On Nov. 3, San Francisco voters will decide Proposition B, a charter amendment to establish a municipal finance corporation and a path to a public bank. It would not open a bank on election night, raise a tax, or appropriate startup cash. It would authorize the city to build a nonprofit lender first, then — if funding and regulators allow — turn that into a city-owned bank. See every local contest we have covered in our Nov. 2026 election guide.

What a yes vote authorizes

According to the San Francisco Public Press and California Choices, a yes vote authorizes a municipal finance corporation (MFC), sets its mission and oversight, and sketches a route to a regulated public bank. The treasurer-tax collector must still find enough money and resources before either body is created. After the MFC operated for at least three years, it could seek state and federal approvals to become a public bank that could also hold deposits.

Lending would prioritize affordable housing, homeownership, small businesses and environmental projects, and avoid predatory lending, fossil fuels, tobacco, weapons, prisons and detention centers, and businesses that break labor law. KQED notes San Francisco would be the first U.S. city with a municipal bank if the structure is built; the Bank of North Dakota remains the only state-owned public bank in the country.

Governance and cost

A nine-member oversight commission would appoint a corporate board to run day-to-day lending. Supervisors would name four commissioners, the mayor two, and the treasurer-tax collector, controller and city attorney one each, the Public Press reports. Current and recent politicians would be barred from the commission.

Prop B itself spends nothing. Controller Greg Wagner's fiscal analysis, cited by the Public Press and California Choices, puts creating and running the corporation and then a bank at about $310 million to $460 million over eight years, based on a 2023 city working-group model. Some capitalization could come from city grants and forgivable loans unlikely to be repaid. California's window for new local public-bank licenses is set to close in 2028 unless lawmakers extend it.

Supporters and opponents

The Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 on July 7, 2026, to place the measure on the ballot; Stephen Sherrill and Alan Wong voted no. Sponsors included Supervisor Chyanne Chen, with Jackie Fielder, Myrna Melgar, Bilal Mahmood and Shamann Walton as co-sponsors. Chen has cast a public bank as "an engine for affordable housing, a lifeline for struggling small business, and the financial backbone for our climate goals." KQED lists the San Francisco Labor Council, Democratic Socialists of America–San Francisco and the Climate Emergency Coalition among supporters.

Sherrill called a public bank "a slow, costly answer to problems we could be solving right now with tools the city already has." Mayor Daniel Lurie opposes the measure, favoring direct spending on housing and small businesses. GrowSF is among the no side, stressing the controller's price tag and the lack of dedicated funding. A separate signature drive that would have funded a bank was withdrawn, leaving voters with the structure but not the capital.

What your vote means

  • Yes: Put the MFC and public-bank pathway in the charter; creation still needs separate funding and approvals.
  • No: Leave the charter unchanged.

Prop B needs a simple majority. It shares the ballot with the Muni parcel tax (Prop H), mayor-power Prop F, and the regional transit sales tax.