BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2444 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 2444 (Hall) - As Amended: April 10, 2014 Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:10-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill prohibits the State of California from selling or displaying the Confederate flag or similar image, or tangible personal property inscribed with an image unless the image appears in a book serving an educational or historical purpose. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible fiscal impact. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . This bill reportedly originated with the author's discovery that a gift shop in the State Capitol Building sold confederate currency which contained, among other things, an image of the Confederate flag. According to the author, the Confederate Flag is a "symbol of racism, exclusion, oppression, and violence toward many Americans," and its history is directly related to the defense of slavery, whereas California was admitted as a "free state" and its history is directly linked to the expansion of liberty and equal protection for all. 2)Constitutional Considerations . For a legal analysis of the First Amendment issues related to this bill, see the Assembly Judiciary Committee analysis. That analysis concludes that, because AB 2444 only prevents the state, and not private persons, from selling or displaying the Confederate flag, it should be consistent with the a 2013 federal court ruling in Sons of Confederate Veterans v. City of Lexington, Virginia, which upheld a City ordinance declaring that the City's flag AB 2444 Page 2 standards could only be used to fly the flags of the United States, State of Virginia, and the City. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081