San Francisco has 15 local propositions on the ballot this year. The Foghorn has created a simplified proposition guide, with most of the information from the San Francisco Department of Elections Ballot Simplification Committee’s digests, and how propositions may affect USF students.
Proposition A would allow the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to borrow up to $795 million in bonds in order to upgrade or repair San Francisco’s schools. The SFUSD’s website says funding from the bonds would go towards “healthy meals for students, technology and network improvements, outdoor learning spaces, and safe school buildings.” According to the Department of Elections, “The School District would be required to create an independent citizens’ oversight committee to review and report on the use of these bond funds.”
Proposition B, proposed by Mayor London Breed and President of the Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin, allows the city to borrow up to $390 million in bonds to “acquire or improve community health centers,” as well as renovating and relocating other hospitals and health clinics in the city, according to the Ballot Simplification Committee’s digest. The money would also fund “street and sidewalk safety projects,” which “[improve and modernize] public spaces in downtown San Francisco,” and renovating Harvey Milk Plaza, the city’s parks and recreation centers and “shelter or interim housing sites to reduce family homelessness.”
A proposition introduced by Peskin, Proposition C would create an Inspector General position in City Hall who would be appointed by the controller and approved by the mayor. Currently, the Controller’s Office is tasked with receiving and examining complaints “concerning the quality and delivery of government services, wasteful or inefficient City government practices, misuse of City funds, and improper activities by City officers and employees,” the Ballot Simplification Committee’s digest says. The Inspector General would be responsible for investigating complaints of corruption and fraud. Proposition C would also allow the Controller’s Office to be able to subpoena third parties, something they are not currently permitted to do.
Proposition D aims to decrease the number of commissions within city government. According to the Department of Elections, there are currently approximately 130 commissions that are responsible for overseeing different aspects of the city. Proposition D would limit the number of commissions to 65, and would give “the mayor sole authority to appoint and remove department heads. It would also allow the police chief to unilaterally adopt and change police-conduct rules,” KQED reported. Some of the commissions that would be cut include commissions on, “Public Health, [the] Library, Human Rights, Human Services, Arts, [the] Environment, Small Business[es] and Juvenile Probation,” according to the Ballot Simplification Committee’s digest.
Sponsored by Peskin, Proposition E suggests an alternate solution to the issue posed in Proposition D. Proposition E would create a Commission Streamlining Task Force, which would work to identify how commissions could be modified. The five person task force would submit a report to the mayor by Feb. 1, 2026. This proposition would also require “the Board’s Budget and Legislative Analyst to prepare a report on how much it costs the City to support each current commission, and how much it would save if certain commissions were eliminated or consolidated,” said the Department of Elections.
Proposition F would allow police officers who have reached retirement age to stay on the force for up to another five years, earning their salary while deferring their pensions.
Proposition G would create a fund called the “Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund for Seniors, Families and Persons with Disabilities.” The city would be required to contribute at least $8.25 million a year, and the money would subsidize the difference between what households with “extremely low incomes” could pay and what landlords charge.
Proposition H would allow for firefighters to retire with their full pension at age 55 instead of age 58.
Proposition I would allow per diem nurses, nurses that are employed occasionally by the city, who worked over a certain number of weekly hours for a year to purchase service credits. This means that they could receive their pension time for up to three years of work before they became permanent employees. The proposition would also raise pension pay-ins and benefits for 911 operators by classifying them under the Miscellaneous Safety Plan.
This proposition would create the “Our Children, Our Families (OCOF) Initiative,” responsible for reviewing and ensuring the proper use of funding provided to groups like the Children and Youth Fund, the Public Education Enrichment Fund and the Student Success Fund. The initiative would be led by the mayor and the district superintendent.
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Proposition K proposes shutting down the Great Highway to public and commercial motor use, and instead using it as public recreational space. While emergency vehicles and other authorized vehicles would still be able to use the highway, it would otherwise be permanently closed to drivers.
How this might affect USF students:
Many USF students who live off campus live in the Inner Richmond, the neighborhood that will likely be most affected by the results of Proposition K. According to KQED, proponents of the proposition argue, “Banning cars will environmentally benefit the coastline, and benefit local vendors, who can boost the neighborhood’s economy.” Opponents argue that the change “will force car commuters on the city’s west side to pivot their route and risks pushing more cars, pollution and noise into neighboring residential streets,” and that commuting to campus could potentially become more difficult.
Proposition L would enstate an additional tax on transportation companies like Lyft and Uber, as well as on autonomous vehicle companies. The tax would apply to businesses that make over $500,000, and increase parallel to the value of the company. The revenue from the tax would go towards the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). According to the Department of Elections, the money would be used specifically to “preserve, maintain or increase Muni public transportation services,” “improve or preserve Muni service to public schools, libraries and parks by increasing service frequency, expanding and adding new routes” and “maintain or expand discount fare or fare-free programs by Muni for people with disabilities, seniors, youth, students and low-income passengers.”
How this might affect USF students:
Muni services are included in the price of USF’s tuition and fees, meaning that students receive bus passes for each semester they are enrolled. The expansion of new routes and maintenance of those already in place would continue to allow students to navigate the city on public transportation. Conversely, the implementation of Proposition L could lead to increases in prices of ride-share services, another method students use to travel around the city.
Proposition M would change the city’s small business tax exemption from $2.25 million in gross receipts, or the total amount of money a business received, to $5 million in order to account for inflation, allowing tax breaks for more small businesses. There would also be changes to the gross receipts tax, the homelessness gross receipts tax, the overpaid executive gross receipts tax, administrative office tax rates and the cost of business registration fees.
This proposition would aid first responders with student loans by creating a fund that would pay up to $25,000 in either student debt or work training costs. This fund would aid firefighters, registered nurses, 911 responders, paramedics, police officers and the sheriff’s department. Payments would begin as soon as $1 million is accrued in the fund, and money can be donated either by the city or private donations.
Co-written by Breed, Proposition O would make it city policy that San Francisco would “Serve as a safe place for people seeking reproductive care, including abortions,” “protect the rights of pregnant people to control their medical decisions” and “safeguard the confidentiality of reproductive health information,” according to the Ballot Simplification Committee’s digest. Additionally, the proposition would allow signs to be posted outside “limited services pregnancy centers” that inform visitors that birth control and abortions are not offered at those centers, as well as creating a “Reproductive Freedom Fund” that could accept grants and donations that would go towards reproductive services.
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, News Editor: Phebe Bridges, Sports Editor: John Lindroos
