Legislative Bulletin

Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-Marin County) has introduced legislation on behalf of CNPA to repeal the sales tax on newspapers. AB 1776 is currently with the Assembly Rules Committee, awaiting referral by that committee to a policy committee. The bill’s path to the Assembly floor will be through the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, chaired by…

Earlier this week, the author of legislation that would have made it more difficult for CPRA requesters to go to court to protect their right to access government held information withdrew the bill after facing a firestorm of opposition. The bill, SB 615 by Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) would also have imposed nearly impossible-to-meet…

Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) has announced he plans to amend legislation in the next few days to allow members of the news media to continue to access law enforcement radio communications – commonly known as police scanners. AB 1555 would state that law enforcement agencies must provide access to encrypted police communications upon the…

Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill, AB 602, which would create criminal liability for the creation and distribution of “deceptive recordings,” commonly known as “deepfakes,” if the recording is likely to deceive any person who views the recording, or to defame, slander, or embarrass the subject of the recording. The bill defines…

Legislation was introduced last week that would give a CPRA requester the right to use his or her own equipment to photograph or otherwise copy or reproduce any record upon inspection without being charged any fees or costs, unless the means of copy or reproduction would damage the record. AB 1819 by the Assembly Judiciary…

Bills introduced in both the Assembly and Senate to increase government transparency had their first committee hearings this week. Senator Scott Wilk’s SB 53 would close a loophole in the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act – which applies to state boards and commissions – that currently allows two-member subcommittees to meet outside of public view. A…

Legislation was introduced just before last Friday’s deadline that would make it more difficult for CPRA requesters to go to court to protect their right to information when their requests are denied. The bill, SB 615 by Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), would also impose high burdens to recover requesters’ attorney’s fees and costs should…

The Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment held an informational hearing on Tuesday to learn more about the issue of worker classification and the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court. The Dynamex case, which makes it more difficult for businesses to classify their workers as independent contractors, has spurred…

CNPA has identified several more bills put across the desk just before last Friday’s deadline that have a potential impact on newspapers. Here is a brief description of bills of interest that newspapers will want to keep an eye on: Freedom of Information SB 53 by Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) would, for the purposes…

In the past couple of weeks, judges in Los Angeles and Contra Costa counties have denied attempts by police unions to prevent access to misconduct records required to be disclosed under SB 1421, the recently enacted law sponsored by CNPA. Contra Costa County Judge Superior Court Charles Treat and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge…