Setting the Record Straight on Prop. 54 Opponent’s False Claims
September 28, 2016 – In Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle, political operative Steve Maviglio departed from the truth in order to promote his agenda to keep voters in the dark.
In his dissenting op-ed to the Chronicle’s endorsement of Proposition 54 entitled: Prop. 54: Publish legislation 72 hours before legislators vote, Mr. Maviglio made the following two false claims:
False Claim #1: “The California Newspaper Publishers Association opposes Prop. 54.”
The Truth: On Monday, the Chronicle ran a correction stating: “The opinion article mischaracterized the California Newspaper Publishers Association view on Proposition 54, which would require the Legislature to publish legislation 72 hours before a vote. The organization is neutral on the initiative.” Read the correction here: http://bit.ly/2d4L3xt.
The California Newspaper Publishers Association has a policy never to take stands, for or against, on any voter-qualified state initiative, and so is always neutral on all of them.
False Claim #2: Prop. 54 “sneaks in a provision that allows for the use of video of legislative proceedings for political ads.”
The Truth: The ban on using video records of the proceedings of the state Assembly for political purposes (or “political ads”) has already been repealed by the California Legislature via an urgency statute, AB 884, which took effect September 22, 2016. A federal court had already intervened in June, 2016 to prevent the ban from being enforced, on the grounds that it infringed on the constitutional right to freedom of speech. Whether or not Prop. 54 passes, there will be no ban on the use of Legislature-made recordings of the California Assembly “for … political purposes.” Including, for better or worse, whatever Mr. Maviglio would consider a “political ad.” The ban is gone, whether or not Prop. 54 passes.
Also, there was never a ban on using video records of the state Senate. The ban only applied to the state Assembly. So, if allowing people to use these public records was going to lead to “political ads,” then shouldn’t we have seen them already? This ban was always without a legitimate purpose.
To learn more about Proposition 54 or to join the coalition, visit the website at www.YesProp54.org.