'Stop Nick Shirley Act' gets GOP pushback at Capitol
By Madeline Shannon
The Center Square
Republican lawmakers, independent journalist Nick Shirley and a large crowd of activists spoke out against a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law that some said would impede the work of journalists reporting on immigration services providers.
Assembly Bill 2624, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, was signed into law by the Democratic California governor late last week after it passed Aug.19 on the Assembly floor in Sacramento. The bill protects the personal identifiable information of immigrant services organization workers from being published online, in large part to protect those workers from being harassed, threatened and doxxed.
However, some ardent opponents of the bill said at the press conference on Wednesday that the bill keeps journalists from asking questions of those groups and reporting on the work those organizations do. Republican lawmakers nicknamed the bill the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” invoking the name of independent YouTube video journalist Nick Shirley.
“In America, we have a right to free speech and freedom of the press,” Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, said at the press conference outside the Capitol, where Shirley stood next to Strickland. “This bill has vague language that could raise serious First Amendment concerns and interfere with the freedom of the press and freedom of speech.”
Shirley also spoke at the press conference.
“Here in California, instead of going after the fraudsters, we are now going after those who are going to expose the fraud,” Shirley told the crowd. “There’s actually no need for this bill. They just created a protected class by calling this group, immigration support services providers, saying that I, and you, cannot expose them.”
The press conference outside the Capitol was part of a rally that continued after speakers finished talking to reporters. Later, posts on X showed videos of California Highway Patrol officers, who handle law enforcement at the Capitol, arresting a man who allegedly clashed with those attending the rally.
The Center Square contacted the CHP's Capitol Protection Division, which declined to answer questions but said it would issue a press release soon. The release wasn't issued by publication time.
According to previous reporting by The Center Square, Democrats defended the bill as a measure that would ensure the safety of employees and volunteers at groups that provide immigration services.
“Right wing agitators are intentionally misrepresenting my legislation, AB 2624, because they believe that people who have dedicated their careers to serving their community should be silenced and forced into the shadows,” Bonta said in a video message previously sent to The Center Square. “People who work to help immigrant communities should not have to fear being doxxed for doing so.”
Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, is chair of the California Assembly Health Committee.
The state-run “Safe at Home” program that already protects the personal information for other groups of people, including domestic violence victims, reproductive care workers and those who work for gender-affirming care providers, Bonta added.
“My bill and the Safe at Home program defines this as sharing personal information with the intent to incite imminent great bodily harm or place someone in objectively reasonable fear for their personal safety,” Bonta said.
According to the bill, a court could fine the person convicted of breaking the law $4,000, possibly more.