will continue to do the good work we are doing. >> absolutely. thank you so much for being part of "culturewire." >> thank you for having me. >> for more information about the museum of the african the museum of the african diaspora, visit moadsf.org.

clerk: this is the meeting of the small business commission for monday, april 11, 2011. piss if you like to speak, we have a sheet. it is 5:30. the time is now 5:34 p.m., and it is being called to order. roll call. commissioner adams?

commissioner client? commissioner dooley? commissioner kasselman? commissioner o'conner? commissioner yee riley? item number two, the presentation of the small business commission is to begin of honor, recognizing in local small-business. >> is my honor to present -- it is my honor to present ms. petersen so the weekend recognize her with the small business recognition reward. as you know, they have been very active on the divisidero

corridor and assisting with the revitalization of that corridor. on this monday, april 11, 2011, the small business commission is proud to the knowledge the contribution of ms. peterson for the vitality of san francisco. mini bar demonstrates how my life and community can come together. the merchants association has become a strong representative of the neighborhood merchants and events, such as the art walk, and how they are helping the neighborhood thrives. her dedication is commendable, and she has felt give a strong foundation it, and it is sure to continue past her tenure as president. there is in collaboration with the office of work force development.

it is a key stakeholder in making that program the success it is today, and i would like to thank you for your work, and also, i would like to ask you to say a few words. >> ok. i can start by plugging the art walk. we started doing this in 2008 when mini bar started. we just did not want to be a cocktail bar. we wanted to promote local artists. it just kind of started with an idea that we have art, and there were other businesses that have are to, as well. why do we not all join together -- there are other businesses that have art, as well. we're going on in our third year, and over 30 businesses

participate, and business is booming. neighbors are excited. they're going into places they have never been before. it has definitely helped with the revitalization. we cannot take all of the credit, but it has definitely helped. there has been a positive impact. we look forward to keeping it going. but thank you very much. we really appreciate it. president o'brien: congratulations. [applause]

clerk: commissioners, you are now on item number three, the presentation of the small business commission certificates of honor, recognizing jerry sanguinetti, dan mckenna, john wong, and nick elsner, of the department of public works, for their work with t-mobile food permitting. >> as you know, the gentleman

join me in recognition have completed a project that was probably a couple of years in the making, trying to get a mobile from the program together -- a mobile food program. the gentleman behind me were able to develop the program, implemented program, and really, for the small on to conners who are now benefiting and making a living, i do not think we can thank them enough, so we recognize each of you. our commendation. also, i would just like to say that when the city be worse for small business, small business works for the city, and i just really want to thank you for that. on this monday, the small business commission is proud to make knowledge the contribution that jerry sanguinetti, dan mckenna, john wong, and nick

elsner, and their co-workers, that they have made. they have been willing to take on the structure, and they have since worked to make this program successful, and as easy to communicate to business as possible. things such as reasonable and administrative guidelines, getting stakeholders to have a fair and balanced hearing criteria, and the wisdom to hold expedite the permitting process on this day, they are helping to build this business program into a success. the commission commends the team, the bureau of streets management, for their team approach in working with the office of small business staff and look forward to a vibrant situation in the upcoming months and years, and for each of you,

i just want to thank you. >> i would just like to say thank you very much. it was a challenge. it took six months. those of you who may have worked with us, we all know a challenge. we took pleasure in getting this done. thank you again. president o'brien: we have a comment from a commissioner here. steve adams. vice president adams: i thought you guys did a great job with this. we have a truck now in the neighborhood, and i think it was a win-win situation on all sides. you did a good job and a quick

job on this, so i really appreciate a job well done. president o'brien: are all of the prime spots already gone? >> department of public works. they are all prime spots. [laughter] [applause] i am honored for the award. without the leadership of the bureau chief and the director, we would not have been able to do what we did. thank you. president o'brien: thank you. >> and i would just like to echo the statements that john said. we had a collaboration with other city agencies as well as the small business. it was phenomenal. we could not ask for better partnering. we also want to talk about supervisor dufty, who brought

this to us. he tasks us with promoting healthy food choices for a divorce palette -- a diverse palette, so, again, we are honored by the nomination, and we thank you.

[applause] clerk: commissioners, you are now on item number four, the

approval of the february 8, 2010, meeting minutes, the explanatory documents. president o'brien: ok, director, do you have a request to speak? ok. anybody got any comments to add? or can we approve the minutes? commissioner: i motion to approve the minutes. commissioner: i second. president o'brien: ok, the minutes are approved. clerk: commissioners, we are now one item five, general public comment, allowing members of the public to comment generally on matters within the commission's purview. president o'brien: any public

comment? seeing none, next item. clerk: item number six, a discussion and possible action to make recommendations to the board of supervisors on board of supervisors file number 110330, an ordinance amending the san francisco ministry of code section 6.22 public works construction contract terms and working conditions, by amending subsection 6.22e8, to further delineate due process procedures for administrative hearings on appeals by public works contractors and/or subcontractors. we have presentations by donna levitt, office of labor standards enforcement, and

monique zmuda, controller's office. >> i and the deputy comptroller. the comptroller's office, and we have been working with the city attorney as well as with the office of labor standards to recommend these amendments that are before you today. the point of the amendments is to facilitate the appeals process for both the department of labor standards as well as for the appellant. the procedures are also recommended to clarify the appeals process, and, hopefully, we will expedite the appeals process and also will encourage settlement and agreement of us sitting issues when there is opportunity to agree. and, therefore, i would just like to walk you very quickly

