RULES OF ORDER
SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY
CITIZENS' ADVISORY COUNCIL
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
ARTICLE I - NAME
Section 1. The name of this council shall be the "San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Citizens' Advisory Council" henceforth referred to in these rules as the “Council.”
ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. The Council is composed of fifteen members appointed by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors in accordance with the City and County of San Francisco Charter Section 8A.111.
Section 2. Council members shall not miss more than four Regular Meetings within a calendar year. In the event that a member's attendance falls below this level, the Council Secretary shall provide notice to the Council Chair and the affected council member two weeks before the notice is distributed to the member's appointing authority.
This provision applies only to Regular Meetings of the Council held on the scheduled meeting date and does not apply to rescheduled or Special Meetings, meetings of committees, field trips, tours, or meetings held at locations other than the designated location for Regular Meetings.
Section 3. Members may continue to serve past the expiration of their terms, until they are removed or replaced by their appointing authority, until and unless the Charter of the City and County of San Francisco otherwise provides.
Section 4. When a vacancy occurs, the Council Secretary shall notify the appropriate appointing authority.
ARTICLE III - OFFICERS AND STAFF
Section 1. Chair and Vice Chair. The officers of this Council shall be a Chair and a Vice Chair. At the first Meeting of the Council after the 30th day of June each year, the members of the Council shall elect officers from among their number and they shall take office immediately upon their election. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Council, shall preserve order and decorum, shall decide all questions of order subject to appeal to the Council by any member, shall determine the agenda for each meeting, and shall appoint any and all committees of the Council. The Chair shall have the right to participate in the proceedings of the Council, including the right to make or second any resolution or other motion. The Chair shall represent the Council before the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall preside until such time as the Chair returns or until the next scheduled election. In the absence of both the Chair and the Vice Chair, the members shall select by motion a member to preside over that meeting.
Section 2. Vacancy in the Office of Chair or Vice Chair. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chair, the Vice Chair shall become Chair for the remainder of the Chair’s term. In the event the Chair or Vice Chair is removed from the Council by their appointing authority, they shall resume office if they are reappointed to the Council by any appointing authority within 30 days of being removed or replaced unless such removal or replacement occurs within the month of June. If the Chair is removed from the Council by an appointing authority, and the Vice Chair has succeeded as Chair, and the Chair is then reappointed within the time frame set forth in this section, the former Vice Chair shall resume the post of Vice Chair upon the Chair’s reinstatement. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice Chair, the council shall elect one of its number to serve out the remainder of the Vice Chair’s term at the first Regular Meeting occurring more than 45 days after the vacancy, or at the first Regular Meeting of the Council after the 30th day of June, whichever comes first. In the event of a vacancy in both the offices of Chair and Vice Chair, the council shall elect one of its number as Chair and one of its number as Vice Chair at the first Regular Meeting of the Council occurring more than 45 days after the vacancy of each office, or at the first Regular Meeting of the Council after the 30th day of June, whichever comes first.
3. Inability to Elect a Chair in the Event that the Position of Chair is Vacant. If the Council is unable to elect a Chair at a meeting where the Rules of Order indicate they shall do so, the Vice Chair shall serve in an acting capacity as Chairman until the next regular meeting at which a vote for the position of chairman shall be scheduled. If the position of chairman is not vacant, the current chairman would continue to serve as chairman until the next regular meeting at which a vote for the position of chairman shall be scheduled.
Section 4. Council Liaison. The SFMTA shall appoint a staff person to serve as Liaison to the Council. The Liaison is not a member of the Council and has no vote. The Liaison will interface with members of the SFMTA staff, provide the Council with a monthly staff report, act as a resource person in questions of policy, practices and organizational history, and perform other functions as directed by the Council or by these rules.
Section 5. Secretary. The SFMTA shall provide an additional staff person to serve as Secretary. The Secretary is not a member of the Council and has no vote. The duties of the Secretary are to act as custodian of the records of the Council, to make a complete record of the proceedings of the Council, and to perform other functions as directed by the Council Liaison, the Council Chair, Vice Chair, Council Committee Chairs or by these rules. The Secretary shall report to the Liaison to the Council.
ARTICLE IV - MEETINGS
Section 1. Open and Public Meetings. All meetings of the Council shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the Council.
Section 2. Regular Meetings. The Council shall hold its regular meeting at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 7th Floor, Room 7080 at 5:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month.
Section 3. Special Meetings of the Council. Special meetings of the Council may be called at any time by the Chair by delivering written notice to each member of the Council and to the local media who have requested such notice in writing. Such notice must be delivered at least 72 hours before the time of such meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. The Council shall consider no other business at such meetings. Each Special meeting shall be held at the regular meeting place of the Council except that the Chair may designate an alternate meeting place provided that such alternate location is specified in the notice of the special meeting; further provided that the notice of the special meeting shall be given at least 15 days prior to said special meeting being held at an alternate location. This provision shall not apply where the alternative meeting location is located within the same building as the regular meeting place.
Section 4. Quorum. Eight members constitute a quorum of the Council. In the absence of a quorum the Council may adjourn or may reschedule the meeting to a specific date and time. A majority of committee members shall constitute a quorum of the committee. Council members shall confirm their attendance at any CAC Council or Committee meeting not less than 48 business hours prior to the meeting with either the CAC Secretary or Staff Liaison.
