Bill Text: CA SB1303 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Legislature: legislative proceedings: audiovisual recordings.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1303 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1303-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1303 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Huff
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 10248 of, to add Section 12511.6 to, and
to repeal and add Section 9026.5 of, the Government Code, relating to
the Legislature.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1303, as introduced, Huff. Legislature: legislative
proceedings: audiovisual recordings.
Existing law prohibits a television signal generated by the
Assembly from being used for any political or commercial purpose,
including, but not limited to, any campaign for elective public
office or any campaign supporting or opposing a ballot proposition
submitted to the electors. Existing law provides that a person or
organization who violates this prohibition is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
This bill would delete the prohibition described above and would
instead authorize the televised or other audiovisual recordings of
the public proceedings of each house of the Legislature and the
committees thereof to be used for any legitimate purpose and without
the imposition of any fee due to the State or any public agency or
public corporation thereof.
Existing law requires the Legislative Counsel, with the advice of
the Assembly Committee on Rules and the Senate Committee on Rules, to
make certain information available to the public in electronic form,
including, among other things, the text of each bill introduced in
each current legislative session, including each amended, enrolled,
and chaptered form of each bill.
This bill would require the Legislative Counsel to also make
available to the public in electronic form all audiovisual recordings
of legislative proceedings that have been cause to be made by the
Legislature, as specified, and would require each recording to remain
accessible to the public through the Internet and available for
download for a minimum of 20 years following the date on which the
recording was made, after which the recording would be required to be
archived in a secure format.
Existing law provides that the Attorney General is the head of the
Department of Justice and provides that the Attorney General has
charge, as attorney, of all legal matters in which the state is
interested, except as specified.
This bill would require the Attorney General to defend against any
action challenging the validity of the California Legislative
Transparency Act. If the Attorney General were to decline to do so,
this bill would require the Attorney General to take any actions
necessary or appropriate to preserve the state's standing to defend
the act, and would require the Legislature to continue to comply with
the act until the act is declared unconstitutional pursuant to a
final judgment of an appellate court.
This bill would specify that it is contingent upon voter approval
of the California Legislature Transparency Act at the November 8,
2016, statewide general election.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 9026.5 of the Government Code is repealed.
9026.5. (a) No television signal generated by the Assembly shall
be used for any political or commercial purpose, including, but not
limited to, any campaign for elective public office or any campaign
supporting or opposing a ballot proposition submitted to the
electors.
As used in this section, "commercial purpose" does not include
either of the following:
(1) The use of any television signal generated by the Assembly by
an accredited news organization or any nonprofit organization for
educational or public affairs programming.
(2) As authorized by the Assembly, the transmission by a third
party to paid subscribers of an unedited video feed of the television
signal generated by the Assembly.
(b) Any person or organization who violates this section is guilty
of a misdemeanor.
SEC. 2. Section 9026.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
9026.5. (a) Televised or other audiovisual recordings of the
public proceedings of each house of the Legislature and the
committees thereof may be used for any legitimate purpose and without
the imposition of any fee due to the state or any public agency or
public corporation thereof.
(b) The Legislature's costs of complying with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 7, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 8, of Article IV of the California Constitution shall be
included as part of the total aggregate expenditures allowed under
Section 7.5 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
SEC. 3. Section 10248 of the Government Code is amended to read:
10248. (a) The Legislative Counsel shall, with the advice of the
Assembly Committee on Rules and the Senate Committee on Rules, make
all of the following information available to the public in
electronic form:
(1) The legislative calendar, the schedule of legislative
committee hearings, a list of matters pending on the floors of both
houses of the Legislature, and a list of the committees of the
Legislature and their members.
(2) The text of each bill introduced in each current legislative
session, including each amended, enrolled, and chaptered form of each
bill.
(3) The bill history of each bill introduced and amended in each
current legislative session.
(4) The bill status of each bill introduced and amended in each
current legislative session.
(5) All bill analyses prepared by legislative committees in
connection with each bill in each current legislative session.
