SEC. 4.141. PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION.
§ 4.141
San Francisco establishes a five-member Public Works Commission appointed through a split process: the Board of Supervisors appoints two members directly, the Mayor and Controller each appoint one member (subject to Board confirmation), and the Board appoints two members directly. Members serve four-year terms (with initial appointees serving two years), and the Commission oversees the Department of Public Works with powers defined in other sections of the Code.
The city creates a five-person commission to oversee the Department of Public Works. Two people are picked by the Board of Supervisors directly. The Mayor picks one and the Controller picks one, but both must be approved by the Board (which gets a public hearing and 60 days to decide, or the person is automatically approved). Members serve four-year terms, except the first group in certain seats who serve two years. The Commission can be removed at any time by whoever appointed them. The Commission has the same powers that other city commissions have, except they don't take over duties that belong to the Sanitation and Streets Commission.
- Complex:The appointment process involves multiple appointors and a 60-day approval timeline with automatic approval conditions, making the mechanism somewhat intricate for a casual reader.
- Could be simpler:The reference to Sections 4.102, 4.103, and 4.104 for the Commission's powers requires readers to look elsewhere in the Code; a brief inline summary of key powers would improve clarity.
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Official text
(a) Purpose. There is hereby established a Public Works Commission.
(b) Membership and Terms of Office.
(1) The Commission shall consist of five members, appointed as follows:
Seats 1 and 5 shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Seats 2 and 4 shall be appointed by the Mayor subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors. Seat 3 shall be appointed by the Controller subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors.
Each nomination of the Mayor and the Controller shall be subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors, and shall be the subject of a public hearing and vote within 60 days of the date the Clerk of the Board receives notice of the nomination from the Mayor or Controller. If the Board fails to act on the nomination within those 60 days, the nominee shall be deemed approved. The appointment shall become effective on the date the Board adopts a motion approving the nomination or on the 61st day after the Clerk of the Board receives notice of the nomination, whichever is earlier.
Qualifications for commissioners that are desirable, but not required, include a background or experience in cleaning and maintaining public spaces, urban forestry, urban design, construction, skilled crafts and trades, finance and audits, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, or performance measurement and management.
(2) Members of the Commission shall serve four-year terms; provided, however, the term of the initial appointees in Seats 1, 3, and 5 shall be two years.
(3) Commissioners may be removed from office at will by their respective appointing authority.
(c) Powers and Duties. With regard to the Department of Public Works, the Commission shall exercise all the powers and duties of boards and commissions set forth in Sections 4.102, 4.103, and 4.104, except for the authority conferred on the Sanitation and Streets Commission in Section 4.139, and may take other actions as prescribed by ordinance.
(d) Transition following November 8, 2022 election. The tenures and terms of members of the Commission on November 8, 2022 shall continue as provided in this Section 4.141.
(Added by Proposition B, Approved 11/3/2020; amended by Proposition B, Approved 11/8/2022)