>> : examing potential vehicles and capabilities for a three month deployment. just a short deployment and next slide please. it's important to recognize the federal and state regulations that are working in the safety standards. -approval is required if we intend and are able to carry passengers and public pangers.

those are the four types of critical approvals that we'll need moving forward. an area where we're demonstrating without the public. we're recognizing the cd nineteen issues here. in all cases we're looking at safety as paramount so working through those type of discussions with the regulatory agencies and with that hwa. next slide, please. let's talk about the next steps right now. i already drafted and have submitted the double clickments. concept of operations. that's a technical term. later this year and into early next we're going to issue a question for information from potential vendors to get their, in essence thoughts and

important critical data in terms of how they see the industry here and give us information in drafting a request for proposals. our intent is to issue it in early 2021. come back to this board in the spring of 2021. and employment late in 2021. we do anticipate coming back to you periodically. we'll come to you in the next three to four months advise you of where we stand. that's our thought process moving forward. today is just an information item for all of you to understand and the public to understand where we stand today on this very exciting project. i'm open to questions now. thank you. >> : thank you so much. exphitioner do you have any

questions? >> : how many jobs are lost or replaced for because we have. >> : what we're thinking is

different technicians are going to be required. always be able to in essence track where the shultle is and be able to inveen in emergency situations. just so you are clear in terms of the pilot. they are there and present. right now that's the thought process. we'll learn more as we move forward here. when we talked to potential venters and get deeper into the potential environment. >> : thank you. i know that all of the pilots, we do have actual bodies there obviously this is long term and on going. as we enter through technology which is necessary also be mindful that there are other opportunities that we do provoie

for our work force. i do appreciate that. >> : thank you. if i could just add to the answer. indeed this would actually supplement and compliment the treasure island which would continue to operate. this is just to demonstrate. in the longer term the treasure island is meant to provide four shuttles for distribution an access to the 25 main line. it's meant to extend the reach. many folks are absolutely involved in how that integration would happen. >> : got it. thank you. seeing no comments from commissioner. do we have any public comment on this item. >> : he wrote in the chat to

speak. >> : there are different pilots throughout the united states that have received federal grants. the technology is what allows the vehicle to see what's in front of it, et cetera. >> : i like the most ambitious uses. you wouldn't want to put one of these in downtown san francisco right now. in the middle of a very crowded congested dynamic environment. that would be the search place. it's being used in that place

anywhere. the executive director has been to road one in las vegas, they had a shuttle in a protected lane basically in a loop i'm told to pick up passengers et cetera. we've seen it on college campuses and visited sacramento state university to see that in play. also in another county there has been a short deployment in bishop ranch. they are testing often the old naval weapons station there. >> : what is going wrong in an autonomous vehicle? >> : really when it comes to the technology right now, what's going wrong and what we have seen is the ability, it's very sensitive in terms any object that comes out in front of it. it will break and stop.

the question becomes can it do that like a human would do where it recognizes the issue and understands the peril in front of it and continue it proceed. those are the things we need to look the as part of this. you should see this definitely as a study. >> : there's a driver that tells you what to do. when you your automatic mouse vehiclyour autonomous vehiclesh? >> : the public utilities commission is the one that provides permits for testing and deployment. particularlydeployments that invest testing of the public. none are able to provide any commercial services yet. it's-we're so early. most permits are of a rea search

nature. we call them testing pilots. arizona has been more-further along in allowing more testing. the vehicles all have people in them. they are testing. they put their hands on and call it engagement or disengagement. with these early testing pilots. there are issues and they are identifying the drisks. the regulators are try to goingo ensure the regulations are thorough. this project will be mostly looking at very simple route to

see how it performs on the islands. we might have some testing on the segments to see how it does on grades or the foggy conditions sm the point is we want to provide a basis for research and evaluation for members of the public to experience what it feels like and to get feedback. >> : thank you. >> : thank you, so much. anymore questions? no. seeing no more questions. do we have public comment? >> : there is no public comment. >> : thank you so much. item three was actually an information item. madam clerk, will you please call the next item. >> : item four bicycle path

information study. >> : thank you so much. i believe it is your show again. >> : yes, it is. very excited to talk about our update on efforts here. thank you. you can go to the next slide please. just to set the context for background. the transportation authority utilized two thousand dollars starting in early 2019. the intent was to study the treasure island existing plan bicycle net work. there are some gaps that needed to be further investigated and working in partnership with the treasure island authority. and other partners that i'll mention. we're here to give you some recommendations to improve overall connectivity for all pedestrians and bicyclists.

i want to make sure that you're clear on essence. what we see on clear connection points. areas we believe the public would be very excited to be part of in terms of their experience on the island. the terminal right now is being constructed by development team sm the plan is to have that

complete in about a year. that's going to be the transit hub. all the transit services coming to and from and on the island. the other project that is important to recognize is in play is the bay area authority proposed pathway is what we refer to as the bay skyway project. the intent is to provide a bicycle facility on the bay bridge on the island to the main land of san francisco. this is the point which is really a beautiful facility right now. we've included bathrooms and water stations and benches for folk it enjoy their time there. that is in play right now. we constructed that on the

westbound on and off ramps. probably a course of the island that you don't get to visit a lot unless you are familiar with it is the historic district which is on the way to pier e2. you trief through what' drive tl the historic district. the development authority hope it go ahead and have folks coming visit, et cetera. finally cal trans and the reason we refer to it is e2 was the foundation, one of the old found aigs frofoundations from the ba. they repurposed it into a viewing area. that is something we want to make sure is able to access as part of the net work.

next slide, please. let's talk about what we're most excited about is really developing pedestrian bicycle path on the western side of the island which would lead from the right side of the picture there, viewing landing area, down along hill crest and that road. we see a rare opportunity that i want to chat with you about in that regard. entails is improvements as part of our contract that we just started recently. improvements along hill crest road that the development authority has received a grant for improvements along hill crest. their mission is to get folks in

the landing area. we thought it was very important and wanted to build a partnership and treb you're tred development authority and other partners are excited on our initial discussions. next slide, please. i'm going to talk a little about what you're going to see here is in essence concept that's we looked at in terms of how to improve the situation. everything here in green is what is being proposed. in light green and also in dark

breen off to thgreen off to ther screen. if you imagine coming off the bay bridge coming from the east bay. if you go ahead and follow the path and take one hundred eighty degree turn and go under the bay bridge and the cross section that you see there is the cross section that's being completed as part of our efforts. the development team is actually completing that work on the road itself that would lead all the way down to treasure island. where you see what looks like an oval shaped track in order to meet ada compliance, et cetera is the vision for being able to continue onto that in an oval

shaped manner and go towards the west. let's go ahead to next slide, please. imagine yourself continuing down the path. ada compliant along what we're calling hill crest and treasure island road. connecting to and above, the next slide, please. connecting would have above what we call the ydi tunnel. you see the sickle of gra circly that's a critical connection point to connect to that west bay skyway project to bring you into san francisco. it's also planning now. i'm going to complete the journey here and by doing so you go long the groan up the screen

along the west side bridges project that we're going to start construction next year. that's an aerial view. we're completing our design efforts. that's a project that we're ready to bring to the transportation authority board later this year. early next. start that project. the thought process here is for us to try and work towards being able to implement a bike path from a construction standpoint. krict itconstruct it, for almose years we'll be working at this location starting next year.

all the way to 2024. this is the opportunity we think we can have some pretty good cost savings. in terms of being able to construct it now as part of this effort. we're working with our partners to see if we can go ahead and obtain the funding here, moving forward. next slide, please. finally what this shows is completing your jurn any all thy down to the hub. knowing that a ferry terminal is going to be open in about a year plus, 12 to 15 months. you have the opportunity for folks to take bikes to the ferry and cross. we're looking at strategic locations for bicycle stations

at the terminal and ferry point and other areas of treasure eye lan. it's really something that we're very excited p an and heard very positive reactions from our partners up to date. i do now want to focus. i'm going to change focus and imagine yourself going from that key-what i call starting point on the island, vista point. this time we're going to go down as if you were going to go pier e2. it's an egress and ingres to the coast guard station. what you're going to do is come

down a windy two-lane road. our thought process is to add sidewalks at critical locations to be able to bring folks into the historic district which was referred to in the past as quarter one. they are basically historic buildings all a longs there that currently owns and operates particularly the admiral minutes quarter one facility. continuing down that windy road, adding sidewalks and bike paths. the development team is building now as part of their effort. on the right side of your screen being able to go all the way do.

folks can go ahead and park their

>> meeting will come to order. this is the july 21, 2020 special budget and finance committee meeting. i'm standing you chair of the budget budget and finance

committee i'm joined by supervisor shamann walton and rafael mandelman. madam clerk, do we have any announcement? >> due to the covid-19 health emergency, city employees and the public, board of supervisors and committee room are closed. committee members will attend the meeting via video conference and participate in the meeting. public comment will be available on each agenda. both channel 26 and sfgovtv.org are streaming the number across the screen. each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak.

when your item comes up, dial star 3 to be added to the speaker line. speak clearly and slowly and turn down your television or radio. you will submit following in either of the following way, email to me, the budget and finance committee clerk. if you submit public comment via email, it will be forwarded to supervisors and will be included as part of the official file. this concludes my announcements. >> supervisor fewer: thank you

very much. can you please call number one. [agenda item read]

members of the public who wish to provide comment on this item please call 415-655-0001. if you have not already done so, please dial star 3 to line up to

speak. >> supervisor fewer: thank you very much. today we have just one item before us this, the small business and economic recovery act. which we amended at the special budget meeting thursday of last week. amendments was strengthen san francisco recovery by providing more tax relief for small businesses who have been hit hard by covid-19. this is a well thought out measure that will benefit small businesses and allow the city to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in funds that we have collected from big measures in 2018. after public comment, i'm going to be making a motion to send this to the full board as a report. i like to thank a few people for all their hard work to make sure that this happens.

first president norman yee and his step that take into account both economic recovery and city need for new revenue to keep the lights on during this budget deficit. my colleague, supervisor aaron peskin, matt haney and their staff and my staff member for all the time and work they put in this including many late night team meet. our comptroller ben rosenfield, tax attorney scott weaver for all your time, knowledge, expertise and patience and constantly walking us through the complexity of our tax system and your willingness to go back to drawing board and also to community and neighbor partners to make sure that we are strong partners in this measure and this measure is as strong as

possible. i believe we have president yee joining us today who can speak more to this measure and has an more announcement to make. >> president yee: i'm pleased to share that the mayor officially announced her support for the amended version of small business economic recovery act. i'm glad that we are joining forces to deliver the message to our voters in the next monthing comes. i don't want to repeat too much what has been said. i really believe amendments we have introduce strengthen those measures so that better response to our current unprecedented

economic crises what they fear equitable recovery, especially for our working families, small and entrepreneurs and family owned businesses. when we talk about recovery, it can't be just for a few. it must start from a bottom up, we need to provide immediate relief to the hardest impact industries and businesses and provide a response sustainable economic recovery. includes the ability to unlock funds already collected through our city our home and early care and education for all that are tied up in litigation. the measure will free up $300 million from the general fund by placing a 20-year

backstop. we have incorporated a charter amendment to ensure that the revenue generated for this specific tax is not subject to baseline reductions. this will allow a full amount to refund claims and to support the general fund. while also bringing up the dollars intended for housing support and early education. this measure excludes small businesses making $2 million or less. this will benefit around 3100 small businesses. many of which are barely getting by now. small businesses making less than $1 million will also see a reduction in their registration fee. there are significant tax reductions in industries that are hardist hit by th -- hardest hit by covid-19.

