Breaking Nonprofit News: Detrimental bill AB 2855 goes to Assembly after all

An urgent CalNonprofits notification update was received today. AB 2855 passed out of the Assembly Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee yesterday with the six votes it needed in a reconsideration (re-vote). More information about this issue and the contact info to reach out to representatives is found below in the CalNonprofits memo (phone and email outreach is recommended ASAP).

(CalNonprofits notification)

Unfortunately, AB 2855 passed out of the Assembly Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee yesterday with the six votes it needed. As you know, it initially failed, but passed in a reconsideration (re-vote).

The members who voted in favor of this detrimental bill need to hear from those of you who are in their districts to let them know how disappointed you are that they supported the bill. Please email and call them today.

You can find the contact information for the Committee members here.

Please remember to be polite. You can say something as simple as:

“We at [your org here] are disappointed that you supported AB 2855 and urge you to oppose the bill going forward. Please contact us for more information on how detrimental this bill is to nonprofits in your district.”

Here is the vote breakdown:
Yes (6): Calderon, Chau, Cooper, Dababneh, Gatto, Low
No (2): Baker, Chang
Not Voting (3): Gordon, Olsen, Wilk

AB 2855 will next be heard in Appropriations Committee. It is important that all Assemblymembers hear how this bill will harm nonprofits. Check here to find out how to contact your Assemblymember.

As you know, AB 2855 would require nonprofits to place unnecessary and burdensome notices on every document that included a fundraising message — not just California nonprofits but any nonprofit that raises funds in California — which is pretty much every nonprofit in the world. While we share the goals of transparence for nonprofits and prosecuting the few — but high profile — bad actors, this bill will do nothing toward achieving those goals.

And if you haven’t already, join 250 of your colleagues by signing on in opposition to AB 2855 here.

There will be many more opportunities for us to stop AB 2855, and with your help, we will!

Jan Masaoka & Nancy Berlin
CEO & Policy Director