AB 435, as introduced, Chang. California Environmental Protection Agency: Natural Resources Agency: Web casts of public meetings and workshops.
Existing law establishes the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency as agencies in the state government. Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, generally requires that all meetings of a state body be open and public.
This bill would require that each department, board, and commission of the Natural Resources Agency and each department, board, and office of the California Environmental Protection Agency Web cast all public meetings and workshops, in a manner that enables listeners and viewers to ask questions and provide public comment by telephone or email commensurate with those attending the meeting or workshop. The bill would require the agencies to archive the recording of a Web cast for subsequent reasonable viewing by interested members of the public.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 12805.4 is added to the Government
2Code, to read:
(a) For purposes of this section, “Web cast” means
4a media presentation distributed over the Internet using live
5streaming media technology to distribute content to listeners and
6viewers.
7(b) Each department, board, and commission of the Natural
8Resources Agency shall Web cast all public meetings and
9workshops in a manner that enables listeners and viewers to ask
10questions and provide public comment by telephone or email
11commensurate with those persons attending the meeting or
12workshop. The agency shall archive the recording of a Web cast
13for subsequent reasonable viewing by interested members of the
14public.
15(c) The requirements of subdivision (b) do not apply to a
16conservancy or
the California Science Center. This subdivision
17does not limit the authority of the agency to Web cast meetings or
18workshops of a conservancy or the California Science Center.
Section 12812.4 is added to the Government Code, to
20read:
(a) For purposes of this section, “Web cast” means
22a media presentation distributed over the Internet using live
23streaming media technology to distribute content to listeners and
24viewers.
25(b) Each department, board, and office of the California
26Environmental Protection Agency shall Web cast all public
27meetings and workshops in a manner that enables listeners and
28viewers to ask questions and provide public comment by telephone
29or email commensurate with those persons attending the meeting
30or workshop. The agency shall archive the recording of a Web cast
31for subsequent reasonable viewing by interested members of the
32public.
33(c) The deputy secretary for external affairs shall be
responsible
34for implementation of this section.
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