like food services and restaurant and manufacturing over the course of the next few years. lastly, it's clear that economic -- economy recovery is going to be much longer than expected. therefore, we are proposing that no new taxes are considered until january 2022 in which there will be a small increments to the tax rates for large industries. we also are proposing reporting requirements so that the comptroller provide recommendations to the board if taxes need to be further deferred or reduced due to economic conditions. i believe that the updated measure is balanced, bold bringing immediate relief to who needs it most. while offsetting the costs to mainly large industry who are

less cost sensitive. we will still need to make difficult budget decisions this year. this measure can help minimize the impact. we can prevent massive cuts, reinvest in jobs and community revitalization that is so desperately needed to lift us all of this devastating pandemic and economic crises. i want to appreciate as chair fewer mentioned, i think it's worth mentioning over and over, the work of the comptroller, ben rosenfield and ted egan our chief economist and city attorney, scott weaver for their work as well as my colleagues and their staff.

i want to recognize the coalition of labor and community partners who have been involved during this whole process. colleagues i hope i can count on your support for in measure. thank you. >> supervisor fewer: thank you very much president yee. our comptroller ben rosenfield is here for questions. we don't have any presentations. we heard the report last week. can we call for public comment for item one. >> yes, i will check to see if there's callers on the queue. if you have not done so, press star 3 to be added to the queue. for those on queue, please continue to wait until the system indicate that you have

been muted. >> i have one caller in the queue. >> hi. can you hear me? >> yes, we can hear you. >> i'm speaking to support the proposal to allow access child care funding voters already approved. we were team working with signatures to be put on the ballot. it passed. it's time for big business to pay their fair share because during the economic boom, they captured lot of the gains in the

economic growth. about 3000 small businesses would benefit from this. the child care industry is an essential service and it's necessary for economic recovery. they are being asked to do more for less. we need them to keep their doors open. once child care license closes its door, it is permanent. the city invested so much in early care education and we should protect children as well as their investment. as a stay-at-home mom, it took me three years before i was finally able to work. when i started working, my first paycheck went to pay for child care. this doesn't make sense for parents to go to work just to pay for child care. many families like mine go to extreme measures just to get the children in care. i had to send my children to grandparents outside of the country and with covid-19, and

it's no longer available. you can help us right now by approving this. thank you very much for your time. >> thank you for your comment. next speaker please. >> good afternoon supervisors. i'm public policy communication director for children council of san francisco. we have one of the referral agencies that match children with child care on behalf of the city. we run a program to help more people become child care workers. there's a shortage in san francisco. the majority of child care in san francisco is women of colour and extremely underfunded. most child care workers make around minimum wage. covid-19 highlights the reality

of how dependent our economy is on child care and k12. the funds that will be released if this ballot measure will allow child care industry to keep workers afloat and expanding access to child care. there are currently 3500 low income children on the wait list for child care and the numbers expanding as more families fall into the income requirement due to recession and covid-19. black children do not start kindergarten at the kindergarten readiness level. as a city, we must do better. child care providers are small business owners. it is one of the main ways women of colour, including immigrant women -- [indiscernible]. we thank the board of supervisors for all the work you have done on this measure.

thank you. >> next speaker please. >> that completes the queue. >> supervisor fewer: public comment for item one is closed. i like to make a motion to move in with a positive recommendation as a committee report to today's board's meeting. [roll call] >> supervisor fewer: is there any more business for us today. >> there's no further business. we are adjourned. thank you very much.

>> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause). >> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in

1990, some things opened up. i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting. a woman recruited me at the gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position. i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who

may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands because there are little queer kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family. we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends.

they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be successful. >> i have known jeanine

nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with optimism. she is easy to approach and is concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s

getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population. we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser. it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure. we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating

ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out. going back to the fire station and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be sure that gets through. it is not if or when. it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little

advice to women and queer kids, find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is going to open next. you really don't. [cheers and

sorry about that. hello, everyone. thank you for joining us today. just a friendly reminder for those who are joining us for the first time. this platform is only for members of the press. if you are member of the public, watch the live stream on sfgov tv on the youtube channel. keep yourselves on mute and also keep your videos off as well so we don't distract from the remarks. if you have any questions at the end, i do want to let everyone know we do have a hard stop at 11:30 to be mineful of the director's -- to be mindful of the director's time. if you have any questions, please submit them to us by chat

and we'll receive those questions and try to submit as much as we can with the time that we have. please remember to give your full name and outlet and no more than two questions. and depending on time and the type of question we might take it offline as well. thank you, all, if for your patience, and i will pass its on to you director colfax. >> well, good morning, everyone. i'm dr. grant colfax, director of health for the city and county of county. tos today i'm going to provide an update on the covid-19 pandemic in san francisco looking at health ind kaytors and other data. unfortunately, we are experiencing a surge in covid-19 infections that is affecting our community's health and our

re-opening plans. as a result, we are forced to continue to pause our re-opening plans until conditions improve. we are, we have been, and we continue to be in a period of uncertainty, and i want to acknowledge that is a really hard place to be. we all need to continue to do what we know works. we can flatten the curve and we can do it again, but if we do not, the consequences could be dire. in terms of where we stand today, both locally, regionally, and nationally, in san francisco we have 4,696 cases diagnosed of covid-19 and sadly, 50 deaths. in the bay area region,

approximately 37,500 cases and 667 deaths. across the state, 346,000 cases and over 7,000 deaths, and across the nation, cases and deaths continue to rise. 3.4 million cases and nearly 137,000 deaths. the virus is not only still out there, it is out there more than ever before. it continues to spread locally in our community and throughout the bay area region. we are working with researchers who are seeing the reproductive rate of the virus continue to claim above 1. right now we estimate that that number is now approximately 1.3.

that means that each person who is infected with covid-19 is passing the virus on, transmitting the virus on on average to more than one person. it is key that we get that reproductive number to 1 or lower. it is key for us to move forward. now, 1.3 doesn't seem that different from 1, that far from 1, but if we do not do better, we are looking at major problems by late august and september with an average peak -- an average peak of 900 hospitalized patients by early october. and just to put this in some frame of reference on the last surge in april, we peaked at 94 cases. this average scenario of 900

cases is nearly 10 times worse and it is certainly not the worst case scenario that we have by that time. models show that we could have thousands of hospitalized cases by then. today's tracker show that there are 92 covid positive patients in san francisco hospitals. that includes 76 san francisco residents and 16 transfers. let's look at the health indicators we are using to monitor our covid-19 response in the city. these are available on the san francisco data tracker, and you can reach them from our department's website. they are scored by color. green, yellow, orange, and red to make it easier to see at a glance where we stand and

there's detailed data available for people who want to dig a little deeper. right now the indicators show that we have reason to be concerned. our cases per 100,000 and the case rate has increased to 7.7. that is in the red zone. our goal is to keep the case rate around 1.8. we are red. in terms of our hospital system, the rate of covid-19 infections which really represents the slope of that curve that we work sod hard and successfully early on to flatten, that rate is now increasing at a 33% rate. that is red. that is cause for grave concern. our goal is to keep that curve

increasing by less than 10%. our other hospital indicators are thankfully still green. black is our capacity to take care of people across the nine hospital systems in the city. right now we have 27% of the acute care beds available and 28% of the intensive care units available. with regard to testing, our testing indicator is green. we are coveraging 2,950 test day across the city. with our -- that is far exceeding our goal of 1800 tests. certainly as we are seeing across the region, across the state and nationally, our testing system is experiencing delays in access and getting results both within our city system and with private

providers. our numbers are high at 20,950 in the green range. with regard to contact tracing, we are at level yellow reaching 85% of cases and 85% of contacts. we expect that that indicator to turn orange this week due to delayed test results reporting and our increases in cases. the contact tracing team is working hard to catch up and will continue to expand staffing of that program. in terms of our personal protective equipment or ppe, we are on level orange with 78% of the health department having a 30-day supply of ppe.

i'm sorry, let me rephrase that. across the health department, we have -- our ppe supply is 78%. our goal is 100%. we are experiencing some issues in terms of obtaining ppe likely due to the increased national demand for ppe supplies. san francisco and the challenges across california the virus is spreading at dangerous levels and this week the state announced a roll back with additional restrictions for counties on the state's watch list. approximately 30 counties are on the monitoring list as of today including several in the bay

area. we know the bay area region is an interdependent region where they live, work, and play across and covid-19 knows no county lines. if any county in the region is in trouble, we are all in trouble. that is why a regional approach has been key ever since this pandemic started, and we continue to be in touch with the hub area officers sharing data and solutions to keep all the communities as safe as possible. and it is certainly possible if our conditions do not improve, a roll back may be necessary in san francisco in other parts of the bay area as well. whether that's a roll back

through local action or through state determined access rules will continue to be watched. but this is a tool to control the situation and we have always known that this is the possibility given the unprecedented situation in the uncertain situation we continue to face. no one wants to be in the situation we're in. and as we look at the rise in cases, many of them are because the people have started to gather with friends and family and others to socialize. and i realize how hard these months have been for us and the sacrifice that all of us have made. these visits are really hard to resist but the truth is that

they are spreading to covid. the birthday parties and visits with parents or grandparents, cousins, the barbecues, they are contributing to a delay or rollback in re-opening of businesses or even the first day of school. another key behavior that we all need to do is cover our faces indoors and outdoors when people are around you who are not part of your immediate household. this is critical. research shows that masking significantly lowers the rate of transmission and 80% of people wear them. adherence to facial coverings and masking is so key. one cannot tell by looking at

someone if someone has covid-19. we know that people are asymptomatic at some stage of their disease and they can transmit it when they are asymptomatic and being safe and wearing facial coverings and social distancing and using good hygiene is key to our success. and the simple act of wearing a mask will slow the spread of the virus and lead to lifting shelter in place restrictions. for those who are wearing masks, we are truly saving lives and those who are not taking precautions, you are not helping. the situation is becoming more serious every day. please wear a mask and do not gather. stay 6 feet apart. and wash your hands.

these basic acts will make a huge difference if we do this together. we have flattened and we even crushed the curve before and that curve is now escalating and we all need to do better. and until then, our real thing is on pause. and -- until then, our reopening is on pause. we are not able to open up personal services, indoor museums, aquariums, outdoor swimming pools, indoor dining, outdoor bars without food, real estate open houses, and other activities that encourage people to gather and make it harder to wear a mask and social distance. and while it is hard to slow down the reopening and that we all want so badly and the price we pay for moving too quickly is very high. remember, this virus has no

timeline. that is why it is up to us and now is the time despite very curious numbers that i reported to you in terms of our hospitalization. we have a window to make a difference. we can still drive that number to one or lower that reproductive number by the interventions i just went through. we have a window to do this and it will make a huge difference in our hospitalization rates and the number of lives saved. we have shown that we can join together to make a difference, and we need to do it again. truly, the power is in our hands. and even in the uncertain times we know for certainty what are the right steps that we need to take. we can have a thriving city with the healthy population and a renewed economy if we work together. thank you.

