California 2023-2024 Regular Session Status: Enacted 9 D cosponsors

AB 2839 — Elections: deceptive media in advertisements.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 262, Statutes of 2024.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 15, 2024. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom (Democratic) on September 17, 2024.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 12 sponsors

    1 primary, 11 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (9 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 10 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Existing law prohibits certain distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballot, unless the media includes a disclosure stating that the media has been manipulated, subject to specified exemptions. Existing law authorizes a candidate whose voice or likeness appears in audio or visual media distributed in violation of these provisions to file specified actions, and it requires a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would prohibit a person, committee, or other entity from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election communication, as defined, that contains certain materially deceptive content, as defined, with malice, as defined, subject to specified exemptions. The bill would apply this prohibition within 120 days of an election in California and, in specified cases, 60 days after an election. The bill would authorize a recipient of materially deceptive content distributed in violation of this section, candidate or committee participating in the election, or elections official, as defined, to file a civil action to enjoin the distribution of the media and to seek damages against the person, committee, or other entity that distributed it, except as specified. The bill would require a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 35 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by AB 2655 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2655 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 262, Statutes of 2024.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Urgency clause adopted. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 63. Noes 8.).

  5. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 32. Noes 5.).

  7. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  11. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 15).

  12. In committee: Referred to APPR suspense file.

  13. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  14. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 1.) (July 2).

  15. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  16. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  17. Referred to Coms. on E. & C.A., JUD. and APPR.

  18. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  19. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 59. Noes 4. Page 5511.)

  20. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  21. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 3.) (May 16).

  22. Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 5215.)

  23. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  24. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  25. Read second time and amended.

  26. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (April 30).

  27. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  28. Read second time and amended.

  29. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (April 10).

  30. Referred to Coms. on ELECTIONS and JUD.

  31. From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

  32. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 11 co-sponsors · 110 not signed on · 13 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (11)

Not signed on (110)

110 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 110 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

AB 2839 Pellerin Concurrence - Urgency Added

Passed 63 Yea · 8 Nay · 8 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 45002
Unaffiliated 16300
Republican 2506
Total 63808
% of votes cast 80%10%0%10%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Holden — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Ting — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Wood — Yea
Low — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Essayli — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Luz Rivas — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Addis, Dawn Democratic Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Alvarez, David Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bains, Jasmeet Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Not Voting
Connolly, Damon Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Hart, Gregg Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Lowenthal, Josh Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Ortega, Liz Democratic Not Voting
Pacheco, Blanca Democratic Yea
Papan, Diane Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Schiavo, Pilar Democratic Yea
Soria, Esmeralda Democratic Yea
Valencia, Avelino Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Zbur, Rick Chavez Democratic Yea
Alanis, Juan Republican Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Davies, Laurie Republican Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Not Voting
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Hoover, Josh Republican Not Voting
Lackey, Tom Republican Not Voting
Patterson, Joe Republican Nay
Sanchez, Kate Republican Nay
Ta, Tri Republican Not Voting
Wallis, Greg Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

3rd Reading AB2839 Pellerin et al. By Blakespear Urgency Clause

Passed 32 Yea · 6 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 11000
Democratic 21001
Republican 0601
Total 32602
% of votes cast 80%15%0%5%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Roth — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Newman — Yea
Min — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Ashby, Angelique V. Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Blakespear, Catherine S. Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Menjivar, Caroline Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Not Voting
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Rubio, Susan Democratic Yea
Smallwood-Cuevas, Lola Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wahab, Aisha Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Alvarado-Gil, Marie Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Niello, Roger W. Republican Nay
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Not Voting
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 10 Yea · 1 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 8000
Unaffiliated 2000
Republican 0100
Total 10100
% of votes cast 91%9%0%0%
How each member voted (11)
Member Party Vote
Wilk — Yea
Roth — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Ashby, Angelique V. Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wahab, Aisha Democratic Yea
Niello, Roger W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

AB 2839 Pellerin Assembly Third Reading

Passed 59 Yea · 4 Nay · 17 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 44003
Republican 2308
Unaffiliated 13106
Total 594017
% of votes cast 74%5%0%21%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Ting — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Wood — Yea
Low — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Essayli — Not Voting
Holden — Not Voting
Friedman — Not Voting
Mathis — Not Voting
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Not Voting
Luz Rivas — Not Voting
Vince Fong — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Addis, Dawn Democratic Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Alvarez, David Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bains, Jasmeet Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Not Voting
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Not Voting
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Not Voting
Connolly, Damon Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Hart, Gregg Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Lowenthal, Josh Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Ortega, Liz Democratic Yea
Pacheco, Blanca Democratic Yea
Papan, Diane Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Schiavo, Pilar Democratic Yea
Soria, Esmeralda Democratic Yea
Valencia, Avelino Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Zbur, Rick Chavez Democratic Yea
Alanis, Juan Republican Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Davies, Laurie Republican Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Not Voting
Flora, Heath Republican Not Voting
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Hoover, Josh Republican Not Voting
Lackey, Tom Republican Not Voting
Patterson, Joe Republican Nay
Sanchez, Kate Republican Nay
Ta, Tri Republican Not Voting
Wallis, Greg Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 11 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 9000
Unaffiliated 2100
Republican 0201
Total 11301
% of votes cast 73%20%0%7%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Villapudua — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Hart, Gregg Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Not Voting
Sanchez, Kate Republican Nay
Ta, Tri Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 8 Yea · 2 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 7001
Unaffiliated 1100
Republican 0101
Total 8202
% of votes cast 67%17%0%17%
How each member voted (12)
Member Party Vote
Maienschein — Yea
Essayli — Nay
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Not Voting
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Connolly, Damon Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Pacheco, Blanca Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Not Voting
Sanchez, Kate Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary]

Passed 6 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 1100
Democratic 5000
Republican 0001
Total 6101
% of votes cast 75%13%0%13%
How each member voted (8)
Member Party Vote
Low — Yea
Essayli — Nay
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 2839 do?
Existing law prohibits certain distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballot, unless the media includes a disclosure stating that the media has been manipulated, subject to specified exemptions. Existing law authorizes a candidate whose voice or likeness appears in audio or visual media distributed in violation of these provisions to file specified actions, and it requires a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would prohibit a person, committee, or other entity from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election communication, as defined, that contains certain materially deceptive content, as defined, with malice, as defined, subject to specified exemptions. The bill would apply this prohibition within 120 days of an election in California and, in specified cases, 60 days after an election. The bill would authorize a recipient of materially deceptive content distributed in violation of this section, candidate or committee participating in the election, or elections official, as defined, to file a civil action to enjoin the distribution of the media and to seek damages against the person, committee, or other entity that distributed it, except as specified. The bill would require a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 35 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by AB 2655 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2655 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Who sponsors AB 2839?
AB 2839 is sponsored by Pellerin, Gail (Democratic), Berman, Marc (Democratic), Cervantes, Sabrina (Democratic), Bennett, Steve (Democratic), Jackson, Corey A. (Democratic), Quirk-Silva, Sharon (Democratic), Ting, Valencia, Avelino (Democratic), Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah (Democratic), Wood, Becker, Josh (Democratic), and Dodd.
What is the current status of AB 2839?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 15, 2024. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 2839?
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