Idalia Lopez is usually up at 8 a.m for work. She’s a street vendor in the Mission, selling stuffed animals and jewelry, and has to be at 23rd and Mission streets by 10 a.m. to make sales for the day.
On Wednesday morning, however, she was up much earlier.
Lopez roused herself at 4:30 a.m. and got to the plaza two hours later, hoping to do a little selling before caravanning to Sacramento with nine other street vendors. There, alongside Sen. Scott Wiener, they pushed a new state bill named SB 276 that would empower police officers to cite and, after three offenses, jail unpermitted vendors suspected of selling illegal goods.
The bill, Lopez and other permitted vendors said, would curtail harassment from those who engage in illegal fencing.
“Those who are not street vendors don’t know what we go through as we stand there for hours,” said Lopez, who works at the 23rd and Mission intersection six days a week. Unpermitted street vending has exploded on the corridor since the pandemic, and violence has followed: There were at least three killings at both Mission BART plazas between August 2022 and July 2023.
“I had a man once demand my tablecloth for permitted vendors,” she said, referring to the city-issued sheet she uses that marks her as a sanctioned vendor. “He said he was going to come back and punch me if I didn’t give it to him. It was scary.”
Wiener and the Mission’s permitted vendors have been here before. Last year, Wiener put forth a bill that would have let police officers ticket vendors suspected of selling illegal goods, a practice currently barred by state law. That bill died in committee last August.
But this year, things look to be different. After a 40-minute presentation in front of the State Senate’s Local Government Committee, where Wiener stood alongside the permitted vendors, his bill advanced with six votes — unanimous support.
“I feel great. We have a unanimous vote from the local government committee,” said Wiener after the vote. “My colleagues understand this is a real issue in the Mission and other parts of San Francisco, and it’s our job to help solve the problem.”
Sen. Maria Elena Durazo from Los Angeles, who serves as the chair of the Local Government Committee, last year raised concerns with “unintended consequences” if the bill attached “criminal penalties” to vending.
Wiener made changes: In the current version, officers cannot ask about citizenship or criminal history, for instance, and the city is required to hold a workshop with vendors before implementation. The city must also advertise the changes in multiple languages, and permitting fees are capped at $25 for vendors who earn up to double the area median income or are enrolled in certain welfare programs.
“With all of that, I’m very pleased to support the bill today,” said Durazo. “When vendors from San Francisco come here and tell us this change is important, I want to respect that.”
Wiener’s SB 276 would only apply to San Francisco. The Board of Supervisors would draft a list of commonly stolen goods across the city. Any vendors in possession of items on the list without a receipt would face escalating punishment: First, a written warning, then an infraction charge and, finally, possible jail time not to exceed six months.
Vendors selling food or any items not on the list would be exempt.
The legislation also partly walks back SB 946, which decriminalized street vending across the state in 2018, by allowing police officers to enforce the rules. Currently, Public Works staff handle street vending, and many have reported physical threats and fear for their lives on Mission Street.
Amending SB 946 has been a concern for local and state leaders who fear police interactions could increase the risk of deportation under Trump. In January, during an interview with Mission Local, District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder said she shared that fear, and could not support Wiener’s bill.
Fielder did not reply when asked whether she supported the bill as it is written today.
After the hearing, the delegation headed to the California State Capitol Museum, where vendors took photographs with mounted police.
“I’m so happy right now,” said Elsa Claudio, a permitted Mission vendor. “But we still have a long way to go so we can work in a safe environment.”
The bill now moves to the State Senate’s Public Safety Committee for a vote.
SB 276 is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. All illegal vending should be suppressed with the threat of criminal penalties because this is by far the most effective deterrence. Illegal vending should be suppressed statewide, not just in San Francisco. Perhaps we should get a few guys from ICE specifically assigned to suppress illegal vending.
While selling stolen merchandise is a major threat to public safety, so is the selling of presumably contaminated food. Illegal vending of food has impacted public health, safety, and welfare because of lack of proper food handling and storage; obstruction of public right of ways; unsafe pedestrian congestion on sidewalks; accumulation of trash and debris on sidewalks and storm drains; grease and residue on sidewalks resulting in potential slip and fall incidents; and disposal of oils and grease in storm drains.
“Fielder did not reply when asked whether she supported the bill as it is written today.”
Way to go Jackie– taking a stand right from the start!
How many more legit stores and restaurants need to go out of business as a result of filthy street conditions in the Mission?
I honestly don’t understand why special legislation is needed. Legalizing street vending doesn’t mean that selling stolen goods on the street is legal. It’s already illegal to sell stolen goods, whether it’s on the street, or out of the back of a van, or even an otherwise legitimate business.
If a police officer sees a vendor with row after row of shirts and shoes still with the Ross Dress for Less tags on them, how does that not give the officer probably cause to investigate whether the merchandize is stolen?
“In the current version, officers cannot ask about citizenship or criminal history”
Oh good, wouldn’t want to accidentally enforce immigration law or catch wanted criminals and interrupt their “street vendor” business. The aptly named “Weiner” is a joke just like the rest of this corrupt uni party state.
How is selling stollen goods a threat to public safety and how do you know the things these vendors are selling isn’t stolen or is it ok as long as the government gets a cut of the proceeds