San Francisco County Municipal Code § 5.16 Public Utilities Citizen's Advisory

(a) There is hereby established a mental health board pursuant to the requirements of California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5604 et seq., to be known as the Behavioral Health Council (“Council”). The Council is an Advisory Body as defined in Section 5.1-1. (b) The Council shall consist of 12 members. The Board of Supervisors shall appoint all members, one of whom shall be a member of the Board of Supervisors. (c) As required by California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5604, at least six members of the Council shall be consumers or the parents, spouses, siblings, or adult children of consumers, with at least three members being consumers and at least three other members being family of consumers. For purposes of this subsection (c), “family of consumer” includes domestic partners and significant others. For purposes of this Section 5.16-1, a “consumer” is a person who has received mental health and/or substance use services in San Francisco from any program operated or funded by the City, from a State hospital, or from any public or private nonprofit mental health agency. The Board of Supervisors member position shall not count in determining whether the “consumer” and “family of consumer” requirements of this subsection are met. (d) In addition to the requirements of subsection (c), one member of the Council shall be a veteran or veteran advocate. For the purposes of this subsection (d), a “veteran advocate” includes a parent, spouse, or adult child of a veteran, or an individual who is part of a veteran organization including but not limited to the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion. Additionally, one member shall be a child advocate. For purposes of this subsection (d), a “child advocate” includes a family member of a child consumer or consumer advocate for minors who use mental health services. A member may satisfy the requirements of both subsection (c) and this subsection (d) concurrently. The Board of Supervisors member position shall not count in determining whether the requirements of this subsection (d) are met. (e) In addition to the requirements of subsections (c) and (d), two members shall be from the following professions: psychiatry, psychology, mental health social work, nursing with a specialty in mental health, marriage and family counseling, psychiatric technology, or administration of a hospital providing mental health services or of a community mental health facility. (f) Any positions on the Council not allocated to specific types of members may be filled by persons with experience and knowledge of the mental health system representing the public interest, which may include, but need not be limited to, people who engage with individuals living with mental illness in the course of daily operations, such as representatives of county offices of education, large and small businesses, hospitals, hospital districts, physicians practicing in emergency departments, city police chiefs, county sheriffs, and community and nonprofit service providers. (g) The Council membership shall reflect the ethnic diversity of the client population in the City. The composition of the Council shall, to the extent feasible, represent the demographics of the City as a whole. Except as provided in subsection (h), no member of the Commission or the member’s spouse shall be a full-time or part-time City employee of a City mental health service, an employee of the State Department of Health Care Services, or an employee of, or a paid member of the governing body of, a mental health contract agency. (h) A consumer who has obtained employment with an employer described in subsection (g), and who holds a position in which the consumer has no interest, influence, or authority over any financial or contractual matter concerning the employer may be appointed to the Council. Such a member shall not participate in any matter concerning the member’s employer if prohibited by state or local law. (Added as Sec. 15.12 by Ord. 98-93, App. 4/13/93; amended by Ord. 337-99, File No. 992043, App. 12/30/99; Ord. 240-19, File No. 190497, App. 10/18/2019, Eff. 11/18/2019; Ord. 229-20, File No. 200951, App. 11/13/2020, Eff. 12/14/2020; Ord. 10-24, File No. 231076, App. 2/1/2024, Eff. 3/3/2024; amended and redesignated by Ord. 99-26, File No. 260217, App. 5/29/2026, Eff. 6/29/2026) (Former Sec. 5.16-1 added by Ord. 87-21, File No. 210078, App. 7/2/2021, Eff. 8/2/2021; expired 12/31/2023)

