June 2022: YES on Prop B: Overdue reforms to the Building Inspection Commission

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Purple and gold Yes on B campaign logo. White text on a purple block at the bottom of the image says "Reform the Department of Building Inspection."

The Department of Building Inspection, charged with enforcing building, electrical, plumbing, disability access and housing codes for San Francisco’s more than 200,000 commercial and residential buildings, has been engulfed in an ongoing corruption scandal which has led to arrests, resignations across city government, and multiple federal indictments (so far). Needless to say, public trust in this department and its oversight commission, the Building Inspection Commission (BIC), is low. 

To rebuild trust in this key agency, Supervisor Melgar based the reforms outlined in Prop B on her 10 years of experience on the BIC. Fundamentally, Prop B brings the DBI and BIC into alignment with the rules that all other departments and commissions follow, remedying these agencies’ long, unwarranted history of being run differently than other departments and commissions in San Francisco. 

Prop B has three main components:

  1. Commission seats: Currently, 4 commissioners are appointed by the mayor and 3 by the President of the Board of Supervisors, and each seat on the BIC has a specific designated profession, background, or industry affiliation. Prop B removes the professional designations, and instead requires that the Commission include people with specific qualifications: engineer, architect, or residential builder; residential tenant or representative of a non-profit housing organization; and demonstrated concern for tenant safety and habitability issues. As an additional reform, if Prop B passes, all 7 appointments must be approved by the Board of Supervisors within 60 days of nomination, the same process that most other commissions follow. We support this additional layer of oversight. 

  2. Department director: Currently, unlike other commissions, the BIC has the sole power to appoint and remove the Director of DBI. (Other city commissions must forward 3 candidates for department director to the Mayor, who then makes the appointment.) Prop B would eliminate the BIC’s ability to appoint and remove the Director of DBI. The same section of the Charter that applies to other departments and commissions would apply equally to DBI and BIC. Practically, this change gives the Mayor the authority to appoint the DBI Director, in line with requirements for all other City departments.

  3. Civil service protections: The superintendent and assistant superintendent are currently exempt from civil service provisions. If Prop B passes, they will be restored to civil service status, which means they will be part of the union.

The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters urges a YES vote on Prop B.