>> thank you, dr. colfax. this should be better. the first question and i do just want to say to everyone joining us today that we did receive another question and we will take them in the order they were received. and any others that we can't take in time we will simply take offline. thank you for your patience. dr. colfax, the first question is from christian captain. can we please explain the role schools could play in the state of covid-19 infection rate? the school district announced that students will be distance learning when school resumes august 17. there's been a lot of talk on federal and local level about local kids getting back on campus. what will it take to get san

francisco kids back. >> one thing it will take is for us to be confident to reopen schools safely for the buildings to reopen, and certainly we are going to need to see a decrease in that reproductive rate and continue to follow the data and science to ensure that the support systems are in place and that people are able to physically distance and that the most vulnerable are protected in the settings and emphasizes the need to have the safety protocols in place and followed using the best evidence we have in terms of transmission. so we will make the decision about whether it is safe to reopen the physical spaces depending on where we stand with

the virus and where with our surge in the city when the time comes. >> thank you, doctor. next question, the governor issued new order this is week to try to wrestle the california surge back under control. the order includes statewide closures of bars, indoor dining and other activity but those weren't happening in san francisco anyway. what places or events are currently the main source of infection and how are you in addressing the sources? >> we think it is a combination of factors and increasing the number of cases in the city. and there is clearly increased activity in terms of social gatherings that people are having and we really need to insure that people are taking the precautions and not making those and not having those birthday parties and barbecues

moving forward as much as possible. and focussing on the prevention, education, and neighborhood by neighborhood and street by street and going to be so critical. and we are reinforcing the work with community partners to insure community champions that people have the resources and the knowledge they need to be safer. the other key components of this are that we continue to see infections among essential workers and we think that may be do to certain work place conditions that safety precautions are not being followed. we will be looking at that and enforcing and increasing our oversight and enforcement required precautions and the health orders that have been established and we will also be looking at the existing

businesses and looking back at the data and potentially what is on the table for that. and i will also add that we have known since the beginning of the pandemic that crowded conditions that promote the spread of the virus and really again working with community members and multigenerational households to ensure and getting people tested and taking precautions to protect themselves as well as their family members. >> thank you, doctor. is the country considering the outdoor dining and reverting to takeout only as a way to reduce gatherings? are there plans to cite businesses for health order violations in your counties? we are taking one thing that is clear from the data is indoor activities are riskier than

outdoor activities overall. we know that the virus spreads more easily and more quickly in indoors than outdoors. and we are taking a look to determine whether this increase in cases is driven by some of the outdoor dining and outdoor dining and we think this is more due to the noninsurance of some of the businesses rather than rather than the risk that's taken and the relatively smaller risk that is there and if the proper precautions are taken. and outdoors and dining and drinkings and not adhering to the masking and social distancing rules and is at a higher risk. and looking at increase in enforcement and in businesses and institutions and focussing

on individual enforcement and enforcement of individuals but really looking at the potential enforcement of institutions and businesses that are not complying and doing the enforcement and the institution and right and small businesses are not able to necessarily comply at baseline and what can they do to improve their compliance and support and workers to be more safe during the challenging time. >> thank you. next question, doctor, are you ordering residents to stop gathering outside with masks if groups are keeping to under 10 or 12 people? >> so at this time we are encouraging people to minimize gatherings as much as possible, to wear a mask if you are in close contact with others and to

socially distance whenever possible and certainly if people do better in these small groups that they gather outside is much, much safer. so those are the key components to this right now. and we know there's a lot of need to improve that appearance to the facial coverings of the social distancing. i think we know and we have seen particularly when people know each other and good friend or family members but not members of the immediate household, it is ward to wear a mask and keep socially distant. we want to hug people and we want to engage. we don't want to think a loved one who is not a part of the immediate household or good friend may be infected with covid-19 which is why we really need to get the messages out and support the communities most affected by covid-19 to drop this reproductive rate below 1.

>> thank you. next question. how will the current situation effect decision to reopen indoor pools for summer camp? >> so we have put a pause on any additional and include outdoor pools at this time. >> thank you. next question, and what surge sites are ready to be set up and the hospital system reaches capacity and when will that be done? >> right now we have hospital capacity per indicators and again you can go to our website and see that capacity across the nine hospital systems and we are in the process as we have been a number of weeks preparing for a greater surge and i want to be

clear here. we all need to do our part so that we don't get to that point. we have seen when this virus overwhelms health care systems such as in new york city as it is now doing in arizona, florida, and the southern part of this state the outcomes are poor. they're much poorer while we have had 50 people die in san francisco of covid-19 and that is too many and one death is too many and our death rate is significantly and bend the curve here again and not overwhelming the health care systems to move forward. >> thank you, doctor. how will the city enforce the latest orders? >> i'm sorry. i missed the first part of the question. last question from san francisco chronicle. how will the city enforce the latest orders? >> so we are working across the

city to strengthen our enforcement capacity, and that will be a culmination across different cities and department agencies including the health department and the city attorney. if people see violations the violation of the health order and businesses and call 311 and make a report and send people out to investigate. >> thank you, dr. colfax. this concludes today's press conference. for all of you joining us today, we took the questions in order and the number that they were received and all other questions will be taken offline in the interest of answering them. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you.

>> we're here to raise awareness and money and fork for a good accuse. we have this incredible gift probably the widest range of restaurant and count ii destines in any district in the city right here in the mission intricate why don't we capture

that to support the mission youths going to college that's for the food for thought. we didn't have a signature font for our orientation that's a 40-year-old organization. mission graduates have helped me to develop special as an individual they've helped me figure out and provide the tools for me that i need i feel successful in life >> their core above emission and goal is in line with our values. the ferraris yes, we made 48 thousand >> they were on top of that it's a no-brainer for us. >> we're in and fifth year and be able to expand out and tonight is your ungrammatical

truck food for thought. food truck for thought is an opportunity to eat from a variety of different vendor that are supporting the mission graduates by coming and representing at the parks >> we're giving a prude of our to give people the opportunity to get an education. people come back and can you tell me and enjoy our food. all the vendor are xooment a portion of their precedes the money is going back in >> what's the best thing to do in terms of moving the needle for the folks we thought higher education is the tool to move young people. >> i'm also a college student i

go to berkley and 90 percent of our folks are staying in college that's 40 percent hire than the afternoon. >> i'm politically to clemdz and ucla. >> just knowing we're giving back to the community. >> especially the spanish speaking population it hits home. >> people get hungry why not eat and give good morningi know many of you have n

tuning into the press conferences and reading releases for updates on covid in san francisco and status every opening. often those don't give us the chance to talk in depth about the complex issues we are facing. this is why talks like this today are so important. today i am joined by dr. grant colfax, director of department of public health to dive into one of the most complicated issues that we have focused on including information about the data. today dr. colfax and i are going to talk about the data the department of public health is tracking and what it means for san francisco in our ongoing response to covid. we know there are a lot of numbers out there. like the key health indicators available online and it can be difficult to keep track what it all means. i know at the end of the day everyone wants to understand

exactly what this means and when will we open? this is so fundamental to the decisions we make forral of you every day. we want to explain it to make it easier to understand. the data shows where we have been in san francisco. it gives us insight into where we are going. it gives us the ability to change course if we see a concerning spike like recently. we had to pause the reopening activities and businesses as a result. with data we can model what the future might look like if we take action or don't take action. by makes decisions on data, science and fax, we will make decisions that slow the spread of the virus and save lives. we know that we are going to be living with covid for some time

and the goal is to use this data to adapt to our new normal. let's get started, dr. colfax. thank you and welcome. can you fleacan you please prove where we are in san francisco as it relates to the numbers. >> thank you for your leadership during this time and really supporting all of us as we focus on the data, science and facts. i have a presentation with a lot of data i would like to go through. if there are questions that you would like to share during the presentation, please let me know. i will just give us a snapshot where we are today, talk about what we can all do to bend the curve, reduce infections across san francisco and talk about

what the future may hold if we do not wear face masks, practice social distancing and good hygiene. can we go to the slide presentation, please. first slide is number of cases in san francisco. all the way back, please. okay. we have a preview. this is where we stand right now in san francisco. anybody can follow these data on a daily basis at our san francisco data tracker sf.gov and follow to see where we stand. today we have nearly 4600 cases of covid-19 diagnosed in san

francisco. i think it is important to also realize that nearly 1,000 cases have been diagnosed just in the last two weeks. we continue to see a high level of diagnosis. two weeks is when people are infectious. 1,000 people in the last two weeks. 50 people have died of covid-19 related illnesses in the city. while any one death from covid-19 is too many, a few pieces of promising data here is that our death rate has leveled off for a number of weeks. our clinicians are doing a better job using science how to manage the disease. this could change at any moment, especially if the healthcare systems are overwhelmed and people are not able to get the

clinical medical attention they need. there is a lot of information on this slide. you can go to sf.gov to see this. the big graph with the green line is number of tests done in san francisco over june and into july. you can see those gray bars are the number of tests done every day. i will say that we have exceeded our goal in san francisco. we set a goal of 1800 tests each day in san francisco. for the last week we have been averaging 2600 tests each day in san francisco. you can see from that jagged green line that is the positivity rate. that is of all of the people tested on that day what is the positivity rate? that has been gradually increasing over time. it is now 3% overall time. we have recently seen a large

spike in the positivity rate, which is indicative of the virus spreading throughout the community. you can also see from the yellow bars in terms of cases in terms of race that we have a disproportionate number of people of color diagnosed with covid-19 compared with the population in san francisco overall. the latin x accounts for half of all the dyeagnosed cases. we also see large numbers from black african-american community and asian community. this is why we are working with stakeholders across neighborhoods to ensure that community leaders and neighborhoods and community members and families are actively engaged in the response, know where to get tested and care and where to access the other services needed

during this very challenging time. things like having access to food. food security, behavioral and mental health services and counseling, is very important going forward. >> mayor breed: do you want me to talk specifically? i want to clarify something so we have about less than a 6% african-american population but seeing about 5.4% of the cases african-american. we don't see disproportionately the number of cases in th the bk community like throughout the country. we clearly see disproportionat disproportionately the latino community cases. the question i have is because that in comparison to any other race in san francisco is where the biggest challenge is. my question is what are we as the city doing? what is the department of public health doing to address this

significant disparity? >> thank you, mayor. we have been working from day one with regard to preparing and anticipating health inequities in the covid-19 epidemic largely because we know that the virus spreads unconditions in which we have seen in san francisco that have affected health inequities for a long time. with regard to the disproportionate impact in latin x community we have been working with your latino task force on covid-19 to ensure that education, community engagement, testing access is strong and also that we are ensuring that when people do test positive that they not only have access to the medical care but the behavioral health support, social services support, food access and not only they have that but their families have that. if people are not able to

isolate and quarantine and not able to do that in their living situation we are also ensuring people have access at hotels as alternatives to their living conditions so they can isolate safely and not put others at risk for transmitting the disease, acquiring the disease. we are also ensuring with the contact tracing, which is such an important tool in this pandemic we have culturally appropriate contact tracing being done. half of the contact tracing is done in spanish right now. we have culturally competent contact tasers. it is not just about ensuring that people feel comfortable talking to us about who they may have been in contact with and put at risk for disease. we want to support the individual. supporting the individual,

linking to those services. we ensure people get access to care for covid-19 and medical care in general. under no circumstances will people be identified by immigration status. this process is very confidential. >> some challenging around the inequities that exist with the city respond. from day one we operated an equity team through emergency operations center but unfortunately what we are seeing in san francisco is significant number of people diagnosed with covid-19 are mostly in the southeast, eastern part of the city. the testing capacity is in the center of the city, and we are seeing disparity in terms of testing capacity. why haven't we done more other than pop up locations on a regular basis in the various neighborhoods. why have we not done more for

stationary locations so it is easier to access testing? >> from day one when we scaled up the testing centers we had southeast health center first. then we established a testing site outside the zuckerberg hospital as well as the mission neighborhood health center. we are also expanding testing sites in sunnydale, potrero hill and we have just recently started testing at the hub and mission. it is a key priority of ours to continue to ensure people have access to testing, particularly if they are in the neighborhoods where we see the highest prevalence of covid-19. >> the one opened in the mission this weekend they expected 100 people and tested over 200. we have to take the testing where people are.

