AMENDED IN COMMITTEE
11/18/19
ORDINANCE NO.

FILE NO. 190926

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[Administrative Code - Acquisition, Retention, and Use of Surveillance Technology]

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Ordinance amending Chapter 19B of the Administrative Code, governing the City’s

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acquisition, retention, and use of surveillance technology, to allow the acquisition and

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retention of face recognition technology under certain conditions; to preclude legal

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relief for alleged violations of Chapter 19B that the City timely cured following notice;

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and to authorize the City Administrator to adopt implementing standards to guide

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departments in compliance with Chapter 19B’s restrictions on the acquisition,

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retention, and use of surveillance technology.

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NOTE:

Unchanged Code text and uncodified text are in plain Arial font.
Additions to Codes are in single-underline italics Times New Roman font.
Deletions to Codes are in strikethrough italics Times New Roman font.
Board amendment additions are in double-underlined Arial font.
Board amendment deletions are in strikethrough Arial font.
Asterisks (* * * *) indicate the omission of unchanged Code
subsections or parts of tables.

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Be it ordained by the People of the City and County of San Francisco:

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Section 1. The Administrative Code is hereby amended by revising Sections 19B.2
and 19B.8, and adding Section 19B.9, to read as follows:

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SEC. 19B.2. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVAL OF SURVEILLANCE
TECHNOLOGY POLICY.*

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(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter 19B, it shall be unlawful for any

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Department to obtain, retain, access, or use: 1) any Face Recognition Technology on City-

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issued software or a City-issued product or device; or 2) any information obtained from Face

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Recognition Technology on City-issued software or a City-issued product or device. This

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subsection (d) is subject to the exceptions in subsections (e)-(g) and the qualifications in subsections

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(h)-(kl).
(e) A Department’s inadvertent or unintentional receipt, retention, access to, or use of

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any information obtained from Face Recognition Technology shall not be a violation of this

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subsection (d), provided that:
(1) The Department does not request or solicit its receipt, access to, or use of

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such information; and
(2) The Department logs such receipt, access to, or use in its Annual

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Surveillance Report.
(f) It shall not be a violation of subsection (d) for a City Department to retain possess Face

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Recognition Technology on City-issued software or a City-issued product or device, provided

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that:

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(1) The Face Recognition Technology is a stock, manufacturer-installed capability,

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bundled with software, or stored on a product or device, and that the functions unrelated to Face

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Recognition Technology are necessary to perform essential City functions;

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(2) The software, or product, or device was not acquired for the purpose of performing
the Face Recognition Technology function;
(3) The Face Recognition Technology function cannot be deleted from the software, or
product, or device; and
(4) The Department does not use the Face Recognition Technology.
(g) It shall not be a violation of subsection (d) to acquire or obtain Face Recognition
Technology provided that, in advance of obtaining the Face Recognition Technology:

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(1) In advance of obtaining the Face Recognition Technology, The the

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Department makes a written finding that the software, or product, or device is not being acquired or

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obtained for the purpose of performing the Face Recognition Technology Function; and

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(2) In advance of obtaining the Face Recognition Technology, The the Purchaser

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or the Purchaser’s designee makes a written finding that the Face Recognition Technology is a stock,

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manufacturer-installed capability bundled with software, or stored on a product or device; that the

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functions unrelated to Face Recognition Technology are is necessary to perform essential City

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functions; and that the software, or product, or device is unavailable without the stock, manufacturer-

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installed Face Recognition Technology; and.

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(3) The City Department obtains approval of a Surveillance Technology

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Ordinance under this Chapter 19B where the software, product, or device constitutes

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Surveillance Technology.

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(h) A City Department that possesses Face Recognition Technology shall certify

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annually compliance with subsections (e)-(l) and post that certification and the written findings

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required by subsection (g) on the Department website.

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(ehi) If either the District Attorney or Sheriff certifies in writing to the Controller that

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acquisition of Surveillance Technology is necessary to perform an investigative or

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prosecutorial function and provides in writing to the Controller either an explanation of how

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compliance with this Chapter 19B will obstruct their investigative or prosecutorial function or a

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declaration that the explanation itself will obstruct either function, the District Attorney or

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Sheriff shall simultaneously submit a copy of the document to the Clerk of the Board of

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Supervisors so that the Board in its discretion may hold a hearing and request that the District

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Attorney or Sheriff appear to respond to the Board’s questions regarding such certification,

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explanation, and/or declaration. The written certification shall specify the Surveillance

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Technology acquired, or to be acquired.

