record afor the position. when people are able to obtain employment, they are less likely to rea fend and are more likely to connect with their families, to remain free of substance abuse and to contribute to the community -- they are less likely to re-offend. i would just add, historical perspective about probation and parole, the acknowledged father of probation is john augustus, who was a cobbler in boston. he was the first person to represent to the court that if they would release a person instead of sending them to jail and put them under his supervision, he would teach them how to make shoes. if you can teach somebody how to

do work and they can gain employment, they are far less likely to remain involved in the criminal-justice system. again, i believe this is a very good investment. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you very much. >> thank you so much for hearing this item today. i am with the reentry council and the reentry division of the adult probation department. i am here to speak to the ordinance. the reentry council has not had an opportunity yet to formally consider this item, so i do not have an opinion to share formally from them, but i did want to share that the reentry council has previously considered the issue and recommended to the board and the mayor that the city adopts local regulations to regulate the use and consideration of criminal backgrounds for applicants in housing and employment decisions. the human rights commission has

also urged the board to adopt such regulations to ensure that people with criminal histories are afforded a fair opportunity to compete in workforce and housing environments, and we look forward to working with you on that. i believe such regulations would complement and strengthen the financial incentives that are being proposed today, so that we could have a thoughtful balance of financial incentives for businesses to do the right thing and give people who have been recently released a second chance and also some regulations to require that they do the right thing by ensuring equal opportunity for people living with a criminal record -- be it 10, 20 years out when that information keeps popping up. i recommend that the committee consider prioritizing people who have been recently released and those currently under supervision for what will inevitably be a limited number of financial incentives. these are individuals who are most likely to re-offend, the

individuals most likely to commit harm to the community and the individuals most likely -- the individuals that are currently under supervision and would most likely result in costs to the city and jail systems. i believe we can work with our work force development partners to ensure we have a well- trained, ready to work population of individuals on probation or parole or post- supervision, who are ready to work and would like to partner with us to insure that this is implemented effectively. again i would say -- very supportive of this legislation and appreciate supervisor mirkarimi's leadership on this issue and would recommend that these be prioritized for people who had been released, perhaps within the last three years, or who are currently under probation or parole. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you.

appreciate it. >> director of the office of small business. the small business commission heard this matter in november and unanimously approved to recommend that the board of supervisors adopt this legislation. key factors -- the small business commission felt that the small business community has a role in helping this particular population. this tax credit is a meaningful amount of a tax credit for a business, and to provide incentives. also, the fact that this legislation does have a limited scope and there is a time frame for which there is to be a review and evaluation. our office is also -- supervisor mirkarimi said there are not many marketing dollars, but the commission and office, once this is passed and adopted, is happy

to work with the office of economic and workforce development to market and promote this tax credit to the small businesses within the city. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. commissioner dejesus. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i want to commend supervisor mirkarimi and this committee for bringing in this measure. i certainly would support it. i am year as an individual, but i have also been public defender for many years -- i am here as an individual, but i have been a public defender for many years. i support the measure because it is a way for the city to be proactive rather than reactive. one of the things the police department has done is to reduce crime in the last few years, and we would like that to continue. i think the measure is a win-win for the returning citizens and a way to get their feet on the

ground, to get them secure, to keep them from the offending. it is a win for the companies with the tax credit. if successful, hopefully, they will hire more ex-offenders. it certainly could be successful for the police in terms of services we have to provide on the front lines. as a public defender, i work with many offenders and continue a relationship with them after they are released from custody. one of the things i recall -- we had to work a furlough program, and many hundreds of individuals were in a program where they were able to maintain their jobs. program was self-sustaining and that was one way to help people with convictions maintain jobs, but that program no longer exists. this is a step in the right direction, putting our efforts in to help people get out, get jobs and help them now re- offend. i support it wholeheartedly.

supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. we have someone from hrc -- schuman rights. -- human rights. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am a policy analyst with the san francisco human rights commission. on behalf of the commission and executive director teresa sparks, i thank you for your time and consideration of this important matter. human rights commission has been examining the public safety, fiscal, and racial impact of businesses that conduct background checks and use those checks to screen out persons with arrest or conviction records. based on our meetings as well as our research, we have come up with a couple of bindings or themes. the use of criminal background checks varies from businesses to

businesses. some have check boxes on the application. some actually conduct background checks and screen out persons who do have conviction records. other businesses use other means including resumes and interviews with more traditional means. they use various companies which have different levels of accuracy in reporting. the san francisco businesses are interested in -- are interested in hiring persons with the arrest records and what an incentive to do so. persons with the arrest and conviction records continue to face discrimination and stigma associated with their criminal records. business owners we met with were honest about their own biases. the fifth finding i would add is that given the disproportionate number of african-american and latino individuals who have been arrested and convicted, the impact of business practices is

substantial in these communities. we continue to learn about what other states and cities in the country are doing and we hope the board of supervisors continues to examine and support legislation aimed at helping persons with arrest and conviction records. supervisor mirkarimi: i suggest we quickly go to the budget analyst and then return to public comment. supervisor chu: thank you. >> madam chair and members of the committee, on page four of our report, we point out that if a sanford cisco business hires an ex-offender full-time, the business payroll tax expense due to the city would be reduced by $10,125 -- if a san francisco business hires an ex-offender. that is per higher, one time -- that is per hire, one time.

