12/18/25

LEGISLATIVE ALERT: SB 635 – The Street Vendor Business Protection Act

California Senate Bill 635 (“SB 635”) makes important changes to state law to provide protections for sidewalk vendors. The law prevents local jurisdictions, including any nonpublic entity contracted by the local jurisdiction for sidewalk vending enforcement, from: 1) sharing the personal identifiable information of sidewalk vendors except pursuant to a valid subpoena or court order, 2) aiding or cooperating with any agency conducting immigration enforcement; and 3) inquiring into citizenship or immigration status or requiring the completion of background checks or fingerprinting requirements in order for sidewalk vendors to receive their local vending permits. These new requirements apply to all cities and counties regulating sidewalk vending, as well as all departments of public health regulating compact mobile food operations.

The law becomes effective January 1, 2026. The law requires local jurisdictions that currently require sidewalk vendors to complete a background check or fingerprinting requirements (such as a LiveScan) to amend their local sidewalk vending ordinances by January 1, 2026 – and to destroy such records collected before that date on or before March 1, 2026.

***

Background

Sidewalk vendors are an integral part of California’s economy and the state’s vibrant culture. In 2019, sidewalk vending was decriminalized in the state by Senate Bill 946, leading some local jurisdictions to implement sidewalk vending ordinances. Although sidewalk vending has been legal in the state for over 5 years now, sidewalk vendors still face risks associated with enforcement actions – more recently, in the form of immigration enforcement related operations.

Many sidewalk vendors in California are immigrants or belong to immigrant families. Since the beginning of this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has significantly increased its enforcement operations in the Los Angeles and Southern California regions. From June 6 to August 7, 2025, DHS claimed they arrested over 4,000 people in the Los Angeles area. Multiple sidewalk vendors have been confirmed to have been arrested in the region during this period.

The bill’s author and co-sponsors recognized that it was vital for California to create strong protections for immigrant sidewalk vendors by preventing local sidewalk vending permitting and enforcement activities from being used to detain, deport, and separate families.

Effective January 1, 2026, the Street Vendor Business Protection Act will do the following:

Prevent local government agencies that enforce sidewalk vending laws from providing access to, or disclosing sidewalk vendors’ personally identifiable information. “Personally identifiable information” would include information such as an individual’s name, business name, home address, business address, birthdate, telephone number, California driver’s license or identification, and other related information.

Require local governments that contract out enforcement of their sidewalk vending to nonpublic entities to ensure that their contracts with these entities also abide by the provisions of SB 635. If these contracted nonpublic entities violate any provision within the Act, the local government agency must terminate their contract with the entity.

Prohibit local sidewalk vending permitting procedures that inquire into a person’s immigration or citizenship status, or require fingerprinting or the disclosure of past criminal history. Starting on January 1, 2026, local governments will no longer be able to require sidewalk vendors to submit fingerprints or complete LiveScan fingerprinting, or undergo a background check in order to receive a local vending permit. For local governments that have, prior to January 1, 2026, collected fingerprints or background check information from sidewalk vendors, they must destroy those records on or before March 1, 2026.

Recommendations

We encourage all local cities and counties to carefully review the provisions of SB 635 in order to ensure that their local sidewalk vending ordinances comply with this law come January 1, 2026.

For more information about this Legislative Alert, please contact: