CHAPTER
9.8. California Board to Fund Public Interest Media
8780.
(a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the California Public Interest Media Act of 2022.(b) The Legislature finds and declares that life in California is enriched by free and fair local journalism. It is critical to the health of our democracy to ensure that Californians have the news and information they need to stay civically engaged and to promote thriving communities. Communities thrive when locally owned newspapers, television, and radio stations, and online media, are free to portray their surroundings as they exist, without fear or favor. A free and fair press, with deep roots
in the community, opens up the world around us and provides insights into events and actions taking place in the communities where we live. It is critical to holding those in power accountable for their actions, and for offering a free flow of information that builds an informed citizenry, the members of which are able to choose their leaders and participate in decisions affecting them. In sum, a free and fair press is at the center of a vital community and democracy.
(c) For purposes of this chapter, “board” the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Board” means the California Board to Fund Public Interest Media established pursuant to Section 8780.1.
(2) “Civic information needs” means the informational resources, including local journalism and communication infrastructure, that communities need for civic engagement and participation.
(3) “News organization” means an organization that produces and disseminates original content in print, radio, television, or online, on a daily, weekly, or other regular interval, has been established, and continuously produced that content in the state for at least one year, and has demonstrated that it adheres to generally accepted standards of journalism, such as the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
(4) “Digital news organization” means a news organization that has been established and has continuously posted and distributed original content on the internet or other digital media for a minimum of one year in the state and that has demonstrated adherence to the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
(5) “Ethnic news organization” means any ethnic-owned news organization that produces news stories for a particular ethnic group or ethnic community residing in California, including racial and linguistic minorities, immigrant communities, indigenous groups, and other historically underserved and underrepresented groups. These priority populations include, but are not limited to, people who are:
(A) Asian American.
(B) Black or African
American.
(C) Immigrants and refugees.
(D) Native American or Tribal communities.
(E) Latinx.
(F) LGBTQ+
(G) Limited English proficient (LEP).
(H) Middle Eastern or North African.
(I) Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders.
(J) Religious minorities.
(6) “Local news organization” means a news organization, including any publication described in Section 6000, that is dedicated to covering a community, city, neighborhood, region, or a
demographic population that resides in the state. “Local news organization” includes any publication that is regularly produced in print or digitally that contains information intended to reach an audience that is based in California and that may include content that is not necessarily California focused, but that is of great importance to predominately Californians or a specific audience or demographic in California that is served by the publication, including the numerous diverse and underserved communities.
(7) “News worker” means a person who is directly engaged in the gathering or production of news coverage or information for public audiences.
(8) “Underserved communities” means populations that do not have adequate access to news, information, and necessary resources based upon race, ethnicity, geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, language
barriers, disabilities, immigration status, or age.
8780.1.
(a) There is in the state government a California Board to Fund Public Interest Media that shall be composed of 15 members.(b) Individuals shall be appointed to the board, as follows:
(1) Two members appointed by the Governor who shall not be of the same political party, and three members appointed by the Governor who serve in leadership positions for California-based associations that represent news organizations or advocacy organizations that represent the interests of news and media outlets in California, including at least
one public interest group with a focus on promoting accountable government and a robust democracy. democracy and at least one organization representing the interests of news workers.
(2) One member appointed by the President pro Tempore of the Senate and one member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
(3) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one member appointed by the minority leader of the Assembly.
(4) Six members, no more than four of whom shall be of the same political party, appointed by a majority vote of the
nine board members appointed pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of this subdivision.
(c) Before making the
appointments pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b), the nine members appointed pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (b) shall request and consider recommendations from the public, news organizations, and associations that represent news workers, news organizations, including ethnic media news organizations, nonprofit news organizations, and online news organizations and when making the appointments, shall give consideration to the various geographic parts of the
state, news organizations, and historically underserved communities that have suffered from a an absence or decline in media coverage of local public and civic affairs. Appointees shall be chosen to ensure that the commission reflects the state’s diversity, including, but not limited to, racial, ethnic, class, geographic, disability, and gender diversity. The nine members making these appointments shall ensure that at least two members of the full board are representatives of organizations that represent small and minority media. ethnic news media and their affiliated
news workers.
