SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KEYT) – This week, Governor Newsom signed new antitrust legislation into law requiring businesses conducting a major merger to provide additional documentation to the California Attorney General.

The new law, formerly known as SB 25 or the California Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act, was authored by State Senator Thomas Umberg and alters California's Business and Professions Code to grant access to merger details already required to be reported to the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice under federal law to the state's top prosecutor proactively instead of requiring a subpoena.

The new law will apply to pre-merger notifications filed on or after Jan. 1, 2027.

"The Governor’s signature on SB 25 is a strong start to the year," shared State Senator Umberg. "SB 25 is a first-of-its-kind measure in the antitrust space, creating a fairer, more efficient merger review process that balances the needs of businesses while protecting consumers."

Beginning next year, a person filing a pre-merger notification in compliance with Section 201 of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Acts of 1976 with federal agencies will be required to file an electronic copy of that disclosure with the Office of California Attorney General within one business day if the principal place of business is in the state or if the annual net sales in California involved in the transaction of at least 20 percent of the existing reporting threshold.

The new law does not allow the state's Attorney General to share the notification and exempts the disclosure of the notification's contents through the California Public Records Act.

"Under the status quo, the Attorney General already has the power to obtain merger filings from the federal government and regularly does so upon request and upon entering into direct confidentiality agreements with the merging parties. The Attorney General already can review transactions and raise competition related concerns and claims. SB 25 simply adds administrative and legal costs by duplicating the federal process unnecessarily," argued a coalition of business groups opposing the bill's passage. "SB 25 imposes unnecessary burdens on businesses that represent the future of California's inclusive economy. Instead of encouraging responsible growth and innovation, it would penalize good-faith efforts to build, invest, and scale in California."

California's Attorney General is not precluded by the new law from sharing information from the notification with an attorney general from another state and, except under a court order or existing law, requires the Attorney General to destroy or return the notification materials within 120 days of the merger's closure or upon the conclusion of legal proceedings connected to the transaction.

"Attorneys general are allowed to share merger documents with another state that has enacted the Uniform Antitrust Premerger Notification Act, or a substantively equivalent act, leaving to interpretation the level of confidentiality protection that would be afforded and without the engagement of the merging parties," noted CTIA, a Washington D.C.-based organization that advocates on behalf of the wireless communications industry. "The timeframes for filing the Hart-Scott-Rodino forms with an attorney general, as well as for submission of additional documents, are unrealistic given the administrative effo

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - An audit on the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office was reported to the Board of Supervisors at Tuesday’s meeting.

The auditors’ representative began their presentation acknowledging challenges beyond the Sheriff’s Department’s control, and clarified that this study was by the numbers, simply observing what occurred to the department’s budget.

The study was specifically focused on Overtime coding on employee timesheets.

The report’s findings included patterns of systemic misuse of leave hours and overtime, approximately 30 employees considered high earners, chronic staffing issues, and a negative budget impact — for a fourth year out of five cited.

Operational impact has seen a pronounced rise in overtime costs, exceeding the budget of $10 million with increases from $11 million in 2018 up to over $20 million in the last year.

After hearing the report the Board of Supervisors approved a new plan demanding that the Sheriff’s Office conduct a thorough review of their time card policies, and report regularly attempts at reducing these financial impacts.

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With The Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.

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CNN Editorial Research

(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of United States Senator Ted Kennedy.

Personal

Birth date: February 22, 1932

Death date: August 25, 2009

Birth place: Boston, Massachusetts

Birth name: Edward Moore Kennedy

Father: Joseph Kennedy

Mother: Rose (Fitzgerald) Kennedy

Marriages: Victoria (Reggie) Kennedy (1992-2009, his death); Virginia Joan (Bennett) Kennedy (1958-1981, divorced)

Children: with Joan (Bennett) Kennedy: Patrick Joseph, 1967; Edward Moore Jr., 1961; Kara Anne, 1960

Education: Harvard University, B.A, 1956; Attended International Law School, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1958; University of Virginia Law School, LL.B., 1959

Military service: US Army, 1951-1953

Religion: Catholic

Other Facts

The youngest of nine children in the famous Kennedy family.

