CITY OF SAN PABLO
City Council
1000 Gateway Avenue ● San Pablo, CA 94806
Main: 510-215-3000 ● Fax: 510-215-3011
www.SanPabloCA.gov
June 29, 2026
E-TRANSMITTAL/U.S. REGULAR MAIL
The Honorable Rand Paul
Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 295 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C., 20510
cc: Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
RE: SUPPORT FOR S. 4505 — ZIP CODE GEOGRAPHIC INTEGRITY ACT
Dear Chairman Paul and Members of the Committee:
On behalf of the National ZIP Code Advocacy Coalition , a coalition of 75 mun icipalities and communities across more than 20 states representing over one million residents, and the San Pablo City Council, I write to respectfully urge the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to advance S. 4505, the ZIP Code Geographic Integrity Act, introduced by Joni Ernst (R) Iowa, Alex Padilla (D) California, Michael Bennet (D) Colorado, and John Barrasso (R) Wyoming.
Our communities are incorporated municipalities with fully functioning governments, yet we share ZIP codes with neighboring jurisdictions assigned decades ago — in many cases, before our cities even existed. These misaligned boundaries are not merely a nuisance of mislabeled mail. They produce documented, measurable harms that affect the daily lives of our residents and the fiscal health of our governments:
• Public Safety: ZIP code confusion routes 911 calls to incorrect dispatch centers and misidentifies jurisdictions during emergencies. In Somers, Wisconsin, firefighters from the wrong department were d ispatched to an emergency because two residences in different municipalities shared the same address and ZIP code. A street had to be renamed as a direct result.
• Lost Tax Revenue: Sales tax revenue generated within our city limits is credited to neighboring jurisdictions. The Town of Frederick, Colorado estimates a conservative $1.5 million in lost annual sales tax revenue due to shared ZIP code boundaries. The City of Green, Ohio identified $614,000 in unpaid municipal taxes in 2023 alone, directly attrib utable to resident and business confusion caused by misaligned ZIP codes.
The Honorable Rand Paul
Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs June 29, 2026
• Insurance Inequity: Insurers rate policies by ZIP code, not municipal boundary. The City of Eastvale, California shares a ZIP code with Corona — a community designated as high wildf ire risk by CalFire. Despite Eastvale carrying no such designation, its residents pay elevated insurance premiums based on their neighbor’s risk profile.
Some residents have been denied homeowners insurance coverage entirely.
• Economic Development: Commercial developers, site selectors, and major retailers evaluate business expansion using GIS platforms that categorize market data by ZIP code. When a city’s ZIP code carries a neighboring city’s name or boundary, it is systematically excluded from considerat ion. The City of Green, Ohio’s 1,200+ businesses are listed under Akron, Uniontown, or North Canton in every commercial database — never under Green, OH.
In San Pablo, California, the City shares the same zip code with neighboring jurisdictions (i.e. portions of City of Richmond, CA and Unincorporated Contra Costa County). Therefore, the City must continually audit local businesses to verify correct addresses and accurate sales tax reporting, ensuring it does not lose revenue needed to fund vital programs and services.
• Federal Data Integrity : Census data, federal grant allocations, emergency management resources, and public health reporting all rely on ZIP codes as geographic proxies. When a city’s ZIP code does not correspond to its boundaries, federal datasets misrepresent its population, needs, and resources. During the COVID -19 pandemic, coalition members were unable to obtain accurate ZIP code -level data to support contact tracing and resource allocation efforts.
Congress has addressed this problem before. Section 1009 of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (Public Law 109 -435) directed the United States Postal Service to assign unique ZIP codes to Auburn, Ohio; Bradbury, California; Discovery Bay , California; and Hanahan, South Carolina. Each of those communities experienced the same harms our coalition members face today — and each saw those harms resolved upon implementation.
S. 4505 consolidates four previously separate bills — H.R. 672, H.R. 3095, S. 1455, and S. 2961 — into a single, comprehensive piece of legislation covering 75 communities.
The companion House bills passed the full House of Representatives in July 2025. S. 4505 represents the most direct and actionable path to resolving ZIP code misalignment for communities that have, in some cases, been pursuing relief for decades. The Town of Superior, Colorado has formally requested a unique ZIP code from USPS and Cong ress since 1988.
Thirty-eight years of requests have produced no resolution.
The Honorable Rand Paul
Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs June 29, 2026
I respectfully request that the Committee advance S. 4505 to a floor vote. Our communities have done everything within our authority: we have submitted ZIP code boundary review requests to USPS, adopted city council resolutions, documented resident and business impacts, and engaged our congressional delegations. We are asking the Committee to take the one step that is not within our authority — advancing this legislation so that the full Senate may act before the close of the 119th Congress in December 2026.
Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your service to the American public.
We stand ready to provide any additional information, documentation, or testimony the Committee may require.
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth Pabon-Alvarado, Mayor
City of San Pablo, California
cc: National ZIP Code Advocacy Coalition
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)
Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Congressman John Garamendi (D-8th)
San Pablo City Council
City Manager
City Attorney
The Honorable Rand Paul
Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs June 29, 2026