i will turn it back to you to finish up your presentation. >> thank you, ma'am. mayor, you talked about equity and covid response. i will reinforce this slide emphasizes we had our equity front and center of our covid response from beginning and continue to ensure we make investments as we move forward. i also wanted just to point out where san francisco is relative to other communities that are dealing with this pandemic. this is looking at san francisco compared to other cities and jurisdictions across the country. as you can see so far our case rate is relatively low to other

places. our death rate is quite a bit lower at 5.8 per 100,000 people. compared to other jurisdictions we are significantly lower than other places. our testing rates while we continue to expand testing, our testing average is 2.92 tests per 1,000 and that compares to other places. we needsh to expand testing. thithis is a regional and natiol issue. there is a lot of demand for testing now and delays in test results. i would emphasize here in san francisco our public health lab was one of the first to offer testing. we continue to expand that and work with private providers, kaiser and others to ensure low barrier testing is available to people. promising news.

we are in a vulnerable situation. the mayor spoke about indicators right now. this is the slide looking at the hospitalizations in the city from march into july. you can see that our hospitalization rates are starting to increase. the dark bars are the number of patients in intensive care. light are the people in acute care, medical surgical beds that are sick enough to be in the hospital. those numbers are significantly increasing. this is very concerning. we got up to a high of 94 in april in terms of hospitalization rate. that was the first surge. thanks to everybody in san francisco we flattened the curve and crushed it. now it is going up. we in another surge.

we are in another surge and we expect to see these hospitalization numbers to continue to go up. the yellow bars in this graph also show the number of people in the hospital who have been transferred from other jurisdictions because other jurisdictions are in serious trouble as well. many of these include patients transferred from the outbreak in san quentin. we are in a surge even taking into account those transfers. you talked about indicators. this is one of the key indicators in the city. people can go to sf.gov to see the indicators. this is the change in covid hospitalizations by week. this is number of people in the hospital with covid 19. that rate of change. as you can see for a long period of time we were doing really well in the city. we were in the green zone.

that is the green dots here. that increase was less than 10%. then we saw a big jump consistent with the surge in the graph i just showed you. we continue to be in the red zone with a double rate of 20% compared to our target rate of 10%. this is reflective of the surge. this is why we made the very difficult decision to put re-openings on pause. similarly, we are seeing a big increase in the positivity rates of people who are testing. this is the number of cases diagnosed per 100,000 population over seven days. you can see we were in the yellow zone for a long time, and our goal was to get to 1.8 per

100,000. we are now above 6 per 100,000. you can see that on the right. this slide is updated to july 11. we are at 7.8 per 100,000. this indicates that the virus is spreading throughout the city. particularly in the areas that you mentioned southeast part of the city. this is a complicated slide. i will take a minute to describe it. this is looking at the reproductive number of the virus. what is the reproductive number of the virus? that is how fast the virus is is transmitting through the population. reproductive rate of two means for every person infected with the virus, two people get infected with the virus. that is a very high transmission

rate. reproductive rate of .5 so half means for every two people infected with the virus, only one new person gets infected. that is really good. for every two people infected only one new person is infected. that means is virus is going down in the population. reproductive rate of one in the dotted line across this graph means for everyone person infected with the virus, one more person is getting infected. what we really want in a situation we are this is get that reproductive number below one, which means for every person infected with the virus less than one other person is getting infected. that is key. what does this graph actually show? these are scenarios modeled at u

c berkeley. we asked given the dates take we gave you to analyze what are the best estimates for the reproductive rate. that is shown o on blue across time. we were doing well in san francisco. the rate was below one as low as .85. if that had stayed the virus would have burned out in the city. unfortunately, you can see here that starting in early june we started to cross that one. right now we estimate that reproductive rate of virus is as high as on average 1.25. it could be even higher.

that is what the blue fuzzy leans. they are estimates of the model. most likely it is 1 point 25. it could be higher or lower. right now our best estimate is 1.25. that doesn't sound like that much different, right? that is half a decimal point from where we were. why is that a big deal? this is what keeps me up at night. this is what happens if the reproductive rate stays at 11-point owes -- 1.25 with the current surge. that dark line most likely scenario if everything is the same at 1.25 we would hit 830 hospitalizations in the city. think about that for a minute. in april we peaked at 94.

thanks to all of the work people did in san francisco we sheltered in place, drove that number down. it is now plausible that we hit hospitalizations at 830 if we do not do more to stop the spread. those lighter blue peaks are plausible scenarios as well. we could get up to 6,000 hospitalizations. it reflects the challenges that new york had. we hope this doesn't happen. it is so key here. we have a window to do better.b. next slide. and again, another very concerning situation. this related to the reproductive rate of 1.25, so this means that we will have more people die, and if you follow that blue line, this

means we would average, excuse me, 890 deaths from covid-19 in 2020. we're at 50 right now, and by the end of the year, we could be at 890 with a reproductive rate of 1.25, and again, unfortunately, those white shaded blue lines show we could get much higher scenarios, approaching 2,000, and even 3,000. so this is -- this is serious. this is a -- we are in a very concerning time right now with this reproductive rate of 1.25, and we need to drive down below 1 as soon as possible. next slide. but there is hope, and this is looking as of july 4, because we were looking at the july 4 weekend and asking everyone to do their part. if we could reduce that rate by

half, we could dramatically reduce our hospitalizations and our death. we could go from the hundreds that we talked about to as few as 50 and 70. and even the scenarios that i showed you with those light blue shaded areas, we could see more deaths through 2020. so if we do our part, we could save lives and keep people out of the hospital. again, even in the next two weeks, if we could all do our part, we could really make a difference. you see in the next two weeks, we wait for the reproductive number to reduce by 50%, we still have peak hospitalization at 340 and an estimated 220

deaths in 2020, so time really makes a difference. next slide. so key introduction to reducing r.p.e. this the reproductive rate. this has real socioeconomic and other consequences, as well. discouraging gatherings, especially inside, and i just want to emphasize right now that, really, please do not gather with people outside of your immediate household, and especially do not gather

indoors, it is very dangerous to do that. please, it is literally saving lives. and then, continuing to offer testing, expanding our testing, and contact tracing. such key tools to our efforts going forward. next slide. so i alluded to this, but really, riskiness of the activity, we know that outdoors is safer than indoors. it's at this point that, based on the latest data, it's 10 to 20 times safer than being indoors. it's risking out to be involved in gatherings with people

outside of your immediate household. half of the people who transmit covid-19 are asymptomatic. and you can get covid-19 right after you test. so don't think that just because you test negative, you can get it from people that you hangout with or you can transmit it back to older people in your household. we continue to emphasize wearing face coverings, 6 feet

of social distancing, and washing your hands. the frequency, the more people go out, the more they are putting themselves and their loved ones at risk. the duration, the longer people spend time together, the more risk it is for transmission, and then, the distance. this is why we are focused on the social distancing and the importance of that going forward. next slide. and then, i did want to talk a little bit about hope going forward, and talk about vaccines are being looked at and developed, and unfortunately, there's not likely to be any vaccines soon. key experts estimate it could be 12 to 18 months before a vaccine is widely available.

that's very different from saying a vaccine is going to be available in six months to a year. but i'm hopeful, according to mayor breed, that we will be testing extensively across the city and also at zuckerberg san francisco general hospital, and we will be focusing on engaging communities most at risk for covid-19 to support them in participating in vaccine trials as soon as august. thank you, mayor, and that's my completed presentation. >> the hon. london breed: well, thank you, dr. colfax. i know we're at the end of our time here, but i do want to take this opportunity to just speak to the people in san francisco who are struggling.

there are some people who are struggling, who have no paychecks coming in, and it's really hard. and what happens, in addition to the loss of your financial ability to take care of yourself and even your family, mental health becomes a whole other issue. and it seems as without our churches, our religious services, our ability to congregate and come together with one another, our spirituality as well as our coming together in the world, and our ability to socialize as we do on a regular basis, it's almost as if we're trading one public health crisis for another. we know, for example, domestic violence has gone up, suicides have gone up, people are more

stressed in trying to figure out what to do with their lives. we see some of the violent crimes going up in the city. how do we justify that? the fact is you and i know we're going to be living with covid for the 12 to 18 months or even longer, and so this is hitting in various ways as we try and keep people safe and try to prevent the surge in the hospitals and even deaths. but there's only so much we can emotionally handle as human beings, so ktell us how we're supposed to deal with all of that? >> thank you, mayor. i appreciate this, and again, this is such a challenging time, i would say the risks -- the downsides to the shelter in place and the slow reopening are very real and very

concerning from a health standpoint and an economic standpoint. i think the counter point is no one has said, we're going to go ahead and open quickly. as you see across the country, the mental health consequences of opening and having a surge, many people are struggling in san francisco, but if we have a surge like we saw in new york or unfortunately like we saw in houston and parts of florida, we would have all of those concerns that you're talking about on top of the overwhelming the hospital systems due to covid-19 plus the covid-19 pandemic and everything that we're dealing with and managing today. unfortunately, there's downsides to where we are

today, but they're even worse. and we just want people to understand that these times are hard, but we have a pandemic in our city, and it could be much worse. mayor, i have some numbers, and i'd like to give them. may i give them? >> the hon. london breed: yes. >> so our warm number is 855-845-7415. and then, we also have mobile crisis, so for acute situations. our number is 415-970-4000, and the last thing is if you see businesses that are violating the health orders around social distancing and good hygiene, please let us know. please call 311.

