BILL ANALYSIS
AB 715
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 715 (Caballero) - As Amended: April 30, 2009
SUBJECT : City ordinances: publishing and posting requirements.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the city clerk to publish and post the full
text of the ordinance on the city's Internet Web site instead of
a newspaper of general circulation, as specified. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires the city clerk either to publish the full text of the
ordinance, with the names of those city council members voting
for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper of general
circulation or, if there is none, posted in at least three
public places in the city or published in a newspaper of
general circulation printed and published in the county and
circulated in the city, or to post the ordinance on the city's
Internet Web site.
2)Requires the city clerk, if he or she posts the ordinance on
the city's Internet Web site, to mail notice of passage of the
ordinance to those who have filed a written request for those
mailed notices.
EXISTING LAW requires the city clerk, within 15 days after the
passage of an ordinance by the city council, to cause the
ordinance to be published, with the names of those city council
members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper of
general circulation or if there is none, posted in at least
three public places in the city or published in a newspaper of
general circulation printed and published in the county and
circulated in the city.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)The sponsor, City Clerks Association, says the average cost to
publish ordinances is $5,736 a year. The average cost per
column inch to publish in a newspaper of general circulation
is $7.28. These costs are especially apparent if an ordinance
is of any great length. When a city posts the ordinance in a
AB 715
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newspaper of general circulation, the city does not always use
the most widely read newspaper of a community because of the
extra expense with posting in that publication thus making it
difficult for city residents to access this information. Add
to that the fact that the average newspaper subscription
ranges from $55 to $200 a year, and it is questionable how
many city residents the published ordinance is reaching.
2)The sponsor says allowing a city to post an ordinance on its
Internet Web site and mail notice of passage of the ordinance
to those who have requested mailed notices relieves a
financial burden on cities and residents and increases civic
participation for those who cannot afford paid newspaper
subscriptions and for those who use the Internet. The
proposed changes in AB 715 also would mean city residents
would no longer be forced to sort through multiple newspaper
pages of paid legal advertising.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City Clerks Association of CA [SPONSOR]
League of CA Cities
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer R. Klein / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958