grandnephews, and other relatives who are too many to mention. the peril was held at the congregation of emanu-el this past thursday, june 7. those who are interested in making a donation under her name can do so to the san francisco food bank, the jewish response to hunker, pancreatic cancer action network, and congregation emanu-el. i ask that we adjourn the meeting in her honor and send our condolences to her family. and i would ask to be re-ref erred at the end of the

introductions. supervisor avalos: today, i am introducing a measure for the november ballot. its working title will be "the small business relief and economic recovery initiative." it is an effort to transition from a business tax based on payroll to a business tax based on gross receipts. the measure is geared toward protecting small businesses and encouraging economic growth, job growth. also, to generate revenue while inspiring economic recovery, and to make sure our largest corporations pay their fair share. i am proud to have cause sponsorship of my colleagues. all of them represent districts that have struggling neighborhood commercial corridors. this measure will help to provide a boon for our

commercial corridors, especially by exempting a lot of the smaller businesses that have a gross receipts tax, and expenditures of $1 million and less, which is what a lot of our small corder businesses is -- our small corridor business has. i wrote a piece around how to build a coalition to support that effort. what i did not have as part of the coalition was the business community. i have grown years later to where we have been making sure we have their input and suggestions about how to craft this measure. of course, this measure could not be done without the great work of the controller's office,

and the outreach to and from different parts of the business community. ben rosen field as well. -- ben rosenfield as well. supervisor chiu and the mayor have talked about sponsoring a measure that is very similar. i think it would be best if we have forward to the ballot. it should be revenue generating. it will generate upwards of $40 million. a lot of that is pasted on the business registration fee, which is skilled up by the business's revenue. that makes sure the business tax is fair, so the smaller businesses are paying much less.

some of our unions, like the american federation of teachers, and jobs with justice organization members and, and coleman advocates -- we are looking at how we can have a tax system that is fair and looks at how we can recover our local economy, as we are seeing the tax cuts done at the state and federal level begin to limit the services we get funded from those levels. we need to make sure we have transit and the road work that needs to get done in the city, to make sure we have a city that works for everyone. as we are needing more resources and getting less money from the federal government, we need to shore up our resources from the very entities that are perhaps

getting taxed at those other levels. our economy has been struggling and small businesses have been struggling. we have seen fees increase over and over again on small businesses, getting nickeled and dined by our budget. this is a weekend build flexibility into our budget, to make sure we can have continued support for small businesses over all. we see a demand on city services to help fuel the economy increasing. as we are seeing greater work force development in our downtown area, we need to make sure muni is also going to be funded at an adequate level to meet that demand. it is a widening problem in the city. it is sidewalks and pedestrian safety. it is public safety efforts that need to get greater funding.

i am proud of the work our city has done, putting together this measure. i am relief of -- looking forward to a process that is transparent, that has a lot of give and take. i would like to see that we have a measure that goes forward that the city can sign off on, from the mayor's office to the board of supervisors, that is going to build the flexibility in our budget that can support all san franciscans. the rest i will submit. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. colleagues, i also wanted to thank supervisor avalos for introducing his small business relief ballot measure. i am proud to be a co-sponsor. i look forward to working with the mayor and president and chiu

in hopefully making sure we have one measure that goes to the ballot. it has been an eight year process to look at how to reform our tax system to make sure we maximize revenue for our community services and for the critical safety net in our communities. i think this measure that will generate $40 million is critical to the future of san francisco. during the discussion on supervisor farrell and campos's tax exemption measure, we talked about small businesses. the folks who have put this together have focused on the fact that our small businesses are the heart of our local economies. this measure will exempt small businesses of less than $1 million. the small businesses will pay

roughly $50 registration fee. also, i am submitting something that will help equip and line 71 tennis courts in our city that are 10 and under, to improve physical activity for our youth, who we need to be away from their tv's, playing tennis and other activities, like i did when i was that age. also submitting a reauthorization of our san francisco food security task force. food insecurity and hunger is growing in our neighbors -- neighborhoods. this task force has analyzed the barriers to food access among the lowest incomes.

