65054.
(a) The Diverse, Ethnic, and Community Media Program is hereby established in the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications, an office within the Office of Planning and Research in the office of the Governor, for the purpose of helping state departments integrate ethnic and community media into their marketing, advertising, or outreach strategies.(b) For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(1) (A) “Ethnic media” means any organization that produces news or culturally relevant media that serves ethnic, racial, or cultural
communities residing in California, including priority populations, racial and linguistic minorities, immigrant communities, indigenous groups, and other historically underserved and underrepresented groups.
(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), “priority populations” for purposes of this article, mean members of underserved, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach communities, including, but not limited to, people who are any of the following:
(i) Asian American.
(ii) Black or African American.
(iii) Immigrants or refugees.
(iv) Native American or members of Tribal communities.
(v) Latinx.
(vi) LGBTQ+.
(vii) Limited English proficiency (LEP).
(viii) Middle Eastern or North African.
(ix) Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
(x) People with disabilities.
(xi) Religious minorities.
(xii) Low-income communities.
(2) “Ethnic media outlet” means an entity that provides a substantial amount of ethnic media content through broadcast, print,
or digital means, including television, radio, or online outlets on a daily, weekly, or other regular interval, and that has continuously produced that content for at least one year.
(3) “Community media outlet” means a nonprofit organization,
small business, or microbusiness, as defined in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 14837, in which at least one-half of the content is originally produced community news and cultural content of specific interest to a community, city, neighborhood, or region in the state through broadcast, print, or digital means, including television, radio, or online outlets on a daily, weekly, or other regular interval, and that has continuously produced that content for at least one year.
(4) “Office” means the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications.
(5) “Program” means the Diverse, Ethnic, and Community Media Program established pursuant to subdivision (a).
65054.2.
(a) A state agency or department that expends funds on marketing, advertising, or outreach shall direct expenditures to ethnic media outlets and community media outlets serving the populations identified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65054 as follows:(1) From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, inclusive, at least 30 percent of an agency’s annual total of expenditures on marketing, advertising, and outreach shall be directed to ethnic media outlets and community media outlets. Of the amount directed to ethnic media outlets, state agencies shall seek to direct at least 25 percent to outlets that are small businesses,
including microbusinesses, as defined in Section 14837 of the Government Code.
(2) From July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, inclusive, at least 40 percent of an agency’s annual total of expenditures on marketing, advertising, and outreach shall be directed to ethnic media outlets and community media outlets. Of the amount directed to ethnic media outlets, state agencies shall seek to direct at least 25 percent to outlets that are small businesses, including microbusinesses, as defined in Section 14837 of the Government Code.
(3) Beginning July 1, 2027, at least 50 percent of an agency’s annual total of expenditures on marketing, advertising, and outreach shall be directed to ethnic media outlets and community media outlets. Of the amount directed to ethnic media outlets, state agencies
shall seek to direct at least 25 percent to outlets that are small businesses, including microbusinesses, as defined in Section 14837 of the Government Code.
(b) The set-aside for spending on ethnic media outlets and community media outlets shall not apply to each marketing, advertising, or outreach campaign, as long as the agency meets the minimum thresholds described in subdivision (a) as a percentage of its annual total spending on marketing, advertising, and outreach.
(c) To the extent that subdivision (a) conflicts with a state agency’s or department’s obligation to issue notices required by law to be posted or distributed in specified media outlets, subdivision (a) shall not apply.
(d) (1) A state agency or department may apply to the executive officer of the office for a waiver of the requirements described in subdivision (a) for a specific advertising or outreach campaign. The application shall provide a particularized explanation regarding the public purpose that would be served by the issuance of a waiver.
(2) If the executive officer of the office finds that a public purpose would be served by granting the waiver, it may do so, in which case the waiver shall be posted on a website managed or operated by the office together with the explanation for the waiver.
(3) If a state agency of department is granted a waiver, any spending on a campaign granted a waiver shall
not count as part of the department or agency’s expenditures for calculating the amounts required to be spent on marketing, advertising, or outreach in ethnic or community media.
(c)
(e) A private agency or intermediary that receives funds intended to purchase advertising for the state in ethnic media outlets or community media outlets shall transmit at least 80 percent of those funds directly to the outlets, and shall reserve no more than 20 percent for administration, commissions, or communications managed by the agency or an intermediary. This requirement shall not apply to spending
for communications or outreach that does not involve advertising in ethnic or community media.