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Board reviews California data‑sharing laws and asks about vetting partner agencies
Summary
Staff summarized California laws that limit municipal data sharing and noted those laws generally restrict out-of-state or federal sharing; board members pressed for clarity on how the department vets partner-agency requests and how contractors are held to contract terms.
The board received an informational report summarizing California laws that govern municipal data sharing and limits on passing data to outside agencies. The city attorney said the packet focuses on statutes that apply specifically to cities and made code citations available for members' review.
A recurring question from members concerned the term "partner agencies": is there a defined list or a case-by-case vetting process? Captain Bautista explained that requests from other agencies are routed to an investigations lieutenant or sergeant and vetted against the status of an investigation. "Any time we have an agency request... we will have them assigned to either the sergeant, detective, or lieutenant of investigations to say, 'okay, this is what I'm working,'" the captain said.
City counsel clarified limits on sharing outside California or with federal authorities: "We cannot share data with agencies outside of California, without specific permission to do that." Counsel also cited the California Values Act as an example that prevents sharing with federal immigration authorities in certain circumstances.
Members asked about contractor risk—whether a contractor could share city data more broadly. The city attorney said unauthorized sharing by a contractor would be a contract violation and could justify contract termination or litigation, and that privacy laws can create civil liability for improper releases.
Board members asked staff to return with clearer process descriptions for how external data requests are vetted and whether the department maintains an approved list of partner agencies. They also discussed whether additional contractual restrictions should be required to prevent downstream sharing.
