Capitol Roundup: TV Ads Can Now Use California Legislative Footage

California political consultants and ad producers have a new tool to create TV ads thanks to a bill signed Thursday by Governor Jerry Brown. The measure allows video footage of legislative proceedings to be used in commercial and political ads.

The bill has an urgency clause in it, meaning it takes effect immediately. 

The measure also places legislative documents in the public domain. Under current law, the state of California holds the copyright.

Meanwhile, Brown vetoed a bill that would have required the state to create a strategic plan on how to care for California's growing elderly population. The governor said in his veto message that the new council that was proposed would be "unwieldy" and is not the best way to address the issue. However, the governor did not propose an alternative.

Governor Brown has vetoed a bill that would have required the state to come up with a strategic plan on how to care for the state's growing aging population.

The measure would have created a statewide "Aging and Long-Term Care Services Coordinating Council."

The bill's author criticized a state bureaucracy in which 20 different departments and agencies manage more than 100 different programs. In his veto message, Brown wrote that the new council would be 'unwieldy' and is not the best way to address the issue. But the governor did not propose an alternative.

Meanwhile, Brown signed a bill that ends a ban on using legislative video footage in political ads. The measure takes effect immediately as an urgency statute, meaning the video footage can be used in TV ads in the November election campaign. It also places legislative documents in the public domain, rather than the state of California holding the copyright.