Ordinance 192143 establishing City Data and Privacy Office
Official source: https://www.portland.gov/council/documents/ordinance/passed/192143
Retrieved: 2026-10-20T21:33:20.841505+00:00
Extracted reading copy. Formatting and links may be omitted; consult the official source.

192143
Label:
Ordinance
Add Code to establish a City Data and Privacy Office (add Code Chapter 3.39)
Passed
Amended by Council
The City of Portland ordains.
Section 1. The Council finds:
The City of Portland has built a legacy of privacy protections through prior Council actions, including Resolution 37437 (adopted June 19, 2019) establishing Privacy and Information Protection Principles; Ordinances 190113 and 190114 (adopted September 9, 2020) prohibiting the use of face recognition technologies by City bureaus and in public accommodations; and Resolution 37608 (adopted February 1, 2023) establishing a Citywide Surveillance Technology Inventory and privacy review processes; and
The City of Portland has a core value of transparency to support accountability and democracy and has adopted the Open Data Resolution 36735 (adopted September 30, 2009) and established an Open Data Policy (Ordinance 188356, May 2017); and
Since these policies were adopted, new generations of surveillance technologies, AI enabled camera networks, automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems connected to nationwide sharing platforms and interconnected "smart city" sensors embedded in traffic systems and public spaces, have expanded the scope and precision of government and commercial monitoring. These systems generate continuous streams of data, often analyzed in real time, and combine disparate sources, from geolocation and license plate scans to facial recognition, enabling the creation of detailed patterns of movement, association, and identity across entire communities; and
Data brokers play a central role in this evolving surveillance ecosystem by aggregating and selling personal information from multiple sources, including public records and state and local data streams. These brokers increasingly provide services to federal law enforcement agencies and other entities seeking to circumvent local privacy and sanctuary safeguards, allowing sensitive data originally collected for municipal purposes to be repurposed for unrelated enforcement or profiling activities; and
Federal law enforcement agencies exploit these brokered datasets and also access state and national information sharing systems, creating indirect pathways to City originating data that bypass local oversight and frustrate the intent of Portland's privacy principles and sanctuary policy; and
Sensitive data most at risk including but not limited to categories defined by the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act, personally identifiable information, biometric identifiers, and geolocation or utility data, which, when aggregated or deanonymized, enable comprehensive surveillance of individuals and households well beyond the original context of collection; and
These risks fall disproportionately on marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; immigrants; unhoused Portlanders; people living with mental health conditions; and individuals engaged in protest or civic activity, exacerbating inequities and eroding public trust in government; and
Enterprise data governance enables organizations to make decisions about data and hold those that work with data accountable to data policies; and
Effective data governance requires knowledge and experience with business needs and strategy, data collection and analysis, data management, data culture change management, and is distinct from information technology expertise; and
To address these emerging threats and close gaps in current protections, Council seeks to establish a City Data and Privacy Office to enable data minimization, strengthen contractual controls, improve data security and advance data governance maturity, while enhancing public transparency and community oversight to prevent the misuse of City originating data and reaffirm Portland's sanctuary and privacy commitments.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:
Add City Code Chapter 3.39 as shown in Exhibit A.
Official record (Efiles)
Ordinance, supplemental documents, and testimony
An ordinance when passed by the Council shall be signed by the Auditor. It shall be carefully filed and preserved
in the custody of the Auditor (City Charter Chapter 2 Article 1 Section 2-122)
Passed as amended by Council
February 5, 2026
Auditor of the City of Portland
Simone Rede
Impact Statement
Purpose of proposed legislation and background information
The purpose of this ordinance is to direct the City to create an Office of Data and Privacy, located in the City Operations service area, and to establish the role of Chief Data Office (CDO). This office will be tasked with improving privacy protections, steward data assets, and minimizing risks from data brokers, uncontrolled sharing of sensitive personal information, and secondary data use, including Large Language Models (LLMs) for the use and development of artificial intelligence, and assessing other privacy and data governance issues as outlined in this resolution.
