Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1637 Local government: internet websites and email addresses.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), within the Department of Homeland Security, sponsors the “.gov” top-level domain and makes it available solely to United States-based government organizations and publicly controlled entities, including California’s local agencies.
(b) California’s local agencies qualify for a “.gov” domain without paying any fee.
(c) Using “.gov” increases security by enforcing multifactor authentication on all accounts in the “.gov” registrar, requiring browsers to only use a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) connection with “.gov” domains, and enabling the addition of a security contact, making it easier for the public to alert the agency about potential security issues with the agency’s online services.
(d) The Government Operations Agency oversees the “.ca.gov” domain name program, and the Department of Technology manages the registration, change, and renewal process for “.ca.gov” domains. Agencies are not required to pay any fee for a “.ca.gov” domain.
(e) To administer the “.ca.gov” second-level domain, the Department of Technology has established policies and protocols consistent with federal policy, including, but not limited to, the federal Interagency Committee on Government Information’s Recommended Policies and Guidelines for Federal Public Websites and the federal .gov Registrar administered by CISA.
(f) Users of websites or other internet services with a “.ca.gov” domain can be assured they are accessing an official California governmental resource.

SEC. 2.

 Section 50034 is added to the Government Code, to read:

50034.
 (a) (1) No later than January 1, 2029, a local agency that maintains an internet website for use by the public shall ensure that the internet website utilizes a “.gov” top-level domain or a “.ca.gov” second-level domain.
(2) If a local agency that is subject to paragraph (1) maintains an internet website for use by the public that is noncompliant with paragraph (1) by January 1, 2029, that local agency shall redirect that internet website to a domain name that does comply with paragraph (1).
(b) No later than January 1, 2029, a local agency that maintains public email addresses for its employees shall ensure that each email address provided to its employees utilizes a “.gov” domain name or a “.ca.gov” domain name.
(c) For purposes of this section, “local agency” means a city, county, or city and county.
SEC. 3.
 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act adding Section 50034 to the Government Code addresses a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 1 of this act adding Section 50034 to the Government Code applies to all cities, including charter cities.
SEC. 4.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.