Bill Tracking
Welcome to the CNPA's bill-tracking page for the 2008-2009 Legislative Session. This page provides current information on legislation affecting all aspects of the newspaper publishing industry in California. The bills on this site are organized by the following categories:
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
AB Budget Trailer Bill (yet to be drafted) would suspend the reimbursable state mandate that requires local governmental bodies under the Brown Act to post a descriptive meeting agenda 72 hours before a regular meeting.
Position:
Oppose; 6/16/10
CNPA requests Constitutional Amendment
AB 224 (
Portantnio) would Require the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Board of Trustees of the California State University, the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and the Student Aid Commission, including any auxiliary organization to make available on the Internet a live audio broadcast of its public meetings. AB 224 would also request the Regents of the University of California to comply with its provisions. Position:
Support
Status: Chaptered
AB 255 (
Anderson) would prohibit an operator of a commercial Internet Web site or online service that makes a virtual globe browser available to the public from providing aerial or satellite photographs or imagery of places in this state that have been identified on the Internet Web site by the operator as a school, place of worship, or government or medical building or facility unless the photographs or images have been blurred.
Position:
Oppose
AB 352 (
Strickland) would declare that it is the Legislature's intent that the California Interscholastic Federation comply with the California Public Records Act.
Position:
Support
AB 353 (
Calderon) would extend the statute of limitations for libel and slander claims from one year to three years.
Position:
Oppose
AB 520 (
Carter) would allow a court to adjudge an individual a vexatious requester of public records under the Public Records Act.
Position:
Oppose
CalAware's letter on AB 520
AB 524 (
Bass) would amend the Anti-Paparazzi law to create extreme liability for a person, if the person sold, transmitted, published, broadcast, or used any image or recording with actual knowledge the images or recordings were obtained illegally and provided compensation for the unlawfully obtained images or recordings.
Position:
Oppose
Oppose as amended June 30, 2009
Status: Chaptered
AB 585 (
Duvall) would amend the law protecting the commercial value of the name and likeness of deceased personalities. AB 585 would amend this law to, in addition to protecting the intellectual property rights of those whose "name, voice, signature, photo, or likeness has commercial value at the time of death," to also include those, whose name, etc., has commercial value "because of his or her death."
Position:
Oppose
AB 1494 (
Eng) would amend the Bagley-Keene Act by strengthening the prohibition against serial meetings for state boards and commissions.
Position
:
Sponsor
Letter to Governor
Status: Chaptered
AB 1682 (
Torres) would amend the California Public Records Act to further restrict public access to law enforcement records.
Position:
Oppose
Californians Aware Letter
Oppose, as amended April 14, 2010
AB 1899 (
Torres) would codify the governor's recent executive order and require state agencies to post agency audits and most contracts, travel and expense reports and statements of economic interest on the existing Reporting Transparency in Government website.
Position:
Support
AB 1987 (
Ma) would make confidential the personnel and payroll records, and "books, papers, and data and records" obtained from a county or district by a retirement board for the purpose of auditing its decisions.
Position:
Oppose;
Removal of Opposition as Amended June 1
AB 2091 (
Conway) would creat a broad new exemption under the California Public Records Act for records associated with information technology security.
Position:
Oppose
AB 2220 (
Silva) would expand the definition of local agency in the California Public Records Act to include quasi-public entities that are designated as regional centers pursuant to the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act.
Position:
Support
AB 2479 (
Bass) would expand the definition of "stalking" to include conduct that is intended to "place [a person] under surveillance," which is defined as remaining outside of another person's home, school, or workplace with no apparent lawful purpose; would also amend the state's civil "invasion of privacy" statute by including "false imprisonment" that is committed in order to obtain a visual image or other impression of the person.
Position:
Oppose
SB 218 (
Yee) would expand the definition of state agency in the California Public Records Act to include quasi-public entities that recieve public funds or which perform a government function on behalf of the University of California, the California State Universities or the California Community Colleges.
Position:
Sponsor
University of California Opposition Letter
The California State University Opposition Letter
CFA Support Letter
Cal-Tax Support Letter
SSU foundation hit by Carinalli loans, The Press Democrat, July 1, 2009
Status: Vetoed
SB 219 (
Yee) would provide whistleblowers who work for the University of California with the same ability to sue for damages when they are retaliated against as may other state employees who report malfeasance.
Position:
Support
Letter to Governor
Status: Vetoed
SB 320 (
Corbett) would prohibit state courts from recognizing a defamation judgment obtained in a foreign jurisdiction, unless the court determines the defamation law applied in the case provides at least as much protection for freedom of expression as offered by the First Amendment and Californian Constitution.
Position:
Sponsor
Letter to Governor
Status: Chaptered
SB 330 (
Yee) would expand the definition of state agency in the California Public Records Act to include quasi-public entities that are designated as auxiliary organizations on campuses of the University of California, the California State Universities, the California Community Colleges and the statewide foundation of the California Community Colleges.
Position:
Sponsor
SB 359 (
Romero) would update the sections of the California Public Records Act that attempt to identify, alphabetically and descriptively, every law that purports to exempt public records from disclosure.
Position:
Sponsor
Status: Chaptered
SB 438 (
Yee) would make applicable to charter schools provisions of existing law regarding free speech and expressive activities of public school pupils.
Position:
Sponsor
SB 650 ( Yee) would provide whistleblowers who work for the University of California and California State University with the same ability to sue for damages when they are retaliated against as may other state employees who report malfeasance. Position: Support
SB 711 (
Leno) would reform the Ralph M. Brown open meetings law's "labor negotiation exemption, which currently allows secrecy in the negotiation of and action on collective bargaining agreements.
Position
:
Sponsor
SB 786 (
Yee) would provide that the attorney fee award against plaintiffs that is generally available to prevailing defendants in a case dismissed on a motion to strike under the anti-SLAPP law is not available for causes of action filed to enforce the state's open meeting laws or the public's right to government information under the California Public Records Act (CPRA).
Position:
Support
Cal Aware's Letter
Letter to Governor
SB 982 (
Hollingsworth) would give a biological, adoptive, or foster parent, spouse, or guardian of a deceased person who was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime that caused his or her death, the ability to prevent disclosure of an autopsy report.
Position:
Oppose;
Oppose as amended July 1, 2010
PUBLIC NOTICE
AB 116 (
Beall) would repeal the requirement that notices for competitive bids initiated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District for supplies, rquipment and materials, when the expenditure exceeds $100,000, be published one time in a newspaper of general circulation.
Position:
Oppose
Status: Chaptered--Amended to remove concerns
AB 655 (
Emmerson) would amend the Self-Service Storage Facility Act to eliminate the requirement that a lien sale of an individual's personal property for non-payment of rent at a storage facility be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation before the property is sold.
Position:
Oppose
Removal of Opposition
AB 715 (
Caballero) would allow cities to post newly enacted ordinances on a government Web site instead of publishing a summary of the ordiance in a newspaper of general circulation.
Position:
Oppose
AB 715 opposition letters from member newspapers:
Follow CNPA