City and County of San Francisco: merchandising sales.

Senator Wiener's legislation authorizes the City and County of San Francisco to establish a permit system for selling merchandise on public property that has been identified as commonly targeted by retail theft. The measure requires San Francisco to demonstrate through written findings that stolen merchandise regularly appears for sale on public property and that previous non-law enforcement interventions proved insufficient.

Under the proposed system, vendors must obtain permits by proving their merchandise was legally acquired. A designated permitting agency, separate from the police department, would administer the program with fees capped at $25 for low-income applicants and those receiving public assistance. The ordinance establishes graduated penalties beginning with written warnings for first offenses and potentially escalating to misdemeanor charges for repeat violations within an 18-month period.

The legislation includes several vendor protections - the permitting agency cannot inquire about immigration status or criminal history, must accept alternative forms of identification, and must conduct extensive community outreach before implementation. This includes workshops to gather vendor input and a multilingual public information campaign. The program requires annual renewal by the Board of Supervisors based on detailed reports tracking permit issuance, enforcement actions, and demographic data. The authority granted under this measure expires in 2031.