BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1723
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Date of Hearing: March 27, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 1723 (Fuentes) - As Amended: March 19, 2012
SUBJECT : Postsecondary educational institutions: meetings:
live audio transmissions.
SUMMARY : Requires public higher education entities, as
specified, to make available on the Internet a live video
broadcast of each of its meetings that is open to the public and
to archive and make both video and audio recordings of open
meetings available to the public for at least 12 months.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges (CCC), the Board of Trustees of the California State
University (CSU), the California Postsecondary Education
Committee (CPEC), and the California Student Aid Commission
(CSAC) and any auxiliary organization to make available on the
Internet a live video broadcast of each of its meetings that
is open to the public.
2)Requires these entities to archive and post their video and
audio transmissions on the entity's Internet website for at
least 12 months.
3)Requests the Regents of the University of California (UC)
comply with these provisions.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all meetings of a state body to be open and public
and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of a
state body except as otherwise provided in law, also known as
the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. (Government Code � 11123)
2)Requires public higher education entities, as specified, to
make available on the Internet a live audio broadcast of each
of its meetings that is open to the public. (Education Code �
66020.5, as established by AB 1436, Portantino, Chapter 233,
Statutes of 2010)
3)Requires the State Board of Education and the State Allocation
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Board to provide for live video and audio transmission of all
meetings and hearings that are open to the public through a
technology that is accessible to as large a segment of the
public as possible. (EC � 33009.7 and 15491, as established
by SB 312, Romero, Chapter 179, Statutes of 2010)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill is double-referred to the Assembly
Governmental Organization Committee.
Background . Public higher education entities are required to
provide live Internet audio access to their open meetings and to
provide a website link to that audio transmission. When the
implementing legislation was considered in 2010 (see Existing
Law above), video streaming was not included in order to limit
the costs to the institutions during a time of budget cuts. In
November 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an executive order
to expand broadband access and usage in California.
Specifically, the executive order states, "The Department of
General Services (DGS) and the Department of Technology Services
(DTS) shall facilitate State use of streaming video technologies
to broadcast public meetings over the Internet?. Within 180 days
of the date of this Executive Order, DGS shall enter into a
contract with one or multiple companies for offering webcasting
services to State Agencies. DTS shall provide technical
consulting and training to State Agencies that elect to use
webcasting services."
Need for the bill . According to the author, video transmission
of meetings is necessary to provide greater accountability. For
example, listeners cannot easily follow along when visual aids
are part of a presentation. The author also notes the need for
a video record to resolve disagreements about board events and
actions, citing a disagreement among the CSU Trustees about the
accuracy of the minutes from the November 2011 Board of Trustees
meeting, including attendance and the depiction of the events
that occurred.
What is required for video transmission ? At a minimum, live
video transmission requires software, a camera, and an operator,
which would provide a static, panoramic shot of the proceedings.
In order to focus on speakers, multiple cameras are necessary.
Live video transmission requires more Internet bandwidth than
audio transmission, and the bandwidth needs vary depending upon
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the number of people accessing the transmission. For remote
locations, the Legislature has a portable video transmission kit
and contracts with outside vendors to ensure the necessary
bandwidth is available.
Which entities currently provide live video transmission ? CCC
Board of Governors provides video transmissions of its open
meetings with equipment purchased from its Telecommunication &
Technology Infrastructure Program funds. CCC contracts with an
outside vendor to stream the video on the Internet and to record
and stream meetings at off-site locations. UC, CSU, and CSAC do
not provide live video transmission of their meetings, and CPEC
no longer functions since its funds were eliminated in the
2011-12 Budget Act.
The Legislature provides live video streaming of its public
meetings, as does the State Board of Education and the State
Allocation Board, as previously noted under Existing Law.
Consistent with Governor Schwarzenegger's executive order, DGS,
through the Office of State Publishing, operates a service that
provides audio and video transmission for state agencies,
including the Air Resources Board and the Water Resources
Control Board under California Environmental Protection Agency.
Public entities also contract with outside vendors for this
service, which can include archiving.
Archiving and posting previous transmissions . The higher
education institutions included in this bill, do not archive or
post audio or video transmissions, as applicable. While DGS
requires boards maintain a records retention policy, it does not
appear to require that previous transmissions be archived and
posted. Some state entities, including the State Board of
Education and the State Allocation Board, and the Legislature
archive and post previous transmissions. Many do not.
Technical amendments . Staff recommends the following technical
amendments:
1)Page 2, line 24: (2) Archive and post the video and audio
transmissions recorded pursuant to paragraph (1) on the
entity's Internet Web site for at least 12 months following
the initial transmission .
2)Page 2, line 27: (b) It is not a violation of this section if
technical failures prevent an entity from providing a live
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video or audio transmission so long as the entity exercised
reasonable diligence in making a live video or audio
transmission available.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor, State of California
California Broadcasters Association
California Faculty Association (Sponsor)
Opposition
>
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960