Menlo Park Municipal Code Ch. 2.60 Noncooperation with Sensitive Information Registry

The city of Menlo Park is an ethnically, racially and religiously diverse city. The city has long derived its strength and prosperity from its diverse community. Cooperation with all members of the city's diverse community is essential to advancing the city's mission, vision and guiding principles, including community safety, support for youth and education, economic development and financial stability. The purpose of this chapter is to create a community free from fear in which individuals are assured that they can access the full range of city services, including law enforcement services, without the fear that information gained by city officials will be used to create or participate in creating a national registry based on sensitive information, including but not limited to racial, ethnic, religious or national background.

(Ord. 1035 § 2 (part), 2017)

No city agency, department, officer or employee shall request, maintain or disclose sensitive information about any person for the purposes of providing information to a national registry or national database specifically used to identify individuals on the basis of sensitive information. For purposes of this chapter, "sensitive information" includes any information that may be considered sensitive or personal in nature, including but not limited to a person's citizenship or immigration status, religion or religious beliefs, race, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.

(Ord. 1035 § 2 (part), 2017)

(a) No city agency, department, officer or employee shall use city funds, resources, facilities, property, equipment or personnel to:

(1) Compel an individual to identify, investigate, disseminate or otherwise gather sensitive information, including information regarding an individual's religious belief, race, or nation of descent, for the purpose of providing information to a national registry or national database specifically used to identify individuals on the basis of sensitive information.

(2) Detain, relocate or intern any individual based upon their religious beliefs, race, nation of descent or other sensitive information.

(b) No city agency, department, officer or employee shall use city funds, resources, facilities, property, equipment or personnel unless such assistance is required by a valid and enforceable federal or state law or is contractually obligated. Nothing shall prevent the city, including any agency, department, officer or employee, from lawfully discharging his/her duties in compliance with a lawfully issued judicial warrant, subpoena or court decision.

(Ord. 1035 § 2 (part), 2017)

(a) The clerk of the city of Menlo Park shall send copies of this chapter, including any future amendments, to every department of the city of Menlo Park. Any employee who willfully and intentionally violates the prohibitions in this chapter may face department discipline up to and including termination.

(b) In undertaking the adoption and enforcement of this chapter, the city is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. This chapter does not create or form the basis of liability on the part of the city, its agents, departments, officers or employees. It is not intended to create any new rights for breach of which the city or any of its employees are liable for money or any other damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury.

(Ord. 1035 § 2 (part), 2017)