California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday to help local governments better crack down on illegal dumping, legislation championed by Oakland’s political leadership.
Newsom signed Senate Bill 1218 by state Sen. Jesse Arreguin, D-Oakland, which grants law enforcement and code compliance agencies the ability to put an immobilization device on vehicles connected to multiple illegal dumping violations.
“Now cities have another tool to hold those who trash our communities accountable,” Arreguin said in a news release.
The new law lets authorities put a “boot device” on vehicles that are linked to five or more delinquent illegal dumping violations or are linked to two or more delinquent violations involving illegal dumping “in commercial quantities,” among other things.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee was a supporter of the bill and thanked Arreguin for his work to get it passed.
“We are sending a clear message: if you trash The Town, you will be held accountable,” Lee said. “This victory belongs to our incredible community coalition, but our work isn’t finished. Every Oakland resident deserves to live in clean, dignified neighborhoods, and I am determined to end this crisis on my watch.”
Oakland has recently redoubled its efforts to combat illegal dumping and, in April, a report from the City Auditor’s Office found that high waste disposal costs, gaps in enforcement and limited access to legal dumping options are contributing to illegal dumping in the city.
That same month, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that increased penalties for illegal dumping in the city.
The price for trashing The Town
The ordinance more than doubles the fines for dumping trash on Oakland streets, parks, sidewalks and other spaces to $1,500 for the first offense, $3,000 for the second and $5,000 for the third.
Also, if a person is caught dumping illegally multiple times on private property within a 10-year period, they could face triple the initial civil penalties.
The ordinance also makes it a crime for anyone who owns a car to use it or allow it to be used for illegal dumping and for people to haul trash without a license plate on their vehicle.
In the June 2 election, however, voters rejected Measure E, a proposed parcel tax to raise revenue to, in part, tackle illegal dumping.
Also in June, the city announced that San Francisco-based philanthropic organization Crankstart will invest nearly $9.3 million to prevent new illegal dumping, clean up existing dump sites and add more illegal dumping cameras for enforcement in Oakland.
Over the course of three years, Crankstart will also deploy artificial intelligence-assisted drones to gather information to aid enforcement efforts.
In a statement, Arreguin’s office said illegal dumping has increased across the state since the COVID-19 pandemic and that between 2021 and 2024, Oakland issued nearly 3,000 illegal dumping citations totaling about $1.3 million in fines.
However, according to the City Auditor’s report, Oakland only collected $16,000 in fines last year but spent $12 million on enforcement and cleanup efforts.
