Supes table homeless commission, move rideshare surcharge to ballot

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors failed to move a charter amendment to the November ballot that would have established a Homelessness Oversight Commission.

Supervisor Matt Haney introduced the amendment that would have been comprised of a seven-member commission tasked with Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing oversight.

Mayor London Breed argued against the proposal, saying it would result in more bureaucracy and hinder The City’s ability to fight the growing homelessness problem.

Although the charter amendment did not make it to the November ballot, supervisors approved an amendment by board President Norman Yee to consider it again for the March 2020 ballot.

Haney said the oversight commission would be created similarly to how commissions have been established for other city departments.

The charter amendment would give the controller one appointment seat on the commission. The remaining six seats would be split evenly between the mayor and supervisors.

The measure heads back to the Rules Committee at a later date for March 2020 ballot consideration.

Voters will see a ballot measure in November that if passed will add a surcharge for rides through Transportation Network Companies like Uber and Lyft.

The tax is estimated to generate $35 million per year to be used transit and street safety improvements.

The City would impose a 3.25 percent surcharge on individual rides and a 1.5 percent surcharge on shared rides that begin in San Francisco.

In a statement, Supervisor Aaron Peskin, the proposal’s sponsor, said:

“We all know congestion in San Francisco is terrible and everyone needs to be a part of the solution, including the TNC companies, users and The City. This requires strategic investment from all of us to prioritize solutions that get people out of their cars, onto public transportation and safely walking and biking.”

Both Uber and Lyft have previously shown support for the measure, which would require two-thirds of the vote to pass.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.