- SB 635, signed by Governor Newsom on October 7, 2025, took effect on January 1, 2026. This bill changed California state laws regulating sidewalk vendors and compact mobile food operations (“CMFOs”), requiring and prohibiting cities and local enforcement agencies from certain actions.
- Key Updates Established by SB 635:
A city and/or enforcement agency is prohibited from:
- Allowing any individual to access, review, or obtain records that include personally identifiable information (e.g. name, business name, date of birth, telephone number, driver’s license or identification, etc.) of a sidewalk vendor, CMFO, or employee of either, without a valid subpoena or judicial warrant.
- Disclosing the personally identifiable information of any sidewalk vendor without a valid subpoena or judicial warrant.
- Inquiring into or collecting documentation of a sidewalk vending applicant’s criminal history.
- Inquiring into a CMFO permit applicant’s immigration status, citizenship status, or criminal history.
- Requiring a sidewalk vending or CMFO applicant to submit fingerprints, a LiveScan, or background check as part of the application for a permit or valid business license.
- Using moneys or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, arrest, or engage in other activities related to immigration enforcement when enforcing regulations pertaining to sidewalk vendors and CMFOs.
A city and/or enforcement agency is required:
- To destroy all information and documentation regarding a sidewalk vending and CMFO applicant’s place of birth, criminal history, LiveScan fingerprinting, or background check collected before January 1, 2026, unless those records are expressly required to be preserved by law.
- To terminate any contract with a non-public entity who violates the provisions of SB 635, and require the express agreement of future contracted nonpublic entities to SB 635.
- To accept a California driver’s license/identification number, an individual taxpayer identification, or a municipal identification number in lieu of a social security number for CMFO permit applications.
- To exempt any personally identifiable information collected from disclosure under the California Public Records Act.
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