities more than any other. and current as of policy young people are still using commercial tobacco products when i was 5 i opposed my first book history one of my interests i was 7 when the ceremonial tobacco was introduced i had to navigate negative associations that came from culture bias and presentations. i was 11 many i saw the impact of commercial tobacco products. that commercial products had on my peers and had consequences. and at 13 my turn to learn about tobacco. how significant to indigenous communities and the simple truth it is introduced

and promoted and became a wide commodity. i have seen this circle happen to my young people. the young leaders in and the program have believed in a commercial free tobacco generations and commercial tobacco anyone born after january 1st, 2005, would suggested policy implementation within the next 5 years or by january 1st, 2026, with our support with we can unite and have solutions for people now and a positive change for future generations. thank you. (clapping.) thank you. i have a couple of closing comments one thanks to the incredible legal

professionals from our city attorney's office had folks from three teams in the office our teams are investigation team and the healthcare team and specifically shout out to julie iceberg and julie. >> (calling names.) >> carol constituting for your great work thank you, guys. >> at the beginning of the session we have some of the products available here in the media wants to take photos of them and i will reiterate products not only not welcome in san francisco, they are legal to sell or distribute the last thing to say thanks to everyone who is standing with us and the folks have been working on the issues in to throughout the years together we will hopefully have some day soon a tobacco free generation. with that,

thank you for being here. and folks are available for questions and interviews if you like. thank you very much.aced in san francisco. >> happy 30th anniversary sfgovtv. you are all are fantastic you put oat great stuff we love working with you congratulations thank you, happy 30th anniversary sfgovtv in any more than 20 years of the public life as city attorney and as head of puc my honor and privilege to have you as a partner in all the work we've done the san francisco police department congratulates sfgovtv for thirty years of original

>> you are watching san francisco rising. a special guest today.

>> i am chris and you are watching san francisco rising. focused on rebuilding and reimagining our city. our guest is the director of financial justice in the san francisco office of treasure to talk about how the city has taken a national lead in this effort and how the program is comlishing the goals. welcome to the show. >> thanks so much for having me. >> thank you for being here. can we start by talking about the financial justice project in a broad sense. when did the initiative start and what is the intent? >> sure. it launched in 2016. since then we take a hard look at fines, fees, tickets, financial penalties hitting people with low incomes and especially people of color really hard. it is our job to assess and reform these fines and fees.

>> do you have any comments for people financially stressed? >> yes. the financial justice project was started in response pop community outcry about the heavy toll of fines and fees. when people struggling face an unexpected penalty beyond ability to pay they face a bigger punishment than originally intended. a spiral of consequences set in. a small problem grows bigger. for example the traffic ticket this is california are hundreds of dollars, most expensive in the nation. a few years back we heard tens of thousands in san francisco had driver's licenses suspended not for dangerous driving but because they couldn't afford to pay traffic tickets or miss traffic court date. if they lose the license they have a hard time keeping their job and lose it. that is confirmed by research.

we make it much harder for people to pay or meet financial obligations. it is way too extreme of penalty for the crime of not being able to pay. we were also hearing about thousands of people who were getting cars towed. they couldn't pay $500 to get them back and were losing their cars. at the time we hand people a bill when they got out of jail to pay thousands in fees we charged up to $35 per day to rent electronic ankle monitor, $1,800 upfront to pay for three years of monthly $50 probation fees. people getting out of jail can't pay these. they need to get back on their feet. we weren't collecting much on them. it wasn't clear what we were accomplishing other than a world of pain on people. we were charging mothers and

grandmothers hundreds of dollars in phone call fee to accept calls from the san francisco jail. we heard from black and brown women struggling to make terrible choices do. i pay rent or accept this call from my incarcerated son. the list goes on and on. so much of this looked like lose-lose for government and people. these penalties were high pain, hitting people hard, low gain. not bringing in much revenue. there had to be a better way. >> it is important not to punish people financially there. are issues to address. >> sure. there are three core principles that drive our work. first, we believe we should be able to hold people accountable without putting them in financial distress. second you should not pay a

bigger penalty because your wallet is thinner. $300 hits doctors and daycare workers differently. they can get in a tailspin, they lose the license. we dig them in a hole they can't get out of. these need to be proportioned to people's incomes. third. we should not balance the budget on the backs of the poorest people in the city. >> financial justice project was launched in 2016. can you talk about the accomplishments? >> sure sometimes it is to base a fine on the ability to pay. consequences proportional to the offense and the person. other times if the fee's job is to recoupe costs primarily on low-income people. we recommend elimination.

other times we recommend a different accountability that does not require a money payment. here are a few examples. we have implemented many sliding scale discounts for low-income people who get towed or have parking tickets they cannot afford. you pay a penalty according to income. people with low incomes pay less. we also became the first city in the nation to stop suspending people's licenses when they could not pay traffic tickets. we focused on ways to make it easier for people to pay through payment plans, sliding discounts and eliminating add on fees to jack up prices of tickets. this reform is the law of the land in california. it has spread to 23 other states. we also stopped handing people a bill when they get out of jail and eliminated fees charged to people in criminal justice

system. they have been punished in a lot of ways. gone to jail, under supervision, the collection rate on the fees was so low we weren't bringing in much revenue. the probation fee collection rate was 9%. this reform has become law from california and is spreading to other states. we made all calls from jail free. the more incarcerated people are in touch with families the better they do when they get out. it was penny wise and pound foolish. now phone calls are free. incarcerated people spend 80% more time in touch where families. that means they will do better when they get out. we eliminated fines for overdue library books. research shows were locking low income and people of color out

of libraries. there are better ways to get people to return books, e-mail reminders or automatically renew if there is no one in line for it. this has spread to other cities that eliminated overdue library fines. these hold people accountable but not in financial distress can work better for government. local government can spend more to collect the fees than they bring in. when you proportion the fine with income they pay more readily. this impact can go down and revenues can go up. >> i know there is an initial group that joined the project. they had a boot camp to introduce the program to large audience. is this gaining traction across the country? >> yes 10 cities were selected to launch the fines for fee

justice. they adopted various reforms like we did in san francisco. as you mentioned we just hosted a boot camp in phoenix, arizona. teams of judges and mayors came from 50 cities to learn how to implement reforms like we have in san francisco. there is a growing realization the penalties are blunt instruments with all kinds of unintended consequences. it is the job of every public servant to find a better way. governance should equalize opportunity not drive inequality. >> quite right. thank you so much. i really appreciate you coming on the show. thank you for your time today. >> thank you, chris. >> that is it for this episode. we will be back shortly. you are watching san francisco rising. thanks for watching.

>> okay, good morning, every one. this meeting will come to order. welcome to the december 11, 2023, regular meeting of the land use transportation committee of the board of supervisors. i'm imelda melgar. and jason is our staff person for sf tv.