the last item i have is the introduction of a resolution that improves our city and county public safety realignment and implementation plan. because of the great work of the california county advocates, including the aclu, we will have a better realignment for funds. $7 million will come into many of our criminal justice programs. i am looking forward to working with many of the law enforcement agencies. we are also holding a hearing under leadership in the public safety committee to discuss our

process as well. president chiu: i also want to talk about a topic that supervisor avalos have been working on for many years, the topic of business tax reform. this is a discussion that the business community has had significant issues with for many years. we are the only city in california to tax the cost of labor. only 10% of all businesses are subject to our city payroll tax, and they unfairly shoulder that burden. i proposed a more progressive payroll tax. six months ago, mayor lee and i asked our city economist to

research an alternative. i very much want to thank our staff for the tremendous work they have done, which is the basis of the proposal i am introducing today along with the mayor. i know supervisor avalos is also proposing to base on the gross receipts. this is a tax used in three dozen cities. it is structured in a progressive way, unlike a flat payroll tax. it scales up with gross receipts. i think it is a fair way to ask the business community to help us with city services. we are proposing six different services. i want to see business tax reform. i want to thank the business community. so many individuals and

companies have taken part. we are closer than ever to business tax reform. i appreciate the proposal mayor lee and i are putting forth, which would create $13 million in revenue. but i think both of the proposals on the table are based on the same gross receipts proposal, related to the business fee. i appreciate the fact that we still have ongoing structural budget deficits. if you look at our last financial forecast, i plan to work with both sides to push a measure to consensus on -- and am open to changes on how we get there. i think we are better at working together in these conversations to get results. i look forward to working with you and the mayor. the rest of my items, i will

submit. >> i am introducing legislation to repeal a number of provisions in a police code that are outdated. we pass a lot of legislation, but sometimes you have to look at the code and see what needs to be repealed. a lot of people might not know that under our police code it is illegal, when you are running into get a cup of coffee, to tie your dog to a street light or street tree. it is illegal to provide moving services to a tenant without formally notifying the landlord. it is illegal to sell food or drink in another food or drink establishment even if you have the permission of the owner, which is something that happens a lot in bars and san francisco. it is an outdated provision.

there is an antiquated secondhand sale permit and the requirement. there are used bookstores that have to register and pay a hefty fee with a provision that does not accomplish anything, other than requiring small businesses to pay a $1,500 fee. this would repeal those provisions and a few others. -- supervisor wiener: supervisor kim: i am introducing three code amendments. this plan is the result of over 10 years of planning and is crucial to the transit center project. i sit as the chair of the board of directors. this plan is in district 6.

it developed a smart-growth neighborhood for increased office space development. there are the highest mandates seen in any district or area plan, and a consolidated public transit center. the plans that center district plan seeks to focus additional growth, where it makes sense to do so, close to public transit. it aims to create an environment with new streets and streetscapes, public open space, and ground floor commercial and retail spaces. the new transit station, which i believe many people have spoken about, and needs to include golden gate transit, greyhound,

trams, amtrak shuttle buses, paratransit, and a people connection to the embarcadero bart. in the future, we also hope it will accommodate amtrak rail and the high speed rail system. the station will have art and cultural activities. there will also be a 5.4 acre park, with walking paths and several gardens. the transbay project also includes a redevelopment plan, provided for the construction of housing units, 35% of which must be below market. local agencies must adopt transportation policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reducing commuting times and keeping people closer

to public transit. this product is projected to create 125,000 jobs. funding for the transit center is vital to the transbay project. the city did convene a working group to ensure the entirety of the transbay project was completed as soon as possible. it would permit taller buildings than would otherwise be allowed in exchange for financial contributions, in the form of development impact fees and a special tax. the plan would allocate $45 million in development impact fees and $340 million in tax

revenues for the downtown rail station. because the cost is in excess of $2 billion, the funding is crucial. it also allocates funding for impact fees and taxes in amounts sufficient to build the infrastructure required, including a rooftop part in streetscape implements to make transbay a complete neighborhood. i look forward to discussions with my colleagues over the next month and a half. i want to thank the former planning redevelopment agency and mares office of housing. speaking of gross receipts, i am cosponsoring the gross receipts tax ordinance that supervisor of loews has brought forward today. we are the only city in the state of california that operates with this antiquated

payroll tax model, which i think everyone agrees is a model we need to move away from, and is one that discourages job creation, at spurring a lot of the tax exclusion we have seen over the last few years. a broad coalition of business leaders have been fine-tuning since 2008. i know that president chiu, supervisor avalos, and many of my other colleagues are deep in that discussion. we are talking about the same gross receipts package. i think the difference is how much we expect to generate from the business license fees. i applaud the mayor for his commitment to our most impacted communities, beginning with the zero proposed cuts to health and human services, and appreciate his desire for transparency.

