On Valentine’s Day, the United States Postal Service announced that it had begun its 2011 fiscal year with a loss of $329 million. In announcing these results, the USPS cited “electronic diversion” as implying “long term structural changes in demand”. If that is the case, the USPS’ revenue picture won’t be helped if AB 657 is enacted.

Assembly Member Richard Gordon introduced AB 657 on February 16 with Assembly Member Joan Buchanan as a co-author. The bill would require the Secretary of State to “provide” notices to corporations of their obligations to file an annual report pursuant to Corporations Code § 1502 (California corporations) and 2117 (foreign corporations qualified to transact intrastate business). Currently, the Secretary of State is required to mail these notices. The form of annual notices would also be changed to require corporations to include a “valid electronic mail address, if available”, and a statement, if applicable, that “the corporation chooses to receive renewal notices and any other notifications from the Secretary of State by electronic mail instead of by United States mail”. Similar changes would be made to analogous statutes governing common interest developments and credit unions.