we will send inspectors out, and if people are violating those orders, we will take steps to aggressively make sure that they do. >> the hon. london breed: and also, i want to push back a little bit. outdoor activities are permissible in certain circumstances with guidelines, and i do think with regards to religious services, if people have the ability to have outdoor services or if there are ways that we can get creative with allowing other things to happen because i know your religion plays a role in things like this. i think it's going to be important as we see changes in the number, we want to provide people with opportunities to deal with the challenges of what we're facing over the next 12 to 18 months at least. just think about what's going

to happen with our kids and the schools and a number of other things. the fact that we have all of these playgrounds, and kids can't even play in playgrounds. it is heartbreaking for me that we can't even provide these opportunities, so i do want to think of these creative ways that we can support people. if you're one of these people that need help, mental help, testing, please call 311. we have a lot of city resources. we've developed a lot of public-private partnerships to provide support you want. we know it's not going to be everything that you want, but we do our best to support folks that are struggling in san francisco. and the sad reality is it's not just san francisco, but it's

all over the country where we see this impacting our country, we see it impacting our economy, and the goal is to keep everybody safe, so this is our new normal. so thank you, dr. colfax, and hopefully, we'll be able to have more conversations in the future. if you have any questions, please reach out to us at 311. thank you, everyone. >> thank you, mayor. >> roughly five years, i was working as a high school teacher, and i decided to take my students on a surfing field trip. the light bulb went off in my head, and i realized i could do

much more for my students taking them surfing than i could as their classroom teacher, and that is when the idea for the city surf project was born. >> working with kids in the ocean that aren't familiar with this space is really special because you're dealing with a lot of fear and apprehension but at the same time, a lot of excitement. >> when i first did it, i was, like, really scared, but then, i did it again, and i liked it. >> we'll get a group of kids who have just never been to the beach, are terrified of the idea, who don't like the beach.

it's too cold out, and it's those kid that are impossible to get back out of the water at the end of the day. >> over the last few years, i think we've had at least 40 of our students participate in the city surf project. >> surfing helped me with, like, how to swim. >> we've start off with about two to four sessions in the pool before actually going out and surfing. >> swimming at the pool just helps us with, like, being, like, comfortable in the water and being calm and not being all -- not being anxious. >> so when we started the city surf project, one of the things we did was to say hey, this is the way to earn your p.e. credits. just getting kids to go try it was one of our initial challenges for the first year or two. but now that we've been doing

it three or four years, we have a group of kids that's consistent, and the word has spread, that it's super fun, that you learn about the ocean. >> starting in the morning, you know, i get the vehicles ready, and then, i get all the gear together, and then, i drive and go get the kids, and we take them to a local beach. >> we usually go to linda mar, and then occasionally ocean beach. we once did a special trip. we were in capitola last year, and it was really fun. >> we get in a circle and group stretch, and we talk about specific safety for the day, and then, we go down to the water. >> once we go to the beach, i don't want to go home. i can't change my circumstances at home, but i can change the way i approach them. >> our program has definitely been a way for our students to

find community and build friends. >> i don't really talk to friends, so i guess when i started doing city surf, i started to, like, get to know people more than i did before, and people that i didn't think i'd like, like, ended up being my best friends. >> it's a group sport the way we do it, and with, like, close camaraderie, but everybody's doing it for themselves. >> it's great, surfing around, finding new people and making new friendships with people throughout surfing. >> it can be highly developmental for students to have this time where they can learn a lot about themselves while negotiating the waves. >> i feel significantly, like, calmer. it definitely helps if i'm, like, feeling really stressed or, like, feeling really anxious about surfing, and i go surfing, and then, i just feel, like, i'm going to be okay.

>> it gives them resiliency skills and helps them build self-confidence. and with that, they can use that in other parts of their lives. >> i went to bring amy family o the beach and tell them what i did. >> i saw kids open up in the ocean, and i got to see them connect with other students, and i got to see them fail, you know, and get up and get back on the board and experience success, and really enjoy themselves and make a connection to nature at the same time. >> for some kids that are, like, resistant to, like, being in a mentorship program like this, it's they want to surf, and then later, they'll find out that they've, like, made this community connection. >> i think they provided level

playing fields for kids to be themselves in an open environment. >> for kids to feel like i can go for it and take a chance that i might not have been willing to do on my own is really special. >> we go on 150 surf outings a year. that's year-round programming. we've seen a tremendous amount of youth face their fears through surfing, and that has translated to growth in other facets of their lives. >> i just think the biggest thing is, like, that they feel like that they have something that is really cool, that they're engaged in, and that we, like, care about them and how they're doing, like, in general. >> what i like best is they really care about me, like, i'm not alone, and i have a group of people that i can go to, and, also, surfing is fun. >> we're creating surfers, and

we're changing the face of surfing. >> the feeling is definitely akin to being on a roller coaster. it's definitely faster than i think you expect it to be, but it's definitely fun. >> it leaves you feeling really, really positive about what that kid's going to go out and do. >> i think it's really magical almost. at least it was for me. >> it was really exciting when i caught my first wave. >> i felt like i was, like -- it was, like, magical, really. >> when they catch that first wave, and their first lights up, you know -- their face lights up, you know you have them hooked. >> i was on top of the world. it's amazing. i felt like i was on top of the world even though i was probably going two miles an hour. it was, like, the scariest thing i'd ever done, and i think it was when i got hooked

>> first it's always the hardest and when they look back they really won't see you, but it's the path that you're paving forward for the next one behind you that counts. (♪) hi, my name is jajaida durden and i'm the acting superintendent for the bureau of forestry and i work for public

works operations. and i'm over the landscaping, the shop and also the arborist crew. and some tree inspectors as well. i have been with the city and county of san francisco for 17 years. and i was a cement mason, that was my first job. when i got here i thought that it was too easy. so i said one day i'll be a supervisor. and when i run this place it will be ran different. and i i didn't think that it wod happen as fast as it did, but it did. and i came in 2002 and became a supervisor in 2006. and six months later i became the permanent supervisor over the shop. >> with all of those responsibilities and the staff you're also dealing with different attitudes and you have to take off one hat and put on another hat and put on another hat. and she's able -- she's displayed that she can carry the weight with all of these different hats and still maintain the respect of the director, the deputy director

and all of the other people that she has to come in contact with. >> she's a natural leader. i mean with her staff, her staff thinks highly of her. and the most important thing is when we have things that happen, a lot of emergencies, she's right by me and helps me out every time that i have asked. >> my inspiration is when i was a young adult was to become a fire woman. well, i made some wrong decisions and i ended up being incarcerated, starting young and all the way up to an adult. when i was in jail they had a little program called suppers program and i -- supers program, and i met strong women in there and they introduced me to construction. i thought that the fire department would turn me down because i had a criminal history. so i looked into options of what kind of construction i could do. while i was in jail. and the program that i was in, they re-trained us on living and

how to make the right decisions and i chose construction. and cement mason didn't require a high school diploma at that time so i figured i could do that. when i got out of jail they had a program in the philmore area and i went there. my first day out i signed up and four days later i started to work and i never looked back. i was an apprentice pouring concrete. and my first job was mount zion emergency hospital which is now ucsf. and every day that i drive by ucsf and i look at the old mount zion emergency, i have a sense of pride knowing that i had a part of building that place. yeah, i did. i graduated as an apprentice and worked on a retrofit for city

hall. i loved looking at that building and i take big pride in knowing that i was a part of that retrofit. my first for formen job was a 40 story building from the ground up. and it's a predominantly male industry and most of the times people underestimate women. i'm used to it though, it's a challenge for me. >> as a female you're working with a lot of guys. so when they see a woman, first they don't think that the woman is in charge and to know that she's a person that is in charge with operations, i think that it's great, because it's different. it's not something -- i mean, not only a female but the only female of color. >> i was the first female finisher in the cement shop and i was the first crew supervisor, in the shop as a woman. when i became a two, the supervisors would not help me. in the middle, they'd call me a

rookie, an apprentice and a female trying to get somewhere that she don't belong. oh, it was terrible. it was terrible. i didn't have any support from the shop. the ones who said they supported me, they didn't, they talked about me behind my back. sometimes i had some crying, a lot of crying behind doors, not in public. but i had a lot of mentors. my mentor i will call and would pick up the phone and just talk, talk, talk, please help me. what am a i going to do? hang in there. it was frustrating and disheartening, it really was. but what they didn't understand is that because they didn't help me i had to learn it. and then probably about a year later, that's when i started to lay down the rules because i had studied them and i learned them and it made me a good supervisor and i started to run the ship the way that i wanted to.

it was scary. but the more i saw women coming through the shop, i saw change coming. i knew that it was going to come, but i didn't know how long it would take. it was coming. in the beginning when i first came here and i was the first woman here as a finisher, to see the change as it progressed and for me to become a permanent assistant superintendent over the cement shop right now, that's my highlight. i can look down at my staff and see the diversity from the women to the different coaches in here and know that no one has to ever go through what i went through coming up. and i foster and help everyone instead of pushing them away. i'll talk to women and tell them they can make it and if they need any help, come talk to me. and they com knock on my door ad ask how i move up and how i get

training. i'm always encouraging to go to school and encourage them to take up some of the training with d.p.w. and i would tell them to hold strong and understand that things that we go through today that are tough makes you stronger for tomorrow. although we don't like hearing it at the time that we're going through all of this stuff, it helps you in the long run to become a better woman and a person >> we came to seven straight about 10 years ago. -- 7th street about 10 years ago. the environment is huge. it is stronger than willpower.

surrounding yourself with artists, being in a culture where artists are driving, and where a huge amount of them is a healthy environment. >> you are making it safer. push, push. that is better. when i start thinking, i see it actually -- sometimes, i do not see it, but when i do, it is usually from the inside out. it is like watching something being spawned. you go in, and you begin to work, excavate, play with the dancers, and then things began to emerge. you may have a plan that this is what i want to create. here are the ideas i want to play with, but then, you go into the room, and there maybe some fertile ideas that are becoming

manifest that are more interesting than the idea you had initially set out to plan. so there has to be this openness for spontaneity. also, a sense that regardless of the deadline, that you have tons of time so the you can keep your creativity alive and not cut it off and just go into old habits. it is a lot like listening. really listening to watch what is going to emerge. i like this thing where you put your foot on his back. let's keep it. were your mind is is how you build your life. if you put it in steel or in failure, it works. that works. it is a commitment. for most artists, it is a vacation and a life that they have committed themselves to. there is this notion that

artists continue to do their work because of some kind of the external financial support. if that was taken away, artists would still do their art. it is not like there is a prerequisite for these things to happen or i will not do it. how could that be? it is the relationship that you have committed to. it is the vocation. no matter how difficult it gets, you are going to need to produce your art. whether it is a large scale or very small scale. the need to create is going to happen, and you are going to have to fulfill it because that is your life.

ly appreciate our state leaders supporting us during these unprecedented and uncertain times, and thank you to the industry for your support and your continued support and for coming out with your questions and being certainly engaged in this process. so first i want to thank our esteemed guests today. we have treasury fiona mah. we have state senator scott weiner and senior advisor to the governor, nicole eliot, and i will briefly read their bios for you and then we are going to sort of jump into it. i know we have about an hour. i want to make sure that we use our time wisely. i'm marissa rodriguez, the director of the office of cannabis. we also have eugene hillsman, deputy director of the office of cannabis and jeremy schwartz who

is a permanent analyst with the office of cannabis as well. so fiona mah was elected to serve as california's 34th state's treasurer. the state treasurer's office provides financing for schools, roads, housing and other critical infrastructure projects that better the lives of californians. previously treasurer mah was a member of the state assembly from 2006 to 2012 and prior to serving there, the treasurer served on the san francisco board of supervisors from 2002 to 2006, representing district 4. thank you, treasurer mah for being here. it's so nice to have you and it's so nice to have one of our own as everyone on this call today. so if you'd like to take this time to share with our community your thoughts on what's happening right now and any support for the cannabis community that you'd like to share. >> sure. can you hear me?

