By Matthew Hirsch

Following a hostile initial reception from the Board of Supervisors' Rules Committee July 7, the Open Government Ordinance got back on track July 12 when its sponsors made changes that seemed to address many of the committee's concerns.

The ordinance, which is aimed at strengthening the 10-year-old Sunshine Ordinance, returns for a third Rules Committee hearing July 21 and then a final one July 27 before a likely vote at the full board meeting, also July 27. If approved by 4 of the 11 supervisors, the ordinance will go to the ballot Nov. 2.

The Open Government Ordinance won unanimous approval from the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force in April but appeared at risk of dying in the Rules Committee July 7, as Sups. Sophie Maxwell and Michela Alioto-Pier questioned the underlying need to amend the Sunshine Ordinance and Sup. Matt Gonzalez spoke out against restrictions the Sunshine Ordinance puts on supervisors when meeting in private with colleagues and while trying to run public meetings.

But the resistance seemed to have subsided July 12 once Bill Barnes, legislative aide of Open Government Ordinance sponsor Sup. Chris Daly, and sunshine task force members Sue Cauthen and Doug Comstock went to work justifying each of the proposed amendments.

In a private meeting with Daly July 9, sunshine advocates agreed to withdraw a controversial amendment requiring nonprofits and other organizations doing business with the city to comply with San Francisco's sunshine laws. The group is also considering withdrawing other proposed amendments, including one that would change the name of the sunshine task force and one that would grant it subpoena power. Deputy city attorney Amy Ackerman told the committee July 7 that the task force can already exercise subpoena power with consent from the Board of Supervisors.

Sunshine advocates still have several other areas of disagreement to smooth over with the supervisors. Most controversial among the remaining proposed changes is a more stringent record-retention policy, a requirement for policy groups advising the mayor and department heads to post agenda notices and minutes, and an amendment that would compel policy bodies to allow at least three minutes for public comment at all meetings.

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