Dems ripped for 'Stop Nick Shirley Act' that could 'shield' fraud and abuse in California
California Democrats are being ripped over a bill that one state assembly member has dubbed the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," which he argues would "criminalize" investigative journalism.
The controversial bill, officially titled "Privacy for immigration support services providers," creates privacy protections for immigration support service providers, employees and volunteers, including hiding their addresses and imposing penalties on those who publish their image on social media. Democratic lawmakers say the legislation is needed to protect people from targeted political violence.
However, critics, including Republican Assembly member Carl DeMaio, argue the bill would actually work to "silence citizen journalists and shield taxpayer-funded organizations from public scrutiny."
The bill has already passed its earliest stages and currently sits in the California Assembly Judiciary Committee.
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If the bill is signed into law, the California secretary of state will oversee a program that will conceal from public records the addresses of any person who has provided "designated immigration support services," including services like health care, legal assistance and case management, if they have been subjected to threats, harassment or violence stemming from their work.
The California secretary of state will assign participants a substitute address, which will be used by local and state agencies, and will be tasked with forwarding mail to program participants' real address.
The legislation also prohibits private citizens or businesses from posting the image, personal information or home address of any program participant online or on social media if the intent is to threaten the immigration support services worker or incite violence from a third party.
A participant covered under the program could file a complaint in court against a person or organization that posts their image and could be awarded up to $4,000.
Violators of the law could face additional criminal penalties, including a $10,000 fine or up to one year in jail.
"This bill will ensure that we have an opportunity, when people are being harassed, doxed, subjected to violence, to be able to have the ability to protect themselves," the author of the bill, Democratic Assembly member Mia Bonta, the wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, said during a legislative session.
Republican lawmakers like DeMaio argue the legislation would have a chilling effect on the work of citizen journalists.
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"AB 2624 would allow activists and taxpayer-funded organizations to demand the removal of video evidence — even if it captures misconduct in plain view — and threatens journalists with massive financial penalties," DeMaio said in a statement. "That’s not about public safety — it’s about protecting powerful interests."
The bill's introduction follows investigations by independent journalists, including Shirley, that exposed alleged fraud schemes in the Democratic-controlled state. In March, Shirley published a video alleging $170 million in fraud was committed by registered hospice care and healthcare companies. Shirley visited various locations of the registered clinics, showing him interacting with the alleged fraudsters.
Since the report went public, Vice President JD Vance, who also serves as the administration fraud czar, announced the federal government has suspended 447 hospices and 23 home health agencies suspected of fraud in Los Angeles. The total fraud estimated in those schemes is more than $600 million.
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"California Democrats are trying to intimidate citizen watchdog journalists and protect waste and fraud happening in far-Left-wing NGOs," DeMaio said in a statement.
Shirley said it was "absolutely crazy" that fraud organizations, which may allegedly provide services to immigrants, are able to hide under the letter of the law.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bonta, DeMaio and Shirley for comment.
Shirley accused Democrats of trying to scare away independent journalists from looking into fraud during an appearance on "The Will Cain Show" on Tuesday.
"They're trying to make it so citizen journalists or just average Americans who are going about seeing what's happening inside their community — they're trying to scare them from talking about potential fraud taking place inside of these communities," Shirley said.
"They're literally willing to impose a $10,000 fine or imprisonment if you go and seek to find out the truth about a location that could potentially be fraudulent inside your own neighborhood."
Fox News Digital's Max Bacall contributed to this report.