Chapter 21 — ACQUISITION OF COMMODITIES AND SERVICES
SEC. 21.30. AGREEMENTS FOR SOFTWARE LICENSING, SUPPORT, ESCROW, FINANCE, EQUIPMENT…
San Francisco Administrative Code · 2025 edition · ingested 2026-07-08 · San Francisco
(a) The Board of Supervisors (“BOS”) hereby approves the execution of perpetual, nonexclusive software licensing agreements which warrant performance of the software according to specifications and which are for an amount of less than $10 million, including any associated escrow agreement for source code or finance agreement, without further BOS approval.
(b) Software licensing procurements are not subject to the contracting requirements of the Administrative, Labor and Employment, or Environment Codes, but shall be subject to the requirements established by subsection 21.03(j) and Chapter 67 of the Administrative Code. For the purpose of this
Section 21.30, software licensing procurements shall be deemed to include both the licensed software product, any escrow agreement for source code, finance agreements, and support services for such product where support for that product is available only from the licensor.
(c) Agreements for the development of software shall include acceptance testing of the software and/or performance criteria, and shall condition payments on successful completion of the acceptance test or satisfaction of the performance criteria specified in the contract.
(d) Where a vendor has proprietary rights to software or where maintenance of equipment by a particular vendor is required to preserve a warranty, software support and equipment maintenance agreements entered into with that vendor shall be treated as a sole source for the purposes of any contract requirements included in the Municipal Code.
(e) A Contracting Officer is authorized to make payment for software license fees and software support, equipment maintenance, associated escrow and finance fees, and content and data subscriptions, in advance of receiving services under a contract.
(f) Content and data subscription procurements and resulting contracts are not subject to provisions of the Municipal Code, including but not limited to the Administrative, Labor and Employment, Environment, or Police Codes imposing obligations or other restrictions on contractors, with the exception of the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code. Content and data subscription procurements are exempt from the solicitation requirements of Chapters 21 and 14B. For the purposes of this subsection (f), content and data subscription procurements shall include procurements where the City is seeking to purchase usage rights to review, download, or republish proprietary content, including but not limited to digital content, digital databases, digital media libraries, or print media. Content and data subscription procurements shall not include contracts where public funds are expended in violation of Administrative Code Chapter 12G or where personal information is disclosed in violation of Administrative Code Chapter 12M.
review, download, or republish proprietary content, including but not limited to digital content, digital databases, digital media libraries, or print media. Content and data subscription procurements shall not include contracts where public funds are expended in violation of Administrative Code Chapter 12G or where personal information is disclosed in violation of Administrative Code Chapter 12M.
(g) Contracts resulting from software licensing procurements and content and data subscription procurements may only be altered or modified through a contract amendment executed in the same manner as the original contract. Any contract clause or click-to-accept terms appearing to product users that purport to bind the City to new, updated, or dynamic terms that materially alter the obligations stated in the agreement shall be null and void.