BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1723
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   March 27, 2012

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
                                 Marty Block, Chair
                   AB 1723 (Fuentes) - As Amended:  March 19, 2012
           
          SUBJECT  :   Postsecondary educational institutions: meetings: 
          live audio transmissions.

           SUMMARY  :   Requires public higher education entities, as 
          specified, to make available on the Internet a live video 
          broadcast of each of its meetings that is open to the public and 
          to archive and make both video and audio recordings of open 
          meetings available to the public for at least 12 months.  
          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Requires the Board of Governors of the California Community 
            Colleges (CCC), the Board of Trustees of the California State 
            University (CSU), the California Postsecondary Education 
            Committee (CPEC), and the California Student Aid Commission 
            (CSAC) and any auxiliary organization to make available on the 
            Internet a live video broadcast of each of its meetings that 
            is open to the public.

          2)Requires these entities to archive and post their video and 
            audio transmissions on the entity's Internet website for at 
            least 12 months.

          3)Requests the Regents of the University of California (UC) 
            comply with these provisions.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires all meetings of a state body to be open and public 
            and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of a 
            state body except as otherwise provided in law, also known as 
            the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.  (Government Code § 11123)

          2)Requires public higher education entities, as specified, to 
            make available on the Internet a live audio broadcast of each 
            of its meetings that is open to the public.  (Education Code § 
            66020.5, as established by AB 1436, Portantino, Chapter 233, 
            Statutes of 2010)

          3)Requires the State Board of Education and the State Allocation 








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            Board to provide for live video and audio transmission of all 
            meetings and hearings that are open to the public through a 
            technology that is accessible to as large a segment of the 
            public as possible.  (EC § 33009.7 and 15491, as established 
            by SB 312, Romero, Chapter 179, Statutes of 2010)

           FISCAL EFFECT :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   This bill is double-referred to the Assembly 
          Governmental Organization Committee.

           Background  .  Public higher education entities are required to 
          provide live Internet audio access to their open meetings and to 
          provide a website link to that audio transmission.  When the 
          implementing legislation was considered in 2010 (see Existing 
          Law above), video streaming was not included in order to limit 
          the costs to the institutions during a time of budget cuts.  In 
          November 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an executive order 
          to expand broadband access and usage in California.  
          Specifically, the executive order states, "The Department of 
          General Services (DGS) and the Department of Technology Services 
          (DTS) shall facilitate State use of streaming video technologies 
          to broadcast public meetings over the Internet?. Within 180 days 
          of the date of this Executive Order, DGS shall enter into a 
          contract with one or multiple companies for offering webcasting 
          services to State Agencies. DTS shall provide technical 
          consulting and training to State Agencies that elect to use 
          webcasting services."  

           Need for the bill  .  According to the author, video transmission 
          of meetings is necessary to provide greater accountability.  For 
          example, listeners cannot easily follow along when visual aids 
          are part of a presentation.  The author also notes the need for 
          a video record to resolve disagreements about board events and 
          actions, citing a disagreement among the CSU Trustees about the 
          accuracy of the minutes from the November 2011 Board of Trustees 
          meeting, including attendance and the depiction of the events 
          that occurred.  

          What is required for video transmission  ?  At a minimum, live 
          video transmission requires software, a camera, and an operator, 
          which would provide a static, panoramic shot of the proceedings. 
           In order to focus on speakers, multiple cameras are necessary.  
          Live video transmission requires more Internet bandwidth than 
          audio transmission, and the bandwidth needs vary depending upon 








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          the number of people accessing the transmission.  For remote 
          locations, the Legislature has a portable video transmission kit 
          and contracts with outside vendors to ensure the necessary 
          bandwidth is available.

           Which entities currently provide live video transmission  ?  CCC 
          Board of Governors provides video transmissions of its open 
          meetings with equipment purchased from its Telecommunication & 
          Technology Infrastructure Program funds.  CCC contracts with an 
          outside vendor to stream the video on the Internet and to record 
          and stream meetings at off-site locations.  UC, CSU, and CSAC do 
          not provide live video transmission of their meetings, and CPEC 
          no longer functions since its funds were eliminated in the 
          2011-12 Budget Act.  

          The Legislature provides live video streaming of its public 
          meetings, as does the State Board of Education and the State 
          Allocation Board, as previously noted under Existing Law.  
          Consistent with Governor Schwarzenegger's executive order, DGS, 
          through the Office of State Publishing, operates a service that 
          provides audio and video transmission for state agencies, 
          including the Air Resources Board and the Water Resources 
          Control Board under California Environmental Protection Agency.  
          Public entities also contract with outside vendors for this 
          service, which can include archiving.

           Archiving and posting previous transmissions  .  The higher 
          education institutions included in this bill, do not archive or 
          post audio or video transmissions, as applicable.  While DGS 
          requires boards maintain a records retention policy, it does not 
          appear to require that previous transmissions be archived and 
          posted.  Some state entities, including the State Board of 
          Education and the State Allocation Board, and the Legislature 
          archive and post previous transmissions.  Many do not.    

           Technical amendments  .  Staff recommends the following technical 
          amendments:

          1)Page 2, line 24:  (2) Archive and post the video and audio 
            transmissions recorded pursuant to paragraph (1) on the 
            entity's Internet Web site for at least 12 months  following 
            the initial transmission  .

          2)Page 2, line 27:  (b) It is not a violation of this section if 
            technical failures prevent an entity from providing a live 








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             video or  audio transmission so long as the entity exercised 
            reasonable diligence in making a live  video or  audio 
            transmission available.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor, State of California
          California Broadcasters Association
          California Faculty Association (Sponsor)

           Opposition 
           
          >
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916) 
          319-3960