Staff preview draft rules to implement Prop D; nonprofit group warns regulations are overly broad for frontline workers

Commission staff presented five draft regulations intended to implement changes to section 3.218 of the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code if Proposition D is approved by voters. Staff said the draft rules aim to clarify when outside employment, ownership or board service is permitted for city officers and employees and to identify guardrails to limit conflicts of interest.

Staff noted these regulations would be applicable only if Prop D is approved and would take effect more than six months after the March election, allowing time for training and an implementation process. The proposed regulations include: requirements that city officials abstain from participation in matters involving themselves or immediate family; conditions under which employment by entities subject to a department's jurisdiction is permissible; parallel rules for ownership and management interests; an express rule allowing noncompensated volunteer board service for nonprofits with conditions; and a clarification that contracting with one's own department includes exercising management or control over an entity that contracts with that department.

Debbie Lerman of the San Francisco Human Services Network urged the commission to narrow several provisions, saying the draft rules are "overly broad for non decision makers like frontline workers, case managers, childcare workers, and specialists like nurses and psychiatrists." She argued the employment rule could undermine nonprofit staffing and the board-service rule could bar many Department of Public Health staff from sharing expertise on nonprofit boards even where staff do not make contracting or procurement decisions.

Lerman recommended allowing frontline employees to hold part-time positions at city-funded nonprofits and sought a department-level approval process with clear criteria, saying nonprofit board members usually serve without personal gain and provide public benefits. Staff said they have met with Department of Public Health officials, made revisions based on feedback, and will continue refining drafts and completing any required meet-and-confer steps with the Department of Human Resources before returning the regulations to the commission for final notice and approval.