>> -- our own, everyone on this call today. so if you'd like -- take this time to share with our community your thoughts on what's happening right now and any support for the cannabis community that you'd like to share. >> sure. can you hear and see me? >> i can. thank you. >> all right. there i am. thank you, marissa, for pulling us all together and for everyone who's on the call who has been staying in touch and keeping in touch and very, very frustrated during this time where the federal government is helping most everybody else except if you're in the cannabis industry, which is not very fair, as we all know. over a year ago i testified in

congress on the bill, the safe banking act as some of you remember. it finally did have a hearing earlier. i think it was -- was it when the democrats took over congress again and it got through the lower house, but it is, once again, stuck in the senate. i know that some have been trying to get cannabis in some of the stimulus packages or assistance, however, because cannabis is still a schedule 1 drug, they are not eligible for many of the assistive programs that are coming out of the federal government. however, california is a little different, as we all know. not only in california can you deduct your ordinary and necessary business expenses against your income, unlike at the federal level, but we have

really tried to move this industry forward the best that we can, at least here in california. so many of you, all of you, should be paying your tax, your sales taxings to the california department of fee administration. there was a 90-day deferral on paying and filing your first quarter sales tax return. in addition, if you do need working capital, you may qualify to take a $50,000 loan and defer payment on a year. your annual sales revenues have to be less than $5 million, so that may not pertain to some of the bigger companies, but some of the smaller companies may be able to take advantage of this. and you need to call the california department of tax and fee administration and register for this program.

again, it is interest free, $50,000 loan for up to a year, and you need to call sdtfa to figure out and sign up for their instalment plan. so unfortunately that's kind of the only program that is related to some sort of relief for the cannabis industry. the i-bank also has put money into a loan loss reserve for [indiscernible] however, the only way you will be eligible for that money is if your bank is accepting cannabis clients, and i know there's probably close to two dozen banks now in california that have legally applied to take cannabis clients on, so you all know who you are out there. but definitely check your -- the ibank.ca.gov and see whether

your participating lender participates in that and you may be eligible and qualify to get certain loans from the i-bank. so that's about all i have to report right now, and i will be here for the duration to answer any questions you may all have. >> thank you, fiona. we certainly appreciate your leadership, your unwavering support of the cannabis industry. you were instrumental in this webinar happening, so i thank you for that. we are live here at the emergency operating center for the city as we put this webinar out to our community. again thank you everyone for tuning in. next we have our senator, state senator scott weiner who was elected in november 2016, senator scott weiner represents district 11 in the california state senate. district 11 includes all of san francisco, broadmoor, daily city and portions of south san francisco. the senator helped to champion compassionate cannabis care

programs by introducing senate bill 34 which was approved by the governor in 2019. prior to his election to the state senate, he served on the board of supervisors representing district 8. thank you and happy to have you on the call, senator. >> thank you very much for -- excuse me, for having me, and hello remotely to treasurer ma and to nicole. and hello, i'm sorry to be here by phone, but i hope you can hear me okay. hello to the entire cannabis community. we're going through some really hard times right now as a community, and we all need to look to the light at the end of the tunnel. we are going to get through this, and our goal needs to be that when we do get through it

we can get both individuals and businesses back up on their feet, and so a lot of the work that we're doing right now is just to try to preserve the status quo, to keep renters stable in their homes so we don't have mass evictions, either now or after the worst of the emergency when people have massive back rents that they are expected to pay right away. we don't want that. we want to make sure that we're stabilizing people, and we want to make sure that we're stabilizing businesses in their spaces, and non-profits, so that we don't see permanent mass closure of small businesses and non-profits, and so we're working on a few pieces of legislation. on the residential side i'm working with someone on legislation to protect renters and i'm also offering legislation that's 939 to try to stabilize small businesses and non-profits in their retail and office spaces by saying no

moratoriums -- or no evictions, and we're going to have to deal with how we look at back rent. and then we're going to have to particularly for hospitality businesses, like restaurants and bars, that when they do reopen we will be required legally to have much lower capacity so that their business model no longer matches up with the rent in their lease, and we're going to need to address that as well. so we are working on these issues. specific to cannabis, we all advocated successfully in san francisco, and i know in other places it happened -- not everywhere -- to classify cannabis as an essential business, and that was a real win. and i'm glad that it happened. but i know that the industry is really struggling right now, like all small businesses are.

and in particular not being eligible for the federal small business loan, forgivable loan program. i know that's a huge hit and just one more example of the irrationality of our federal law. can't get any of these benefits. it's not okay. in terms of the legislature this year, we are going back into session. we've been in recess for about six weeks due to the pandemic. the assembly returns to session on monday. the senate returns the following monday, on may 11, and we will be pursuing a more limited policy agenda this year around covid-19, of course, but also around some of the highest priority areas, like housing and homelessness and mental health, addiction, wildfires and so

forth. and so we're all reducing the number of bills that we have and making them much more focused. i don't know that this year is going to be a big year for cannabis. i know there are some bills that have been introduced, and i'm sure that some things will happen, but i was hoping that this year we would be able to, you know, finally pass the tax reductions, you know, the tax -- the state taxes are too high and are i think really stifling the industry and encouraging the elicit market. so that's something we have to address. weren't able to get it done last year. and then we have to deal with the issues of cities just effectively banning cannabis, and big swaths of california where it's effectively illegal, and so -- but i'm not confident that either of those are going

to get resolved this year because just of everything that's happening. but stay tuned. we'll keep working, and again, thank you to everyone for all you do. >> thank you, senator. we really appreciate that, and we certainly appreciate your continued support of the industry as well. certainly difficult times, unprecedented times. there is no one who's immune to this, and we certainly appreciate that, and also appreciate the fact that we are deemed essential during these times. but you know, still, there's a huge impact and we want to see what ways and how we can support the industry to get through this. so thank you and we appreciate having you on this call. next we have senior advisor on cannabis to the governor, nicole eliot. we know nicole very well, and we are so appreciative that you could take this call today. ms. eliot serves as governor's

senior advisor on cannabis. prior to her current post, she was appointed san francisco's first director of the san francisco office of cannabis where she helped to set up cannabis's regulatory framework and permitting process. she has worked in a number of capacities with city and county -- with the city and county of san francisco, including stints as a deputy board liaison and director of legislative and government affairs in the mayor's administration. thank you for being here. this community really values you and appreciates that you are willing to talk to us during these hard times. >> sure, always happy to have these conversations, and really happy to be back with my bay area family. thank you for putting this together and for treasurer ma as well, for facilitating the creation of this. a lot has happened since i've left. first and foremost, i had a baby. >> congratulations. >> thank you!

my first day back was the first week of the shutdown, so it's been a really interesting transition back to the work environment, but we really hit the ground running starting with obviously deeming cannabis -- commercial cannabis as essential for the state of california, and since then have really been working with our licensing agencies, our partner agencies, like the treasurer, like cdtfa and others in trying to determine what we can do within the current framework and our current constraints to provide support for the industry, whether that be from a tax relief standpoint, which the treasurer really outlined in her opening comments, as well as from regulatory standpoint, and i'm sure some of you are very familiar with some of the regulatory relief that has been extended by your licensing agencies. so trying to figure out what we

can do to be as helpful as we can sort of in the immediate term and figuring out what we can do in the long term to support what will be recovery, but i will quote the governor when i say that these are very sobering and challenging times. we started this year with a multi-billion dollar surplus, and as he stated in his press conference today, we will enter the may revised with multi-billion, tens of billions of dollars to cuts. so it's a tough time for everyone. i think senator wiener really expressed the challenges that the legislature will be faced with when working through the budget, that there are a lot of priorities that we really sought to tackle this year, and on the cannabis side you guys are all familiar with those priorities, tax simplification. the governor clearly indicated a willingness to talk about the structure of tax and whether or not there should be a reduction,

either permanently or temporarily, as well as consolidation. and so that's all being impacted by the environment that we find ourselves in now. so i look forward to addressing your guys's questions today. again, i'm really happy to be here and happy to chat with you guys, and of course this is always an ongoing conversation. >> thank you, ms. elliot. i appreciate that. i want to jump in because i want to be cognizant of time here. i want to let folks know that, one, first of all, thank you for emailing in with your questions. they are really thoughtful, and they -- they are thoughtful and they span a lot of different categories, and so we broke them down by way of taxes, regulatory structure, compassion, unregulated market, the pandemic and banking. we have some general questions, we have some local questions.

because i have the privilege of being able to be in touch with our community more regularly, i will leave the local questions to the end. if we have time, we will address them. otherwise we will send them out in a response separately. but we are going to start now, and the members of our team will take each section and questions just to keep it a little bit more lively so you're not just listening to me the entire time. again, we are reporting -- we are live here from the emergency operating center here in san francisco where city employees in san francisco are keeping the lights on during this unprecedented time. and i'd like to start with the first question, and all three of you, feel free to answer this one. with the current lack of banking, covid relief opportunities for the cannabis industry are severely limited at the federal, state and local levels. while we recognize the legislature is tasked with the economic health of california, we would like you to talk about

efforts under way by the legislature that would specifically address economic relief for the cannabis industry and the likelihood of those efforts being realized in the short term. we'll start with the first section of this question, which is what is being done at the state level to move forward equality for cannabis businesses, specifically in regards to access to covid stimulus relief, lowering the overall tax burden, access to banking, and market rate commercial loans? and i know that the three of you did touch on some of this in your opening remarks, but if you could again just kind of share with our community just your thoughts and your feelings on this point. we can start with fiona ma -- pardon me, treasurer ma. >> that's okay, call me fiona. anyway, as you know, this has been a big priority for me, trying to get banking access since i was on the state board of equalization. i'm glad to report that there are more and more banks that are willing to take on cannabis-related clients. of course they want to maintain

some sort of balance, so many of them will have a certain amount of cultivators, distributors, maybe put folks in test, and they are also looking for other private equity folks who are investing. so they really wanted to diversify their portfolio and risk a little more, but every day more and more banks are willing and open to taking more cannabis clients. but it is slow, and i think this covid-19 crisis has shown how important it is, right, with all of the social distancing and not wanting to touch surfaces, that dealing in cash is more and more probably even maybe a contributor to the covid-19 spreading. so i think folks are realizing that it is so important that we try to bank this industry as

soon as possible. however, we are still always stuck in the senate because the senate is republican controlled, and that is going to be the first step in november, if we really want to see changes to cannabis, we all need to figure out how to, you know, take back the senate in november. >> thank you, fiona. with that, does anyone else want to respond? >> well, i'll speak to a couple of those points. obviously on the federal advocacy side, our federal liaisons are doing quite a bit as behind-the-scenes advocacy in d.c. around the stimulus funding to try to get cannabis involved in that and supporting the efforts of, you know, certain representatives who are pushing clarity via bills to incorporate

cannabis as well. to the treasurer's point, it is a big challenge to get the senate there, but we've seen a number of senators engage, including our state senator, kamala harris, our state senator, i should say, and kamala harris, who has really engaged in that space as well. so grateful for those efforts, but do know that we are definitely working on that in d.c. and then beyond that, on the taxes, i think, you know, obviously you heard earlier that the state has done quite a bit around taxes now, not speaking necessarily to changes to the overall cannabis tax structure, but really looking at the sales and use tax deferral, which the state, you know, believes applies to an extraordinary number of cannabis businesses if they are paying, if they are annual taxable sales, for instance, something like 77% of our retailers would likely

