Street Vendor Justice

We are proud to have fought for street vendors for more than 15 years and to have been at the forefront of successful efforts to legalize sidewalk vending in Los Angeles and across California. Today, we continue to work with leading local and state coalitions every day to advocate for policies that expand economic opportunity to vendors and protect their safety.

Community protesters pose in front of state capitol with signs.
IAC CEO stands with street vendors

Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign

We are a founding member of the LA Street Vendor Campaign (LASVC), a coalition of street vendors and community based organizations working to advance the rights of street vendors across Los Angeles. 

The LASVC was founded in 2012 and has secured several transformative policies:

  • the decriminalization and legalization of street vending in all of California with Senate Bill 946
  • removing barriers that make permitting programs more accessible for legal street vending in the City and County of LA
  • updating the state food code to enable safe and accessible street food vending through Senate Bill 972
  • a landmark legal victory removing discriminatory no-vending-zones in the City of LA and refunding unfair citations and fines that vendors had been charged

Inclusive Action serves on the LASVC Steering Committee, along with Community Power Collective, East LA Community Corporation, and Public Counsel. The coalition continues to fight for vendors’ rights and advocate for the equitable implementation of new vending rules in Los Angeles and throughout California.

California Street Vendor Campaign

We are also a founding member of the California Street Vendor Campaign, a statewide coalition that advocates for legislation to protect and support vendors across California. The coalition successfully fought for and won two transformative California laws – Senate Bill 946 (Ricardo Lara) which legalized vending across California in 2018, and Senate Bill 972 (Lena Gonzalez) which updated the California food code to create new opportunities for street food vendors in 2022.

The CASVC has expanded to be a statewide network of organizations working to expand economic justice for street vendors by sharing information and resources, building training and curriculum for community based organizations, advising local governments on inclusive street vending policies, and advancing equitable statewide policy.

Senate Bill 635

In 2025, we successfully passed the Street Vendor Business Protection Act – also known as Senate Bill 635. We were proud to advocate for this bill alongside our co-sponsors CHIRLA, Community Power Collective, Public Counsel, and Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, as well as the bill’s author Senator Maria Elena Durazo. SB 635 went into effect on January 1, 2026, and will safeguard vendors’ personal information collected by local governments from being used by ICE for immigration enforcement. Read the legislative alert for guidance on this new law.