Oakland rewrites prostitution law to go after buyers and landlords

Oakland
City Council Meeting
February 3, 2026

TL;DR

• The council advanced a rewrite of Oakland's prostitution law, repealing the offense for sex workers and creating new fines for buyers, traffickers, and property owners. Final vote is Feb 17.
• Buyer fines start at up to $4,000 for a first offense and go up from there. All fine revenue, projected at $250,000 to $450,000 a year, funds a new Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund.
• The council backed AB 1537, a state bill that would block California peace officers from moonlighting for federal immigration enforcement.
• The Fire Station 4 design contract grew from $1.5M to $4.2M, with the competitive bidding requirement waived.
• A $125,000 settlement closed a negligence case against OPD and Officer Tommy Nguyen.

What happened

1. Council rewrote the prostitution law to target buyers, not workers, and locked the fines into a survivor fund
   1. The council voted 6-0 to advance an ordinance that repeals Oakland's loitering offense for sex workers. It replaces that with a loitering offense for people trying to buy commercial sex. Final passage is Feb 17.
   2. Buyers face fines up to $4,000 for a first offense. Each later offense goes up to $8,000. The fines apply per victim per day, and triple if a minor is involved.
   3. Traffickers face up to $10,000 first offense and up to $20,000 each subsequent offense. Property owners and business proprietors who facilitate the activity face $2,500 a day. There's a defense for anyone who was a trafficking victim at the time. Gallo and Jenkins were excused from the vote.
   4. What this means for you: 100% of fines collected go into a new Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund, not the general fund. Wang's office projects $250,000 to $450,000 a year.
      1. The Department of Violence Prevention will issue RFPs to local nonprofits for housing, mental health, job training, legal support, and street outreach. Wang told the council that over the last two years, 51 people were arrested for purchasing sex and only 1 was charged. The new fines are designed to fill that gap when the DA does not charge criminally. A report comes back to council in about six months, with a community impact and equity review.
2. Council backed a state bill blocking peace officers from working for ICE on the side
   1. The council adopted a resolution in support of AB 1537, a state bill from Assemblymember Isaac Bryan. It would bar California peace officers from working or volunteering for any entity that does immigration enforcement, including federal Homeland Security.
   2. The bill would also let the state strip an officer's certification if they break the rule. Officers would have to report any offer of such employment, and records of secondary employment would be public. Brown brought the resolution and tied it to recent off-duty ICE incidents in California and other states, and to Mayor Lee's recent executive orders. The vote was 5-0, with Fife, Gallo, and Jenkins excused.
   3. What this means for you: The resolution is a position statement, not a local rule. Oakland is now on record in Sacramento as the bill moves through committee.
3. Fire Station 4 design contract grew from $1.5M to $4.2M, with the bidding requirement waived
   1. The council approved a $2.7 million increase to the Loving Campos Associates architecture and engineering contract for the Fire Station 4 project, bringing the total to $4.2 million. The vote also waived the competitive RFP requirement. Houston pulled the item to ask about local participation but supported the increase. The vote was 5-0, with Fife, Gallo, and Jenkins excused.
   2. What this means for you: The design work for Fire Station 4 keeps moving with the same firm, at nearly three times the original contract size. The city did not put the additional work out to bid.
4. Council approved $637,000 in federal grants for trauma-informed services for high-risk youth
   1. The council approved $437,000 in SAMHSA grant agreements with three agencies. Another $200,000 went to three more providers in service contracts. All six contracts provide trauma-informed mental health services to high-risk youth and their families.
   2. The funding runs October 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026. The council waived the local small business and RFP requirements. The vote was 5-0, with Fife, Gallo, and Jenkins excused.
   3. What this means for you: The money is federal pass-through, not city general fund. Six providers will work with youth identified as high-risk. The city administrator can add carryover or reallocated SAMHSA funding later.
5. City pays $125,000 to settle a negligence case against OPD and Officer Tommy Nguyen
   1. The council approved a $125,000 settlement in Gosvami Marquez and Miriam Hernandez v. City of Oakland, Officer Tommy Nguyen, and Does 1-25. The Alameda County Superior Court case is classified as OPD negligence. Two other settlements also passed on consent. The city paid $75,000 in Tiffany Nault v. City of Oakland, a Department of Transportation dangerous-condition case. It paid $30,000 in State Farm v. City of Oakland, a Public Works dangerous-condition case. All three votes were 5-0, with Fife, Gallo, and Jenkins excused.
   2. What this means for you: The city paid out $230,000 across three cases at this meeting.

What residents brought up

• About 22 people spoke on the prostitution ordinance.
  • Speakers included residents from District 2, survivors of trafficking, and staff from Oakland-based service organizations. A Love Never Fails outreach coordinator said the ordinance would not solve trafficking but would add a hindrance. He also pushed for state-level felony penalties for buying sex. A trafficking survivor who was trafficked in Oakland as a child supported the ordinance, saying it shifts the cost of harm to the people causing it. A District 2 small-business representative said Little Saigon needs relief now and described daylight prostitution and pimping near multiple schools. A longtime meeting attendee asked why prior efforts across two decades have not held, and suggested funding street ambassadors along International Boulevard.
  • The Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce president and other District 2 residents described children walking past commercial sex activity on their way to school. They asked the council to act with urgency. An OUSD grant manager said trafficking signs show up in every secondary school in the district. She said early prevention partnerships have changed outcomes for individual students.
• Houston's district director, speaking from the dais, described a District 7 cannabis facility being built without proper building permits but still moving through cannabis permitting. She asked whether the Cannabis Regulatory Commission can enforce beautification and permitting rules on operators.

Also happened

• Three standing local emergency declarations renewed: HIV/AIDS, medical cannabis access, and homelessness (Resolutions 91036, 91037, 91038)
• Jenn Oakley appointed to the Commission on Homelessness; Joti Singh and Salim Shariff to the Cultural Affairs Commission; six members appointed to the Commission on Aging
• Ah'shatae Millhouse appointed to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission
• Strategic Plan Six-Month Update received and filed
• Dr. Michael P. Ford honored for the National Parking Association's Innovator of the Year Award
• Item 4.1 on a Protected Tree Ordinance violation withdrawn and rescheduled to April 14

For any updates or corrections, please email steven@polisdesk.com