FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, November 19, 2018
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131

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MAYOR LONDON BREED INITIATES EFFORT TO VALIDATE PROPOSITION C & IDENTIFY IMMEDIATE FUNDING FOR HOMELESSNESS

As Mayor Breed attempts to address legal uncertainty so the City can begin distributing Proposition C funding, she is meeting with business and civic leaders to identify short-term support for homelessness programs 

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed has introduced an ordinance that will allow the City Attorney to proactively seek validation of Proposition C in the courts. This will allow the City to more quickly resolve legal uncertainty about the implementation of Prop C, which was passed in the recent November election, and potentially free up funding faster. This effort is being made in cooperation with the City Attorney, and Board President Malia Cohen co-sponsored the legislation. 

“We need to do everything we can to deliver on the promise of Prop C and the will of the voters, and this validation action gives us the best chance to move forward quickly to deliver funding for homelessness,” said Mayor Breed. “Starting in January, the City will be collecting the tax established under Prop C, but the Controller has said we cannot begin spending the funds until we have more legal certainty. My goal with this action is to allow the City to be as proactive as possible in determining any legal challenges to Prop C. In the short-term, I have also spoken with business leaders who are interested in contributing to solutions now to a number of critical programs that will help us get people into housing and shelter and connected to mental health and substance use services. I will work with these leaders to help deliver more funding quickly towards programs that we know can help people who are struggling on our streets.”

At last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Mayor Breed introduced the ordinance that will permit the City Attorney to file a validation action in court, which triggers a defined expedited window during which any potential opponent must respond to the City’s action or file litigation challenging the validity of Proposition C. If no one responds to the City’s action or files litigation, the court can decide to validate the measure, giving the City more certainty to move forward with dispensing funding. The ordinance must be approved by the Board of Supervisors and signed by the Mayor before the City Attorney can then go to court to seek validation. 

By moving forward with this validation action, Mayor Breed is taking the most expeditious and legally responsible path to implement funding from Prop C. While it is possible that a party may sue the City during this timeframe, that possibility exists regardless. Mayor Breed’s proactive step allows San Francisco to set a defined timeline and receive quicker clarification on the legal status of Prop C. This is a similar approach to what the City did for Props C and G from June earlier this year.

Mayor Breed has additionally been in discussions with business leaders interested in providing immediate financial support to the City’s efforts to address homelessness. The Mayor has identified a number of funding priorities which reflect the objectives of Prop C. These include expanding the City’s shelter bed capacity to reach her goal of opening 1,000 new shelter beds, establishing a flexible funding source to support more single room occupancy hotel rehabilitation and master lease opportunities, adding more mental health stabilization, substance abuse recovery, respite, and residential treatment beds, funding more small site acquisitions projects to preserve vulnerable rent-controlled housing by converting them into permanent affordable housing, and providing gap funding for affordable housing projects so they can move forward faster.

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