Callanan

This appeal concerns the validity of legislation enacted by the Board of Supervisors of the City of San Francisco authorizing the payment of benefits to the surviving dependents of an assassinated elected public official. Our analysis of the relevant charter provisions compels a conclusion that the action of the board is expressly prohibited under the terms of the charter. Accordingly, we determine the ordinance to be void and unenforceable.

On November 27, 1978, Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated. The mayor was survived by his widow and minor children. Supervisor Milk died without any surviving dependents. On April 16, 1979, the board adopted ordinance No. 175-79, entitled “Assassination Survivorship Fund.” (S.F. Admin. Code, § 16.600 et seq.) The ordinance establishes a special fund designating the city treasurer as trustee, from which periodic sums are to be drawn by warrants of the city controller payable to the eligible survivors of the designated elected public official killed by assassination. The ordinance is retroactive to assassinations which occur after November 15, 1978.

Both the city treasurer and controller challenge the…