Sacramento, CA Privacy & Surveillance: License Plate Readers (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Sacramento City Code Ch. 12.73 (Ord. 2026-0012)
- Surveillance definition
- Expressly covers license plate readers, cameras, drones
- Core restriction
- No city property/data for civil immigration surveillance
- Warrant exception
- Judicial warrant or court order required to share
- Enforcement mechanism
- City-manager admin procedures; no private right of action
- Underlying resolution
- Resolution No. 2026-0101
Summary
Sacramento City Code Chapter 12.73 (Ord. 2026-0012) bars city property and city-controlled data, expressly including license plate readers, from being used for civil immigration enforcement surveillance unless a judicial warrant or court order compels it.
"Surveillance" means observing, recording, monitoring, or collecting information about individuals for civil immigration enforcement purposes, including through cameras, license plate readers, drones, or other technologies. ... Except as provided in section 12.73.040, no city property may be used for staging civil immigration enforcement operations; for processing, interviewing, or temporarily detaining individuals for civil immigration enforcement; for surveillance or monitoring activities related to civil immigration enforcement; or for use as an operations base, coordination point, or logistical hub for civil immigration enforcement.
Full Breakdown
030 then prohibits using city property for staging civil immigration enforcement operations, for processing, interviewing, or detaining individuals, for surveillance or monitoring tied to civil immigration enforcement, or as an operations base or logistical hub for it: language broad enough to reach ALPR feeds and data stored on city systems. 040, is compliance with a judicial warrant or court order, or ordinary criminal law enforcement activity where civil immigration enforcement is not the primary purpose. 010, the chapter implements Resolution No. 060 clarifies the chapter creates no private right of action against the city or its employees.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 12.73 is administrative and interdepartmental, not a criminal or civil-fine scheme. § 12.73.060 expressly states the chapter does not create or form the basis of liability against the city or any city department, official, or employee, and creates no private right of action. Compliance runs through city-manager administrative procedures and department training rather than citations against individual violators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Sacramento share license plate reader data with ICE?
Does this ordinance ban all ALPR data sharing?
Who enforces Sacramento's surveillance/immigration restriction?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sacramento
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