One of only six senators in US history to serve more than 40 years.

Longtime champion of health care reform.

Notable legislation: Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, Kennedy-Hatch Law of 1997, and No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Timeline

1961-1962 – Serves as the Suffolk County, Massachusetts assistant district attorney.

1962 – Is elected to the US Senate, filling his brother’s, President John F. Kennedy, seat.

1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2006 – Re-elected to the Senate.

1964 – Breaks his back in a plane crash.

July 18, 1969 – Drives his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts. His passenger Mary Jo Kopechne drowns. Kennedy fails to notify authorities for several hours and later is found guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.

1969-1970 – Serves as the Democratic whip in the Senate.

1979-1980 – Runs unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in the 1980 presidential election.

1979-1981 – Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

1987-1995 – Chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.

April 2006 – Kennedy’s book, “America Back on Track,” is released.

May 2006 – Kennedy’s children’s book “My Senator and Me: A Dog’s Eye View of Washington, D.C.” is released.

August 3, 2007 – Casts his 15,000th roll call vote.

May 17, 2008 – Is rushed to the hospital after suffering a seizure. On May 20, doctors announce Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor.

June 2, 2008 – Undergoes brain surgery.

July 9, 2008 – Returns to the Senate to cast the tie-breaking vote on a Medicare bill. He is met with cheers and applause.

August 25, 2008 – Delivers a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

January 20, 2009 – Suffers a seizure during a post-inauguration luncheon for President Barack Obama.

February 2009 – Returns to work briefly and casts a vote in support of the stimulus package.

March 4, 2009 – Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces th

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By Aaron Blake, CNN

(CNN) — Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday was some of the tensest and most combative testimony we’ve seen to date from a Trump Cabinet official.

Bondi came into the hearing with the administration and DOJ facing a series of problems, including their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the newly reported failed indictments of six Democratic lawmakers, and the killing of two protesters by federal officers in Minneapolis last month.

Below are some takeaways from the hearing:

1. She had a combative — but dicey — Epstein strategy

Early in the hearing, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington asked Epstein survivors in the audience to stand up. And she challenged Bondi on a difficult issue.

She asked Bondi, who had just apologized to the survivors for the abuse they suffered, to also apologize to them for the Justice Department’s failures to redact survivors’ sensitive personal information.

Bondi paused, as if considering her next move. Then, rather than apologize, she launched into a deflection about her predecessor as attorney general, Merrick Garland. The exchange quickly devolved into arguments and personal attacks.

It was a telling moment. The Justice Department has acknowledged these redaction failures. And the survivors are some of the most sympathetic figures imaginable. But Bondi decided the moment called for combativeness, not contrition.

The rest of the hearing flowed from there. Bondi was extremely combative throughout, doing whatever she could to avoid Democrats’ and GOP Rep. Thomas Massie’s questions about Epstein — in ways that might seem politically unwise.

She also refused Democrats’ repeated entreaties to address the survivors seated behind her — survivors who said DOJ had ignored them — which made for some compelling visuals.

She called a Democrat a “washed up, loser lawyer.” She berated another for attacking “the greatest president in American history,” Trump. When another Democrat pressed her on whether an accuser’s claims about Trump were followed up on, she suggested the lawmaker should focus on “horrific crimes in California,” his home state.

And when another lawmaker urged her again to consider the survivors sitting nearby, rather than responding she pointed to the expired clock, saying, “Your time is up.”

She talked over her interrogators so much that Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan had to repeatedly remind her that the time belonged to the members, not her.

It seemed Bondi was playing to the “audience of one” — Trump. But that came potentially at the expense of appealing to an American public that really does want answers.

A recent poll, after all, showed Americans disapprove about 3-to-1 of the administration’s handling of the Epstein files.

The combativeness was normal for Bondi, but it risked looking out of place and like she wasn’t taking a serious issue seriously.

So many Trump officials right now seem to be choosing between doing his bidding and doing what might otherwise seem wise. And Bondi’s performance Wednesday was a case in point.

2. Massie drew some blood in a key exchange

But Bondi couldn’t just go after Democrats. After all, some Republicans hav