How you pass a law in San Francisco

You have an idea

The first step is to reach out to your Supervisor (aka Supe) and ask him/her to sponsor your idea. The Supe runs your proposal past the City Attorney to check if it's legal. Once it's been approved, the proposal is introduced at a full 11-member Board of Supervisors (BoS) meeting, where it's then assigned to a committee made up of three Supes. 30 days have to pass before the committee can hear it, giving you time to see what proposals are coming up.

Speak up in a committee hearing

Committees might sound boring but this is where the action happens. Committee hearings are where you have 3 minutes to persuade the three Supes that your proposal is the best. Recruit your friends too because this is the only time people can publicly comment on your specific idea. You can also email board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org if you like typing things. During the hearing, the Supes can debate the proposal, request changes, reject it, or decide with a majority vote (2 votes) to review it at the next full BoS meeting (you want the latter.)

Attend a board of supervisors meeting

BoS meetings happen almost every Tuesday at 2pm at SF City Hall (Room 250). Your proposal has made it to the meeting agenda, and while you can't publicly voice your opinions anymore, this is when all of the Supes vote on your proposal. The BoS can still amend the proposal and send it back to committee, but with just six votes they can approve it, thus sending it to the Mayor.

👍 👎 Wait for the Mayor's final say

Once the proposal is approved by the BoS, the Mayor has 10 days to act. He/she can approve it (yay), veto it (wow, that sucks), or do nothing, automatically making it into law (yay). The BoS can override the Mayor's veto with 8 votes.

Watch your proposal change SF

The Mayor digs your idea so you only have to wait another 30 days before your proposal becomes law. Mission burritos will officially be a part of every SFist's daily diet. Congrats.