that is something that happened in 1985, and in 1995. we passed a resolution at the board of supervisors commemorating that important act. at the time, and number of san franciscans other in front of the federal building and were allowed to camp out. they were protesting the inaction of the federal government around the aids crisis. what is happening here at the embarcadero is not new to san francisco, even in terms of magnitude and scope. but we are doing is meeting with them. the fact that the mayor himself is meeting with them is consistent with the traditions and francisco has of protecting the right to free speech and assembly. i think it is important for us

to keep in mind that there has been a precedent for how to handle something like this. president chiu: is there any further discussion? supervisor farrell: i will keep my comments relatively short, but want to thank everyone involved on the board for being involved in this. i know supervisor avalos has been in the lead on this. i agree with almost everything he said. about a right to free speech, we need to do everything we can to protect it as a board. the inequities are real and hit san francisco very hard. we must allow people to demonstrate peacefully. we are all astonished about what has happened in oakland. for me, it is almost to the point where we say we agree with allowing folks to camp out and spend the night there. i appreciate supervisor campos's

comments about president, but i think it is a slippery slope to go down. what groups are we going to allow in tents? that is the reason i will not be supporting this resolution. but i want to say to the other supervisors who have been playing an active role, thank you for doing that on behalf of the board and the city. to the occupy members, we have your support of the movement -- we support your movement, although not all of us support camping overnight. supervisor weiner: i will be supporting the resolution. i understand the concerns about permitting and camping. i know we have all struggled with that on one level or another. clearly, there are boundaries. but i think we have to have some degree of flexibility when

we look at what occupy sf is doing, why people are doing this. it is one of the most extraordinary talent as we have faced in our country in i don't know how long, in a very long time. we talk about the possible evisceration of the middle class and the incredible inequities, and the paralysis in washington and sacramento that is free in our social safety net and ability to invest in infrastructure and create jobs, harming small businesses. it is an outrageous and unacceptable situation in our country. sometimes, you have to push boundaries. we have a permanent system. we have rules. but there has to be flexibility as well.

president chiu: colleagues, is there additional discussion? seeing none, why don't we take a roll-call vote on this as amended. supervisor farrell: no. supervisor kim: aye. supervisor mar: aye. supervisor mirkarimi: aye. supervisor weiner: aye. supervisor avalos: aye. supervisor campos: aye. president chiu: aye. supervisor chu: no. supervisor cohen: aye. supervisor elsbernd: no. >> mr. president, we have eight ayes and three nos. president chiu: this resolution is adopted. [applause] >> thank you, thank you. president chiu: why don't we move to our next item, item 31? >> irresolution supporting regulated and safe patient

access to medical cannabis in the city and county of san francisco. president chiu: if i could ask folks to leave quietly, we would greatly appreciate that as we conduct our city business. supervisor campos: i would like to thank the co-sponsors of this resolution, supervisors mar, avalusos, president chiu, supervisors mirkarimi, kim, and weiner. we are asking the federal government to do what they said they would do and support local law giving patience access to medication they need. -- patients access to medication they need. research has demonstrated therapeutic benefits to the use of cannabis. many in california have

benefited from that. that is the reason in 1996 the voters in the state of california passed a law that allowed for the use of medical cannabis. here in san francisco, its use is very important to specific communities. i will speak for the lgbt community we have in san francisco, with a large number of hiv-positive individuals. many of those individuals are benefiting from medical cannabis. it is about human rights, a civil-rights issue. we are asking our federal government to respect state laws and the will of the voters, and to give access, properly regulated, to medication. on the issue of proper regulation, i am for proper regulation. we have rules that were instituted a number of years ago. supervisor mirkarimi played a

key role in making that happen. we have become a model for how to do this, how to regulate this industry, and that is the solution. this is about giving patients access to medication they need. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you for your leadership on this. we do get to recognize a certain distinction. our city was the first city in the united states that was able to provide for a complete land use, planning, and public health zoning guide to regulate medical cannabis the centuries. there are over 10 states in the united states that have borrowed from what we have implemented. we were the first to provide the comprehensive plan for regulating medical cannabis. it is astonishing that the obama administration is moving with

incredible for righteousness in shutting down dispensaries, or threatening dispensaries. i think the doj is making an incredible mistake. i think our city government should not shy away from the fact that the war on drugs in this country has been an abysmal failure. if it continues, especially given 16 states in the united states who have adopted prop. 215-type regulations, then what we are doing is retreating from a position that has been affirmed by the voters of california multiple times, and affirmed by the people of san francisco. i support this resolution, which is symbolic. it articulates our support for something that has been on the

