Chapter 5 — COMMITTEES

Article V

San Francisco Administrative Code · 2025 edition · ingested 2026-07-08 · San Francisco

BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES

Editor's note

Sections 5.30 through 5.36 as originally enacted by the electorate in Proposition F on March 5, 2002, were numbered as Sections 5.1 through 5.8. Because the Administrative Code already contained sections with those numbers and because Proposition F itself contained other clerical inconsistencies, the editor has renumbered this article as Sections 5.30 through 5.36 and accordingly revised internal references in the text to the new numbering. Sections 5A.30 through 5A.36, as originally enacted by the electorate in Proposition P on November 5, 2002, were numbered as Sections 5.30 through 5.36. Because this article already contained sections with those numbers, the editor has renumbered the provisions of Proposition P as Sections 5A.30 through 5A.36. and accordingly revised internal references in the text to the new numbering.

Citizens' General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee

Sec. 5.30. Establishment.

Sec. 5.31. Purpose.

Sec. 5.32. Public Meetings.

Sec. 5.33. Membership.

Sec. 5.34. Waste.

Sec. 5.35. General Obligation Bond Ordinances.

Sec. 5.36. Application.

Public Utilities Revenue Bond Oversight Committee

Sec. 5A.30. Findings.

Sec. 5A.31. Establishment and Purpose.

Sec. 5A.32. Public Meetings.

Sec. 5A.33. Membership.

Sec. 5A.34. Illegal Expenditures.

Sec. 5A.35. Application.

Sec. 5A.36. Sunset and Severability.

CITIZENS' GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE SEC. 5.30. - ESTABLISHMENT.

The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco (the "Board") shall establish and appoint members to an independent citizens' general obligation bond oversight committee (the "committee"), pursuant to Section 5.32 hereof, prior to issuing any general obligation bonds (the "bonds") subsequent to the effective date of this measure.

(Added by Proposition F, 3/5/2002)

SEC. 5A.31. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.

(a) There is hereby established a Public Utilities Revenue Bond Oversight Committee (the "Committee"), which shall have the responsibility of reporting publicly to the Mayor, the PUC and the Board of Supervisors ("Board") regarding the PUC's (or, to the extent allowed by law, any charter entity succeeding to the PUC's authority related to expenditure of revenue bonds) expenditure of revenue bond proceeds on the repair, replacement, upgrading and expansion of the City's water collection, power generation, water distribution and wastewater treatment facilities.

(b) The Committee shall provide oversight to ensure that: (1) The proceeds from revenue bonds authorized by the Board and/or the voters of the City are expended in accordance with the authorizing bond resolution and applicable law; (2) Bond proceeds are expended solely for uses, purposes and projects authorized in the bond resolution; and (3) Revenue bond funds are appropriately expended for authorized capital improvements so that an uninterrupted supply of water and power continues to flow to the City and to the PUC's customers. The Committee may comment to the Board of

Supervisors on the development and drafting of proposed legislation pertaining to PUC revenue bonds prior to a Board determination regarding whether to submit a measure for voter approval or authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds, if voter approval is not otherwise required. The Board is not required to accept the Committee's comments or recommendations on such bond proposals. Further, the Committee shall not participate or interfere in the selection process of any vendor hired to execute bond funded projects.

(c) In furtherance of its purpose, the Committee may engage in any of the following activities:

(1) Inquiring into the disbursement and expenditure of the proceeds of PUC revenue bonds authorized and issued in accordance with the San Francisco Charter by receiving any and all reports, financial statements, correspondence or other documents and materials requested by the Committee related to the expenditure of revenue bond funds by the PUC;

(2) Holding public hearings to review the disbursement and expenditure of the proceeds of such revenue bonds;

(3) Inspecting facilities financed with the proceeds of such revenue bonds;

(4) Receiving and reviewing copies of any capital improvement project proposals or plans developed by the PUC related to the City's water, power or wastewater infrastructure and funded by bond proceeds;

(5) Reviewing efforts by the City to maximize bond proceeds by implementing cost-saving measures, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (i) mechanisms designed to reduce the costs of professional, consulting and similar fees and expenses related to site preparation and project design; (ii) recommendations regarding the cost-effective and efficient use of core facilities; (iii) developing and using alternate technologies; and, (iv) accessing other sources of infrastructure funding, excluding bond refunding; and,

l of the following: (i) mechanisms designed to reduce the costs of professional, consulting and similar fees and expenses related to site preparation and project design; (ii) recommendations regarding the cost-effective and efficient use of core facilities; (iii) developing and using alternate technologies; and, (iv) accessing other sources of infrastructure funding, excluding bond refunding; and,

(6) Commissioning independent review and evaluation of the disbursement and expenditure of the proceeds of such revenue bonds by accessing any funds set aside for this purpose under Subsection (d) of this Section to retain outside auditors, inspectors and necessary experts to conduct such independent review.

(d) To the extent permitted by law, in accordance with Sections 5A.35(c) and (d) of this Article, from and after the effective date of this Ordinance one-twentieth of one percent of the gross proceeds from each issuance or sale of public utility revenue bonds shall be deposited in a fund established by the Controller's Office and appropriated by the Board at the direction of the Committee to cover the costs of said Committee.

