Function within the confines of our Delivery Services so thats a real key piece. The last piece is as an equity issue, Disaster Preparedness is key because we know that population thats suffer from the greatest health and equity of chronic diseases are the most at risk in disaster for Poor Health Outcomes so dr. Gurly has been a real champion across the department. I want to thank her and her team for that leadership and thank you in terms of how we have moved from a less frequent execution of these duties to a frequent one. Ensuring the department and the commission is aware of these and that we prepare accordingly. Thank you. Thank you. Next item, please. Item 11 is other business and the counter is before you and its just a reminder the august 20th meet be will be held at the chinatown ymca at 5 00. Anything else . We can move on to item 1. The report back from the july 9th, 2019jcc meeting and i believe commissioner green attended. Yes, the laguna honda hospital the committee discussed the following items. We heard the administrators report discussion of the patient incidents and change of hospital leadership. We reiterated our sadness and our commitment to support current leadership to ensure the safety and quality of care of patients at laguna honda hospital and necessary changes are made. We heard the Regulatory Affairs report. We heard about their ethic implementation which was fantastic and they in deed had a lot of green dots that were red a week earlier. Added congratulations to you and we approved a policy and procedure manual that was quite extensive and very well done with a lot of great updates. A consider for close the session. I have not received Public Comment for that item. Is there a motion to go into a second. Second. All in favor aye. Well go into closed session. Thank you, consideration to disclose are not disclose. Consideration. Motion to not disclose. Is there a second. Second. All those if favor. Aye. Any consider for adjournment. Looking for adjournment. So moved. Is there a second. Second. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Meeting adjourned. Thank you, everyone. Ank you, everyone. About two years ago now i had my first child. And i thought when i come back, you know, im going to get back in the swing of things and ill find a spot. And it wasnt really that way when i got back to work. Thats what really got me to think about the challenges that new mothers face when they come back to work. When it comes to innovative ideas and policies, San Francisco is known to pave the way, fighting for social justice or advocating for the environment, our city serves as the example and leader many times over. And this year, it leads the nation again, but for a new reason. Being the most supportive city of nursing mothers in the work place. I was inspired to work on legislation to help moms return to work, one of my legislative aids had a baby while working in the office and when she returned we had luckily just converted a bathroom at city hall into a lactation room. She was pumping a couple times a day and had it not been for the room around the hallway, i dont know if she could have continued to provide breast milk for her baby. Not all returning mothers have the same access, even though theres existing state laws on the issues. These moms usually work in low paying jobs and returning to work sooner and they dont feel wellsupported at work. We started out by having legislation to mandate that all city offices and departments have accommodations for mothers to return to work and lactate. But this year we passed legislation for private companies to have lactation policies for all new moms returning to work. With the newcome accommodations, moms should have those to return back to work. What are legislation . We wanted to make it applicable to all, we created a set of standards that can be achievable by everyone. Do you have a few minutes today to give us a quick tour. I would love to. Lets go. This is such an inviting space. What makes this a lactation room . As legislation requires it has the minimum standards, a seat, a surface to place your breast on, a clean space that doesnt have toxic chemicals or storage or anything like that. And we have electricity, we have plenty of outlets for pumps, for fridge. The things that make it a little extra, the fridge is in the room. And the sink is in the room. Our legislation does require a fridge and sink nearby but its all right in here. You can wash your pump and put your milk away and you dont have tout it in a fridge that you share with coworkers. The new standards will be applied to all businesses and places of employment in San Francisco. But are they achievable for the smaller employers in the city . I think Small Businesses rightfully have some concerns about providing lactation accommodations for employees, however we left a lot of leeway in the legislation to account for Small Businesses that may have small footprints. For example, we dont mandate that you have a lactation room, but rather lactation space. In city hall we have a lactation pod here open to the public. So the more we can change, especially in government offices, the more we can support women. I think for the work place to really offer support and encouragement for pumping and Breast Feeding mothers is necessary. What is most important about the legislation is that number one, we require that an employer have a lactation policy in place and then have a conversation with a new hire as well as an employee who requests parental leave. Otherwise a lot of