August 17, 2023
Golden State Republican Women
Janet Price, Elected 2022-23 President
Submitted by the GSRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Karen Contreras, Lou Ann Flaherty and Elaine Freeman,
SB 437, Presidential elections: candidates.
Existing law provides for the statewide election of a slate of electors to vote in the electoral college for the President and Vice President of the United States. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to place the names of each qualified political party’s candidates for President and Vice President on the ballot for the ensuing general election.
This bill would require each qualified political party, on or before the 75th day before a presidential general election, to notify the Secretary of State of the names of the party’s nominees for President and Vice President or, if the party has not held its national convention by the 75th day before the election, the party’s apparent nominees for President and Vice President.
If a candidate for elective office changes their name within one year of an election, existing law prohibits printing the candidate’s new name on the ballot for that election unless the name change was made by marriage or a court decree.
This bill would exempt candidates for President and Vice President from that prohibition.
Signed by governor on 07/13/23
AB 886, as amended, California Journalism Preservation Act.
Existing law generally regulates online platforms, including by requiring, on a semiannual basis and as specified, a social media company to submit to the Attorney General a terms of service report that includes, among other things, the current version of the terms of service of the social media platform.
This bill would require within 10 days of the close of each quarter, a covered platform, to remit a journalism usage fee payment to each eligible digital journalism provider that submits to the covered platform. This bill would require the notice described above to, among other things certify, not under penalty of perjury, that the eligible digital journalism provider reasonably believes that it is either an eligible broadcaster or an eligible publisher. The bill would authorize a covered platform, within 30 days of having received the notice to challenge the sufficiency of the notice or the noticing party’s qualifications as an eligible digital journalism provider. The bill would prohibit a covered platform from retaliating against an eligible digital journalism provider for asserting its rights under a placement of the content of the eligible journalism provider on the covered platform.
This bill would require an eligible digital journalism provider with 5 or fewer employees to spend at least 50% of funds received pursuant to these provisions on news journalists and support staff employed by the eligible digital journalism provider. This bill, although it seems difficult to understand if not familiar with the workings of digital platforms, would require tech companies like Facebook and Instagram to pay such a fee if they sell advertising with their respective news feeds. It would also require publishers to devote 70% of their funds to create and maintain journalism jobs in the State.
This bill has been made a two-year bill.
AB 645, Vehicles: speed safety systems pilot program
Existing law establishes a basic speed law that prohibits a person from driving a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than a reasonable or prudent given the weather visibility, traffic, and highway conditions and in no event at a speed that endangers the safety of persons or property.
This bill would authorize, until 1/1/32, the Cities of Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale and Long Beach, and the City and County of San Francisco to establish a Speed Safety System Pilot Program if the system meets specified requirements. The bill would require a participating city or city and county to adopt a Speed Safety System Use Policy and a Speed Safety System Impact Report before implementing the program and would require the participating city or city and county to engage in a public information campaign at least 30 days before implementation of the program, including information relating to when the system would begin detecting violation’s and where the systems would be utilized.
The bill would require a participating city or city and county to issue warning notices rather than noticw3s of violations detected with the first 60 calendar days of the program. Local jurisdictions will run and pay for the pilot programs which will be operated by its departments not law enforcement. The cost to each local jurisdiction is unknown but would be significant according to the legislative analysis.
Passed the Assembly 05/31/23. In the Senate. Will be heard in Public Safety Committee.
AB 968, Single-family residential property: disclosures.
Existing law requires that specified disclosures be made upon any transfer by sale, exchange, real property sales contract, lease with an option to purchase, any other option to purchase, or ground lease coupled with improvements, of any single-family residential property. Existing law, after July 1, 2022, requires that every contract for the sale of single-family residential real property contain a notice stating that any appraisal of the property is required to be unbiased, objective, and not influenced by improper or illegal considerations.
This bill would require a seller of a single-family residential property who accepts an offer for the sale of the single-family residential property within 18 months from the date that title for the single-family residential property was transferred to the seller to disclose to the buyer specified information, including any room additions, structural modifications, other alterations, or repairs made to the property since title to the property was transferred to the seller that were performed by a contractor and the name of each contractor with whom the seller entered into a contract with for the room additions, structural modifications, other alterations, or repairs, as specified.
The bill would alternatively authorize a seller to satisfy these obligations by providing a list of room additions, structural modifications, other alterations, or repairs performed by, and provided by, the contractor with whom the seller contracted for the room additions, structural modifications, other alterations, or repairs. The bill would require the seller to provide a copy of any permit for any room additions, structural modifications, other alterations, or repairs to the buyer or, if the seller contracted with a third party and was not provided with a copy of the permits, by informing the buyer that information on permits may be obtained from a third party and providing the third party’s contact information. The bill would specify that these provisions apply to the sale of a single-family residential property where the seller accepts an offer from a buyer to purchase the property on or after July 1, 2024.
Signed by the governor on 07/21/23.
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