(e) The Board shall, without expending revenue bond funds, provide the Committee with appropriate clerical, technical and administrative assistance in furtherance of its purpose and provide sufficient resources to publicize the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee.

(Added by Proposition P, 11/5/2002)

SEC. 5A.32. PUBLIC MEETINGS.

All Committee proceedings shall be subject to the California Public Records Act (Sections 6250, et seq., of the Government Code of the State of California), the City's Sunshine Ordinance (Chapter 67 of this Code) and the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code Sections 54950, et seq.). The Committee shall issue regular reports on the results of its activities. A report shall be issued at least once a year. Minutes of the proceedings of the Committee, and all reports issued by the Committee, shall be a matter of public record and made available on the City's website.

(Added by Proposition P, 11/5/2002)

SEC. 5A.33. MEMBERSHIP.

(a) The Committee shall consist of seven members to be appointed as follows: two members by the Mayor; two members by the Board; one member by the Controller; and one member by the governing body of the Bay Area Water Users Association. The seventh member shall be the Budget Analyst for the Board or his/her representative.

(b) At a minimum, the members appointed by the Mayor and the Board shall, individually or collectively, have expertise, skills and experience in economics, the environment, construction and project management. The member appointed by the Controller shall have background and experience in auditing, accounting and project finance.

(c) Except as expressly authorized herein, no current officer or employee of the City shall be appointed to the Committee. All members of the Committee shall be subject to applicable conflict-of-interest provisions of local and state law. No vendor, contractor or consultant of the City that performs work funded by bonds issued by the City shall be appointed to the Committee.

(d) Each Committee member will serve for no more than two consecutive terms. Upon their initial appointment, three members of the Committee shall be assigned by lot an initial term of two years and the remaining four members shall have an initial term of four years. Thereafter, each Committee member shall serve a four-year term.

(e) Each Committee member, except City employees appointed to serve as part of their official City duties and the Budget Analyst or employees of the Budget Analyst, shall be compensated at a rate of $100.00 per month during each year of the member's term of office. Such compensation shall be appropriated by the Board without expending revenue bond funds therefor.

(Added by Proposition P, 11/5/2002)

SEC. 5A.34. ILLEGAL EXPENDITURES.

(a) If, after conducting all appropriate reviews and independent audit of actual expenditures of revenue bond proceeds by the PUC (or, to the extent allowed by law, any charter entity succeeding to the PUC's authority related to expenditure of revenue bonds), the Committee, after consultation with the City Attorney, determines that revenue bond proceeds are being or have been expended for purposes not authorized by the authorizing bond resolution or otherwise amount to an illegal expenditure or illegal waste of such revenue bond proceeds within the meaning of applicable law, the Committee may, by majority vote of all its members, prohibit the further issuance or sale of authorized public utility revenue bonds which have yet to be issued or sold.

(b) A decision by the Committee to prohibit the issuance and sale of authorized but as yet unissued or unsold revenue bonds may be appealed by the PUC to the Board within 30 days of the Committee's decision. By two-thirds vote of all its members, the Board by resolution may overturn the Committee's decision and remand the matter to the Committee for further consideration consistent with the views expressed by the Board in its resolution.

(c) Alternatively, the Committee's prohibition on the issuance or sale of authorized but unissued or unsold revenue bonds may be vacated by twothirds vote of all the members of the Board, if the PUC, in response to the report of the Committee, provides evidence of corrective measures satisfactory to the Board.

(Added by Proposition P, 11/5/2002)

SEC. 5A.35. APPLICATION.

(a) All public utilities revenue bond authorizations approved either concurrent with or after the effective date of this Ordinance shall be subject to the provisions set forth herein.

(b) All bond authorizations introduced at the Board after the effective date of this Ordinance shall contain a statement incorporating the provisions of this Ordinance in such bond resolution.

(c) The provisions of this Ordinance shall also apply to all PUC public utility revenue bonds authorized, issued or offered for sale after July 1, 2002.

(d) Section 5A.30(d) of this Article shall only apply to PUC revenue bonds authorized after the effective date of this Article.

(Added by Proposition P, 11/5/2002)

SEC. 5A.36. SUNSET AND SEVERABILITY.

(a) Unless the Board by ordinance reauthorizes the provisions of this Ordinance for a specified period of years, the provisions of this Ordinance shall expire on January 1, 2025.

(b) If any part or provision of this Ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid for any reason, the remainder of this Ordinance, including its application to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected by such a holding, and shall continue in force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable.

(c) The validity of the authorization and issuance of any bonds is not dependent on and shall not be affected in any way by any failure by the Committee, to act in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.

(Added by Proposition P, 11/5/2002; amended by Ord. 236-12, File No. 120221, App. 12/7/2012, Eff. 1/6/2013; Ord. 189-15, File No. 150913, App. 11/4/2015, Eff. 12/4/2015; Ord. 309-18, File No. 181023, App. 12/21/2018, Eff. 1/21/2019)

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