Senate Bill No. 1303

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.

begin delete

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.

end delete

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.

begin insert

(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.

end insert begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert (7) end insert  All vote information concerning each bill in each current
legislative session.

begin delete

(7)

end delete

begin insert (8) end insert  Any veto message concerning a bill in each current
legislative session.

begin delete

(8)

end delete

begin insert (9) end insert  The California Codes.

begin delete

(9)

end delete

begin insert (10) end insert  The California Constitution.

begin delete

(10)

end delete

begin insert (11) end insert  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.