Section 5. Cancellation of Meetings. The Chair may cancel a meeting. The Chair of a Committee may cancel a meeting of their committee. In the event of a meeting cancellation, the Secretary shall provide notice in accordance with applicable law.
Section 6. Public Comment. Every agenda for regular and special meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the Council on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council. Each person wishing to speak on an item at a regular or special meeting shall be permitted to be heard once per item for up to three minutes. The presiding officer shall be the judge of the pertinence of such comments, and have the power to limit this privilege if in the presiding officer's opinion the comments are not pertinent to the question before the Council or the comments are merely reiterative of points made by previous speakers.
NOTE: The public has the right to express themselves on any matter within the jurisdiction of the SFMTA, however, city policy prohibits discrimination or harassment of its employees on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, place of birth, sex, age, religion, creed, disability, medical condition (including HIV/AIDS), sexual orientation, marital/domestic partner status, gender identity, parental status, pregnancy, weight, height or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal discrimination laws.
If remarks are made that fall into any of these categories, the Mayor has a policy regarding how to respond to such remarks. It requires the Chairman to read the City’s policy against discrimination/harassment.
Section 7. Agenda. The Chair or a Committee Chair shall provide agenda topics to both the Liaison and the Secretary not less than seven days prior to the meeting. Recommendations made by Committees shall be considered by the full CAC at the first possible meeting. At least 72 hours prior to the meeting the Secretary shall send a copy of the agenda of the meeting to each Council member and member of the public who has requested in writing to receive the agendas of such meetings. Council members shall also receive the printed materials referenced in the agenda, and these materials shall be available for public review at the offices of the Council and at the meeting. In the event that the Chair or a Committee Chair does not provide agenda topics seven days prior to the meeting, the Liaison shall post a notice of cancellation.
Section 8. Vote Required. Except as otherwise herein provided, an affirmative vote of at least eight members of the Council shall be required for the passage of any resolution, or for the passage of any other motion. Procedural motions shall only require an affirmative vote of a majority of members present. All members of the Council present at a meeting shall vote yes or no on all questions put before the Council for a vote. Members of the Council may not abstain, vote “present,” nor decline to vote.
Section 9. Adjournment of Meetings. The Council may adjourn any regular or special meeting to a time and place specified in the order of adjournment.
Section 10. Minutes of Proceedings. The Secretary shall record the vote on all resolutions and matters discussed in accordance with the Sunshine Ordinance Public Meeting Laws (Sec. 67.16). A draft of the minutes shall be available for inspection and copying no later than ten working days after each meeting. The officially adopted minutes shall be available for inspection and copying no later than two working days after the meeting at which the minutes are adopted.
Section 11. Pro Tem Committee Appointments. If, at the scheduled time and place for a duly noticed meeting of a Committee of the Council, a quorum of the Committee is not present, Pro Tem Committee Members may be appointed by the Committee Chair to serve in the place of specific absent members. Such appointments shall expire at the adjournment of the meeting or upon the arrival of the replaced member whichever comes first. In the absence of the Committee Chair, the Council Chair may make such pro tem appointments. If the Council Chair is not present or cannot be reached, the Council Vice-Chair may make such pro tem appointments. (Such pro tem appointments shall be noted in the committee minutes.) Only current members of the Council present at the meeting may be appointed as a pro tem member of the committee. In the absence of a committee chair, a quorum of the committee may appoint a pro tem chair from one of their number to serve until such time as the committee chair arrives.
Section 12. Requests Regarding Parking or Fare Evasion Citations. Members of the Council shall not attempt to influence or interfere with the issuance or dispensation of particular parking citations or fare evasion citations by communicating with employees of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Members of the Council and the Secretary shall respond to any written or oral requests to members of the Council regarding particular parking citations by referring to the prohibition contained in this section. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Council or its members from exercising their authority to recommend changes in policy or policy implementation regarding parking citations or fare evasion citations, including, but not limited to, recommendations which pertain to inconsistencies in enforcement observed by members of the Council or any member(s) of the public reporting incidents thereto.
ARTICLE V - PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
Section 1. Parliamentary Authority: The rules of parliamentary practice, as set forth in Robert's Rules of Order, shall govern all meetings of the Council except as provided for in these rules.
Section 2: Rules of Debate. When a member desires to address the Council, the member shall seek recognition by addressing the presiding officer and, when recognized, shall proceed to speak, confining comments to the question before the Council. No discussion shall take place until a resolution or a calendared item has been introduced.
Section 3. Agenda Changes or Continuances. Any agenda change or continuance shall be announced at the beginning of the Council meeting, or as soon thereafter as the change or continuance becomes known to the presiding officer.
ARTICLE VI - ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT
Section 1. Adoption of Rules of Order. The adoption of the Rules of Order shall be by motion and shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Council. When adopted, such Rules of Order shall remain in effect unless suspended or amended as provided herein.
Section 3. Amendments to Rules of Order. An amendment to the Rules of Order may, after 30 days' notice, be adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Council.
ADOPTED: August 3, 2000
AMENDED: January 9, 2006
AMENDED: January 14, 2010
AMENDED: September 6, 2012
AMENDED: December 2013
AMENDED: January 5, 2017
AMENDED: December 7, 2017