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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Long, silent minutes passed Thursday as California Assembly members cast their votes on a bill that would require newspaper owners to give notice when selling their outlet.
The fate of Assembly Bill 611 — introduced by Assemblymember Alex Lee, a San Jose Democrat — hung in the air until, finally, it reached the 41 votes needed for passage. It now proceeds to the state Senate, where it must pass through the committee process and secure the votes of at least 21 senators.
“Keeping local news local is critical,” Lee said moments before the vote.
The bill would require a legacy news organization to give at least 120 days’ notice to employees, subscribers and consumers of an intent to sell. It also must publish a notice in the respective county’s newspaper of general circulation.
A legacy news organization is one that’s print or digital, has operated for at least 10 years and meets certain publication requirements, like being published at least 24 times in the past year for a newspaper.
Lee decried conglomerates buying small papers, then filling their pages with syndicated news, house fires and local sports, and little else. In a statement, he called the purchase of news organizations by large conglomerates a threat to American democracy. They have a history of laying off employees, closing news operations and consolidating newsrooms, leading to a reduction in quality local news.
According to Lee, 10 companies owned over half of the country’s daily newspapers as of last year. He pointed to MediaNews Group, part of Alden Global Capital, which this month announced its purchase of The Press Democrat and affiliated North Bay publications.
“This is not good for democracy,” Lee said.
His bill would help keep independent media intact, Lee said, as local news outlets would face a requirement to provide four months’ notice about an intended sale.
Assemblymember Chris Rogers, a Santa Rosa Democrat, stood in support of the bill. He said it gives communities more time for the public and news employees to discuss the pending sale.
“When hedge funds quietly acquire local newspapers and gut their newsrooms, the public loses access to information that helps them vote, advocate, and hold power accountable,” said Maya Chupkov, media and democracy program manager at California Common Cause, in a statement. “This bill ensures transparency and gives time for local stakeholders to step in before it’s too late. California Common Cause is proud to support this critical step toward keeping news in community hands.”
Riffing on a resolution the Assembly passed earlier, which recognized May 4 as “Star Wars Day,” Lee said a free press is essential to stop republics from eroding into empires.
“AB 611 will give newsroom staff and local communities the opportunity and time to approach the owners with alternatives to keep the outlet independently owned,” Lee said in a statement. “It’s a common-sense policy that prioritizes high-quality, independent news.”
The California News Publishers Association stated its opposition to the measure in a bill analysis. It argued that the four-month notice period would likely hurt the financial prospects of a news outfit to be sold. Employees would leave and the sale could fall through.
“We agree that journalism is critical to the future of democracy in this country,” the association, of which Courthouse News Service is a member, wrote. “However, the proponents have no evidence that government-compelled notice of a sale of a local news organization will arrest the decline of local journalism in California.”
Asked about the time it took to get enough votes, Lee told Courthouse News in a statement that he’s glad his fellow Assembly members saw the value in preserving community journalism.
“As AB 611 moves through the legislative process, I look forward to continuing working with my colleagues and other stakeholders to preserve community journalism, and keep our newspapers locally owned and operated,” Lee added.
The Assembly on Thursday also passed Assembly Bill 1326, written by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, a Silicon Valley Democrat. It would enshrine someone’s right to wear a mask in public to protect their own or the public’s health.
Some exemptions, like removing a mask for identification purposes, would apply.
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