Understanding governmental mechanics is a prerequisite to having serious political opinions. This is a simple guide to get oriented on how laws are created in the city.
How to Think About the Law
Before we can understand how a law is made, we need to understand what “law” actually is. The four types of law provide a simple but powerful framework for making sense of the various kinds of law you will encounter. As Daniel Golliher describes:
Constitutional law – written law that outlines the form and essential function of a government, and the highest law of a jurisdiction.
Statutory law – written law passed by a legislative body. One of these is called a "statute,” although in the local (rather than state or federal) context you might also hear statutes called “local laws” or “ordinances.”
Administrative law – written law issued by administrative/executive agencies, such as the federal Department of Transportation. Sometimes called regulatory law. These laws, called rules or regulations, must be issued to carry out the details of already extant statutory/constitutional law.
Case law – law written in judicial opinions, interpreting the meaning and/or proper application of the three kinds of law above.
How to Think About the Law in SF
When we think about “making laws” we are usually talking about statutory law. The legislative body for San Francisco is the Board of Supervisors. The charter states that the board can act in three ways:
Ordinance - generally what we mean by “local law.” An ordinance is statutory law passed by our legislature, the Board of Supervisors.
Resolution - formal expression of intent, opinion, or will. Resolutions act within powers granted by existing statute.
Example: Resolution consolidating certain state and local elections to be held at the same time.
Motion - proposals for action that are the sole authority of the board. Motions are often used for procedural actions during meetings.
Example: Motion amending the Board Rules of Order to remove a legislative committee
So to recap: There are four types of law. Statutory law is law created by a legislative body, which is what we tend to mean when talking about “making laws.” In SF our legislative body is the Board of Supervisors, and they create statute which we call ordinance.
Legislative Process Overview
The legislative process is defined in the Board’s Rules of Order. There are nuances and variations depending on context, but the process for making an ordinance generally works like this:
Step 1: Write Legislation
Ordinances are generally prepared by the City Attorney at the request of a Supervisor, the Mayor, a department head, or a commission. The City Attorney must “approve as to form” all ordinances before they can be introduced.
Step 2: Introduce Legislation
The proposed legislation is introduced at a board meeting. The President of the Board then refers the legislation to the appropriate legislative committee.2
Step 3: Committee Hearing
At a committee hearing3, the proposed legislation is reviewed and discussed by committee members, and public comment is gathered. Committees can make amendments to the proposed legislation.
Step 4: Committee Recommendation
Legislation needs a majority vote in committee to be sent to the full board for consideration. A committee may refer the matter to the full board:
With recommendation
Without recommendation
With a recommendation of “Do Not Pass”
Step 5: Board Majority Vote
At a full board meeting, the legislation needs a majority vote to pass. Note that some legislative matters require a greater majority to pass.4
Step 6: Mayoral Action
Legislation passed by the board is sent to the Mayor for approval. The Mayor may take the following actions on the legislation:
Sign - the law is enacted
Return unsigned - the law is enacted after a 10 day period
Veto - the law is not enacted unless the Board of Supervisors overrides the veto with a two-thirds majority vote
Unfortunate naming. The “Administrative Code” is statutory law, not administrative law.
Legislative committees are subgroups within the Board of Supervisors consisting of 3 supervisors. They review, discuss, and gather public comment on proposed legislation in their specific areas of focus.
Some of legislative committees:
Budget & Finance Committee
Government Audit & Oversight Committee
Land Use & Transportation Committee
Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee
Rules Committee
Committee Chairs have jurisdiction on whether and when to calendar all matters assigned to their committee for hearing.
See the Board’s Rules of Order for an index with required votes for different types of legislative matters.