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 i am introducing legislation to repeal a number of provisions in a police code that are outdated. we pass a lot of legislation, but sometimes you have to look at the code and see what needs to be repealed.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 it is an outdated provision.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 is simply asking businesses to pay their fair share. it is an approach that essentially calls upon the wealthiest businesses in san francisco to play at a higher rate. it supports the very concept of economic development. when it comes to job creation, it is our small businesses that create the jobs. i was proud to co-sponsor the initiative to support small businesses. it is for that reason that i

support this measure by supervisor avalos. small businesses are the backbone of our economy. i support the measure to exempt from the gross receipts, small businesses with gross receipts under $1 million. i think it makes sense to have that approach. the amount of money we try to obtain from the larger businesses was larger than the $40 million being proposed. the $40 million, as supervisor avalos indicated, would be generated from some of the largest corporations in san francisco, those making more than $25 million a year. it is only fair those corporations pay more than what they are paying.

we have a structural deficit that needs to be addressed. it is at these times that we try to make sure it is not just about cutting, but that we also inject revenue into our system. we have cut and cut. it is about time that we require an additional investment from our large corporations. i look forward to the conversations that we are going to have in the next few weeks. it is my hope that we can have a single measure that we can all agree on. i think it is appropriate for us to go to the voters and properly ask that larger corporations pay their fair share in san francisco. supervisor olague: our office

has been working with supervise avalos and the progressive revenue coalition for some months. before even being here, when i worked in nonprofits, i was part of those conversations. i believe this measure is the best way to support not only my district, but small businesses in san francisco. district 5 has the fillmore jazz district, the visit darrow, and inner sunset. this would replace the payroll tax. it does not penalize local businesses are hiring neighborhood residents. it exempts small businesses under $1 million to but to stimulate job growth in the tech industry and smaller neighborhoods. it would exempt operators of rent-control buildings to encourage owners to reinvest savings back into their assets. i, along with many of my

colleagues, am proud of how far we have gotten with this legislation. i want to continue working with the mayor and the business community, and other interested parties, to find a way to reach compromise legislation. i support a business tax measure that would generate revenue. but it cannot succeed without a broad coalition of support. i am committed to supporting this approach. i want to unite people read it and pulling people apart. i believe we will be equally as successful in coming up with a middle ground on this. parties feel they have been dealt with -- doe with fairly. i look forward to bringing forth

one measure to the ballot. also, i am proud to co-sponsor the transbay plan with supervisor kim. i think it is a very exciting plan that will help provide jobs and affordable housing. i look forward to those conversations. i think it is a positive move for some francisco. i am somewhat disappointed about the tense legislation. a lot of folks who are longtime tenants have faced eviction because of this. i will be a part of those discussions as well. >> that concludes roll call for introductions. president chiu: let us go to general public comment. >> the public may, and for up to two minutes on items within the jurisdiction of the board. please note that public comment is not allowed on items which

have already been subject to public comment by a board committee. speakers using translation assistance will be allowed twice the time. please remove a document when the screen should return to live coverage of the meeting. >> stop the corporate rate of our public library. -- rape of the public library. accountability and democracy go together. then there is private influence peddling. we have reached the point where open government and ethical standards can no longer touch private money. they violated the right to make public comment, and the violation was willful. the ethics commission made a finding of official misconduct and recommended that she be removed from the library

commission. this recording was posted on the library website after the commission was found guilty of official misconduct. but this was before she swore out of fraudulent police report against public comment. ask yourself why it is that elected officials are removed from their positions before being tried on official misconduct charges, but other people are retained after being found guilty. the answer is, as a wise man once said, just follow the money. if you are ripping off the city of enough money, official misconduct is a virtue, not a

crime. the public-private partnership is not just immune from accounting for the money. they are immune from the ethics, justice, and democratic values. if people no longer accept the result when their faith in the institutions is broken, the lie cost more than the money. thank you. >> i am peter warfield, executive director of library users association. we have been working for months to save a worthy and wonderful city asset, the bernal heights branch library mural, featuring a range of working women and musicians. scaffolding went up to prepare for a paint out that was

supposed to start yesterday. luckily, we have found and alerted the city to a