News outlets: state expenditures on ethnic and community media outlets.

The bill was expanded from a one-line legislative intent statement into a multi-code amendment covering the Government Code, Labor Code, and Public Contract Code, with the stated purpose now focused on news outlets and labor classification of newspaper distributors.

New definitions added in Government Code Section 65054 for 'ethnic media,' 'ethnic media outlet,' 'community media outlet,' and 'priority populations' (which includes Asian American, Black or African American, immigrants or refugees, Native American, Latinx, LGBTQ+, limited English proficiency, Middle Eastern or North African, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, people with disabilities, religious minorities, and low-income communities).

The sunset date for the ethnic and community media outreach requirements in Government Code Section 65054.3 was removed (previously set to expire January 1, 2029), making those requirements operate indefinitely.

The exemption from the ABC test (Dynamex) for newspaper distributors and carriers under Labor Code Section 2783(h) was extended indefinitely by removing the January 1, 2030 expiration date. Annual workforce reporting requirements for publishers and distributors are included with a separate sunset of January 1, 2030.

The Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications is now required to establish and maintain a database of ethnic and community media outlets, publish guidelines for certification, may engage nonprofit news organizations to assist, and may hold annual trainings for state employees responsible for purchasing advertising.

New Public Contract Code Section 11102 restricts state agencies from awarding advertising or marketing contracts valued between $5,000 and $350,000 to any entity other than a small business (including microbusiness), nonprofit organization, or ethnic or community media outlet. Agencies must also obtain price quotations from at least two entities in the Ethnic and Community Media Database before awarding such contracts to small businesses or nonprofits.

New Public Contract Code Section 11103 requires that when a state agency issues an RFP for marketing or advertising services requiring outreach to priority populations, the awarded vendor must be provided a copy of the Ethnic and Community Media Database and must make every effort to prioritize outlets in that database in their media buying plan.

A new Public Contract Code Section 11104 requires each state agency to direct at least 40 percent of its annual advertising spending to ethnic and community media outlets.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amended bill now has an identified fiscal impact on the state.

New Public Contract Code Section 11105 requires the Office of Community Partnerships to submit an annual report (first due July 1, 2027) to the Governor and Legislature identifying all state agencies that paid for advertising placement, amounts paid to each media platform, recipients of those payments, disaggregated information on contracts targeting specific ethnic communities and contracts placed by ethnic and community media outlets, and recommendations for best practices. This reporting requirement sunsets on January 1, 2031.

Removed the sunset provision that would have made the ethnic and community media advertising requirements inoperative on July 1, 2028 and repealed on January 1, 2029. The requirements now operate indefinitely.

Removed the sunset date of January 1, 2030 for the newspaper distributor and carrier exemption from the ABC test (Labor Code Section 2783(h)). The exemption now operates indefinitely, meaning newspaper distributors and carriers will continue to be classified under the Borello multifactor test rather than the stricter ABC test.

Changed Section 11102(a) from a mandatory requirement (state agencies 'shall' award advertising contracts between $5,000 and $350,000 only to small businesses, nonprofits, or ethnic/community media outlets) to a permissive provision (state agencies 'may' award such contracts to ethnic or community media outlets, provided they obtain price quotations from two or more such outlets). This gives agencies discretion rather than imposing a strict restriction.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill was determined to have a state fiscal impact, likely due to the permanent nature of the new reporting and compliance requirements.