Cervantes Requests State Audit to Ensure Greater Accountability of Fusion Centers to Safeguard Rights of All Californians

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) has requested that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) consider a proposed audit of the operations and status of the fusion centers in California. The audit request will be considered at the JLAC meeting on March 24, 2026. If approved, the audit would be performed by the California State Auditor.

“The largely unregulated operation of fusion centers in California raises significant concerns, especially at a time when emerging technologies, increasing government overreach, and the Trump Administration’s descent into authoritarianism are converging to undermine the public safety and privacy of all.” Senator Cervantes said. “The threat that fusion centers pose to the constitutional rights of Californians is concerning, as well as the lack of oversight that the public and the Legislature have over their activities.”

The existence of fusion centers has stirred concerns about domestic intelligence-gathering practices and questions about the federal government’s involvement in state and local law enforcement operations.

Senator Cervantes’s audit request notes that no single piece of state legislation established this partnership and national network of fusion centers, defined its mission, or authorized it to operate as a decentralized domestic intelligence collection mechanism that feeds the federal intelligence community with information gathered from every part of one’s daily life. The network operates under ambiguous lines of authority. It includes not only federal, state, and local law enforcement but also other public and private entities that have no legal or statutory authority to collect or disseminate data or intelligence about Californians. 

Fusion centers were originally created with the laudable goal of preventing terrorism. However, over the nearly three decades since their establishment, with limited formal oversight, these centers have seen a significant expansion of their surveillance and targeting activities to include broad domestic activities. The infrastructure established at fusion centers is designed to gather considerable information about individuals’ identities, movements, activities, and relationships from various aspects of their lives, and to collect and collate this data to multiple levels of government and private entities for analysis and decision-making.

“These centers have operated in secrecy for three decades. We must safeguard the privacy of Californians by demanding transparency and accountability for the data being collected in fusion centers,” explained Senator Cervantes. “In light of the attacks on the Constitution perpetrated by the Trump Administration, keeping government institutions accountable for the way that they use our personal data is imperative. If this audit is approved by JLAC, it would be the first of its kind in the country.”

Senator Cervantes, a champion of the right to privacy for all Californians, has also reintroduced Senate Bill 1013 this year to increase regulation of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR).

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