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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

92

Introduced by Assembly Member Caloza

January 28, 2026

An act to add Section 1939.36 to the Civil Code, relating to rental vehicles.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law generally regulates the business of renting passenger vehicles to the public. The law prohibits a rental company from taking various actions, including requiring the purchase of a damage waiver, optional insurance, or another optional good or service, and using electronic surveillance technology to track a renter in order to impose fines or surcharges relating to the renter’s use of a rental vehicle.

This bill would require any privately owned vehicle rented by, or furnished to, any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency for the use of detaining, arresting, or transporting persons who have violated, or are suspected of having violated, any law, to display a temporary decal displaying the agency name and logo, as specified. The bill would authorize certain attorneys, including the Attorney General, to pursue a civil action against the entity renting the vehicle from the private owner for failure to comply with these provisions. The bill would require the rental car contract to include a term that compliance with state law is mandatory. The bill would exempt privately owned vehicles rented or otherwise furnished or loaned to a law enforcement agency for specified purposes and rental car contracts entered into prior to January 1, 2027, from these provisions.

The bill would make related findings and declarations.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Public safety depends in substantial part on the clear, immediate, and reliable identification of vehicles operated for law enforcement purposes. Members of the public must be able to readily distinguish vehicles exercising police authority, particularly those engaged in detaining, transporting, or otherwise exercising custody over an individual, from ordinary vehicles.

(b) The use of rental vehicles by law enforcement agencies, while often necessary for operational flexibility, can create ambiguity when those vehicles lack standardized visual indicators of official status. Absent clear identification, individuals may be uncertain whether they are being lawfully stopped or approached by legitimate authorities, which can lead to escalation of conflict, delays in compliance, or unsafe interactions.

(c) Ensuring that rental vehicles used by law enforcement agencies are appropriately marked and equipped aligns with the public interest in preventing the unauthorized exercise or appearance of police authority.

(d) Properly marked vehicles equipped with visible identification thus service a critical safety function. Those vehicles provide notice of lawful authority, thereby preventing impersonation, promoting orderly interactions with law enforcement, and reducing misunderstanding.

SEC. 2.

Section 1939.36 is added to the Civil Code, to read:

1939.36.

(a) (1) Any privately owned vehicle rented by, or furnished to, any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency for the use of detaining, arresting, or transporting persons who have violated, or are suspected of having violated, any law, shall be required to have a temporary decal displaying the agency name and logo.

(2) The indicia or name of the governmental entity operating the vehicle shall be displayed in sharp contrast to the background on the front door panels and shall be of such size, shape, and color as to be readily legible during daylight hours from a distance of 50 feet. The governmental entity shall create and affix the temporary decal to the vehicle.

(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to privately owned vehicles rented or otherwise furnished or loaned to any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency for any of the following purposes:

(1) An officer engaged in plainclothes operations who is employed by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, the Office of Law Enforcement Support, the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Transportation Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Operations Agency, or by any department, board, commission, or other entity within those agencies or the federal equivalent of these state agencies. operations.

(2) Exigent circumstances involving an imminent danger to persons or property, the escape of a perpetrator, or the destruction of evidence, including if the officer is responding to one of these circumstances while off duty.

(3) Privately owned vehicles rented to, or otherwise furnished or loaned to to, a Special Weapons and Tactics or tactical team unit that is actively performing their tactical team responsibilities. responsibilities, including predeployment, staging, and training use.

(4) Privately owned vehicles rented to, or otherwise furnished or loaned to, an officer engaged in protective operations involving elected officials, judicial officers, or other designated dignitaries if the display of identification would compromise the safety, anonymity, or tactical effectiveness of the protection detail.

(5) An officer engaged in surveillance, active undercover operations operations, or investigative activities.

(6) (A) When the vehicle is used solely for the transport of a person who is already in lawful custodial status following arrest pursuant to a judicial warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, or pursuant to a judicially issued extradition order, and is being transported to or from a custodial facility or transportation hub.

(B) This paragraph shall apply only where the officer reasonably determines that the display of a decal would compromise officer safety, public safety, or the security of the person being transported.

(C) This paragraph does not apply to the initial detention or arrest of an individual in the field.

(D) For purposes of this paragraph, “judicial warrant” or “judicially issued extradition order” does not include any civil, administrative, or executive warrant, detainer, or order not issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c) (1) A failure to display a decal in accordance with this section shall subject the entity renting the vehicle from the private owner to liability that shall be enforced by a civil action, brought in the name of the people of California by the Attorney General, a district attorney, county counsel, or a city attorney, who may seek injunctive or declaratory relief.

(2) A prevailing plaintiff in an action shall be entitled to all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

(d) The terms and conditions of the rental car contract shall specify that compliance with state law is mandatory. The contract may include a term requiring the law enforcement agency to indemnify the owner of the private vehicle.

(e) Subdivisions (a) and (d) do not apply to any rental car contract entered into prior to January 1, 2027.