(d) Members shall hold office for four years, except that, in order to provide for the staggering of terms, the initial members appointed pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) shall hold office for three years, and the initial members appointed pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (b) shall hold office for two years. The initial members described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (b) shall be appointed no later than February 1, 2023, and the initial members described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) shall be appointed no later than March 15, 2023. A member shall not serve more than two terms on the board, except that, if a member is first appointed to serve a partial term of two years or less, that partial term shall not count towards the two-term
limit.
(e) Vacancies on the board shall be filed within 90 days by appointment by the same official or members who appointed the prior holder of the position. Appointments to fill midterm vacancies shall be for the unexpired term of the member whom the appointee succeeds.
(f) Except as provided in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b), eight members shall constitute a quorum of the board and the affirmative vote of eight members shall be required for the board to take an action.
(g) In January of each year, the members of the board shall select a chairperson.
(h) Members of the board shall receive one hundred dollars ($100) per meeting and shall be
reimbursed for necessary traveling and other expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.
8780.2.
If any member of the board is an employee, member, director, or officer of a news an organization that has applied to the board for a grant, that member shall not communicate with any other member of the board, or any member of an advisory committee or peer review panel, regarding the grant application and the member shall not be present when the application is considered by the board, committee, or panel.8780.3.
The board shall meet at the call of the chairperson at least six times per year. The board shall comply with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act Article (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3. 3).8780.4.
The board shall do all of the following:(a) Encourage independent, local public service news coverage.
(b) Foster an environment of public trust in which all news organizations and news workers are free from influence, including that of the board, other than a mandate to use the board’s grants to support public interest news coverage.
(c) Adopt procedures necessary for proper execution of the powers and duties granted to the board by this chapter.
(d) Employ administrative, technical, and other personnel as may be necessary.
(e) Fix the salaries of the personnel employed pursuant to this chapter as nearly as possible to conform to the salaries established by the State Personnel Board for classes of positions in the state civil service involving comparable duties and responsibilities.
(f) Appoint advisory committees whenever necessary. Members of an advisory committee shall serve without compensation, but each may be reimbursed for necessary traveling and other expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.
(g) Request and obtain from any department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other
agency of the state assistance and data to enable it properly to carry on its power and duties.
(h) Hold hearings, execute agreements, and perform any acts necessary and proper to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(i) Accept federal grants for any of the purposes of this chapter.
(j) Accept gifts, donations, bequests, or grants of funds from private sources and public agencies, for any of the purposes of this chapter.
(k) Establish grant application criteria and procedures. procedures, including standards for evaluation
of journalistic integrity.
(l) Award direct grants to individuals or organizations in accordance with procedures as the board may prescribe. In awarding grants, the board shall notify the offices of the legislators in whose district the recipient resides.
(m) Appoint peer review panels whenever necessary. Each member of a peer review panel may, at the discretion of the board, receive a per diem and honorarium for each day of service and be reimbursed for necessary travel and other expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.
(n) If the board chooses to conduct any studies to ensure that funding opportunities are congruent with California communities’ information needs, the board shall partner with organizations that have longstanding relationships with ethnic and underserved communities to conduct outreach to those communities and the news organizations that serve them.
(o) Before adopting a grant program, the board shall solicit the perspective of local news organizations and associations representing those organizations, including labor unions and other organizations representing news workers, ethnic news organizations, and online news organizations.
(p) The board shall establish different categories for grant applications to ensure that similarly situated news organizations are being considered for various grants, such as circulation size, type of media, or the population served. News
organizations may choose to apply for grants in multiple categories.
8780.5.(a)The board shall not award any grant to an entity that is not California-owned.
(b)In awarding grants, the board shall not discriminate for or against a news organization on the basis of political partisanship.
(c)Before adopting a grant program, the board shall solicit the perspective of local news organizations and associations representing those organizations, including ethnic news organizations, nonprofit news organizations, and online news organizations. The board shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposed grant eligibility criteria before the criteria are adopted at a later meeting. The criteria may include a media organization’s history of news coverage of its community and other considerations, such as community needs and equity.
8780.5.
(a) In considering grant applications, the board shall establish criteria, including, but not limited to, all of the following requirements:
(1) That the news organization has demonstrated that it adheres to generally accepted standards of journalism and meets or exceeds other standards and evaluative criteria, such as the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
(2) That the news organization, in its grant application, outline the issues and identify the community or
communities that it intends to cover using the grant funds.
(3) That the news organization demonstrates a financial need and discloses any funds the organization is receiving from philanthropic sources, including donations and grants.
