BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1723
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 9, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 1723 (Fuentes) - As Amended:  May 1, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher 
          EducationVote:  9-0
                        Governmental Organization             16-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          Requires the governing boards of the California Community 
          Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU), and 
          requests the University of California (UC) Regents, to:

          1)Provide live video transmission of all board meetings open to 
            the public. (Current law requires only live audio transmission 
            of such meetings.)

          2)Archive and post video and audio transmissions for at least 
            the preceding 12 months, and within 48 hours of the initial 
            transmission, on their respective websites.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)CSU indicates one-time costs of $375,000 for equipment and 
            modifications to CSU Trustees' boardroom. CSU indicates, 
            however, that it intends to use non-state funds for this work. 
            Ongoing costs are estimated at $50,000.

          2)UC estimates one-time costs of up to $28,000 and ongoing costs 
            of $50,000 to $110,000, depending on whether UC does the work 
            in-house or with an outside vendor. (UC currently uses an 
            outside vendor for audio streaming of Regents' meetings.)

          3)The CCC is already providing live video broadcast of its Board 
            of Governors' meetings.









                                                                  AB 1723
                                                                  Page  2

           COMMENTS  

           Background and Purpose  . AB 1436 (Portantino)/ Chapter 233 of 
          2010 required the public higher education entities to provide 
          live audio transmission for each meeting open to the public 
          through a technology accessible to as large a segment of the 
          public as possible. When this legislation was being considered, 
          video streaming was not included in order to limit costs to the 
          institutions at a time of budget cuts.

          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 meeting, including 
          attendance and the depiction of the events that occurred. This 
          bill is sponsored by the California Faculty Association.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081