Legislative Bulletin

The Boston Globe is spearheading a nationwide effort to fight back against attacks on the press. It is requesting that newspapers stand together on Thursday, August 16 and publish editorials defending the profession and its unique role in our system of government. From The Globe: Call for action to protect free press: Publish editorial next…

Yesterday, in a much anticipated decision, the U.S. Commerce Department reaffirmed the countervailing and anti-dumping duties it imposed on the imports of Canadian newsprint in January. In yesterday’s decision, Commerce decided to spare several Canadian producers from the antidumping charges, revising the duties by setting them at 8.4 percent to 20.26 percent instead of the…

As the Legislature returns from recess on Monday, CNPA is working to push two important access bills over the finish line. SB 1421 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and AB 748 by Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) would substantially increase public access to law enforcement records for journalists who investigate police and law enforcement…

After a school district sought to recover $500,000 from an individual exercising her constitutional right to access public records, Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) introduced a bill to thwart future attempts by public agencies to harass and intimidate public records requesters. The bill, SB 1244 makes a simple change, converting the word “plaintiff” to “requester” in…

Earlier this week, the author of a measure that would have allowed plaintiffs in any civil matter to presumptively pursue their claim anonymously unless the defendant objected, agreed to significantly narrow the bill to apply to only guardian ad litem actions. Sponsored by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), AB 2185 by…

In a win for companies that host user-generated content, California’s highest court issued a 4-3 decision this week in Hassel v. Bird, affirming Yelp is not liable for refusing to take down a post which was deemed defamatory. The underlying dispute arose after an angry client, Ava Bird, wrote a scathing review of a law…

If you have editorialized against the tariffs on imported Canadian newsprint and armed your readers with information to let their representatives know how harmful these tariffs are, thank you. Please take time to complete the survey on the tariff’s impact on your newspaper There is still more that needs to be done, though. The News…

Yesterday both houses of the legislature overwhelmingly voted to pass a landmark privacy bill sending it to Governor Brown who signed it hours later. The vote on AB 375, dubbed the California Data Privacy Protection Act, was 36-0 in the Senate and the Assembly approved it on a 73-0 vote. The rushed vote was a…

Legislation that would overturn 40 years of secrecy for police personnel records progressed through the Assembly Public Safety Committee Tuesday on a 5-2 vote. SB 1421 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) would mandate the disclosure of police personnel records related to cases of a serious use of force, or where there is a sustained finding…

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear a measure that would allow plaintiffs in civil matters, as a default, to pursue their claim using a pseudonym unless the defendant objects. Sponsored by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, AB 2185 by Assembly member David Chiu (D-San Francisco) would limit who…