Each week your Chamber is at City Hall monitoring and advocating for legislation that will encourage business growth and development in San Francisco. Since San Francisco is a city and county form of government, there are a variety of decision-making responsibilities that are made at the local level. Everything from business registration fees, social services, rental and homeownership laws, parking fines, property tax rates, to street cleaning routines are determined by local government. The role of the mayor is to implement laws, while the eleven-member Board of Supervisors meets each Tuesday at City Hall to introduce and pass public policies or laws. The local government runs a nearly $5 billion operation, which provides services to the City and County of San Francisco and sets policy that affects business.

Likewise, the California State Legislature and the United State Congress is in session year-round making decisions that impact business. Each year there are numerous bills impacting workers compensation, heath care, financial privacy issues, transportation, taxes, etc. The Chamber keeps in contact with our Sacramento and Washington legislators to advocate for and against polices that influence the business climate.

MEMEBER ALERT:

• Member Alert: New Local Minimum Wage Takes Effect in February 2004 - Nearly 60 percent of San Francisco voters supported creating a local minimum wage. This measure was placed on the ballot by initiative, but proposed by Board of Supervisors president, District 5 supervisor and mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez. This measure requires all businesses employing people in San Francisco to increase their current state-mandated minimum wage payment from $6.75/hour to San Francisco's new $8.50/hour. This measure goes into effect in February 2004 and would apply to all businesses that employ 10 or more people and all people performing work under the city's welfare-to-work programs.
  
  Additionally, beginning in January 2005, the minimum wage will increase annually based upon the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, California metropolitan statistical area. Each year, the city will post by Dec. 1 the increase for the following year to take effect on Jan. 1.
  
  Nonprofit organizations and businesses with fewer than 10 employees will not be effected until January 2005, at which time their minimum wage will increase to $7.75/hour, up to the $8.50/hour level in January 2006.
  
  The law also creates enforcement mechanisms to ensure that employers abide by the law. At this time, the city was not worked out the details regarding implementation, however, Kareem Olateju, in the Minimum Compensation Ordinance/Health Care Accountability Ordinance office, can be contacted at 415-554-6214 for additional information. Members may also contact Seide Ouch, Public Policy Manager at souch@sfchamber.com - 415-352-8841 for basic questions about the ordinance.

For Local Government Update click here

The Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to supporting sound policy decisions that ensure a healthy environment for business in the city. Local business is directly impacted by legislation in San Francisco and Sacramento.

Our Public Policy agenda and committee structure are centered around six areas:

• Education
• Workforce Housing and Land Use
• Economic Development
• Transportation
• Quality of Life
• Water.

Don't miss out on your opportunity to become involved.