Lawmakers in 2017 created new laws to bring broadband to rural areas, improve accessibility to government websites and move public record storage to the cloud.
They directed the state Department of Justice to create an electronic history of opioid prescriptions, issue regulations for a shared gang database to help law enforcement, and revise its model human trafficking notice to include a number for people to text.
Companies developing autonomous vehicles will no longer need to wait a mandatory 180 days to test their cars on California roads without a driver. And the California Department of Technology won the authority it needed to continue negotiating contracts for IT goods and services.
“Overall, I think we did really well,” Assemblyman Ian Calderon, co-chair of the Legislative Technology and Innovation Caucus, told Techwire.
And for the bills that stalled — for either policy or financial reasons — Calderon says lawmakers introduced measures that started the conversation around key policy issues that will get debated next year.
Assemblyman Ed Chau, D-Monterey Park, for example, has vowed to bring back his Internet privacy bill, AB 375, as well as a measure for an economic impact study of California’s cybersecurity industry.
The Federal Communications Commission’s decision on net neutrality will also be on the agenda, lawmakers say. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has announced plans to introduce legislation in January to establish rules ensuring that Californians can access all websites “freely and fairly.”
Although a number of technology education-related bills stalled in appropriations committees this year, lawmakers say the shortage of a tech-trained workforce remains a critical priority.
“What we are hearing from the tech industry is that the skill sets that are required are not matched up with that of our educational institutions,” Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, the other co-chair of the Tech Caucus, said in an interview. “For us to be a competitive state in the global marketplace, we need to have all of these jobs and skill sets. That’s something we must be cognizant of.”
Among the Tech Caucus priorities this year was a media literacy bill, SB 135, that would have required the state Board of Education to include media literacy in the next revision of instructional materials or curriculum frameworks.
“That was an important bill and a tough bill to have held,” Calderon said. “The problem with curriculum updates is you put something in, you’ve got to take something out.”
A bill likely to garner spirited debate once again is SB 649 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, which sought to create new statewide rules for the installation of so-called “small cell” technology. Supporters and the telecommunications industry argued that a streamlined permitting process that allows small cells on public infrastructure would lead to new, faster 5G Internet for Californians. But local governments continue to fear any statewide network would strip them of their decision-making authority.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Calderon, who abstained from voting on the bill over municipal concerns.
“I felt the bill took away all the power from the cities,” he said. “It was nominal fees in exchange for the companies making a lot of money. The cities get nothing for it, and they lose all of the ability to be able to say, 'You can’t go here, you can’t go there.'”
Here is a look at the tech bills Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law this year:
- AB 1022 by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, requires California agencies to begin inventorying their critical infrastructure controls and assets as part of a larger effort to boost statewide cybersecurity defenses. The bill also authorizes local entities to voluntarily submit their inventories to the state Department of Technology.
- SB 225 by Sen. Henry Stern, D-Canoga Park, requires the California Department of Justice to make its model human trafficking notice available for download on its website, and it must add the option of texting for help. The current notice provides phone numbers to call the state and national hotlines for assistance.
- SB 145 by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, eliminates the requirement that the Department of Motor Vehicles notify the Legislature every time there is an application for operation of an autonomous vehicle without a driver. It would also eliminate the 180-day waiting period before it is approved.
- AB 434 by Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Dublin, requires state agencies and entities to certify that their websites comply with accessibility standards. The California Department of Technology will be charged with developing a standard form that each state entity’s chief information officer can use to determine whether an Internet website is in compliance.
- AB 22 by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, is intended to make it easier for state and local governments to preserve and store public records on “trusted” cloud-based storage services.
- AB 1665 by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, extended the California Advanced Services Fund, authorizing the Public Utilities Commission to collect up to $330 million in taxpayer surcharges to deploy broadband in underserved areas.
- AB 40 by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, requires the state Department of Justice to create an electronic history of controlled substances that have been dispensed to an individual based on data contained in its prescription drug database known as the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System, or CURES. The law also dictates that an outside health information technology system can integrate and submit queries to the database.
- AB 90 by Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, charges the state Department of Justice with issuing regulations to govern the use, operation and oversight of any shared gang database in California.
- AB 475 by Assemblyman Ed Chau extended the critical authority needed by the California Department of Technology to continue negotiating contracts for IT goods and services. The ability to negotiate with IT vendors had been set to expire Jan. 1, 2018.
Bills held in an appropriations committee or shelved until 2018
- AB 375 by Chau would have limited what Internet service providers can do with customer data.
- AB 1255 by former Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Encino, would have authorized the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a pilot program to develop a digital driver’s license mobile application.
- SB 135 by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would have required the state Board of Education to include media literacy in the next revision of instructional materials or curriculum frameworks in social sciences for grades one through 12.
- AB 364 by Chau would have required the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to commission an economic impact study to better understand the current state of the cybersecurity industry in California.
- AB 1517 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, sought to help small businesses more easily find investors who can provide capital by revising the rules on crowdfunding permits.
- AB 816 by Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, would have required webcasts where listeners and viewers could ask questions and the public could provide comment.
- AB 684 by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, would have required the California Coastal Commission to develop, implement and maintain a publicly searchable database of ex parte communications online.
- AB 1217 by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, would have created a state STEM school in Los Angeles County, one that provides instruction in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- AB 1680 by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Inglewood, would have required the director of the California Department of Technology to establish and oversee a training program and curriculum for state workers engaged in the procurement of information technology.
Bills vetoed by the governor:
- AB 531 by Irwin directed the Department of Technology’s Office of Information Security to review state departments’ information security policies. The measure would have also charged CDT with updating any outdated policies and technology.
- AB 639 by Assemblyman Jim Obernolte, R-Big Bear, directed the Department of General Services to develop procedures to authorize the submittal of electronic signatures and documents by all parties on state contracts.
- AB 1306 by Obernolte sought to make permanent the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) at the Office of Emergency Services. The center operates under an executive order. Obernolte’s bill would have enshrined it in state statute.
- SB 649 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, attempted to streamline the permitting process for telecommunication companies to site small cells on public infrastructure.