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(fij) Nothing in this Chapter 19B shall be construed to obstruct the constitutional and

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statutory powers and duties of the District Attorney, the Sheriff, the Chief Adult Probation

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Officer, or the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer.

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(gjk) Except as restricted by subsection 19B.2(d) or expressly restricted in a

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Surveillance Technology Policy developed pursuant to subsection 19B.2(a)(5), nothing in this

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Chapter 19B shall be construed to prohibit, restrict, or interfere with the receipt, access to, or

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use by a City dDepartment of information gathered by a non-City entity or individual from

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Surveillance Technology.

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(hkl) Nothing in this Chapter 19B shall prohibit, restrict, or interfere with a

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Department’s use of Surveillance Technology to conduct internal investigations involving City

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employees, contractors, and volunteers, or the City Attorney’s ability to receive or use, in

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preparation for or in civil or administrative proceedings, information from Surveillance

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Technology (excluding Face Recognition Technology to the extent prohibited under sSection

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19B.2(d)(1) that any City agency, department, or official gathers or that any other non-City

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entity or person gathers.

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SEC. 19B.8. ENFORCEMENT.

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(a) If a Department alleged to have violated this Chapter 19B takes corrective

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measures in response to such allegation, the Department shall post a notice on the

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Department’s website that generally describes any corrective measure taken to address such

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allegation.

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(b) Any alleged violation of this Chapter 19B for which the City received notice under

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subsection (c) and that is not corrected by the Department within 30 days of receipt of the notice,

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constitutes an legally cognizable basis for relief, injury, and any person affected thereby may

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institute proceedings for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or writ of mandate to remedy the

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violation, in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce this Chapter 19B. An action

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instituted under this subsection (cb) shall be brought against the City.

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(c) Prior to the initiation of any legal proceeding under subsection (cb), the City must

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be given written notice of the alleged violation(s) and an opportunity to correct such alleged

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violation(s) within 30 days of receipt of the notice.

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(d) If the alleged violation(s) is substantiated and subsequently corrected, a notice

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shall be posted in a conspicuous space on the City’s website that describes the corrective

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measure(s) taken to address the violation(s).

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(e) A court shallmayshall award costs and reasonable attorney’s fees to a plaintiff who
is a prevailing party in any action brought under subsection (cb).

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SEC. 19B.9. IMPLEMENTING STANDARDS.

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After notice and a public hearing, the City Administrator or the City Administrator’s designee is

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authorized to adopt or amend rules, regulations, operational standards and interpretative guidelines

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(“Implementing Standards”) that are not inconsistent with this Chapter 19B or its purposes and that

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will assist and guide departments in implementing this Chapter. An Implementing Standard adopted

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under this Section 19B.9 shall not become operative until 10 days after the notice of the adoption is

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posted on the City Administrator’s website. The Implementing Standard shall cease to be operative if

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an ordinance referring to the specific Implementing Standard and proposing to address the same

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subject matter as that Implementing Standard is introduced at the Board of Supervisors.

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Section 2. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective 30 days after

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enactment. Enactment occurs when the Mayor signs the ordinance, the Mayor returns the

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ordinance unsigned or does not sign the ordinance within ten days of receiving it, or the Board

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of Supervisors overrides the Mayor’s veto of the ordinance.

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Supervisor Peskin
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 Section 3. Scope of Ordinance. In enacting this ordinance, the Board of Supervisors

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intends to amend only those words, phrases, paragraphs, subsections, sections, articles,

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numbers, punctuation marks, charts, diagrams, or any other constituent parts of the Municipal

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Code that are explicitly shown in this ordinance as additions, deletions, Board amendment

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additions, and Board amendment deletions in accordance with the “Note” that appears under

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the official title of the ordinance.

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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DENNIS J. HERRERA, City Attorney
By:
JANA CLARK
Deputy City Attorney
n:\legana\as2019\1900073\01407454.docx

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Supervisor Peskin
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

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