SEC. 2.108. PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW.
§ 2.108
The Board of Supervisors must adopt a Sunshine Ordinance and ensure the public has access to government meetings, documents, and records. The Clerk must maintain public records of Board proceedings, votes, and passed ordinances; publish meeting calendars and summaries at least 18–36 hours before meetings; publish notices of proposed ordinances within five days; and make all ordinances and resolutions publicly available.
San Francisco's government must be transparent and open to the public. The Clerk of the Board keeps a record of what the Board does, including how each member votes. Before Board meetings, the public gets a written list of what will be discussed and summaries of major items, at least 18 hours in advance (or 36 hours for regular meetings). When the Board introduces a new law, notice of it must be published within five days and a copy kept where people can read it. After laws are passed, they are recorded and copies are made available to the public.
- Complex:The section contains multiple overlapping requirements about notice timing (5 days, 18 hours, 36 hours) and different publication thresholds for ordinances versus resolutions that could be consolidated or clarified.
- Controversial:Transparency and public access to government records involve questions about balancing openness with legitimate privacy or operational concerns, which San Franciscans may reasonably debate.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
The Board of Supervisors shall adopt and maintain a Sunshine Ordinance to liberally provide for the public's access to their government meetings, documents and records.
The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall keep a permanent public record of the proceedings of the Board showing all action considered and taken, the text of ordinances and resolutions voted upon and the vote of each member of the Board regarding any matter before the Board. The Clerk of the Board shall cause the text of all ordinances or resolutions passed by the Board to be readily available to the public.
A written calendar of the business scheduled for each meeting of the Board of Supervisors or any standing or special committee comprised of Board members and established by the Board shall be prepared and available to the public before each meeting. Summaries of board and committee calendar items of general public interest, as determined by the Clerk of the Board, and a statement of where and when copies of proposed ordinances and resolutions may be obtained, shall be published commencing at least 36 hours before the commencement time of each regular meeting and at least 18 hours before the commencement time of each special meeting.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, or by ordinance, notice of the title or the purport and subject matter of each proposed ordinance which is introduced and referred to committee shall be published within five days after its presentation to the board and a copy of such proposed ordinance shall be kept available for inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board. Each ordinance required to be included in the municipal code shall be printed promptly after final passage, and copies shall be made available to the public.
All ordinances, after final passage or upon their becoming effective shall be certified by the Clerk of the Board and recorded in a book kept for that purpose, and resolutions adopted shall be certified and recorded in a like manner. Notice that an ordinance has been passed for second reading, that an ordinance has been finally passed, and that a resolution has been adopted, together with a statement of where copies may be obtained, shall be published once within five days of such passage for second reading, final passage, or adoption.