books for approximately 16 years in the city and county of san francisco's. -- city and town of san francisco. i think this showdown could be avoided if they would reform the categorization of marijuana as a class one of violation, which has been a terrible mistake for a long time. president chiu: roll-call vote. supervisor farrell: no. supervisor kim: aye. supervisor mirkarimi: aye. supervisor mar: aye. supervisor weiner: aye. supervisor avalos: aye. supervisor campos: aye. president chiu: aye. supervisor chu: no. supervisor cohen: aye. supervisor elsbernd: no. >> mr. president, we have eight ayes, and three nos. president chiu: why don't we go

to roll call for introductions? supervisor farrell: submit. supervisor chu: i have submitted a number of items already. supervisor weiner: colleagues, today i am introducing legislation to strengthen and clarify our prevailing wage ordinance. we have the prevailing wage ordinance for city contracts to level the playing field among city contractors, and to have services provided by adequately compensated personnel. it goes to various services, including motor bus services, janitorial services, of street parking, hauling solid waste,

and moving services. earlier, there was a situation where we unanimously passed a resolution supporting the janitors. this legislation consolidates consistent standards for determining and enforcing prevailing wage requirements under certain types of city contracts. it provides an unemployment transition for workers, which are provided for some workers now, but not for all. it provides that all work on contracts are covered by the prevailing wage ordinance, performed by employees as opposed to independent contractors. i look forward to a discussion of this important piece of legislation. the rest, i submit. supervisor mirkarimi: submit. president chiu: i have a number of items.

i want to thank supervisor weiner for his work on prevailing wage a decision. i would like to add myself as a co-sponsor. there is a piece of legislation that i will be introducing. i want to thank supervisors can and wiener for your car sponsorship -- kim and weiner for your co-sponsorhip. we discussed this with the bar association. it will declare the first right to civil council city in the united states. this is a recognition by local government that we need to move toward a fairer and more just system. when president jimmy carter was the president of our country, he stated that 90% of the attorneys in the country served 10% of all americans. put another way, only 10% of attorneys serve the remaining

90%. that statistic has gotten worse over the decades. there are 4.3 million civil court users in our state that are self represented. for family law, 90% of child support cases were filed by individuals representing themselves. when it comes to eviction defense in san francisco, the lawsuits filed by the housing authority has increased by 400%. domestic violence cases, 90% of litigants are pro se. if you are charged with a minor criminal offense, you have a right to legal counsel, but if you are a parent in a custody case, a tenant in danger of eviction, or involved in domestic violence, you have no right to counsel. the bar association of san francisco calls for a judicial system that will provide representation in civil

proceedings that involved a child care, safety, or health. this legislation would not immediately establish a right to counsel, but would codify the beginning of a commitment to the school on behalf of our city. this is a combination of the pilot program that would be a partnership between the city, the court system, and the private legal community. the cost would be going on a pro bono basis by the private legal community. for decades, lawyers have debated whether we should move forward with a right to counsel system. i believe our city is at our best when we stand up for shared progressive values like universal health care, marriage equality, and i hope the right forcible council. this moves us forward on the pledge of allegiance, that we are a country with liberty and justice for all. i have another item i will be submitting. several months ago, i requested

our budget analyst to perform a review of changes to contract orders for large construction and professional service contracts. i think we have all heard overtime the phenomenon known as contract creek. when contractors come back to the city to ask for additional change orders -- i have never known until this report to what extent contract crete was occurring. but harvey rose found out is over the past five years we have had $300 million of additional increases to our contract beyond what we approved as a board. half of the contracts involved had change orders. the average increase was close to 10%. however, the average change order for contracts between $5,000,000.9999999 dollars was almost 20%. currently, only contracts above

-- between 500 -- between $5,000 and $10,000 was almost 20%. currently, only contract about half a million dollars -- currently, only contracts between $5 million and $10 million -- however, the average change order for contracts between $5 million and $10 million was almost 20%. currently, only contracts over $10 million have oversight by the board. we need to insure this information is provided to the public in a transparent way. over time, i see this proposal

as part of a vision for opel and -- open and accountable government. the rest, i will submit. supervisor campos: mr. clark, i have a couple of items. -- mr. clarke -- mr. clerk, i have a couple of items. the first is to consider the impact of changing rates to cover cost of service. this is an issue that needs to be addressed. it impacts the operations of the public utilities commission. we have a situation where the puc is subsidizing the rates of many general fund departments. at some point, that money will run out. it is important that we as a

city address that situation. i am asking this matter be referred to the budget and finance committee. lastly, i want to make a note. as we know, it was halloween yesterday. i think most of us throughout the city had a peaceful celebration and enjoyed ourselves. but the ability to do that is made possible by people who serve the city. we have a tragic accident in my district, where we have three police officers who were responding to very serious service call in the mission. those three officers were involved in a very serious car accident, where there was a loss of control of the car. for those who have seen the vehicle, i think, from what i understand, it is fair to say it is a miracle that all three officers survived. one of those officers had been released. another is at sf general under

