[1] The purpose of SB 946 is to let local law enforcement not fine or regulate street vendors where sidewalk traffic is light and is not infringing upon activity within the area.
Analysts characterize the movement to decriminalize sidewalk vending in Los Angeles as "grounded in a specific vision of racial justice."
[6] Following the adoption of SB 946, the city of Anaheim experienced a significant increase in unpermitted sidewalk vending.
He noted that SB 946 sharply regulates the type and severity of penalties a California municipality may enact in order to police illegal sidewalk vending.
[1] Along a 10-block stretch of Mission Street, a thriving illicit market formed, where sidewalk vendors sell cheap stolen items.
In 2023, a San Francisco district supervisor issued a 90-day ban on sidewalk vending on Mission Street after Public Works inspectors tasked with regulating them were subjected to violent threats.
In one case, in the city of Mission Viejo, Orange County, an unauthorized food vendor set up in front of a restaurant serving similar fare.
[3] In San Francisco, the city's first permitted food vendor stated that he had to close his business due to SB 946.
[8] SB 946 and other state laws have been blamed for creating situations in San Francisco where licensed businesses compete with thieves.
In San Francisco, observers note that SB 946 and other state laws have made it difficult for the city to enforce its own rules.
[9] A lack of vendor cooperation has led some cities to create stricter ordinances in hopes of gaining compliance through larger fines, relocations, or confiscation of “stalls and wares”.
The bill's limiting of penalties for violations of regulations on sidewalk vending to administrative fines was criticized as being an inadequate deterrent to unlawful activity.
[18] A councilmember in Santa Monica's City Council stated that SB 946 has made it more difficult to hold people accountable for violating regulations on sidewalk vending.
Although vendors can be issued administrative fines for violations, they cannot be compelled to show identification documents when they are cited and can get relief based on their ability to pay.