(a) Except for the Board of Supervisors member, the term of each member of the Council shall be for three years. No member shall serve more than two terms. A member shall be deemed to have served a full term only if the member serves at least half of a full term. A part of a term that exceeds 18 months shall count as a full term; a part of a term that is 18 months or less shall not. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the current term of any person serving on the Council on January 1, 2027 shall count as a full term if the person has served more than 18 months of that term. Terms completed on or before December 31, 2026 shall not count as a term for the purpose of the lifetime term limit. The terms and term limits in Administrative Code Section 5.1-4 shall not apply to the Council. (b) The Board of Supervisors may remove a member of the Council at will. In addition, The1 Council may recommend to the Board of Supervisors that a member be removed from the Council. (Added as Sec. 15.13 by Ord. 98-93, App. 4/13/93; amended by Ord. 337-99, File No. 992043, App. 12/30/99; Ord. 240-19, File No. 190497, App. 10/18/2019, Eff. 11/18/2019; Ord. 229-20, File No. 200951, App. 11/13/2020, Eff. 12/14/2020; Ord. 10-24, File No. 231076, App. 2/1/2024, Eff. 3/3/2024; amended and redesignated by Ord. 99-26, File No. 260217, App. 5/29/2026, Eff. 6/29/2026) (Former Sec. 5.16-2 added by Ord. 87-21, File No. 210078, App. 7/2/2021, Eff. 8/2/2021; expired 12/31/2023) CODIFICATION NOTE

1. So in Ord. 99-26.

(a) The Council shall: (1) Review and evaluate the City’s mental health needs, services, facilities, and special problems; (2) Review any City agreements entered into pursuant to California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5650; (3) Advise the Board of Supervisors, the Health Commission, the Director of Health, and the Director of Behavioral Health Services, as to any aspect of the local behavioral health program; (4) Review and approve the procedures used to ensure citizen and professional involvement at all stages of the planning process; (5) Review the procedures used to ensure the involvement of interested members of the behavioral health community and the public in the development of the budget for behavioral health services and report on the matter to the Board of Supervisors; (6) Submit an annual report to the Board of Supervisors on the needs and performance of the City’s behavioral health system; (7) As provided in Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5604.2(a)(6). 1 review and make recommendations on applicants for the appointment of Director of Behavioral Health Services. The Council shall be included in the selection process prior to the selection of a person to fill this position; (8) Review and comment on the City’s performance outcome data and communicate its findings to the State Mental Health Commission; (9) Assess the impact of the realignment of services from the State to the City on services delivered to clients and on the local community; and (10) In accordance with California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5848(b), conduct a public hearing on the Adult and Older Adult Mental Health System of Care Act, California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5845-5848, draft three-year program and expenditure plan, and annual updates at the close of the 30-day comment period, as set forth in California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5857(a). The Council shall review the adopted plan or update(s) to the plan, and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, the Health Commission, the Director of Health, and the Director of Behavioral Health Services. (b) Members of the Council shall abstain from voting on any issue in which the member has a financial interest as defined in California Government Code Section 87103. The Council is subject to the provisions of California Government Code Sections 54950 et seq. relating to the conduct of open meetings by local agencies. (Added as Sec. 15.14 by Ord. 98-93, App. 4/13/93; amended by Ord. 337-99, File No. 992043, App. 12/30/99; Ord. 240-19, File No. 190497, App. 10/18/2019, Eff. 11/18/2019; amended and redesignated by Ord. 99-26, File No. 260217, App. 5/29/2026, Eff. 6/29/2026) (Former Sec. 5.16-3 added by Ord. 87-21, File No. 210078, App. 7/2/2021, Eff. 8/2/2021; expired 12/31/2023) CODIFICATION NOTE

1. So in Ord. 99-26.

(Added by Ord. 87-21, File No. 210078, App. 7/2/2021, Eff. 8/2/2021; amended by Ord. 27-23, File No. 221244, App. 3/17/2023, Eff. 4/17/2023; expired 12/31/2023)

(Added by Ord. 87-21, File No. 210078, App. 7/2/2021, Eff. 8/2/2021; expired 12/31/2023)

(Added by Ord. 87-21, File No. 210078, App. 7/2/2021, Eff. 8/2/2021; amended by Ord. 27-23, File No. 221244, App. 3/17/2023, Eff. 4/17/2023; expired 12/31/2023)

(Added by Ord. 87-21, File No. 210078, App. 7/2/2021, Eff. 8/2/2021; amended by Ord. 27-23, File No. 221244, App. 3/17/2023, Eff. 4/17/2023, Retro. 2/2/2023; expired 12/31/2023)