Establishing this office will create for a more centralized authority on data governance and privacy in the city, allowing for a more unified approach to technology use. Upon establishment, data governance shall be consolidated within the City Data and Privacy Office, with the Office functioning as the City authority. The City Data and Privacy Office will continue to collaborate with the Office of Equity to ensure appropriate consideration of equity impacts and will work closely with the Bureau of Technology Services to ensure data governance needs guide information technology decisions and information technology planning supports long-term stewardship of City data assets.
Financial and budgetary impacts
This legislation does not require changes to current FTE or budgets and does not result in new financial obligations. Instead, staff are directed to establish a Data and Privacy Office and create a transition plan, detailing what staff is necessary for the office. After functions and staffing are identified, a plan for resourcing both data governance and privacy work will be produced to be taken up in the budget.
Economic and real estate development impacts
Not applicable.
Community impacts and community involvement
Not applicable.
100% renewable goal
Not applicable.
Economic and real estate development analysis
Analysis provided by Prosper Portland
An Economic and Real Estate Development Impact Analysis was not submitted for this proposed action. Pursuant to City Council Resolution 37664, Prosper Portland staff has reviewed the action and agree that it does not require an Economic and Real Estate Development Impact Analysis.
Financial and budget analysis
Analysis provided by City Budget Office
This ordinance would establish a City Data and Privacy Office in Chapter 3 of Portland City Code, creating a new bureau. The creation of a new bureau would likely require creating new positions, specifically the creation of a Chief Data Officer, which would likely add costs, as the City does not currently have a Chief Data Officer classification. Additionally, budgeting a new organizational unit would require either realigning resources from existing programs or adding resources. If existing positions are identified for realignment, resources supporting those positions may or may not be able to move with them depending on whether they are restricted fund sources. In summary, standing up a new operating bureau that completes the work outlined in this resolution would require either reprioritizing existing work or adding costs for new positions.
Document history
Document number: 2025-480
President's referral: Community and Public Safety Committee (January 15, 2025 - March 30, 2026)
Agenda
Council action
December 9, 2025
Regular agenda
Community and Public Safety Committee (January 15, 2025 - March 30, 2026)
Referred to City Council
Motion to amend Exhibit A to remove the second sentence in Subsection 3.39.020 B.1.: Moved by Zimmerman and seconded by Smith (Aye (1): Zimmerman; Nay (4): Smith, Morillo, Novick, Kanal). Motion failed to pass.
Motion to refer the Ordinance, Document Number 2025-480, to City Council with the recommendation it be passed: Moved by Morillo and seconded by Novick. (Aye (4): Zimmerman, Morillo, Novick, Kanal; Nay (1): Smith)
January 29, 2026
Regular agenda
City Council
Passed to second reading as amended
Motion to amend Exhibit A as shown in Novick 1: Moved by Kanal and seconded by Koyama Lane. (Aye (11): Avalos, Smith, Kanal, Pirtle-Guiney, Ryan, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Novick, Clark, Green, Dunphy; Absent (1): Zimmerman)
Passed to second reading as amended February 5, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
February 5, 2026
Regular agenda
City Council
Passed as amended
Votes
Aye (12):
Avalos
Smith
Kanal
Pirtle-Guiney
Ryan
Koyama Lane
Morillo
Novick
Clark
Green
Zimmerman
Dunphy
Document number
2025-480
Changes
Ordinance 192143
March 7, 2026
View all changes
Introduced by
Councilor Angelita Morillo
Councilor Steve Novick
Service area
City Operations
Contact
Zach WardCouncil Aide
emailzach.ward@portlandoregon.gov
phone number971-313-0932
Suzy DeusterPolicy Advisor, Councilor Angelita Morillo
emailsuzanne.deuster@portlandoregon.gov
Agenda type
Regular
Date and time information
Meeting date
February 5, 2026
Amount of time requested
30 minutes (1 of 2)
Changes City Code
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