BILL NUMBER: AB 224AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Portantino (Coauthors: Assembly Members Blumenfield, Brownley, Carter, Huffman, Krekorian, Ruskin, Salas, and Solorio) (Coauthor: Senator DeSaulnier) FEBRUARY 4, 2009 An act to add Section 66020 to the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 224, as amended, Portantino. Postsecondary education: public meetings. Existing law, intended to strengthen existing accountability requirements, requires the California Postsecondary Education Commission, each November 15, to submit a higher education report to the Legislature and the Governor which provides information to the citizens of the state on the significant indicators of performance of the public colleges and universities. This bill would require the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Board of Trustees of the California State University, the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and the Student Aid Commission, including any auxiliary organization, as defined, to make available on the Internet a live audio broadcast of each of its meetings that is open to the public. The bill would provide that it is not a violation of these requirements if a technical failure prevents the broadcast. This bill would also request that the Regents of the University of California comply with these provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 66020 is added to the Education Code, to read: 66020. (a) The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Board of Trustees of the California State University, the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and the Student Aid Commission, including any auxiliary organization established pursuant to Section 69522, shall make available on the Internet a live audio broadcast of each of its meetings that is open to the public. Notice of these meetings and links to the live audio broadcasts shall be easily accessible via each entity's Internet Web site. The Regents of the University of California are requested to comply with these provisions. (b) It is not a violation of this section if technical failures prevent the entity from making a live audio broadcast available so long as the entity exercised reasonable diligence in making a live audio broadcast available.