through some of the changes. there are not a lot of them, but we do hope they will expedite the appeals process. nearly all of the changes that you have in the legislation in front of you are located between pages 8 and 12 of the legislation, so the wording that is undermined or crossed out represents the amendment to the legislation, in starting on page 8, the certification pictures shall be made upon investigation. the word "audit" was there. once they do their investigation, they do audit the amounts that were paid to determine whether or not the contractor, the subcontractor, had paid the appropriate amount to their importing ease. it also includes the edification of the grounds that will be appended to the certificate of forfeiture, so, in other words, not just a copy of the

investigation but the grounds that the office found to be appended. on page nine, note -- page 9, there is a formal process. we have had procedures in writing for the last number of years, but this requires that we maintain those procedures and that the procedures be in writing and also requires copies to be provided to the office of labor standards and, obviously, to the appellant. the amendment also requires that the office of enforcement of for the appellant an opportunity to meet and confer with in the first 30 days of asking for an appeal, and so we are hoping that that will help expedite an agreement between the appellant and the department so there would not be any need to hire a

hearing officer to go through a very laborious, linthicum and sometimes expensive hearing process. -- linthicum and sometimes expensive hearing process -- lengthy. should there not be any agreement, and then the comptroller would have the responsibility to appoint a hearing officer. which we currently do. the amendment also gives us a little bit more latitude for appointing the hearing officer and allows the hearing officer to be either someone or an attorney with experience in construction law.

we pay the rent board for that work. and then, finally, it establishes guidelines for the hearing officer process come on and the hearing officer must conduct a fair and impartial hearing and establishes that it is the appellant's responsibility by proving with a preponderance of evidence that it is incorrect, so, again, this is the process they have used. however, it is no specified in the ordinance that is before you, and then, finally, it establishes a requirement that they have procedures for unclaimed funds. so once in awhile, when there is a forfeiture that has been imposed on a contractor, and the contractor no longer knows the whereabouts of the employees, and there is no way to provide,

then the comptroller would determine how these moneys would be deposited, so it does happen once in awhile, not often, but in the event that it does, we have procedures, so that summarizes the procedures. again, we are recommending this change to you and the board of supervisors to allow the department, and of the city to be able to meet and confer before an appeals process occurs and specified that an administrative law judge or an attorney can assist the appeals officer and then, it also assures that everything is in writing. this is to make sure that everyone adheres to a strict schedule, and we are hoping that that will allow us to go through the appeals process more expeditiously. and i will be happy to answer any questions.

donna levitt is here. president o'brien: any questions? i do, but i wanted to open the floor first. no? ok. the employee in question, what happens to that money today? >> one of the options that is available is that the office of labor standards enforcement can use those funds for its outreach activities to go to educate the various contractors and subcontractors about the labor enforcement rules and prevailing wages and so forth. perhaps ms. levitt can also address that. >> the changes, after searching

for any employees that are due money, if we cannot find them after two years, that money goes to the city for the enforcement of the prevailing wage, and this change changes it from two years to three years, consistent with state law. president o'brien: ok, thank you. no further questions? sorry. commissioner riley? commissioner yee riley: this streamlines the process and also gives the comptroller more flexibility. the administrative law judge and the attorney. but what was it before, before the change? who was the hearing officer? what was the requirement? >> it would depend on the type of case that it was, but an administrative law judge can

only be appointed if they had specific experience in the human-resources areas, so this gives us a low but more capability to appoint an administrative law judge if that law judge has construction experience, as well. commissioner yee riley: thank you. president o'brien: commissioner o'conner? commissioner o'conner: what about the money that theoretically has been soundproof -- ben soundproof -- been found? >> we have close to about $100,000. we have never reverted money to the general fund actually, but that is in 10 years or nine

years of enforcement. commissioner o'conner: so in nine years -- >> last time i did a run, it was like $25,000, so that was for a few years. commissioner o'conner: so you are saying that that money should be cycled back through the department? >> it already is. president o'brien: commissioner kasselman? commissioner kasselman: i just had a few questions. how many cases, and how long before it goes to a judge could >> our office probably has findings, i will say in a ballpark, 30 different contracts, public works contracts, with violations in a

fiscal year, and of that, maybe two or three go to hearings. and, you know, what we have found, sometimes the department is ready to close out a contract, and we have to rush the process and get our certification of forfeiture out in order to withhold contract funds, and in those situations, it is our practice to meet with contractors anyway and try to resolve any disputes, even before any certification of forfeiture. sometimes, when we have to rush the process and are not able to do that, a hearing officer gets appointed, and then we mediate the process, and what this

amendment will let us do is not have that hearing officer appointed right away and make sure that we have a chance to mediate a and save the city the cost of appointing a hearing officer only to then delay and say no, we need more time. president o'brien: you kind of at the tiller and answered the question i was going to ask. -- you kind of at the end answered the question. at first light, it seems that it is a way to resolve issues and try to clear backlogs that are there because the system as it stands right now, the procedure is too cumbersome. i presume that is the real impetus could >> yes, after a number of years.