times moms dont feel comfortable asking their boss for lactation accommodations. Really its hard to go back to the office after you have become a mom, youre leaving your heart outside of your body. When you can provide your child food from your body and know youre connecting with them in that way, i know it means a lot to a mommy motionlely and physically to be able to do that. And businesses and employers can just provide a space. If they dont have a room, they can provide a small space that is private and free from intrusion to help moms pump and that will attract moms to working in San Francisco. If you want more information visit sfdph. Org breastfeedingatwork. Working for the city and county of San Francisco will immerse you in a vibrant and dynamic city thats on the forefront of economic growth, the arts, and social change. Our city has always been on the edge of progress and innovation. After all, were at the meeting of land and sea. Our city is famous for its iconic scenery, historic designs, and world class style. Its the birthplace of blue jeans, and where the rock holds court over the largest natural harbor on the west coast. The citys Information Technology professionals work on revolutionary projects, like providing free wifi to residents and visitors, developing new programs to keep sfo humming, and ensuring Patient Safety at San Francisco general. Our it professionals make government accessible through awardwinning mobile apps, and support vital Infrastructure Projects like the hetch hetchy Regional Water system. Our employees enjoy competitive salaries, as well as generous benefits programs. But most importantly, working for the city and county of San Francisco gives employees an opportunity to contribute their ideas, energy, and commitment to shape the citys future. Thank you for considering a career with the city and county of San Francisco. [ ] i just wanted to say a few words. One is to the parents and to all of the kids. Thank you for supporting this program and for trusting us to create a Soccer Program in the bayview. Soccer is the worlds game, and everybody plays, but in the United States, this is a sport that struggles with access for certain communities. I coached basketball in a coached football for years, it is the same thing. It is about motivating kids and keeping them together, and giving them new opportunities. When the kids came out, they had no idea really what the game was. Only one or two of them had played soccer before. We gave the kids very simple lessons every day and made sure that they had fun while they were doing it, and you really could see them evolve into a team over the course of the season. I think this is a great opportunity to be part of the community and be part of programs like this. I get to run around with my other teammates and pass the ball. This is new to me. Ive always played basketball or football. I am adjusting to be a soccer mom. The bayview is like my favorite team. Even though we lose it is still fine. Right on. I have lots of favorite memories, but i think one of them is just watching the kids enjoy themselves. My favorite memory was just having fun and playing. Bayview united will be in soccer camp all summer long. They are going to be at civic centre for two different weeklong sessions with america scores, then they will will have their own soccer camp later in the summer right here, and then they will be back on the pitch next fall. Now we know a little bit more about soccer, we are learning more, and the kids are really enjoying the program. We want to be united in the bayview. That is why this was appropriate this guy is the limit. The kids are already athletic, you know, they just need to learn the game. We have some potential collegebound kids, definitely. Today was the last practice of the season, and the sweetest moment was coming out here while , you know, we were setting up the barbecue and folding their uniforms, and looking out onto the field, and seven or eight of the kids were playing. This year we have first and second grade. We are going to expand to third, forth, and fifth grade next year bring them out and if you have middle school kids, we are starting a team for middle school. You know why . Why . Because we are . Bayview united. Thats right. Good morning, everyone. The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the july 22, 2019, meeting of the rules committee. I am supervisor hillary ronen, chair of the committee. Seated to my right is vicechair shamann walton, and seated to my left is rules Committee Member gordon mar. Our clerk today is victor young. And i would like to thank the staff for staffing this meeting. Clerk please make sure to silence all cellphones and electronic devices. Completed copies of any documents to be included as part of the file should be submitted items acted upon today will appear on the july 30 supervisors agenda unless otherwise stated. Chair ronen thank you so much. Can you read item number 1. Clerk item number 1 the to the clerk. Motion approving rejecting the mayoral nomination for the appointment of Eduardo Santacana to the board of appeals, for a chair ronen thank you so much. Mr. Santacana, come on up. