Mayor Lurie, Supervisors celebrate overwhelming vote in support of Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors today celebrated an overwhelming 10-1 vote in support of Mayor Lurie’s Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance. Following a unanimous positive recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee last week, today’s vote reflects the new era of cooperation between the Mayor’s Office and Board of Supervisors that Mayor Lurie promised in his inaugural address.

Mayor Lurie’s Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance seeks to swiftly unlock resources and tools the city needs to get drugs off the street and keep San Franciscans safe. It delivers on his commitment to treat the fentanyl crisis as the emergency it is, accelerating the implementation of several initiatives necessary to get fentanyl off the streets. Specifically, it will unlock funding and expedite hiring and contracting – allowing for expanded treatment and shelter capacity, new behavioral and mental health initiatives, and accelerated hiring of key public safety and behavioral health staff.

The ordinance has six cosponsors: Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman and Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Joel Engardio, Stephen Sherrill, Bilal Mahmood, and Danny Sauter.

After today’s vote, the ordinance will return to the full Board of Supervisors next Tuesday for a second and final reading. If approved, the ordinance will be sent to Mayor Lurie for signature.

“As a candidate for mayor, I promised San Franciscans that I would work in partnership with the Board of Supervisors to take action on the critical issues facing our city. As mayor, I am proud to be delivering on that promise today,” said Mayor Lurie. “The Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance gives us the tools to treat this crisis with the urgency it demands. And with our partners on the board, that’s exactly what we will do.”

“I appreciate the Mayor’s willingness to work with members of the Board to address their concerns regarding this legislation. I’m happy to support the result – a package of sensible reforms to streamline the City’s response to the crisis on our streets that also preserves an oversight role for the Board,” said Board of Supervisors President Mandelman. “I look forward to working with Mayor Lurie and his team to advance policies that will support recovery in San Francisco and reclaim our public spaces for use by all members of the public.”

“I don’t think there’s a problem facing San Francisco today that isn’t caused by or made significantly worse by street-level drug addiction — and Mayor Lurie’s emergency ordinance aims to surge resources that deliver solutions as big as the problems,” said Supervisor Dorsey. “This is a needed approach to restore order to our streets, to diminish San Francisco’s attraction as a drug-use and drug dealing destination, and to save lives.”

Addressing the fentanyl crisis requires bold and swift action. But first we have to make bold and swift changes to the bureaucracy that gets in the way,” said Supervisor Engardio. “These ordinances will streamline the path to solutions so we can finally treat fentanyl like the emergency it is.”

“Today’s vote demonstrates that our unified Board of Supervisors is committed to enacting life-saving measures on our city streets,” said Supervisor Sherrill. “San Franciscans are demanding tangible and permanent solutions, and I’m grateful that Mayor Lurie and our co-sponsors responded to this call for action. By passing this ordinance, we empower departments to be thoughtful and resourceful while leveraging every tool at our disposal.”

“At its core, this ordinance will help the City get out of its own way to deliver life-saving resources to those of our neighbors who need it most,” said Supervisor Mahmood, who represents the Tenderloin neighborhood. “We’re tackling an evolving crisis that has gone on for too long — this is a first step to providing our government the tools we need to improve public safety, bring meaningful change to our communities, and begin to restore hope for our residents.”

“The legislation passed today will save lives, improve street conditions, and help steer San Francisco towards recovery,” said Supervisor Sauter. “I am grateful to Mayor Lurie for his leadership on this bold emergency package and to my colleagues on the Board for their support.”