(6) All audiovisual recordings of legislative proceedings that
have been caused to be made by the Legislature in accordance with
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 7 of Article IV of the
California Constitution. Each recording shall remain accessible to
the public through the Internet and available for download for at
least 20 years following the date that the recording is made and
thereafter shall be archived in a secure format.
(6)
(7) All vote information concerning each bill in each
current legislative session.
(7)
(8) Any veto message concerning a bill in each current
legislative session.
(8)
(9) The California Codes.
(9)
(10) The California Constitution.
(10)
(11) All statutes enacted on or after January 1, 1993.
(b) The information identified in subdivision (a) shall be made
available to the public by means of access by way of the largest
nonproprietary, nonprofit cooperative public computer network. The
information shall be made available in one or more formats and by one
or more means in order to provide the greatest feasible access to
the general public in this state. Any person who accesses the
information may access all or any part of the information. The
information may also be made available by any other means of access
that would facilitate public access to the information. The
information that is maintained in the legislative information system
that is operated and maintained by the Legislative Counsel shall be
made available in the shortest feasible time after the information is
available in the information system. The information that is not
maintained in the information system shall be made available in the
shortest feasible time after it is available to the Legislative
Counsel.
(c) Any documentation that describes the electronic digital
formats of the information identified in subdivision (a) and is
available to the public shall be made available by means of access by
way of the computer network specified in subdivision (b).
(d) Personal information concerning a person who accesses the
information may be maintained only for the purpose of providing
service to the person.
(e) No fee or other charge may be imposed by the Legislative
Counsel as a condition of accessing the information that is
accessible by way of the computer network specified in subdivision
(b).
(f) The electronic public access provided by way of the computer
network specified in subdivision (b) shall be in addition to other
electronic or print distribution of the information.
(g) No action taken pursuant to this section shall be deemed to
alter or relinquish any copyright or other proprietary interest or
entitlement of the State of California relating to any of the
information made available pursuant to this section.
SEC. 4. Section 12511.6 is added to the Government Code, to read:
12511.6. (a) If an action is brought challenging, in whole or in
part, the validity of the California Legislature Transparency Act,
all of the following shall apply:
(1) The Legislature shall continue to comply with the act unless
the act is declared unconstitutional pursuant to a final judgment of
an appellate court.
(2) Except as set forth in paragraph (3), the Attorney General
shall defend against any action challenging, in whole or in part, the
validity of the act. The Attorney General shall have an
unconditional right to intervene in any action addressing the
validity of the act.
(3) If the Attorney General declines to defend the validity of the
act in any action, the Attorney General shall nonetheless file an
appeal from, or seek review of, any judgment of a court that
determines the act is invalid, in whole or in part, if necessary or
appropriate to preserve the state's standing to defend the law in
conformity with the Attorney General's constitutional duty to see
that the laws of the state are adequately enforced.
(4) The official proponents of the act have an unconditional right
to participate, either as interveners or real parties in interest,
in any action affecting the validity or interpretation of the act. If
the Governor and Attorney General have declined to defend the
validity of the act, the official proponents are also authorized to
act on the state's behalf in asserting the state's interest in the
validity of the act in any such action and to appeal from any
judgment invalidating the act.
(b) Nothing in this section precludes other public officials from
asserting the state's interest in the validity of the California
Legislature Transparency Act.
SEC. 5. Sections 9026.5 and 12511.6 of the Government Code, as
added by this act, and Section 10248 of the Government Code, as
amended by this act, shall not be amended except upon approval of the
voters, except that the Legislature may amend paragraph (6) of
subdivision (a) of Section 10248 of the Government Code to extend the
time that recordings shall remain accessible to the public through
the Internet and downloadable by passing a statute by a rollcall vote
entered in the journal, a majority of the membership of each house
concurring.
SEC. 6. This act shall become operative only if Senate
Constitutional Amendment No. 10 of the 2015-16 Regular Session is
approved by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general
election.