the goal is to develop sound policy to generate revenue, so we can continue to address the needs of the city, which is growing annually. we have seen the gain of 25,000 residents in the city. i am hopeful that we will reach a compromise where we bring forward to the voters one package that can be supported by a broad based coalition, including small businesses, our tax sector, labor, and other portions of our private sector. a question that comes up often, when we talk about how much we want to generate from this package -- why do we need this additional revenue? we have all seen painfully the declining state and federal revenues for what we consider to be public use in san francisco. whether it is realignment or decrease in funds to public school and public transit, the change from redevelopment, we are seeing a drastic cut in what

our city is getting. i think we are lucky to be here, where local officials have committed to cover these gaps in funds. at some point, we are not going to be able to do that. we were lucky to be able to pass the public in richmond fun, which generates up to $60 million for our public schools, important revenue for a school district which has been cut every year by sacramento. that has allowed us to have schools that are successful, despite funds that we get from the state. we have increased economic development in the city. unfortunately, it has not been equitable. we have seen job growth for certain communities, but unemployment continues to remain, unfortunately, the same

in some of our more working- class communities. we do not have a plan for how to replenish our depleted city coffers. last year, we asked labor to give back. not everyone was happy with it. some people wanted more. some people wanted less. labor did contribute. this year, we are asking the business sector to contribute as well. i really resent the word that this is a burden on our businesses. taxes are an investment in our city, in our schools. they are an investment in our streets, in our trees. many of the services we provide for seniors -- none of us want to see people go hungry or not get the job training they need,

our kids not getting the proper education they get. the paper that through the taxes you invest in our city. that benefits all of us. the mayor is interested in generating $13 million for an affordable housing trust fund. that is critical. in district 6, we are still not able to meet regional development goals. in our tax sector, we need to see continuing commitment from our private sector to keeping our city the world-class city we all talk about. supervisor of the los reminded me that this is an issue we had been talking about since 2004. for many years, when we were part of the people's organization, i think a key part of what we have been talking

about is how you raise revenue for a city to provide more equity, lowering the "burden "on our companies. i think it is important that we increase private-sector investment. the rest, i submit. supervisor farrell: colleagues, today i am introducing legislation along with supervisor wiener, which will provide relief to homeowners in san francisco. there are thousands of young families in san francisco. tic owners have been hit hard by the recent recession. i would argue they have been hit harder.

traditional interest rates have plummeted to all-time lows, but they are paying interest rates of 7% and higher, sending money to banks instead of keeping it for their families. i think the time to act is now. our government actions matter more than ever. those of us in city hall, here at the board of supervisors, and mayor li, have prioritized job creation. last year, we passed mid-market reforms. we signed the film rebate extension. we voted 10-1 to support our small business community. we have competing proposals to turn our payroll tax into the gross receipts tax. protecting home ownership has been a big deal. we had legislation introduced at the board. president obama is talking about it.

we are all doing our part to help vulnerable san francisco residents. tic owners are a significant part of our home ownership economy. we are talking about young families that want to plant roots in san francisco. we need to support them. they are currently paying almost double the interest rate of traditional mortgage holders in san francisco. is it right for the government? is it right for city hall to take action? for me, the answer is yes. the legislation will allow owners that were eligible for the lottery to pay a one time fee to bypass the lottery. it graduates down, depending on how many years any individual has been in the lottery. the pool of money, which is going to generate tens of millions of dollars, will go straight toward affordable housing. one of the most important

things, and why i think this has been a third rail for so many years -- it is anti-tenant legislation. what we are doing with the legislation -- if any of the use -- units are converted into condos, based on this legislation, we are creating lifetime leases. it is a very important piece of legislation for both myself and supervisor weiner. to me, this is a win-win-win situation. it protect tenants and creates tens of millions of dollars for affordable housing community in san francisco, which is a very big deal, and something we need to address right away. i look forward to ultimately have in your support. the rest, i submit. sueprvisor campos: i wanted to

go back to the issue of business tax reform. we have two proposals that have been introduced, one by supervisor avalos and the other by the mayor and president chiu. we have been talking about tax reform since i was elected to the board of supervisors. the first time that we were dealing with a huge budget deficit, there was talk about how we could not cut our way out of the budget deficit, and needed to take a revenue measure to the ballot. that was when mayor newsom was still here, three years ago. i am proud to be part of the small business relief recovery measure. i think the proposal is a

thoughtful and equitable approach to revitalizing our economy. i think the proposal that has been put forward is pretty modest. the $40 million the proposal includes is an amount that i think barely brings us to the level of what people were paying before our business tax measure , and the lawsuit that led to the creation of a payroll tax. i believe we need to create economic development, but economic development requires an investment. i think that what supervisor avalost has introduced