qualify for that. so that allows for that deferral of up to $50,000 and provides a 12-month payment plan. i will note that i believe cdtfa is willing to on a case-by-case basis consider operators that have a high amount of sales, so i think it's worth engaging cdtfa on that opportunity if you think that you are eligible or even if you feel like you might be on the cusp, do take advantage of that resource as well as you clearly now have time to file your tax via the tax extension. so to the extent that there needs to be more clarity provided to the industry on that, please do let me know because we will be happy to push out more information to you guys to make sure that all operators are taking advantage of the resources that the state is providing, that they know about it and that they are taking advantage of it where they can. and then when it comes to banks,

i mean, we have an incredibly committed set of elected officials who are really clearly advocating for, you know, banks' involvement in this space. the administration is also working on that, also behind the scenes, to try and engage banks. to the treasurer's point about the small business finance center and having support to back loans that are being given by lenders, we understand that there are not very many lenders in this space, and so we are working on trying to figure out if there are institutions that are willing to engage in that space, but as you all know, that's a challenging conversation. so do know that that work is happening behind the scenes. >> thank you so much. and where would you point folks to for information, the best place to start this process? >> so i would encourage people to visit cdtfa's website as a

starting point, and again, if you guys need additional information, please do reach out so that we can make sure you guys are able to access all of those resources. >> thank you so much. and senator wiener, did you have thoughts on this as well? perhaps the connection -- senator wiener, are you on the line still? okay, we'll work on that and get back to you. and then let's talk a little bit about, you know, the industry is ineligible for federal assistance. any talk on the state level about perhaps programs, grant assistance, that can help with economic relief in this space? >> do you want me to take that? >> sure. >> okay. so again, i think i mentioned in

my early comments to level set everyone's expectations and unfortunately to be the bearer of a lot of bad news, you know, the state has set a budget -- has indicated they will be engaging in what they call a workload budget. so no new expenditures. so it is highly unlikely we will see new programs stood up, and so when i talk to operators and to additional stakeholders in the industry, i really talk about how we can leverage existing programs. but we have a very challenged general fund, and so additional money going out is going to be very hard to come by. to be completely honest. so hence really looking at working within our existing framework, things like what cdtfa has done around tax deferral. i know there have been conversations about licensing fees, on where we as a state have capital and how we can get creative with that capital that already exists.

but it will be a challenge to put out an additional program. i'll just be very transparent and honest about that, while still flagging that those are ongoing conversations. >> thank you so much. no, we appreciate the honesty. that's why we're here and we want to engage in this conversation. and with that, thank you. we'll move now to a different topic. the unregulated market. >> sure. one of the things that a number of our operators have been interested in is around additional conversations about the state's plan to give legal businesses a chance to really compete against an illicit market that still controls a significant portion of the cannabis market. can you discuss existing state enforcement efforts and how the pandemic might impact proposed efforts? we can start with senior advisor elliott. >> sure.

so existing state enforcement efforts i think we're quite transparent last year the governor outlined multiple pillars for his priorities. enforcement is one of those, and there was a stronger effort to coordinate enforcement across a number of agencies, and i mean a number. it's a large amount. to really get at the issue of the illegal market, the informal market. and so that effort will continue this year. i think our challenge will be how we do that effort within this new work construct, but that is a challenge that we are wholeheartedly embracing, as well as of course there's dollars within our budget to put towards enforcement that includes funding that will go out through the bscc, to local jurisdictions to support local enforcement efforts, and also to our department of fish and

wildlife to support efforts on the rural cultivation side. but i think it's -- the governor has made it very clear, enforcement is a top priority, thoughtful enforcement is a top priority, and so that will be something we continue to pursue and coordinate this year. >> thank you very much. and now we're going to talk a little bit about compassion. >> jeremy schwartz here. thank you, treasurer, ms. elliott, senator wiener if you're still there for making yourselves available. i would like to acknowledge that in getting sportsnet bill 34 across the finish line regarding compassion programs and tax savings, to that point, i'll share an anecdote which is pretty shared amongst some of the inquiries we received. so this gentleman said "i'm

renewing my medical cannabis recommendation with my physician on may 1. however, i'm unable to renew my state medical cannabis id card because san francisco department of public health card office is closed during this shelter in place. is there a way that the state of california could temporarily amend its regulations or otherwise allow medical cannabis i.d.s to not expire in the coming weeks with the understanding that i believe the state vital records office is closed?" so i know that was a mouthful, but any sense about the medical marijuana i.d. card program? >> well, i would just jump in that governor newsom has a press conference every noon called newsom at noon, and he takes this opportunity to talk about executive orders.

i do think he has been exercising a lot of his powers in this covid-19 pandemic, and certainly i think if the industry gets together -- like, this is the first time i heard that there was an issue about renewing your medical cannabis card, that this is certainly something that should be on his radar. but you all have to -- and this is why we're on this webinar here today, is to really hear some of the day-to-day inconveniences or barriers that you all have. but certainly that is a good point. i know i oversee affordable housing, and there is a process called tefra hearings that needs to be done every year, and a number of them were expiring, but unfortunately tefra hearings are mandated under the irs code, so the governor cannot do an executive order to overturn the irs, so i've been lobbying the

irs to try to get them to extend the tefra expiration or hearing process because many of the local governments are closed, like you said, and therefore they are putting in jeopardy a lot of the affordable housing projects that are trying to continue to move through the process. so we are facing this type of, you know, issues when governments close and we still need to get certain things done. you know, what is it that government or the state government can help with. >> excellent. thank you, treasurer. ms. elliott, do you have anything to add? >> i'll just add, i mean, i think this -- you know, i want to give credit to the treasurer for setting up this conversation. she's totally spot on, that these are the types of forums that really allow for these types of challenges to be lifted up and brought to the attention of the state. and that was something that was brought to my attention yesterday. so we are running that down and hope to have an update, but we're definitely looking into

it. >> thank you, kindly. >> and this is scott, i apologize, i had to jump off for something, but i'm back. >> thank you so much. and i don't know if you were able to hear the last question. if you'd like to chime in, happy to, or we can keep moving forward. >> your call. i didn't hear the question, but whatever makes sense for you. >> no, that's fine. we'll keep moving forward. thank you so much. we saw the california department of alcohol beverage control mobilize quickly to provide unprecedented relief for their licensees by issuing sweeping industry-wide relief. to date, they have issued three significant regulatory relief packages, including the extension of licensing fees. conversely, cannabis licensees seeking relief must individually request relief and oftentimes each business has to request the same relief every 30 days. can you speak to efforts under way that would streamline and expand associated relief and associated timelines for

implementation? >> so i'm happy to speak to that. the fee deferral program is based on fees that are shocking to the industry, not as high as your fees, and they have the ability as a long-standing department or agency to weather the financial storm of fee deferrals. so it is not lost on us that that is a request of the industry. that is something we are looking into, but it does take quite a bit of analysis to understand whether or not that's something that the state can sustain, because we are working with a finite set of resources, and those resources support the work of these agencies and the legitimacy of this market. so do know that that is definitely something that we are looking into, but the abc's process is slightly different than the three licensing agency process. it's a bit more challenging, as you all know. >> right. thank you so much.

thank you for speaking to that. and fee deferrals, any thoughts on deferrals? >> are you asking me that? >> yeah, just as a follow-up. >> so that's exactly what i was speaking to. >> okay, yeah. okay. thank you. and i don't know if treasurer ma or the senator would like to speak to that as well. >> well, i would just say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, as we have seen in the last ppp stimulus package, a lot of the small business owners did not get any assistance, and there was a lot of folks who, you know, called their congressperson, their senators, and then now in the latest ppp round of stimulus money, they are really -- the banks are really focused on small businesses because they didn't have the chance last time because of the way the system was set up, because everything was done so quickly. so i would just say, you know, keep advocating.

reach out to your assembly members, your senators, obviously san francisco is really small, so we know who they are. and of course the governor's office, nicole, myself, so that when these issues come up we can also chime in that this was an industry that also needs to be supported during this time. >> thank you for that. eugene? >> sure. we know that there was a previous announcement regarding the pre-existing cannabis state licensing agencies. question: do you anticipate that the consolidation of those licensing authorities will proceed as planned? and if not, how will that affect the kind of general com lines associated regulatory change to improve efficiency? and anyone who has some additional knowledge about that can provide some feedback. >> so i know that the senator

talked through some of the legislative challenges and framework that he'll be working through during the budget, and that the consolidation was proposed in the governor's january budget. that conversation is happening in real time. we have a may revised coming out soon, so i don't have any news to break on that, but i will say this: we all know that there is a lot of work to do on the stateside around streamlining, and a lot of that work can be done administratively and will be done administratively. so if that moves forward this year, then there will be a lot of work to do. if it does not move forward this year, i know that this is a concept that the governor is very committed to, and there will be a lot of work to do. so regardless of what happens, i do think that simplification and streamlining in some form will be on our agenda for this year.

whether or not that's in the form of consolidation in statutory language by july 1, 2020 or july 1, 2021. so i'll leave it at that. >> and i'm sorry, could you repeat that question? my phone was cutting out. i'm having quite a day with my phone. >> sure. the question was about the governor's announcement about the consolidation of the state licensing agencies and whether the pandemic would impact the timelines and what are other opportunities to increase efficiencies at the state level. >> oh, yeah, that sounds like more of a nicole question. i think we're all always taking a look at how we can make life easier for people with various regulatory agencies that they have to deal with. i just cannot speak for this year because everything is in such tumult right now. the administration is truly drinking water from a fire hose

on covid, and it's just -- it's too hard to predict what else will happen this year. >> and i'll just add to that, as far as opportunities, i think what i was trying to communicate, and i hope i communicated, but i will be very direct, there is a lot of opportunity space here. we all know that, and we intend to pursue that opportunity space, whether that's done statutorily, regulatorily or administratively. it will be pursued. >> excellent, thank you. and, eugene, if you would -- i think the unregulated market, perhaps we can shift the conversation in that direction for a moment. >> sure. so you know, we talked a little bit about kind of what the potential actions at the state level and how they might impact kind of operators and the

existing resources that will continue to be dedicated to fighting enforcement, and we talked a little bit, i believe senator wiener mentioned the possibility for kind of new legislation was unlikely, but there was a specific question about the jones foyer and rubio bills and what the prospects of them passing this legislative cycle. >> i don't know -- if scott's still on, but i know the assemble is going to go back into session next week, and the senate is supposed to go back the following week. as i understand, they are really going to focus on the budget and covid-related legislation. so we're not really sure what -- legislation will move forward. scott, are you back on? >> yeah, i am.

