republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20192020/ab-904.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Search warrants: tracking devices."
description: "Existing law authorizes a search warrant to be issued upon specified grounds, including that the information to be received from the use of a tracking device constitutes evidence that tends to show that a felony or specified misdemeanors has been committed or is being committed, tends to show that a particular person has committed a felony or those specified misdemeanors, or will assist in locating an individual who has committed or is committing a felony or those specified misdemeanors. Existing law requires a warrant issued pursuant to these provisions to meet specified requirements. Existing law defines tracking device for these purposes as any electronic or mechanical device that permits the tracking of the movement of a person or object."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20192020"
identifier: "AB 904"
citation: "California AB 904 (20192020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Search warrants: tracking devices."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Chau"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 28
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2019-02-20"
last_action: "2020-09-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1bd26b83-bfd8-414b-b0db-37bf8ba1701c"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904"
source_hash: "666631f773ed4a81a0b1aa04884208298d8c65bfd85ba5acc61f7695a17dd35b"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 904 (20192020) — Search warrants: tracking devices.

Existing law authorizes a search warrant to be issued upon specified grounds, including that the information to be received from the use of a tracking device constitutes evidence that tends to show that a felony or specified misdemeanors has been committed or is being committed, tends to show that a particular person has committed a felony or those specified misdemeanors, or will assist in locating an individual who has committed or is committing a felony or those specified misdemeanors. Existing law requires a warrant issued pursuant to these provisions to meet specified requirements. Existing law defines tracking device for these purposes as any electronic or mechanical device that permits the tracking of the movement of a person or object.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/20/19 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904&version=20190AB90499INT)
2. **01/06/20 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904&version=20190AB90497AMD)
3. **01/16/20 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904&version=20190AB90496AMD)
4. **03/28/19 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904&version=20190AB90498AMD)
5. **06/29/20 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904&version=20190AB90495AMD)
6. **09/11/20 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904&version=20190AB90493CHP)
7. **AB904** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904)
8. **09/01/20 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB904&version=20190AB90494ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass and be ordered to the Consent Calendar — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- Consent Calendar AB904 — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- AB 904 Chau Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **75–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended. — **11–0** (pass) · lower
- AB 904 Chau Assembly Third Reading — **78–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Privacy and Consumer Protection] — **8–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Chau — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2019-02-20** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2019-02-21** From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
- **2019-03-07** Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and P. & C.P. `referral-committee`
- **2019-03-26** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2019-03-28** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended. `reading-1, reading-2, amendment-passage, amendment-introduction`
- **2019-04-01** Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2019-04-02** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2019-04-09** In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2020-01-06** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended. `reading-1, reading-2, amendment-passage, amendment-introduction`
- **2020-01-07** Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-09** Assembly Rule 56 suspended. (Page 3769.)
- **2020-01-09** (pending re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P.)
- **2020-01-14** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (January 14). Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2020-01-15** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (January 14). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, amendment-introduction`
- **2020-01-16** Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2`
- **2020-01-17** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2020-01-27** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 3888.) `passage, reading-3, reading-1`
- **2020-01-28** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2020-06-23** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2020-06-29** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. `reading-1, reading-2, amendment-passage, referral-committee, amendment-introduction`
- **2020-08-01** From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 31). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2020-08-03** Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2020-08-28** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 4373.). `passage, reading-3, reading-1`
- **2020-08-28** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
- **2020-08-30** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 5351.). `amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-09-08** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
- **2020-09-11** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2020-09-11** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 63, Statutes of 2020.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1bd26b83-bfd8-414b-b0db-37bf8ba1701c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).