SEC. 5.102. CITY MUSEUMS.
§ 5.102
This section establishes rules for the governance of two city museums—the Asian Art Museum and The Fine Arts Museums—including trustee qualifications, appointment of directors, adoption of bylaws, and authority to insure and indemnify loaned exhibits without Board of Supervisors approval.
San Francisco has two main museums: the Asian Art Museum and The Fine Arts Museums. Each has a board of trustees who run the museums. Board members serve three-year terms without pay and can only be removed by the Mayor under specific rules. At least half of The Fine Arts Museums' board must live in San Francisco, but other trustees don't have to. The boards can hire a director and other staff, who also don't need to be city residents. The boards can raise money to pay competitive salaries for staff. The boards can also sign agreements to insure borrowed artwork and settle disputes about exhibitions without getting permission from the Board of Supervisors, as long as it doesn't cost the city extra money. The Parks Department takes care of the museum grounds.
- Complex:The section contains multiple cross-references (Section 4.101(2), Section 15.105) and a detailed carve-out for insurance and indemnification authority that requires parsing several conditional clauses to understand the museums' powers.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
When the term "museums" is used in this Article, unless otherwise specified, it refers to both the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Trustees and commissioners of the museums are exempt from the requirement of Section 4.101(2) of this Charter, except that at least a majority of The Fine Arts Museum Board of Trustees shall be residents of the City and County. Members shall serve for three-year terms, and may be removed by the Mayor only pursuant to Section 15.105. Members shall serve without compensation.
The governing boards of the museums shall adopt by-laws providing for the conduct of their affairs, including the appointment of an executive committee which shall have authority to act in such matters as are specified by the governing board.
The governing boards of the museums shall appoint and may remove a director and such other executive and administrative positions as may be necessary. Appointees to such positions need not be residents of the City and County. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, the governing boards may accept and utilize contributions to supplement or pay for the salaries and benefits of these appointees in order to establish competitive compensation, provided that only compensation established pursuant to the salary provisions of this Charter shall be considered for Retirement System purposes.
The governing boards of the museums may insure any loaned exhibit and agree to indemnification and binding arbitration provisions necessary to insuring exhibitions without action of the Board of Supervisors so long as such agreement entails no expense to the City and County beyond ordinary insurance expense. The Recreation and Park Department shall maintain and care for the grounds of the Museums.