yes, so there -- i can't tell if there's going to be differences in the assembly. in the senate it's been made very clear to us we're not limited to only covid-specific bills. we have some covid-specific bills and obviously the budget is a high priority, as bloody and terrible as it's going to be, but there are other non-covid areas where we'll be able to do work. and i think i mentioned those earlier on around housing, homelessness, wildfires, et cetera. the assembly is being -- it has been much more putting everything on the committee chairs so they can hear what they want to hear and prioritize how they want to prioritize. and so those bills, those are enforcement bills. i don't know whether under normal circumstances they would have political support to move

forward. i am -- i assume those go to assembly public safety or maybe to assembly judiciary. i don't know how the chairs of those committees are viewing this, so it's very unclear whether those bills will move forward. >> then again, this is democracy, and the legislators are coming back, so i would encourage you to, you know, continue to advocate on behalf of the important bills that you think are gonna move through right now. obviously not all the bills are gonna continue, but if you all as an industry can get together and prioritize, you know, these are the top three bills that we want to see, then it will have a higher chance instead of everybody just trying to, you know, support 5,000 bills. i mean, clearly 5,000 bills are not going to go through this year. >> we appreciate that,

certainly. thank you so much. >> just to give you a sense, you know, i have -- and we -- and the senate, we're not like capping members bills, like you can only two five bills or four bills or seven bills or whatever, but we have been, you know, asked to really self-edit and to move bills that are in very high priority areas, that are time sensitive, and so forth. and so i have jettisoned a majority of my bills, and these are some bills that i'm super-passionate about, and many of them i will reintroduce next year. but we have to be selective in what we move forward. we will have less legislative time, more focus on covid, and you know, it's going to be -- our proceedings are going to be clunky. like in the senate we're allowing remote participation. it makes things a little bit slower. so it's not going to be the -- as fluid and easy as previous

sessions, so that's why we're really narrowing the number of bills. >> thank you very much. jeremy? >> jeremy schwartz here. so reverting back to banking, certainly an exciting development regarding the $50,000 -- the potential for up to $50,000 for a bridge loan. treasurer ma certainly touched on increased operators perhaps providing some banking services, whether they are pilot programs initiated by credit unions. folks are wondering what this group feels is probably one of the most viable pathways forward for access to mainstream banking, whether it is a public banking option, federal intervention or other mechanism. >> well, i think during this

time, you know, individual banks, as i mentioned, more and more are coming on-line, and many of them do have capacity. obviously they want those customers who have had, you know, a good track record, have been filing all their taxes, have all their permits in place. that's the easiest way for folks to get a bank account in this new environment, and it is not easy because they do do an extensive background check, and if there's anything in your history, it may kick you out of, you know, their vetting system. so i would just encourage you to talk to your bankers, talk to other members in the industry who may have bank accounts. there's no list published. people, you know, still are being cautious in terms of how many accounts that they take, but clearly the industry is definitely moving toward opening

up banking access for more cannabis companies. >> and i concur with that. i mean, i think if you're looking for the most expeditious pathway, it is really following the advice of our treasurer and trying to establish those relationships with banks that will learn to trust you as operators but also will want to look into every nook and cranny, just like your regulators do when they review your licenses, your applications. so being transparent on that front hopefully will at least establish a banking relationship, understanding that lending is a bigger challenge in these economic times. you know, the federal government really needs to move on that to create a little bit more, you know, legal and regulatory certainty in the banking space to facilitate things like that. so continue to push your federal

representatives and, you know, try to establish those relationships with your banks. >> thank you. again, i want to thank our esteemed guests today, treasure fiona ma, state senator scat wiener and sfr advisor nicole elliott. we are reporting here live from the emergency operating center, and we are so thankful to have this opportunity to engage with our state leaders during these unprecedented times. i know i mentioned it earlier, but no one's immune to the challenges to date and ahead. one thing i do know for sure is that the industry has always been resourceful, will continue to be, and as a community we will work through these tough times together. it's been a while since we've had an opportunity to come together and talk about the state of our industry from a local level, so i wanted to take a few minutes now that we're getting to the end to talk to you a little bit about what's

happening in the office. many of you know april marked my one-year anniversary, having taken over from nicole elliott, and thank you for standing up an incredible office, and it's because of that hard work that i believe we will be able to make it through these tough times. we had the great advantage to be able to build upon a lot of that hard work, and this last year we had seen tremendous growth, momentum. we've built upon that, and we are proud of our numbers. of course we could never have imagined in a million years that today we would be sitting here telecommuting, having this webinar and dealing with a global pandemic that is going to impact all of us in a major way. and that means that during a time where things were booming we experienced slow process, and

that was frustrating for a lot of our industry, and today that is not different. we will probably see more of that, but we will continue to work hard for the industry and to ensure that we are moving things forward. i want to take this time to thank our mayor, our city administrator, naomi kelly, our deputy city administrator for their continued support of the passion and equity mission of this office. and i am grateful to all of our colleagues and to our industry for all of their support. we will continue to work hard and continue to be supportive of one another. that said, we'll put up our first slide. we'll share that for those of you who are calling in and can't see it. these are our numbers, just to get everyone caught up to date. we verified over 330 social equity applicants, which is tremendous hard work. we are very happy to announce that we met our q1 goal of --

excuse me, our q4 goal last year of permitting our first equity application. since then we have permitted four. i want to congratulate our last permittee, ms. reese benton, who i know is tuned in today. she has received her permit. that is four, and that is even during these tough times, so i know that we will persevere. we have 15 applicants through the buildout phase. this number may look familiar. the reason is a lot of our important city processes had to be slowed in light of covid, and so getting those final buildout permits signed off is not happening right now, as you all know. so as soon as the shelter lifts, we expect to see a lot of movement in that space. we have 83 applications that were formally referred to the planning department for land use entitlement. that's incredible, and in fact there are six more on the way. we are able to continue to do

our work. we are, as you know, six in our offi office. three have been deployed as emergency city workers. the others are keeping the lights on. we continue to engage. if you have questions, please, don't hesitate to reach out to our office. we will have meetings with you, over the phone to ensure that you do still feel connected to our office. 83 applications formally referred to planning is huge, and we are very, very proud of that number. a year ago it was 24, and so there is momentum in that space. with our next slide. >> sure. so in addition to the general development of issuing four permanent permits, the office of cannabis also has about 160 temporary permits as a part of our amnesty program, which was an effort to bring the

unregulated market into the regulated market as we continue to prioritize and process our social equity applicants. in addition, there are legacy operators, medical cannabis dispensaries who are able to sell adult-use products based on their progress towards the equity plans and commitments they've made to the city. we have also developed some technical assistance resources. san francisco is one of the few, if not the only jurisdiction to partner with its county bar association, the bar association of san francisco. these fine folks panel with the bar, provide pro bono legal services to social equity applicants. to date about 250 hours have been provided. in addition, our partners at the office of economic workforce development have contracted with

a law firm to provide additional pro bono legal assistance, which has started in about january/february, about 50 hours to date, for a total of 300 hours. and in addition, although there aren't events at this time, we did issue a permit for cannabis sales, on-site cannabis sales and consumption at the music festival in golden gate park. this is a part of our pilot program which may be extended on a yearly basis through 2021. with that, i'll kick it back to director rodriguez to close us out. >> thank you so much, jeremy. i want to run through this just quickly. there were some questions on the local level for -- with respect to what is sort of happening during the shelter in place. people want to know whether they can have community outreach meetings. the answer to that is no.

through june 1, community outreach meetings won't be happening. after june 1 we'll revisit that. there's questions about cannabis inspections, are they going to happen now. the answer to that is no. we are going to wait until the june 1 shelter lifts before we do that. once it's lifted, we will certainly start to bring up all of those things and start to see some of that kicking off and momentum picking up. there are a couple questions with respect to the grants that i'm going to allow eugene to answer just so you can have some more information around that issue. >> sure. so i know folks have had a lot of questions about the process to -- [indiscernible] to our knowledge it hasn't been distributed to the city in the case of the fund, that they should be arriving any day now. we're really excited about the opportunity to provide some additional support to equity applicants who we know desperately need it.

we're hopeful that those will start to be distributed in the summer of this year. the go biz fund which will require a resolution we're currently in the process of getting all of that information together. you may have seen the safe announcements regarding an additional $5 million of support that will be provided to the city and county of san francisco, so we're really interested and excited about the opportunity to provide that money to equity applicants. we will need to enter into a formal grant agreement once the resolution is passed. it's unlikely that that will happen before june 1, but once the grants are dispersed, it's my understanding that those funds would need to be distributed in the next year. marisa, i can't hear you.

>> apologies. sorry, i was muted. i want to give our esteemed guests an opportunity to close out, and i know there's a small surprise at the end with senior advisor elliott. for those of you who are tuned in visually and can see the screen. so let's start with treasurer ma, if you'd like to close out. >> thank you. i do have a couple more items i would just like to talk about with this group. my website, www.treasurer.ca.gov has two links when you log on. one is to our covid-19.ca.gov which is our official excuse me, state website for health and other resources. and then i have a -- excuse me. covid-19 resources guide that is updated continuously for small businesses, tax relief, food, as

well as individual resources, and so please log on. if you have any questions, you can email me at askfiona@treasurer.ca.gov and we will answer your questions as quickly as possible. be careful of scams these days as people are thinking they're going to get their $1200 stimulus check or other type of loans. government will never call you and ask you for your personal social security number or ask you for your bank routing number or ask you to pay over the phone. so those are all scams. and then if you could just take a couple minutes to answer the census questions, we count people every ten years. the federal government gives us over a trillion dollars to the states, and they allocate it based on some sort of census-related data, so every person that is not counted will cost us a thousand dollars per

person for ten years, and we get a lot of money for everything from education to public safety to seniors to child care. and so please take a little time to do that. and then also the governor released this week a list of approved outdoor activities, so please google it. you will find the list. it's a pretty extensive list. i know it's beautiful here in san francisco, and everybody wants to go outdoors, but the governor's really trying to make sure that we continue our social distancing so that we can continue to protect the health and safety of all the residents. so again, thank you all for accommodating us here today. i hope you all stay safe. be well. help each other during this time, and we will get through this together stronger. so thank you, marisa, thank you to the team and nicole and

senator scott wiener and to all we're doing to get through this pandemic. >> thank you so much, treasurer ma. this would not have happened without your leadership, and thank you for continuing to support the cannabis industry. we really, really, really appreciate you. >> thank you. >> next i'd like to ask senator wiener to close out. did we lose him? i know he was having some difficulty with his phone. okay. in that case, we will go on to senior advisor nicole elliott. >> thank you, guys, for putting this together, for having me. thank you to the treasurer for supporting the development of this discussion and to senator wiener for joining and all your advocacy behind the things that we collectively care about. and to the industry, hang in there. it's going to be, you know, a challenging couple of years. the governor's very -- clearly

very committed to seeing legalization be a successful exercise, and so to the extent that you guys have more questions that we can work to answer or address, please feel free to reach out to me. i am a one-woman show, so i will do my best to respond as promptly as i can, but it's nicole.elliott@gobiz.ca.gov. and we have a special guest who wanted to say hi to her san francisco family. lucy. >> ah! so sweet. >> she looks forward to meeting you all in person at some point when we are released back into the wild. >> that was our surprise. thank you so much. again, thank you, and i just want to double-check, do we still have the senator on the line? looks like we have lost him, but we just want to thank you, senator, for participating and, of course, thank you to nicole elliott and lucy for always supporting our industry and our

community, and hailing from san francisco as all of these great leaders do, thank you all so much. thank you for tuning in. we will have our newsletter out next week, so you will be able to get more information about the billings under the office of cannabis in addition to answers to some of the questions that we couldn't get to today. some of them were bcc oriented, so we will point you in the right direction and get that information to you, and i also want to remind folks that now that it's may and i think you can still get it, but the san francisco magazine has a story about our equity program and features some of our equity applicants, so make sure you pick that up and support the community. we thank you so much. thank you for tuning in to our cannabis webinar. have a wonderful day. ♪ ♪

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