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I am honoured to be nochl nateded to serve as a commissioner on the board of appeals. I would like to start by thanking the mayor for nominating me, executive Julie Rosenburg and commissioners rig swig, daryl honda and racism tanner for speak being to me about the boards work. Ive been a resident of San Francisco for nine years. I live with my wife, my 1yearold daughter and my motherinlaw in the inner park side neighbourhood. For the past four years ive worked as a trial lawyer in jackson square. Before that i had the privilege to serve as a law clerk for judge john tiger here in San Francisco in the Federal District court. In my work i litigate a wide variety of cases, mostly commercial disputes and intellectual property disputes to provide you a recent example of what i do that im particularly proud of, i respected the oakland alamena Council Authority in an arbitration against the Golden State Warriors arising out of the 1996 renovation of the oracle arena in oakland. When the team decided to leave oakland for San Francisco, they sued the Coliseum Authority because they argued their lease entitled them to skip out on 50 million of public debt that renovated the arena for them to play there. My trial Team Successfully persuade the arbitrator that they would have to pay that public debt even if they left which was a significant victory for the taxpayers of alamena and oakland. Im also proud of my commitment to a for pro bono work. I am helping migrants seeking asylum or other forms of immigration relief here in the bay area. I also helped spearhead our challenge to president trumps travel ban along with my colleague who is here supporting me as well. In addition i serve as a board member and prochair for the committee of the bay area chapter of the constitution society, which is a network of progressive lawyers in the bay area that gather at events and panels to discuss relevant issues at local and national committees. I am thrilled to be nominated to the board of appeals. My interest comes from a sense that i could do more in this community and in particular through Public Service. Im aware that the board has often has lawyers on it, but that currently there isnt a commissioner with that set of skills. So my hope is that i can contribute in this unique way to the work of the wonderful commissioners who currently serve on the board are already doing. As a law clerk on the d. C. Circuit, i had the privilege of doing work similar to the work of the board of appeals. In particular the d. C. Circuit hears many administrative appeals for federal agencies and decides whether those agencies have followed federal law. While i was at the d. C. Circuit, i learned the skill set required to study new cases in technical areas of the law and in complicated industries and those skills, as i see them, include ensuring that all parties feel heard, preparing diligently for each case, working to find an impartial and fair solution that serves the ends of justice and the policies enacted by the legislature, and providing consistent guidance to the community so that agencies can act predictably and fairly, not only in the cases that are appealed, but in the many cases not appealed. These are the skills ive developed and honed over several years and i think i can apply them readily and well to the boards work. Im also aware that the boards work involves very emotional disputes, disputes where commissioners must hear neighbours who have disagreements with their own neighbours, disagreements with the way the iis being run, and they are all running for the boards consideration and the boards task is to remain impartial and fair while also remaining to the laws it is charging. As a lawyer helping two different judges perform this task, i can attest to the challenge of threading that needle. I think im wellsuited to the task of exercising independent judgment in these types of cases, while hopefully making sure that even though there must be winners and losers, everybody believes they have a fair opportunity to be heard and their city is working for them. Thank you and im happy to answer any questions you may have. Chair ronen thank you so much. I just say youre absolutely unbelievably qualified for this position. Thank you, madam chair. Chair ronen and i appreciate your willingness to serve in this capacity. Colleagues, do you have any questions . No. Im going to open this item up for Public Comment. If any member of the public would like to come forward now is your time. Good morning, esteemed supervisors. Im rick swig and the board of supervisors appointee as the commissioner to the board of appeals, and i currently serve as president of the board of appeals. Eduardo has been very diligent in investigating what his responsibilities would be with the board of appeals. You know, we serve many masters, we serve those who appeal, those who are the permit holders and of course we serve the city and its departments to make sure as a quasi judicial body we make the best decisions possible. In speaking with him, he was very clear on that subject and hes taken the time to come to our meetings. Hes taken the time to interview my fellow commissioners. We are all very, very comfortable with the opportunity of him joining us on the board of appeals and i hope you feel equally. As he mentioned, we are not only lacking a commissioner, but we are also lacking a commissioner with specific legal skills and he would be very, very helpful in filling out the skill base that we require to do our job. So i hope that you find positively with regard to his appointment. Thank you very much. Chair ronen thank you so much. Next speaker, please. And if anybody would like to speak on this item and if you can line up over to your right, my left, that would be great. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning, im john kecker. I started the law firm where eduardo works and im here to vouch for him, but first ive got to say im so thrilled to be here because in 1977, i ran for supervisor the first time they had district elections, Diane Finestein won and i lost in district 3. Harvey milk won in district 5 those days i got more votes than the Democratic Club and harvey milked it because in those days there were a lot of feuds unlike now. Anyway, its great to be here. I worked with Eduardo Santacana in various contexts. I worked with him on the Alameda County case that he talked about that he was instrumental in winning and saving oakland 50 million. I worked with him on the pro bono cases he didnt mention, hes been an absolutely sensational lawyer. To be a good lawyer, you have to be a good man. He is a good man filled with integrity and judgment and were lucky to have him. Chair ronen thank you so much. Next speaker. When you get this job, id like to see you Pay Attention to the most Vulnerable People who are in the city and county of San Francisco and the area. Id like to see you start off with the people not included and inclusionary ordinance thats been voted for by the people in San Francisco, but every time there is a housing opportunity the most Vulnerable People are not included. Every time the city claims that its 100 affordable housing, the only people that can afford it is the people in high income brackets. A lot of these appointments that come out, the lowest income thats accepted for a person to put in an application is like about 80, 90,000 a year. If you are who you say you are, that is a violation of constitutional law pertaining to the 14th amendment, due process and equal protection under the law. Thats not equal protection under the law, providing housing opportunities for only people in high income brackets and as far as people in income brackets thats below the target, as far as being acceptable and eligible to put an application in for the housing opportunity out of the Mayors Office on housing where you claim you are an equal opportunity Housing Organization is disgusting. Thats called discrimination. Thats why youve got a minimum of 8,011 people out in frisk and it turns out on a review that it says 30 more than that. There is a total of 2,000 people in San Francisco and its because of this price fixing and price gouging. I want to put a strong emphasis on it. You represent that people economically disadvantaged as a pro bono, i do some work for several years myself. So if you get nominated and i think you will, id like to see you focus in on that. Can you promise me that . All right. [ bell rings ]. Chair ronen thank you, mr. Wright. Next speaker, please. Good morning and thank you. My name is simona amaluchi. I am a partner at the kecker law firm. Ive known eduardo for four years when he started working at the firm. I remember thinking this guy is going to be a star and he has absolutely proven that correct. Over the past four years, eduardo and i have had the opportunity to work closely together on various large matters, and im also his official mentor at the firm. So over time, weve had conversations about professional goals, about the purpose of our jobs, about life, about being working parents, and i feel that ive really gotten to know him, not just as a lawyer, but as a human being. The thing that strikes me the most about eduardo is his deep sense of commitment to justice and his ethics. Hes a terrific lawyer and anyone who meets him will know that, but what sets him apart is that he cares about justice, truth, and serving the underprivileged. And as a result of that, hes devoted a large amount of time to pro bono cases, some of which ive worked with him on. Just last week, weve got news that one of eduardos pro bono clients an unaccompanied minor from el salvador called oscar got his papers after fleeing Death Threats from ms 13 because he refused to join the gangs and they put a literally death order on him and he ran for his life and eduardo saved him. Now, when one of my friends nannies needed help because she too had a sister who was fleeing fers persecution, eduardo steppedup to the plate and took her asylum case and hes representing her now. Its not just our paying clients that he devotes his time to, its the people who are the most vulnerable in society. Eduardo understands [ bell rings ]. Chair ronen thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next speaker, please. Good morning, supervisor ronen, fellow supervisors. My name is maxwell pritt. I am here this morning as the chair of the bay area lawyer chapter of the American Constitution Society. In that capacity, i have known eduardo since 2012, and for everyone who doesnt know what the American Constitution Society is, we are a group of a progressive lawyers that believe the law should be used to improve the lives of all people. We believe in genuine equality. We believe in meaningful access to justice. We believe that transparency and truth are the enemy of tyranny and that it is the life blood of democracy. I believe that eduardo, having known him since 2012 in this volunteer capacity, will work to achieve these things for the city of San Francisco and the people of San Francisco in this capacity. So you know, he has been a member of the board the lawyer chapter board since 2012. The board is comprised of about 20 to 30 lawyers from the attorney generals office, the doj, from private practice, from city office, every aspect of progressive lawyering in the bay area. We also have an Advisory Board that includes individuals like City Attorney dennis