Legislative Bulletin

Last Friday, despite intense opposition and pressure from nearly every law enforcement association in the state, the California legislature passed two historic reforms allowing the public to access information held by law enforcement agencies in California that has been kept from public view. The two measures were co-sponsored by CNPA and the ACLU and would…

Last week, the International Trade Commission (ITC) unanimously voted to terminate the countervailing and anti-dumping duties that have been charged on imported Canadian newsprint since January of this year. While the Commission’s welcome decision was released last week, stakeholders must wait several more weeks to learn the commission’s reasoning for the reversal when the ITC…

An effort to persuade legislators to put a hold on a recent decision of the California Supreme Court, (Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court) that makes it more difficult for businesses to classify their workers as independent contractors fell short before the Legislature adjourned for the year. The move involved a Chamber of Commerce…

It was a singular week for transparency in the Legislature as two of CNPA’s sponsored bills to open up police records survived the suspense file on Thursday to move to floor votes. In the Senate, AB 748 by Assembly MemberPhil Ting (D-San Francisco), which would amend the Public Records Act’s investigatory record exemption to require…

CNPA’s effort to amend the California Public Records Act to better protect records requesters is on the governor’s desk. SB 1244 by Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) arose after an agency attempted to use the CPRA to obtain mandatory attorney fees against a public records requester. SB 1244 bolsters the CPRA’s protections for requesters who seek…

CNPA’s effort to cure anti-transparency legislation passed on the last day of session last year continues to the Assembly floor. SB 1087 by Senator Richard Roth (D-Riverside) amends a law enacted last year that requires secrecy by the Department of Business Oversight when the agency orders individuals to stop selling products pursuant to the Property…

Senator Kamala Harris (D-California) submitted comments to the International Trade Commission (ITC) on behalf of California newspapers asking it to reverse the countervailing and anti-dumping orders imposed by the Department of Commerce. In the letter, Senator Harris requested that the Commission “take into full consideration the negative impacts of these tariffs on the newspaper industry,…

Next Thursday, the Legislature will make decisions on hundreds of bills in the appropriations committees, including CNPA-sponsored bills AB 748 and SB 1421 which peel back some of the state’s most restrictive secrecy laws for police records. Writing in support of the bills, the Mercury News Editorial Board said, “The constant secrecy undermines confidence in…

CNPA’s sponsored bill to amend the California Public Records Act to better protect records requesters has passed out of the Assembly with no “no” votes. It is up for a concurrence vote in the Senate before it heads to the governor’s desk. SB 1244 by Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) was introduced after a public records…

The final determination by the Department of Commerce last week reduced the tariffs on imported Canadian newsprint, however, the combined countervailing and anti-dumping duties still range up to 20 percent, depending upon the manufacturer. While Commerce’s reduction was a positive step, these duties cannot be absorbed by newspapers and will result in newspapers continuing to…