Rules Committee backs sending charter fix to restore supplemental COLA for pre‑1996 retirees to the full Board

Supervisor Asha Safaei introduced a charter amendment to restore supplemental cost‑of‑living adjustments for members of the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System who retired on or before Nov. 6, 1996, and to impose a monthly cap and economic benchmarks when the retirement system is not fully funded. Safaei said the amendment would return a benefit taken from that cohort after a 2015 Court of Appeal decision and emphasized the measure does not provide retroactive payments.

Janice Levy of the Controller’s Office told the committee the measure would generate expected costs of about $15,000,000 annually over a five‑year period, with about $9,000,000 borne by the general fund and roughly $6,000,000 spread across enterprise departments and the retirement system. Safaei and colleagues discussed alternative absorption periods and said the item’s fiscal numbers will be updated in subsequent legislative steps.

Representatives of retiree organizations and unions told the committee the amendment would address deep hardship among older retirees; speakers urged the Rules Committee to forward the measure for placement on the November ballot where voters can decide. After public comment and brief discussion, Chair Aaron Peskin moved to send item 6 to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The clerk recorded roll‑call votes in favor and the motion passed without objection.

The committee’s positive recommendation sends the charter amendment to the Board of Supervisors; by law it must sit for a week before the Board may vote on placement on the November 8 ballot. The amendment’s text specifies the cap, ties eligibility to economic benchmarks, and explicitly excludes retroactive restitution for years missed under the earlier full‑funding rule.