rara, our good friend and dear friend who passed away jeff adachy as well and many others. [ bell rings ]. Eduardo has not just been a member of the board. He has taken an active role in one of the most difficult things for our board, which is programming chair, and which he has served in that capacity since 2006. We put on roughly two dozen programs every year, and this year under eduardos leadership we received a Programming Award from the National Office of the American Constitution Society at our National Convention in washington, d. C. So i just wanted [ bell rings ]. Chair ronen thank you so much. Next speaker, please. Good morning, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Jay Rappaport and i am an associate at eduardos law firm. As mr. Santacanas colleague, i would like to echo what the other speakers have said about his skill, integrity to pro bono service. As his colleague we see that every day and everyone at his firm shares great pride in his nomination. I feel an added pride because mr. Santacana is not just a coworker but has been my friend and classmate for well over a decade. If you told me when we met as law students long ago that he would have received this honour, i wouldnt have batted an eye. His passion and commitment to Public Service are readily apparent when you meet him. If theres one instance that exemplifies that spirit, its his leadership to join our effort to fight the travel ban. Mr. Santacana mentioned our efforts to fight that in court, but what he didnt mention he was on the ground at sfo within hours of the travel ban coming down. He was there to bring his skills to bear, not because he thought it was glamorous or would help his career, but the great needs of those in need demanded it and thats the kind of person he is. Those values are in the best tradition of the bar, of course, and theyre ones i would hope to see in any public servant. Of course for my perspective mr. Santacana would not be just any public servant. For many years ive benefitted [ bell rings ]. And his unassailable values. Whenever i have a problem, whether its legal or personal, hes the first person i would turn to. I can say from experience that our city would benefit tremendously from his talents. Im proud as a colleague and friend to support his nomination and i promise you, you wont regret his nomination. Chair ronen thank you so much. Is there any other member of the public who would like to speak on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Again, mr. Santacana, thank you so much for your willingness to serve in this capacity. Its a very important undertaking and it seems like you do a lot of volunteer work and all of that work you do is so much integrity and passion and were really appreciative that youre going to bring your talents to the city of San Francisco. Does anyone want to make a motion . I would like to make a motion of amending item 1, removing approving rejecting chair ronen without objection, that motion passings unanimously. Thank you so much. Mr. Clerk, can you please read item number 2. Clerk item number 2 is term ending july 1, 2020. clerk of the board is a hearing to consider appointing three members terms ending november 30, 2020. Chair ronen i would like to give time if you would like to speak about your appointments. Good morning, im Betty Packard. I came to San Francisco in 1982. I had my first newspaper job in 1953, and served chair ronen you look very young. I was. I was in high school, as a matter of fact. And served as a newspaper reporter on four different newspapers, one in franklin indiana, two in indianapolis. Then i married, had two children. My husband was killed. I went back to school, got some more education and was a director of High School Journalism at the largest high school in indiana. Then i became an adjunct professor at bal state for weekend education. 15 years i raised my children in indiana and then suddenly i found this great guy and married and one day he said were moving, and i didnt understand why but he was a career army officer. So we arrived here i arrived here as a result of the United States army in 1982. We served at the presidio. When he retired in 87, we decided maybe we would like to stay. I had been serving on the california abortion Rights League board and doing president of the California Press women and doing some work here and head of the High School Journalism contest for both San Francisco and california. So i was already pretty much involved in the work when i received a call and said from the California Broadcasters Association that they needed a representative for the Ballot Simplification Committee. This was 1997. And i said, oh, i just dont have the time to do that. They said, its just a twoweek commitment. Will you please come for the two weeks and do this commitment because we really need a quorum for this very vital committee. And i thought, well, sure, i can do that. I showed up. The room was packed. The hallway was packed and i thought id never done this before. I thought what are all these people doing here for my appointment and it was the cross at mount davidson. So i learned a little humbleness at the moment. But yes, that was 1997. Here i am 22 years later. This is the 12th time ive appeared before this committee. I now represent the National Academy of Television Arts and sciences because the California Broadcasters Association joined forces with them. So i have chaired the committee since 2004. I am very proud of the job we do. I am a constituent of supervisor walton, but he will never see