BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 558
          Author:   Lieu (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/12/13
          Vote:     21

           
          PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  78-0, 8/26/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Reporters shield law

           SOURCE  :     California Newspaper Publishers Association


           DIGEST  :    This bill provides that a party issuing a subpoena in  
          any civil or criminal proceeding to a third party that seeks the  
          records of a journalist will, except in circumstances that pose  
          a clear and substantial threat to the integrity of the criminal  
          investigation or present an imminent risk of death or serious  
          bodily harm, provide notice of the subpoena to the journalist  
          and the publisher of the newspaper, magazine, or other  
          publication, or the station operations manager of the broadcast  
          station, that employs or contracts with the journalist at least  
          five days prior to issuing the subpoena.  This bill requires the  
          above notice include, at a minimum, an explanation of why the  
          requested records will be of material assistance to the party or  
          body seeking them and why alternate sources of information are  
          not sufficient to avoid the need for the subpoena.  This bill  
          also revises the exception for the existing five days' notice  
          requirement for a subpoena requiring a journalist to appear,  
          providing that the requirement applies except in circumstances  
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          that pose a clear and substantial threat to the integrity of the  
          criminal investigation or present an imminent risk of death or  
          serious bodily harm.

           Assembly Amendments  delete the Senate version of the bill  
          relating to unemployment insurance and instead add the current  
          language relating to the Reporters' Shield Law.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1.Prohibits a publisher, editor, reporter, or other person  
            connected with or employed by a newspaper, magazine, or other  
            periodical publication, or by a press association or wire  
            service, from being held in contempt for refusing to disclose  
            the source of any information procured for the publication  
            while so connected or employed by the newspaper, magazine or  
            other periodical publication, or for refusing to disclose any  
            unpublished information, as defined, obtained or prepared in  
            gathering, receiving, or processing of information for  
            communication to the public. 

          2.Prohibits a radio or television news reporter or other person  
            connected with or employed by a radio or television station,  
            or any other person who has been so connected or employed,  
            from being held in contempt for refusing to disclose the  
            source of any information procured while so connected or  
            employed for news or news commentary purposes on radio or  
            television, or for refusing to disclose any unpublished  
            information obtained or prepared in the gathering, receiving,  
            or processing of information for communication to the public. 

          3.Defines "unpublished information," for purposes of the above  
            provisions, to include information not disseminated to the  
            public by the person from whom disclosure is sought, whether  
            or not related information has been disseminated and includes,  
            but is not limited to, all notes, outtakes, photographs, tapes  
            or other data of whatever sort not itself disseminated to the  
            public through a medium of communication, whether or not  
            published information based upon or related to such material  
            has been disseminated. 

          4.Provides that no testimony or other evidence given by a  

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            journalist under subpoena in a civil or criminal proceeding  
            may be construed as a waiver of the immunity rights granted by  
            the California Constitution, as described above. 

          5.Requires, except in exigent circumstances, that a journalist  
            who is subpoenaed in a civil or criminal proceeding be given  
            at least five days' notice by the party issuing the subpoena  
            that his or her appearance will be required. 

          6.Provides that if a trial court holds a journalist in contempt  
            of court in a criminal proceeding, notwithstanding the  
            constitutional provision prohibiting the same, the court shall  
            set forth findings, either in writing or on the record,  
            stating at a minimum, why the information will be of material  
            assistance to the party seeking the evidence, and why  
            alternate sources of information are not sufficient to satisfy  
            the defendant's right to a fair trial under the Sixth  
            Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 15 of  
            Article I of the California Constitution. 

          7.Requires a party issuing a subpoena to a third party for  
            production of the personal records of an employee or consumer  
            to serve notice to the employee or consumer at least 10 days  
            prior to the date specified for the production of the  
            documents and at least five days prior to service upon the  
            custodian of the records, plus additional time, as specified,  
            if service is by mail. 

          This bill:

          1.Provides that a party issuing a subpoena in any civil or  
            criminal proceeding to a third party that seeks the records of  
            a journalist will, except in circumstances that pose a clear  
            and substantial threat to the integrity of a criminal  
            investigation or present an imminent risk of death or serious  
            bodily harm, provide notice of the subpoena to the journalist  
            and the publisher of the newspaper, magazine, or other  
            publication, or the station operations manager of the  
            broadcast station, that employs or contracts with the  
            journalist at least five days prior to issuing the subpoena. 

          2.Requires the above notice to include, at a minimum, an  
            explanation of why the requested records are of material  
            assistance to the party or body seeking them and why alternate  

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            sources of information are not sufficient to avoid the need  
            for the subpoena. 

          3.Revises the exception for the existing five days' notice  
            requirement for a subpoena requiring a journalist to appear,  
            providing that the requirement applies except in circumstances  
            that pose a clear and substantial threat to the integrity of  
            the criminal investigation or present an imminent risk of  
            death or serious bodily harm.

           Background
           
          The California Constitution (a) prevents a publisher,  
          journalist, or any other person employed by a newspaper or other  
          publication, or by any broadcast news station, from being held  
          in contempt for refusing to disclose a news source and (b)  
          shields the journalist from contempt for refusing to disclose  
          any "unpublished information," such as notes, interviews, or  
          other material gathered in the process of researching or writing  
          a story.  In addition, current law imposes certain requirements  
          and limitations on efforts to obtain a journalist's records or  
          testimony by subpoena, including a requirement that a journalist  
          who is subpoenaed in a civil or criminal proceeding be given at  
          least five days' notice by the party issuing the subpoena that  
          his or her appearance will be required.  These constitutional  
          and statutory provisions are known as the reporters' shield law.  


           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/29/13)

          California Newspaper Publishers Association (source) 

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the California Newspaper  
          Publishers Association (CNPA), the sponsor, "SB 558 is intended  
          to give journalists and their newspaper or media employers a  
          chance to become aware of the threat to their unpublished  
          information and confidential sources and the time to engage the  
          judicial process to protect their shield law rights." CNPA also  
          cites the secret subpoenas against the Associated Press to  
          highlight the need for this legislation. 


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           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 78-0, 08/26/13
          AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,  
            Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,  
            Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell,  
            Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,  
            Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas,  
            Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,  
            Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy, Vacancy


          AL:nl  8/29/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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