Treasurer José Cisneros and Public Defender Mano Raju applaud Governor Gavin Newsom’s passage of The Families Over Fees Act through signing Assembly Bill 1869, a first-in-the-nation bill to end the harmful and costly collection of 23 administrative fees imposed against people in the criminal legal system. The bill takes statewide reforms first enacted in San Francisco to eliminate “high pain, low gain” fees that pile debt onto people who cannot pay it, drive people deeper into poverty, and create barriers to their successful reentry.

“Charging very poor people fees to cover our government’s administrative costs makes no fiscal sense. These Californians have already paid their debt to society, and by eliminating this debt burden, we are providing vulnerable communities with a real second chance,” said Treasurer José Cisneros, who founded  The Financial Justice Project to assess and reform how fines and fees impact San Francisco’s low-income residents and communities of color. 

Mayor London N. Breed, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, and Treasurer José Cisneros announced that all phone calls from county jails are now free, effective today. San Francisco County is the first in the country to permanently stop generating revenue from incarcerated people and their families through phone calls, commissary markups, or other services. In providing free phone calls, the Sheriff’s Office negotiated a first-in-the-nation fixed rate contract with GTL, a jail phone service contractor, to ensure the lowest possible cost to the City and taxpayers.

“When people are in jail they need to be able to stay connected with their family without being concerned about how much it will cost them or their loved ones. Being able to stay in touch with family is always important, but it is even more critical during a health emergency like COVID-19,” said Mayor Breed. “This change is an important continuation of our efforts to reform fines and fees that disproportionately impact low-income people and communities of color. This has truly been a team effort, and I want to thank everyone who contributed to this work for their dedication and advocacy.”

The San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment (SFOFE) and the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) released a collaborative report today reviewing banking relief efforts for consumers and borrowers during COVID-19, and offering recommendations for reform. The report, titled “Pre-Existing Conditions: Assessing the Financial Services Response to Racism, Inequality, and COVID-19” details how banking relief as currently offered has been inconsistent, insufficiently transparent, and inadequate, and calls on banks and credit unions to work with local governments and consumer advocates and take bolder action to support account-holders, borrowers and their communities as a whole.

“COVID-19 has had a crushing impact on families and small businesses, particularly in our communities of color,” said San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, who co-chairs the city’s Economic Recovery Task Force. “Inequities in our financial system have long been hiding in plain sight. In the wake of COVID-19, financial institutions need to step up and transform how they prioritize, serve, and invest in low-income, communities of color.”

Mayor London N. Breed and Treasurer José Cisneros today announced the City will continue to defer collection of Business Registration Fees and the Unified License Fees until March 1, 2021. Unified License Fees include charges from City departments to restaurants and food businesses, bars, convenience stores, many small retailers, hotels, tour operators, and other businesses. The previously announced deferral on business taxes for small businesses and additional supports for small businesses remain in place.

“I’ve heard from many businesses that were concerned about paying these bills by September 30th. I am hopeful that further delaying collections of the business registration and license fees will provide some needed relief,” said Treasurer José Cisneros. “We will continue to work with businesses to find ways to lessen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.