similarly, if a san francisco business hires an ex-offender part-time, the business' payroll tax expense due to the city would be -- i should say payroll tax due to the city would be reduced by $5,062. again, per hire, one time. we point out on page 5 of our report that because the city does not have information on the number of san francisco businesses that would participate in the payroll tax exclusion for hiring ex- offenders, we cannot estimate the reduction of payroll tax due to the city and because the number of ex-offenders that would be hired by san francisco businesses in order to be eligible to receive the proposed payroll tax exclusion is not known and a potential reduced sheriff's department cost due to reincarnation of these ex- offenders is not known, we cannot estimate potential cost

savings to the city. we also point out that there would be some cost of economic and workforce development to propose -- promote the proposed payroll tax exclusion and that mr. cato of the treasury and tax collector's office estimates there would be a one-time expenditure of about $150,000 for additional costs to make necessary revisions for the existing payroll tax documents. finally, we, of course, consider approval of these -- we consider approval of the proposed ordinance to be a policy matter. supervisor chu: thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: returning to public comment, i do not have any yellow cards, so i will ask people to just line up in the aisle and come up one after the other. i encourage you to do just that. appreciate all those who have been waiting. >> good morning, or afternoon

now, supervisors. my name is larry nelson. i have been up here many times, most times with budget cuts. glad i am not here for that. i would just like to say that i am and ex-felon and that 31 years ago, walden house gave me a chance and hired me. i have not been re-arrested in 31 years. this is the evidence standing here. many people like myself have been working for walden house in haight-ashbury free clinics, and i deal with this population every day and i see the recidivism rate every day. people come back again and again with the same statement -- "i cannot get a job." we had a pretty robust reentered apartment -- reentry department that does to work with the

community, trying to convince employers and small businesses to hire our population. this would be one more big tool that we would have to present to prospective employers as an incentive to try to hire our population. that will be one of the main reasons, -- that will be one of the main reasons i would say this is a great idea. i cannot see any downside at all. >> good morning, members of the committee. i work for the american friends service committee as director of justice and am also a minister at the christian unitarian church in oakland, california. i support the legislation for many of the reasons that have already been stated. i am also a family member of a brother who spent 20 years on the inside. when he was released, the thing that was most challenging was finding a job. when he found a job, he was able to get housing and with that, he was able to take care of his

five children. what i personally and professionally see is that to have a job restores your faith in yourself, allows you to bring this debate in the community, restores your faith in your country and helps you model behavior for your children. we talk about young folks being in the pipeline from school to prison -- having a parent that models have to be a community citizen is big -- having a parent that models how to be a community citizen is big. thank you so much for your time and consideration. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker, please. >> like everybody else who has spoken today, i support the legislation, too. this is the only time i will come before the board of supervisors supporting a tax exclusion measure, having stood in line and heard stories about help for the city is -- about how poor the city is.

i generally do not support him, but i think this one makes a big difference. irrational in your ordinance is so clear on the numbers and effects of not having it that i think we need -- i just want to mention a couple of other items -- the homeland security people are now finding felons all over the country and when someone comes in and you look them up, there it is. they are easily attainable today, and that means there are more of them having trouble finding jobs. also, have housing in the tenderloin for people just coming out of jail. they cannot find jobs. but not everybody returns to crime. a lot of people return to an underworld economy and begin asking friends -- they want to be paid under the table. the only way they can live is

get a job and be paid under the table, so they are joining undocumented immigrants, often, in being paid under the table. i would like to say we also found that some of them were taking care of their parents in the in-home supportive services program, too, because it is so hard finding a job. i hope this will help. he was on the civil service commission and first challenged the city of san francisco on its policy toward hiring felons. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am executive director on the center for juvenile justice. i just want to voice my strong support for this. i do not know if i have much to add to what has been said

already, but i want to put a little into context. california, for the last 30 years, has engaged in what would be described as disastrous policies when it comes to criminal justice. in 1976, with passage of the determinate sentencing law, we had 20,000 people in prison. the determinant act of 1976 eliminated rehabilitation as a goal of sentencing in california. we went from 20,000 people to 170,000 people. these are people coming out of the criminal justice system back into our streets where they have been given no training, no preparation, no rehabilitation. they hit the streets and what do they do? the most important piece of insuring someone's reintegration back into society is the ability

to find employment. if they cannot find informant, then we are permanently marginalizing a segment of our population, which is what our policies have done over the last 25 years. we are permanently marginalizing a segment of our population. this is a step in the right direction. it is wonderful that san francisco is stepping out front to show leadership on this issue, not just to the state of california but to the rest of the nation. i applaud the board of supervisors. supervisor mirkarimi -- this is one of the last times i will call you supervisor. congratulations. please pass this. this is one step. there is a lot more to do, but we hope the reforms that have been put in place over the last six months will move us in the right direction. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is lynn jefferson, and i

am representing the committee for kate horan, who was brutally murdered on october 29, 2010. gary scott hollins is a poster child for why our committee is against this legislation. i would like to ask how you would define and -- an ex-felon. there are many people who are part rolled into the city from out of the area -- who are poor role -- who are paroled. gary scott holland was paroled in april. he was released in august and murdered kate horan in october. he was employed and that is the reason he stayed in the city.

