BILL NUMBER: SB 1070 CHAPTERED 07/17/08 CHAPTER 133 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 17, 2008 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 17, 2008 PASSED THE SENATE JULY 7, 2008 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 3, 2008 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 19, 2008 INTRODUCED BY Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review JANUARY 10, 2008 An act to amend Sections 9090 and 9094 of the Elections Code, and to amend Section 88005 of the Government Code, relating to elections, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1070, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Elections: ballot pamphlets. (1) Existing law requires that ballot pamphlet pages be at least 81/2 by 111/2 inches in size. This bill would instead authorize the Secretary of State to choose the size of the ballot pamphlet which, in his or her judgment, best serves the voters. (2) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to mail only one ballot pamphlet to 2 or more registered voters who have the same surname and the same postal address. This bill would instead authorize the Secretary of State to mail only one ballot pamphlet to 2 or more registered voters who have the same postal address. (3) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 9090 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 9090. The ballot pamphlet shall be printed according to the following specifications: (a) The pamphlet shall be printed in clear readable type, no less than 10-point, except that the text of any measure may be set forth in eight-point type. (b) The pamphlet shall be of a size and printed on a quality and weight of paper which, in the judgment of the Secretary of State, best serves the voters. (c) The pamphlet shall contain a certificate of correctness by the Secretary of State. SEC. 2. Section 9094 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 9094. (a) The Secretary of State shall mail ballot pamphlets to voters, in those instances in which the county elections official uses data processing equipment to store the information set forth in the affidavits of registration, before the election at which measures contained in the ballot pamphlet are to be voted on unless a voter has registered fewer than 29 days before the election. The mailing shall commence not less than 40 days before the election and shall be completed no later than 21 days before the election for those voters who registered on or before the 60th day before the election. The Secretary of State shall mail one copy of the ballot pamphlet to each registered voter at the postal address stated on the voter's affidavit of registration, or the Secretary of State may mail only one ballot pamphlet to two or more registered voters having the same postal address. (b) In those instances in which the county elections official does not utilize data processing equipment to store the information set forth in the affidavits of registration, the Secretary of State shall furnish ballot pamphlets to the county elections official not less than 45 days before the election at which measures contained in the ballot pamphlet are to be voted on and the county elections official shall mail ballot pamphlets to voters, on the same dates and in the same manner provided by subdivision (a). (c) The Secretary of State shall provide for the mailing of ballot pamphlets to voters registering after the 60th day before the election and before the 28th day before the election, by either: (1) mailing in the manner as provided in subdivision (a), or (2) requiring the county elections official to mail ballot pamphlets to those voters registering in the county after the 60th day before the election and before the 28th day before the election pursuant to the provisions of this section. The second mailing of ballot pamphlets shall be completed no later than 10 days before the election. The county elections official shall mail a ballot pamphlet to any person requesting a ballot pamphlet. Three copies, to be supplied by the Secretary of State, shall be kept at every polling place, while an election is in progress, so that they may be freely consulted by the voters. SEC. 3. Section 88005 of the Government Code is amended to read: 88005. The ballot pamphlet shall be printed according to the following specifications: (a) The pamphlet shall be printed in clear readable type, no less than 10-point, except that the text of any measure may be set forth in 8-point type. (b) It shall be of a size and printed on a quality and weight of paper which in the judgment of the Secretary of State best serves the voters. (c) The pamphlet shall contain a certificate of correctness by the Secretary of State. SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code. SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: It is necessary for these provisions to take effect immediately in order to have the ballot pamphlets printed in time for the November 4, 2008, statewide general election.