Supervisor Sauter advances nitrous-oxide retail ban; committee accepts substantive amendments and continues item

Supervisor Danny Sauter introduced an ordinance to amend the Police Code to ban most retail sales of nitrous oxide while allowing exceptions for medical, research, manufacturing, and food-product uses. He said recent research shows rising harms and urged the city to be ready to administer enforcement if the ban takes effect.

"Research has shown that repeated use can lead to serious and potentially life‑threatening health complications," Sauter said, and cited studies showing sharp increases in deaths and emergency‑room visits attributed to nitrous‑oxide misuse. The Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) summarized fiscal impacts and recommended two reports: a scope-of-problem report by June 1, 2027, and an enforcement report by December 2027.

BLA analyst Nick Menard told the committee the ordinance would cost about $600,000 a year, primarily for 1.4 FTE environmental health inspectors and roughly $120,000 in police overtime. "We determined that the city lacked systematic data about the scope of the problem," Menard said, adding that other jurisdictions have enacted similar bans.

Public commenters and civil‑rights representatives urged different approaches. Jack Pereira said San Francisco lacks local data to justify the estimated cost and urged the committee to limit the ordinance or await the BLA study. Carolyn Goosen of the Public Defender's Office asked the board to remove new criminal penalties and recommended using targeted civil and administrative tools and public education instead.

Supervisor Sauter read substantive amendments into the record and moved to continue the ordinance so the committee could consider the language changes; Supervisors Chen and Dorsey supported the continuation. The committee voted to accept the amendments and continue the item to the Budget and Finance Committee meeting on September 2, 2026 (roll call: Sauter, Chen, Dorsey — 3 ayes).

The committee also directed staff followup: BLA‑recommended data collection at two intervals and coordination with the Department of Public Health, the police department and the city attorney on enforcement and funding implications. The ordinance will return to committee with the amended language and expected BLA guidance.