Sacramento Law and Legislation Committee Meeting Summary: March 17, 2026

The Sacramento City Council Law and Legislation Committee met on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, from 11:01 a.m. to 1:32 p.m. at City Hall to discuss tobacco retailer ordinance revisions, a vacant property tax update, and an enhanced vacant lot and building enforcement program. The committee took action on three major items.

Consent Calendar

• Item 1: Approved the Law and Legislation Committee meeting minutes from January 13, 2026, and February 10, 2026.
• Item 2: Approved the Law and Legislation Log.
• Item 3: Received and filed the Legislative Advocacy Correspondence.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Tobacco Retailer Ordinance (Item 4): 14 speakers testified. Public health advocates (including Rachel Alvarez, Kimberly Bankston Lee, Liz Hendricks, Anisa Adams, and Dr. Alexandria Rymold) strongly supported ending the Healthy Food Exemption, citing research that only 6% of exempted retailers opened in food deserts, and 80% were non-compliant with healthy food requirements. Business owners (David Thule, Harman Handa, Jazz Zundel, Leticia Ramitas, Rocky Mulley, Sammy Chan, Dalbir Chahal, and Parmjit Kara) opposed the exemption's elimination, stating tobacco accounts for about 30% of convenience store revenue, and argued the change would devastate business values and retirement plans. A cannabis dispensary owner (Jacob) raised concerns about inconsistent land-use policies between tobacco and cannabis. A speaker (Gabriel) urged caution on banning kratom products, citing their use in opioid addiction recovery.
• Vacant Property Tax Update (Item 5): Three speakers testified. Josh Oaken (Sacramento Association of Realtors) supported staff's recommendation against a tax, urging enforcement instead. Jeff Kessler (Vacancy Fee Project) criticized stakeholder outreach as one-sided and advocated for a citizen-initiated ballot measure. Dalen Gillentine supported continued monitoring and a potential 2028 ballot measure.
• Enhanced Vacant Lot and Building Program (Item 6): 14 speakers testified. Property and business groups (Chris Valencia, Randall Hahn, Christian McGlade, Chris Little, Tish Mann, Matt McDonald, Josh Oaken, Karina Raimundo, John Vignaki, James Allison, Frank Louie) opposed broad fees and staff expansions, urging focus on bad actors. Jeff Kessler and Dalen Gillentine advocated for the strongest possible program, arguing high fees are necessary to combat intentional vacancy.

Discussion Items

• Item 4 – Ordinance Revisions to Tobacco Retailer Code: Staff proposed ending the Healthy Food Exemption, grandfathering existing license holders but prohibiting license transfer on sale. New fees to achieve 100% cost recovery would rise from $510 to $909 for new licenses and from $472 to $759 for renewals. Councilmember Dickinson supported reducing tobacco availability but expressed equity concerns for small businesses. Councilmember Pluckebaum favored a broader discussion on a citywide tobacco sales phase-out. Councilmember Maple noted concerns about cross-border sales with the county and suggested allowing license transfer with the property. The committee voted unanimously to forward the ordinances to the City Council for consideration, with a recommendation to discuss transferability of licenses under the Healthy Food Exemption.
• Item 5 – Vacant Property Tax Update: Staff reported that outreach to stakeholders indicated opposition to a tax, emphasizing enforcement over taxation. Polling showed 57% support, short of the two-thirds voter threshold required for a city-referred measure. Staff recommended not moving forward with a tax at this time. The committee received the update without a formal vote.
• Item 6 – Enhanced Vacant Lot and Vacant Building Program: Staff presented four enforcement models, recommending Model 3: 10 additional staff focusing on nuisance properties, with registration fees increasing from $70 to $133 and monthly monitoring fees for nuisance lots rising from $330 to $557, and for nuisance buildings from $380 to $903. Councilmembers expressed concerns about fee burdens and budget deficits, with Dickinson advocating for a middle-ground approach that targets bad actors without penalizing active developers. Maple suggested convening a working group with staff to refine the proposal before returning to committee. No formal vote was taken.

Key Outcomes

• Tobacco Ordinance: Unanimously forwarded to the full City Council with a note to discuss license transferability under the Healthy Food Exemption.
• Vacant Property Tax: Received the status update; no further action recommended at this time.
• Enhanced Vacant Lot/Building Program: Directed staff to work with committee members (Maple and Dickinson) to refine the proposal, focusing on compliance with existing registration, targeted enforcement on nuisance properties, and coordination with planning and building departments. A revised ordinance will be brought back to the committee for future consideration.