me at any political meeting because its one of the things i do as chair of this committee, i never attend a political meeting. I never want anybody to have the privilege of saying im biased or im walking into something with a bias. I work very hard to keep the committee on a very straight and narrow chair that so that we hear everybody. I know, i think it was chris daily who used to be we are the epitome of democracy and would say go here to bettys committee because they are democracy in action, and im proud of the fact thats been our reputation over the years. For the moment we have been operating at a real disadvantage because the school board has failed to highlight and put forth a nomination. So instead of five people, weve only had four, and it and were going to come through this session with only three because mr. Patterson is travelling and cannot be here for this session. But the fact that were going to have a huge session for november, im happy to have him back. But im very proud of our group. One of the things ive learned to do is go out also and speak to public groups before the election and talk about the need to get out to vote, try to explain the ballot, try to explain why we have a Ballot Simplification Committee, in fact, what a Ballot Simplification Committee is, because a lot of people dont [ bell rings ]. They not only dont know, but dont appreciate it. I ask not only do you approve myself and ill let ashley take the floor here in a minute, but that you also approve scott. Hes a valuable member of the committee too and you dont need to come back to hear him again so that he can come back in november and meet with us. So im very proud of the work that we do and the work that ive done. [ bell rings ]. I hope you move us forward. Chair ronen thank you so much. Were getting in touch with the school board to make sure they make their nomination. [ laughter ]. They used to answer chair ronen were on it. My name is Ashley Raveche. I thank this committee to listen to my application for reappointment to the Ballot Simplification Committee. I served last term. A little bit about me. I am up for the league of women voters seat, so the Ballot Simplification Committee is a league legacy. We are the champions that brought this committee to San Francisco government as a transparency and accountability measure as well as to streamline election electio elections so that citizens didnt need a law degree in order to vote. So often it is a thorn in the legislators side. I want to say we are a partner in this work and that we really do appreciate and understand the nuances of what youve prepared for us to dismantle and digest into an eighthgrade reading level. So its really im happy to participate on this committee again if you approve my nomination and im happy to work with every board supervisor whos bringing a ballot measure before us. A little bit about how i became a part of this is that i served three years as the league of women voters president for San Francisco, where we do Community Engagement, advocacy, Voting Rights work. Currently im a mom, i have a 7yearold and a 5yearold, as well as doing Community Engagement at the state level and doing human rights lobby work for aca 6 which is a free to vote, as well as reforming yeah, theres a rally out front. It wasnt planned, but you will see the work were doing. Also reforming use of work in the state. So were getting a bill on the governs desk and hes ready to sign. It was exciting because we utilized San Francisco as a model for use of reforms in the state. I wont take up any of your time. Im welcome to questions. Thank you. Yes, please hopefully consider Scott Patterson as well as Betty Packard for the reappointment. Chair ronen thank you so much. If any member of the public would like to speak on this item, now is your chance. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. I wanted to thank you both for this crucial job. It is one of the leastknown, mostpowerful committees that we have in the city and county in San Francisco. For those who are watching or are here who dont know about the Ballot Simplification Committee, when there is an initiative on the ballot or an ornss or a charter amendment, the City Attorney prepares the question which could makeorbreak basically a measure depending on how you word it, the voters might be more or less inclined to support or oppose the measure. But it doesnt just stop there. It goes before a public body, the Ballot Simplification Committee, where a group of citizens who are appointed from various Interest Groups that want to protect our democracy and make sure that its fair and open, get to sit on the decisionmaking body to rewrite the question if they want to. They are the final arbiters of what the official ballot question is on the ballot, and us as citizens, we get to go and argue one way or the other. What was prepared by the City Attorney wasnt answered and heres why. Their other job is to make sure that every single thing thats written on the ballot is understandable to someone with an eighthgrade education. So its just incredibly important. As some forces in our society are trying to weaken our society, this Ballot Simplification Committee is strengthened. I would like to thank you for your work. I would just echo all of chair ronens comments about the importance of the this committee, and also thank you so much to ms. Packard and ms ms. Raveche for all of your commitment and to serve on the committee and the city. I would like to make a motion to move this forward to the full board with