(4) That the news organization includes in its application a description of current staff and resources that the organization has, including staff, technology, assistance, and resources available to it, as well as any additional staff, resources, software, or equipment necessary for the work to be funded by the grant.
(5) That the news organization includes in its application four consecutive recent issues of the publication, if produced in print.
(6) That the news organization, if it publishes only on the internet,
provide documentation of the approved domain name registration and directions, including access, if needed, to the applicant’s internet website and other digital news media applications.
(7) That the news organization, if it publishes in a language that is other than English, certify that the content published by the applicant is principally focused on California or that its readership is principally in California.
(b) In awarding and administering grants, the board shall do all of the following:
(1) Recognize that one of the crucial roles of the news media in a democracy is to question and criticize the government. Accordingly, the board shall not interfere in any manner with applicants’ or grantees’ editorial control, and shall not discriminate on the basis of partisan affiliation, or on the basis that the content
it produces is critical of the government, nor shall the board interfere in a new organization’s production of content.
(2) Take into account a news organization’s needs and history of news coverage of its community, whether the community has been underserved, and how the organization has sought to fulfill those needs and other needs and considerations of the community it serves.
(3) Give preference to local news organizations, inclusive of ethnic-owned and community news organizations.
(d)Of the funds made available for a grant program pursuant to this chapter,
(4) Allocate at least 25 percent shall be allocated for grants to California-owned ethnic of grant funds to California-owned, ethnic-owned news organizations, and 25 percent allocated for grants of grant funds to local and community-based news organizations with a general audience.
(e)When making decisions regarding the distribution of grant funds, the board shall seek
(5) Seek
to prioritize the needs of support for local, independently run news organizations in geographic parts of the state that have suffered from a decline in media coverage, news organizations that publish in, or for, historically underserved communities, and news organizations that use innovative methods or that fill civic information needs in new ways. communities.
(6) Seek to ensure that any journalism solely funded
through its grants and published online be accessible to the public at no cost.
(f)The board shall, upon
(7) Upon request, provide technical assistance with the submission of a grant application. The grant application shall be accessible to limited-English speaking and non-English speaking individuals. The board shall accept
(8) Accept applications submitted in languages other than English. The board shall also allow for any reasonable accommodations requested in the application process by applicants with disabilities.
(g)(1)After receiving grant applications but before approving any grant application, the board shall provide an opportunity for verbal and written public comment on the applications under consideration.
(2)A news organization that applied for a grant pursuant to this chapter shall place a public notice of that application in its own publication or on its internet website for public comment. A news organization that receives a grant pursuant to this chapter shall place a public notice of that award in its own publication or on its internet website for public comment.
(9) Conduct outreach to ethnic and underserved communities to publicize the purpose of the grant program, its availability to local news organizations, and how to apply for grants, including where additional information may be found on how to seek assistance with, and the deadlines for, the application process.
(10) Provide an opportunity for verbal and written public comment on the applications under consideration upon an applicant meeting grant criteria, but before the application is approved.
(h)
(c) (1) The board shall annually report to the Governor and the Legislature on the activities of the board and make the report available on the board’s internet website. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) A list of each grant applicant and approved grant applicant.
(B) The total amount of grant funds awarded.
(C) The amount of grant funds awarded to each approved grant applicant.
(D) The total amount of grant funds awarded to each of the following:
(i) News organizations with a general audience.
(ii) Ethnic Ethnic-owned news organizations.
(iii)Hyperlocal news organizations.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
8780.6.
(a) The California Fund for Public Interest Media is hereby created in the State Treasury to receive funds received pursuant to subdivisions (i) and (j) of Section 8780.4.(b) The board may operate pursuant to this chapter if it is funded by an appropriation by the Legislature, private donations, or both.
8780.7.
The board shall appoint a director who shall hold office at its pleasure, except that the Governor may appoint an interim director until eight members have been appointed to the board. The board may delegate to the director responsibility for carrying out board policy. The director shall assist the board in carrying out its work, be responsible for hiring board staff, including, but not limited to, deputy directors, be responsible for managing and administering the board staff, and perform other duties as directed by the board.8780.8.
The executive or principal office of the California Board to Fund Public Interest Media shall be located in the County of Sacramento. The board may establish one or more secondary offices in other locations within the state if it determines that they are needed to properly carry out the provisions of this chapter.8780.9.
This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.