SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled his first proposed law since taking office last Wednesday aimed at cutting red tape to more rapidly address the city's fentanyl crisis.
If approved by the Board of Supervisors, Lurie's "Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance" would allow the mayor's office to solicit donations from the private sector more readily to tackle issues of homelessness, fentanyl overdoses and other public safety issues.
Mayor Lurie's office says the ordinance will unlock funding and expedite hiring and contracting by cutting some city regulations for the process. It will also speed up the city's process for partnering with nonprofits to provide behavioral health services and address street conditions.
"We need to stand up more mental health beds, more drug treatment beds. And that's what this ordinance is going to help us do and it will help us move more quickly," Lurie said in a Wednesday press conference surrounded by S.F. public safety leaders and some supervisors in support of the ordinance.
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Right now, the process of approving contracts can take months. Loosening city laws for the mayor's office to seek private donations would only be in effect for six months, according to the ordinance draft.
"This package is a way for us to commit to make sure that bureaucracy does not get in the way of saving lives on our streets, does not get in the way of shutting down the illegal selling of goods that we see," said Supervisor Danny Sauder of District 10.
The board still has to approve the ordinance before anything moves forward and could change Lurie's initial draft during negotiation.
On the campaign train, Lurie vowed to issue fentanyl state of emergency declaration on his first day in office. Former Mayor London Breed tried to do this in 2021, but the effort was shut down by the city attorney's office - which said her declaration did not meet the legal standards of a state of emergency: the issue must be immediate and unforeseen.
MORE: SF Mayor London Breed declares State of Emergency in Tenderloin due to drug crisis
While this is an ordinance and not a declaration, Lurie is aiming to find a workaround to the hurdles Breed hit.
Supervisor Shamann Walton said he agrees with the end goal of standing up more treatment beds to get people off the street, but thinks Lurie's plan lacks details.
"Typically when you get asked to provide emergency powers and waive certain policies, there's a plan that accompanies that that says exactly what you're going to do. 'We're going to do A, B, C, and D, and this is why we need these emergency powers to accomplish that goal.' There's nothing in place," he said. "I need more details."
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Supervisor Connie Chan shared similar concerns.
"I am open to providing the Mayor and his city departments the tools necessary to tackle the fentanyl crisis, but he and I both agree that we must move this forward while maintaining the check and balances of the legislative branch," she said in a statement.
Lurie already has five supervisors in support of this ordinance and needs six of the eleven on board in order to pass it.