This is a nonpartisan analysis of the local measures on the San Francisco ballot for the Nov. 5, 2024, election.
Bay Area
Advocates Fear Fremont’s New Homelessness Ordinance Will Force Domestic Violence Victims to Stay With Abusers
With Fremont passing an ordinance that many say is one of the nation’s most stringent on homelessness, advocates for domestic violence survivors say the tough law criminalizes vulnerable community members — and advocates are concerned that they themselves could be punished for helping to those living in cars or encampments.
Aging
Business Entrance Accessibility Law, Never Enforced, Expected to Be Scrapped
The Board of Supervisors is set to vote on eliminating a local requirement for accessible business entrances after having postponed enforcement six times. Around 7,000 businesses citywide are noncompliant or have not reported their status, despite some going to great lengths to comply before the city’s penalties hit.
City Hall
SF Criticized for Lack of Community Input on Opioid Settlement Funds Use
A coalition of addiction experts and treatment advocates is commending the San Francisco Department of Public Health for committing some of the $352 million opioid lawsuit settlement funds the city expects to receive over the next 18 years to expanding methadone treatment and addressing racial disparity in fatal overdoses.
“These efforts are instrumental in reaching underserved individuals,” the San Francisco Treatment on Demand Coalition wrote in a November letter to the department.
But the coalition criticized the department over its lack of transparency and community input.
Health
As Anti-Abortion Protests Ramp Up, SF Lawmaker Moves to Protect Clinics
Demonstrations against Planned Parenthood’s San Franciso facility have escalated and at times been threatening, sources say.
Supervisor Catherine Stefani said she would propose new regulations Tuesday to increase safety at reproductive care clinics, including by extending the buffer zone between the properties and protesters’ amplified sound.
Elections
Proposition O — Protect Access to Reproductive Care
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition O would strengthen access to abortion and reproductive care in San Francisco and protect the privacy of patients and health care providers. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.
Elections
Proposition M — Overhaul SF Business Tax System
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition M would fundamentally change how the city taxes businesses, in order to better align with post-pandemic work norms and strengthen the government’s long-term financial footing.
The measure would exempt more small businesses from taxes and fees, while reducing taxes on some of the city’s largest companies.
Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do. What it would do
Proposition M would shift how San Francisco calculates its gross receipts tax paid by businesses.
Elections
Proposition N — Create Fund to Pay Off First Responders’ Student Loans
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition N could help pay off first responders’ student loans with the goal of attracting new hires amid staffing shortages. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.
Elections
Proposition J — Increase Oversight of City Funding for Children and Youth Programs
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition J would create an oversight body to evaluate local government expenditures on programs benefiting children and youths. If the oversight team discovered inappropriate or unnecessary spending, officials could withhold funds.
Elections
Proposition L — Tax Ride-Hailing and Autonomous Vehicle Companies to Fund Public Transit
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition L would tax ride-hail companies, including those that operate self-driving cars, and devote the tax revenue to improving San Francisco’s public transit. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.
Elections
Proposition K — Authorize Great Highway to Become Car-Free, Possibly a Park
NEW: Read our analysis of the likely traffic impacts if Proposition K passed and the Upper Great Highway closed to cars, published Oct. 31. See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot.