positive recommendation. The appointment of Scott Patterson to seat 1, Betty Packard to seat 2 and Ashley Raveche to seat 3 as the Committee Report for consideration at the july 23rd board meeting. Chair ronen and without objection, that motion passes unanimously. Congratulations and thank you so much. Mr. Clerk, can you please read item number 3. Clerk item number 3 is a rules and regulations supporting Assembly Constitutional amendment no. 6 to allow automatic restoration for Voting Rights to those on parole upon completion of a state or federal prison term. Chair ronen thank you so much. The sponsor has joined us. Thank you so much, chair ronen and supervisors mar and walton for having me here today and thank you to all the Community Members who are here who just joined us moments ago for a rally on the steps of city hall in support of aca 6. The free the vote act will give california voters on the 2020 ballot, the opportunity to restore Voting Rights to people on parole upon completion of a prison term. Aca 6 is currently on the Assembly Floor and is expected to be up for a floor vote in the last two weeks of august. Once it clears the floor, it will head to the senate. This resolution is supported by my colleagues walton, mar, brown, mandelman ronen and fewer. It was coauthored by many colleagues as well as our isnt that true senator wiener. I want to give a brief background and turn it over to our experts who have been leading this fight of that. California law permits an individual who is a United States citizen, a resident of california, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election to register to vote. It also allows otherwise eligible individuals to preregister to vote at age 16 or 17. However, an exception to this law is people serving in state or federal prison or on parole for a felony are prohibited from voting. This will amend sections 2 and 4 to restore Voting Rights to individuals upon the completion of their prison term. By eliminating an arbitrary barrier to voting, this will align california with 18 other states and washington, d. C. , which have restored Voting Rights on release of prison or have laws in place at all. The ban the box legislation and San Franciscos ban the box ordinance help formerly incarcerated people by prohibiting employers from considering any conviction prior to making a job offer. This is a positive step in the right direction, but we have to go further. Roughly 50,000 californians are unable to vote as a result of felony disenfranchisement laws. Disenfranchising people on parole is marginalizing people in our state and countrywide. This has disprorntly impacted the voting power of black and brown communities to this day. On the 50,000 people on parole three out of four of those individuals are people of colour. According to the department of corrections and rehabilitation, data shows that in San Francisco specifically of the 772 people on parole, 347 of them are black, 117 are hispanic, 202 white, and 106 identify as other. This means that 45 of the people who cannot vote in San Francisco because they are on parole are black, even though black residents make up less than 6 of San Franciscos overall population. These statistics are consistent with the states findings that the majority of people on parole are people of colour. Many of the 50,000 californians on parole are working, paying taxes and positively contributing to their communities, but are unable to vote at any level. Initiate justice conducted a survey in 2018 of more than a thousand people in prison and on parole in california. 86 of those surveyed said that voting would help them feel more connected to their communities. 95 of those surveyed said they want to have a voice in society and elected leadership. Our society is stronger when it includes voices of those marginalized. Aca6 is the next step towards ending the legacy of African Union disenfranchisement and enjoying the growing freedom to vote. I want to thank the Many Community advocates here including all of us or none, initiate justice, aclu of california, antirecidivism coalition, the league of california women voters. White people for black lives, as well as Author Assembly member kevin mccarty. I also want to thank arc who are here, San Francisco and alameda Public Defenders Office and some staff from my office for all the work on this. With that, im going to introduce our subject Matter Experts who are here. I also have some very small amendments to the resolution, which ill pass out copies here. They basically just say that there are 18 other states, rather than 14 other states, that have taken similar steps. With that im going to turn it over to our subject Matter Experts who can provide more context and information and who will also be available for followup questions. The first person i want to introduce is a has been fighting this fight for a long. He will give you these little flyers where it shows all of the steps over many years to get us to this point and all of the struggles to make sure that we actually have a democracy that includes everybody and is, i think, one of our greatest champions not just for this issue, but one of the most important civil and human rights leaders in the country and longtime friend of mine dorcy young. Thank you. Ive been doing Voter Registration for over 20 years, and i like outside of a narcotic anonymous meeting, in front of the liquor store. Some of the stuff that just jumps out at you is the age of which people are normally registering the vote thats on parole or off of parole