normally, we understand from the investigation we have done in the past year, the -- that obviously, we would like to see people who do get jobs, which this man did, but how will we ever defined -- this man was a violent offender. he pleaded guilty on november 8 to first-degree murder. he will be sentenced on december 12, and he will go away for 50 years with no parole. the legislation is written in such a way that it says "ex- offender" -- whatever it is called. "ex-felon." what about sexual predators? how do they figure into this legislation? obviously, this thing is going to go through today, but is there any way you would consider taking a look at what we are talking about? thank you very much.

supervisor mirkarimi: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is brian boyle, and i am the director of employer engagement for goodwill industries in san francisco -- my name is ryan boyle. goodwill is deeply committed to being -- to the transformative power of work, and we have a very robust workforce development program. we are partnered with the department of adult probation as well as the d.a.'s office and a variety of reentry programs. we focus on job readiness, transitional employment, and with the external community. in my role in employer engagement, we are working directly with employers to create employment opportunities for our entire population. we think that this incentive will be tremendously helpful in

this gaining further in form opportunities for our program graduates. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker please. >> good afternoon. my name is linda evans. i work with legal services for prisons with children and all of us or none, which is a civil rights organization of formerly incarcerated people. we support this legislation. supervisor mirkarimi, thank you for introducing it and congratulations on your election as our next sheriff. there are a couple of points i wanted to address from previous speakers. one, the question of excluding others from similar protections or similar tax benefits. i think it is important for us to understand that one in four people in california actually do have conviction histories. as a consequence, any tax break that is extended to one of those people who had a conviction

history will, in fact, be part of actually increasing employment for our whole population. one in four is a significant percentage of our population in the city and state. it is crucial that we recognize that this tax break -- if we target people who are recently released with this tax break, which we support, it is also very important to expend some protections against discrimination to those of us that have convictions that are many decades old. i was in prison for 16 years. i do have passed felonies, and i know that it is extremely difficult to get work, no matter how old those felonies are. also, legislation that will be coming before the board of supervisors next year will protect some of the people

against discrimination who do have these older records. we support this legislation. we hope that it will be enacted by the board of supervisors. just one note on language -- i think it is really important for us, including the budget office, to look at the language they use regarding people who have criminal histories. we are not ex-anything. we should not be categorized based on mistakes in the past but rather on our humanity. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i work with sanders and anders foundation -- anders and anders foundation. our mission is to break the cycle of recidivism through job opportunities, which come through ged training and skills training. many of our clients face barriers because they do not have ged's.

there are four construction trades that allow people without g e -- g e d -- ged's. the rest, you need to have them. i wonder also it this extends to the construction trade. we have many successes that prove how imperative it is to have a job, but also, i would like to address housing support. having a roof over your head helps you go to work every day. without that, you will not be very successful in the workplace. i highly support this legislation. it will help our clients get the jobs that are so hard for this hard to serve a population that we see every day. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you.

next speaker, please. >> i want to congratulate you on this legislation as well as you're going to the sheriff's department. i know you will continue to do a good job there also. with this legislation, it is a step in the right direction as far as incentivizing employers to want to -- who want to deal with a tax incentive to put money in their pockets as well as enabling them to hire that harvester population. that is a population i work with, the men and women in and out of prison and the men and women in and out of drug rehab. a lot of them -- they consider this a barrier. the employers consider this a barrier because they do have

these particular titles. whatever kind of legislation or incentives we can come up with that will level the playing field is always a help in the right direction. i am glad to see so many people show up in support of it. the different agencies. the various public comment. someone such as myself working in the trenches in these various depressed neighborhoods -- we see this population every day. this is the population we work for. any kind of help and support to help this population deal with staying out and supporting themselves and their family is a step in the right direction. thank you again. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker please. >> good morning. or good afternoon, supervisors. i am a small business owner and a resident of san francisco.

i want to congratulate ross for being our new sheriff. basically, san francisco should take the lead in this very good idea that ross had and actually give other counties to follow the lead -- and actually get other counties to follow the lead. basically, this is a new idea that actually other counties should implement and keep our streets safer. >> good afternoon. i worked at city-wide case management for and six program. i am the program director for supportive employment. all of our clients are ex- offenders and have co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders. i was in the criminal justice background is the biggest obstacle for people in obtaining employment.

as people have spoken so eloquently, our individuals are the first people screened out of jobs when they are applying for positions. our employment specialists and java developers really have to use their creativity in terms of getting these individuals employed. we also use volunteering. we have clients at the department of rehabilitation, which has been successful. we are most affected at mom-and- pop places that have a commitment to social advocacy, and this tax break would be a huge tool to get many more people employed -- we are most effective at mom-and-pop places that had a commitment to social advocacy. >> good afternoon. my name is john clark. supervisor, good to see you again. glad you have become the new sheriff. it is an exciting time. glad to see the proactive stand we