San Francisco committee advances ordinance pausing taxi meter fees, orders refunds back to 2019

The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Sept. 20 to send an ordinance to the full board that pauses certain weights-and-measures fees assessed on taxicabs, aligns device fee due dates to the Unified License Bill on March 31, and requires refunds for affected fees billed on or after Jan. 1, 2019 through fees otherwise due prior to March 31, 2025.

Chair Aaron Peskin, who sponsored the ordinance, said the pause is meant to level the playing field between traditional taxis and transportation network company (TNC) vehicles that currently are not being charged because their measurement devices are not yet measurable under state and local testing protocols. Peskin thanked SFMTA staff and Weights and Measures for bringing the change forward.

Amanda (representing the Treasurer-Tax Collector), described how the city bills and collects this fee on behalf of the County Department of Public Health and said the ordinance would both eliminate the weights-and-measures fee on taxis for the stated retroactive period and shift due dates so the fees are included on the Unified License Bill, due March 31 each year. She said the penalty structure would change from a prior 100% penalty for late payment to a graduated penalty beginning at 10%.

Public commenters included David Pilpel, who asked staff to provide a fiscal-impact estimate; Linda Chapman and other callers urged the committee to protect taxi drivers and those who rely on taxis, including older and disabled residents. One caller made an abusive personal remark directed at a staff member; the chair condemned that language on the record.

Chair Peskin told the committee that because the service of measuring devices is not being performed for some device types, analysts judged there is no fiscal impact; Peskin said he had been informed the city collects less than $200,000 annually from these fees. He moved to send the ordinance to the full board with a positive recommendation and co-sponsorship from Supervisors Chan and Mandelmann. A roll-call vote recorded Mandelmann, Chan, and Peskin as voting aye and the motion passed without objection.

The full board will now receive the ordinance for further consideration. The committee record includes staff commitments to provide clearer fiscal details to board members before final action.