Calif. Assembly limits media recording of legislative sessions, then suspends rule amid outcry

Calif. Assembly limits media recording of sessions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Assembly this week began enforcing a long-forgotten rule that constrains media coverage of legislative debates by prohibiting audio or video recorders without permission.

The rule requires reporters, television stations and even lawmakers themselves to receive advance permission from the Assembly speaker’s office before recording Assembly sessions. The state Senate does not have a similar rule.

The rule dates to the days when Democrat Willie Brown served as Assembly speaker, a 15-year reign that ended in 1995.

A spokesman for Assembly Speaker John Perez said enforcement of the rule was suspended Friday as media groups began to question it.