Council adopts consent calendar; surveillance items deferred for further review

The Berkeley City Council adopted the consent calendar on April 21 after members asked that two Peace and Justice Commission items related to Flock Safety and proposed policing tools be moved to future meetings for fuller discussion. Councilmember (speaker 6) moved adoption of the consent calendar as amended; the motion was seconded and approved by unanimous roll call.

The consent calendar included council positions supporting a set of state bills: a reform of the insurance non‑renewal process (SB1301), a federal immigration‑enforcement reporting bill (SB1257), and several clean‑energy measures (including bills on heat pumps, balcony solar and rooftop solar tax credits). Councilmembers acknowledged receipt of a $9 million state financing package to support an affordable housing project near North Berkeley BART and thanked staff for securing that funding.

Multiple public commenters and Peace and Justice Commission representatives urged caution on any contracts with Flock Safety, citing concerns about data sharing and cloud storage exposure to warrants. The mayor said items related to Flock Safety will return at a later date and the council referred one policing‑tools item to the agenda rules committee for scheduling.

The consent vote was recorded by roll call; no individual consent item was separately pulled for a substantive vote at the meeting.