From comics to roosters. Sacramento’s strangest laws you didn’t know about
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- Council committee approved repeal of 1949 ban on crime-themed comics.
- Measure moves to full City Council and would designate Sacramento Comic Book Week.
- City code keeps spitting, fortune-telling licenses, rooster ban and machine fees.
Sacramento has a few quirky ordinances tucked into its municipal code.
The latest to draw renewed attention is the 1949 ban on selling comic books depicting criminal activity to anyone under 18. Among the prohibited acts in these books are arson, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, torture, murder and mayhem.
On Tuesday, the Law and Legislation Committee unanimously approved a repeal of the city ordinance. The proposal now moves to the full City Council for final approval. If passed, the measure would also designate the third week of September as “Sacramento Comic Book Week.”
“This is an opportunity for us, not just to take a necessary piece of code off the books, but to recognize the community of people that are doing really interesting and creative work,” said Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, who spearheaded the repeal.
The comic book law is far from the only peculiar Sacramento city code. Here are a few ordinances that may seem outdated or unnecessary, but remain in effect.
Expectorating, or spitting, on sidewalks or other public places remains illegal, per city code 9.04.040. The law dates back at least 130 years, according to a 1911 copy of the Sacramento ordinances. The Sacramento News and Review reported in 2013 that in a 12-year span the City Attorney’s Office had issued 172 spitting citations, resulting in 147 criminal charges being filed.
Another ordinance prohibits the business practice of fortunetelling or astrology without an official license. According to the provision, any person seeking to practice must submit an application to the chief of police or their designee. Each application has an investigation fee of $75.
It’s also illegal for civilians to blow or imitate a police officer’s whistle, according to city code 2.20.060. The Sacramento Police Department said it has not issued any whistles “for a while” on Wednesday.
Roosters are banned at all homes across the city, per city code 9.44.860. Chickens are allowed, though residents are limited to three and must keep them in a pen, coop, cage or “enclosure at all times.” Each chicken must be registered annually for $15 and chicken coops have a $30 annual permit fee. Sacramento also has limits on other animals such as dogs, cats and beehives.
Sacramento also requires licenses for certain machines, including the popular arcade game Skee-Ball, according to city code 5.48.010. Other provisions state that the people using the machine should be charged more than “twenty-five cents” and the machine can’t discharge “money, checks, coupons or tickets.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM.