or have been convicted of a felony, you get into the area of people registering to vote, 35, 40, 52 years was the oldest person i registered to vote. At a certain point 50,000 is more than just 50,000. That 50,000 carries with it a message that you cannot vote if youve been convicted of a felony. If you want Something Different to happen with the Larger Population because right now we only talk about the 50,000 thats on parole, but there is hundreds of thousands of people who dont necessarily feel that they have the right to vote because theyve been convicted of a felony. Id like to drop something else, probably in the middle of this. Yall think that my fight is for democracy just by itself. My fight is to become recognized as a legitimate citizen of this country. So if i dont have the right to vote, i dont know if im a citizen. If i dont have the right to sit on jury, i dont know if im a citizen. If i dont have the right to sit in Public Office or retain a Public Office, i dont know if im a citizen and i dont think that people should be running around the state that dont know that as true when they are. So like last year my wife spent doing Voter Registration and right before she died, barack obama was elected governor. During the course of the evening he was being elected, i asked her did i squander our time together doing Voter Registration will often take you away from the house a lot. She told me she wouldnt have me any other way because she met me doing the work. You know, im proud of San Francisco. Youll is the first county that banned the box. Now we up to about 35 or 36 whole states. San francisco gave us that. We came to San Francisco when a lot of issues werent that and you werent that progressive on either, but im proud of San Francisco. Maybe one day when we have a parade on Martin Luthur king, you will recognize the work of my homies, secured the right to employment, we continued the fight, secured the right to housing and not to be discriminated in housing, both public and private that happened in San Francisco. So San Francisco is an important part of this. So i ask you to actually pass this on and allow the board of the supervisors to vote. Something happened this year that i cant ever recall ever happening. Last month we ran fourpage ads in the sacramento b three times on three sundays. At the bottom of the ad it says something really, really significant. It says that this ad was paid for by incarcerated people. So if this issue was so important, were acting as fully as we can and, by the way, ill always want you to remember 537 votes determine the core election and they actually determine the next two decades of what we did in the middle east where we sacrificed husband and wife and treasure to vote. Thank you. Thank you, darcy. Next we have darris siprian also from legal services. Thank you for having us and thank you for the support. My name is darris siprian and im a policy manager for just briefly for those who are not familiar with all of us, i just want to say we are a nationally recognized Grassroots Movement with the goal of uniting and strengthening our voices, visibility, and leadership in our communities and for our communities. So im here on behalf of those voices and we are here in united of aca6 unlike some of the voices i represent today, i have had the opportunity to vote, however, that opportunity was 33 years ago. I was 18 years old. I can remember the day very vividly. Me and my dad went to the poll and past our votes. On our way home he had a look on his face. I had seen this look in the past. It was a look i had seen when i won the spelling bee in fourth grade. A look i got an a in algebra or hit a home run. He was proud of me and he was proud. So i understand that now, but what i didnt understand then is that when my dad was 18 years old, in the 1950s, he faced a different kind of Voter Suppression. He faced a different i dont want to like a more violent jim crow, but make no mistake, its the same jim crow with this felony disenfranchisement. And that is just another name for Voter Suppression. It absolutely serves no legitimate Law Enforcement purpose. It serves no Public Policy purpose or no Public Safety purpose. What it does serve is a sign of power and supremacy that derives from a strategy to politically marginalize communities of colour. Thats what it serves as. Just to make it real quick, according to United States department of justice, parole has threefold purpose. One, its to assist people on parole with problems concerning finances, residences. Two, it protects people in society to assist incarcerated people by getting them into the community which prevents recidivism. And also parole prevents needless incarceration for those less likely to residivate. Im told that im a citizen. I have all the burdens and responsibilities of a citizen. Im a taxpaying citizen, but i dont have the same rights as a citizen. I have no say in what elected representative represents me, our district, nor do i have any say on how mitacs dollars are spent. So i just want to say we are all aware of this countrys history. Its marked by successful struggles to expand Voting Rights for different classes of people, race, gender, class. This is an opportunity to continue to build on that expansion. So we all have an opportunity to send a message to californian citizens across the country that voting is a cornerstone of a democracy and we will not tolerate any type of Voter Suppression no matter how you disguise it. So im
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.