observation. another officer is right now at the intensive care unit. as the supervisor for district 9, that includes the mission, where this incident happened. i want to think this opportunity -- take this opportunity to thank the officers. i have an opportunity to visit with the families. our thoughts and prayers go out to them. we are reminded of how fragile life can be. we want to thank the members of the san francisco police department for the service they provide to the city and county of san francisco. the rest, i submit. supervisor weiner: i forgot to mention something before. in the spirit of halloween, last night, halloween in the castro, which as you recall spiraled out of control, culminating in

several years of stabbings and shootings, a real nightmare for the neighborhood -- under the leadership of my predecessor, supervisor dufty, dramatic steps were taken that helped address that situation. halloween has slowly been coming back in an organic and neighborhood-oriented way. in the castro last night, it was a festive and costume-oriented environment. i want to thank the city workers who, for the last several years, have made this possible -- the men and women of the police department, sheriff's department, parking and traffic, public works, adult probation, juvenile probation -- it has been a team effort. it is impressive to me as we go through the meetings how knowledgeable and committed these folks are. i think of for their work in making last night a success. -- i thank them for their work

in making last night a success. president chiu: at this time, it is 3:30. i know we have a couple of 3:30 commendations. i acknowledge supervisor kim. supervisor kim: we have had a loss of several community members, the past couple of months. i want to request, and in memoriam for another today. today's board meeting wraps in the celebration of the life of kim quindan of the korean- american community. i attended his funeral services last week. as a testament, there were hundreds of people lined up for his wake, including the general counsel but represents cent -- represents of correa here in san

francisco. -- represents south korea here in san francisco. i want to honor a person who has made a lasting impact on the korean-american community in the bay area. the community is proud of its history, roots, and heritage. many came here fleeing the consequences of a very difficult civil war that raged on the peninsula. due to many of the unfortunate economic consequences of that war that lasted for decades. he was an advocate for families and preserving our heritage. mr. kim established the east bay caerleon school and is a past president of the -- korean school and is a past president of the community organization.

he led immigration celebrations. he has received a presidential recognition award from the 14th, 15th, and 16th presidents of the republic of korea. this is the highest award given to members of the caribbean -- korean diaspora internationally. he was highly respected in our community, serving the population from youth to seniors. he cared about elevating the profile of our community, educating and engaging korean americans on the rolls the card holder in our communities. he was quite active. one of the most admirable was when he became primary caregiver for his wife, who is currently battling pancreatic cancer. upon her diagnosis, he supported

and attended her health and well-being seven days a week, until recently. he is succeeded by his son, who serves at the mta as a human resources director, his daughter, his wife, and his three grandchildren. derek is a friend of mine and someone who carries a legacy with community outreach and advocacy. he is here on behalf of his father to receive the certificate, signed by all the members of the board of supervisors. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor kim,

and supervisors who are present here today. my dad, all the work he did was for the korean people, but he cherished his adopted home of the bay area. wherever he went, one of the things he strived to do was represent the bay area. he felt this was truly his home. i thank you for acknowledging his service to the community and the bay area overall. thank you very much. [applause] president chiu: thank you. our next commendation will be provided by supervisor avalos. supervisor avalos: we would like to call up ellen and island -- and alan marck.

over the past three years, ellen marx and her family have championed the need for people to know how to reduce exposures to microwave radiation from cell phones. she has turned the story of her husband, who underwent a massive surgery and cedar -- who underwent a massive surgery, into something which gives people the right to know. ellen works tirelessly to educate legislators about ways to protect brains and bodies from potentially harmful effects of radiation. just last month, she was in washington, d.c., where she

testified before congress and several state legislatures. she continued to do it advocacy work with the department of the environment, and was instrumental with the board of supervisors to promote public education, and insured that the cell phone right to know legislation was passed. she has been featured on many national television sites, including "the view," "larry king live," and "dr. oz." the board of supervisors applauds the founders of the brain tumor association for their courageous ability to turn personal tragedy into selfless advocacy. we recognize your tireless work through the environmental health trust to honor your leadership and advocacy efforts. the board of supervisors

conveys our highest appreciation. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, hit supervisors and the full board. this could not have happened without your dedication to this serious issue. on behalf of many victims worldwide, i want to thank you. your voices are being heard round the world, seeing this through. thank you for raising awareness to save the brains of our children and grandchildren. i am so proud of all of you. truly, this commendation belongs to you. thank you. [applause]

president chiu: at this time, that is the end of our 3:30 commendations. why don't we go to general public comment? >> this is an opportunity for the public to address the board for up to two minutes on items subject to the jurisdiction of the board, excluding items which are often considered by a board committee. speakers using translation assistance will be allowed twice the amount of time. if a member of the public wants to document a slide, please state when we should return to live coverage of the meeting. president chiu: i will reiterate that two of the rules of the board chamber are we do not express applause or opposition to