State Legislative - Week of April 16, 2010

Social Networking Internet Websites and Privacy for Minors.  Senate Bill 1361 (Corbett) would fine any social networking Internet website $10,000 for “willing and knowingly” posting the address and/or phone number of a registered user who is a minor.  Unlike the other introduced social networking legislation, this is the proposal that targets the social networking Internet website and not the sex offender. Initially, the bill was much broader but in response to opposition, the Author amended and significantly narrowed the focus of the bill.  This bill was approved in Senate Judiciary Committee and is scheduled to be heard on the Senate Floor this Monday.

Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee to hear recently amended Tax Bills.  CCTA will be monitoring a number of recently introduced new tax bills scheduled for the Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee this week:

 

• AB 2078 (Calderon) Use tax: retailers engaged in business in this state.
• AB 2230 (Calderon) Franchise Tax Board: administration: list: publicly traded corporations.  
• AB 2666 (Skinner) Income Taxes: franchise Tax Board: business credits: reporting Transparency in Government Internet web site.
• AB 2725 (Nestande) Corporation taxes: penalty

 

Assembly Utilities & Commerce Committee, chaired by Assembly Member Steve Bradford will also meet on April 19th at 1:30 PM.  CCTA is currently engaged in at least one bill being heard in this committee on Monday.  Below I have listed the bills with a brief summary and our position for each bill:

New Proposed Requirements for Public Utilities Customer Call Centers.  Assembly Member De La Torre has recently amended Assembly Bill 2690 which would require a public utility to, upon request, inform any customer that telephones a call center of the location of the call center and whether the call center is operated by the utility or is a contracted vendor of the utility. The bill would additionally require a customer call center that is outside the state, upon request and availability, to direct a telephone call to a call center located in the state, and require a customer call center that is outside the United States, upon request and availability, to direct a telephone call to a call center located within the United States. 

 

Modernizing Supplier Diversity Reporting.  Assembly Member Bradford, Chair of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, has proposed AB 2758, which would impose requirements related to Women, Minority, and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise contracting requirements that currently apply to public utilities, to competitive cable television and broadband providers, among others.   This bill is being sponsored by the Greenlining Institute.

 

Assembly Judiciary Committee – April 20, 2010 - 8:00 AM (Feuer, Chair)

 

Trespassing on State Lands – Assembly Bill 2664 (Chesbro) would impose huge penalties for any unauthorized structures on state lands.  The proposal could impact cable pole attachments on state lands. The bill either needs to exclude pole attachments and conduit occupancy, or needs to separate out those structures for a remedy that requires the owner to get the proper license. Due to transfer of ownership of various cable operations and franchises, the companies, and likely the state lands commission, lack full records recording licenses that were obtained. This could lead accusations that pole attachments are unauthorized

 

Assembly Public Safety – April 20, 2010 – 9:00 AM (Ammiano, Chair)

Sex offenders: registration of Internet Accounts and Identifiers.  Assembly Member Galgiani will be presenting Assembly Bill 1850.  Under existing law, a person convicted of specific sex offenses is required to register with the local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which they reside upon release of prison or jail.  Current registration requirements includes personal identifying information, including finger prints and photograph, residential address, employer and employment address and vehicle license plate number.  Existing law does not include Internet accounts and identifiers in the information that a sex offender must disclose when registering.  AB 1850 will include Internet accounts and identifiers within the list of information that a sex offender must disclose when registering.  In addition, the bill would require as a condition of probation that a sex offender be prohibited from using the internet to access pornographic material, to access a social networking Internet web site or to communicate with other individuals or groups for the purpose of promoting sexual relations with minors. 

 

Social Networking Prohibition for Registered Sex Offenders.  Assembly Bill 2208 by Assembly Member Torres would add e-mail addresses and Internet identifiers to the list of information that must be disclosed by persons required to register as a sex offender.  AB 2208 would also prohibit a person on probation or parole for specific sex offenses that are required to registered from using any Internet social networking Web site, unless authorized by the probation or parole supervisors.  The bill authorizes the Department of Justice to release the e-mail address to an Internet social networking Web sites to conduct searches and to purge the e-mail address of the sex offender from their Web site.   The bill defines “Internet social networking Web site” as an Internet Web site that allows users, through the creation of Internet Web pages of profiles or by other means to provide information about themselves that is available to the public to other users; offers a mechanism for communication with other users where those users are likely to include a substantial number of minors; and has a primary purpose the facilitation of online social interactions. 

 

CCTA is working with a coalition of interested parties, including California Chamber of Commerce, Tech Net and Tech America to determine if it is possible to develop a  universal definition of “social networking Internet website.”

 

Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications – April 20, 2010 – 9:30 AM (Padilla, Chair)

 

Alphabetical Telephone Directories: distribution.   Senate Bill 920 by Senator Yee would require a telephone corporation or third party vendor to allow a telephone subscriber to opt out of receiving a telephone directory. This bill requires that a telephone corp. or third party vendor place on the outside cover of the alphabetical directory information for subscriber to use to opt out of receiving a telephone directory. CCTA will offer an amendment which would prohibit telephone company or third party vendor from marketing to cable customers who contact them to opt out of receiving telephone directory.

 

Telephone corporations: residential telephone service: 911 calls.  Senate Bill 1375 by Senator Curren Price, as currently in print,  would require local telephone corporations to “provide a connection“ (warm line) which has the capacity to place a “911” call rather than “providing access” to “911” emergency service.   There is currently a coalition consisting of communication providers and State and county 9-1-1 and Law Enforcement groups working to develop an approach that would eliminate phantom 911 calls from residences that have been vacated.  The group is attempting to develop amendments for the bill that would address the very serious issue of “Phantom 9-1-1 calls.”  

 

Senate Public Safety – April 20, 2010 – 9:00 AM  (Leno, Chair)

 

Social Networking Prohibition for Registered Sex Offenders.  Senate Bill 1204 by Senator Runner would prohibit a registered sex offender, as a condition of parole, from opening an account  on or otherwise participating in a social networking Internet website. It does not impose any requirements on Internet web sites or social networking sites in particular however it does attempt to define “Social Networking Internet Website.”  If a universal definition of “Social Networking Internet Website” is developed, it should replace the existing definition in SB 1204.

 

Senate Judiciary Committee – April 20, 2010 – 1:00 PM (Corbett, Chair)

 

Trial De Novo.  Senator Wolk, in her twice recently amended Senate Bill 1113, seeks to allow the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to File a Notice of Action for a Trial De Novo in Superior Court for a Tax cases involving disputes of $100,000 or more.  Under existing law, FTB decisions may be appealed to the Board of Equalization (BOE).  The BOE’s ruling is considered final.  SB 1113 would give the FTB another bite at the apple to find taxpayers liable.  This proposal is opposed by Cal-Tax, California Chamber of Commerce, TechAmerica and the California Manufacturers & Technology Association on the basis that it would limit taxpayer rights, force many taxpayers to settle meritorious claims and eviscerates important check on FTB action. 

 

Assembly Insurance – April 21, 2010 – 9:00 AM (Solorio, Chair)

 

Service Contracts.  Assembly Bill 2111 by Assembly Member Smyth relates to, and amends. The Electronic and Appliance Repair Dealer Registration Law, with regulates service contracts relating to maintenance or repair of specified sets and appliances. Those “sets and appliances” do include television, audio or video recorders or playback equipment.  As an unintended consequence this bill could also be interpreted to apply to inside wiring covered by industry service contracts. The author has agreed that the intent of the bill is to capture entities like Best Buy, and not cable inside wiring.  CCTA will pursue an amendment.