BILL ANALYSIS AB 1668 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 7, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT Cameron Smyth, Chair AB 1668 (Knight) - As Amended: March 25, 2010 SUBJECT : Local government: city councils. SUMMARY : Extends the amount of time a city council has to fill a vacancy and changes the number of city council members that hold office following the first general municipal election in a newly incorporated city that elects council members at large. Specifically, this bill : 1)Extends the amount of time that a city council has to fill a vacancy in an elective city office, including the office of mayor, from 30 days to 60 days from the date of the vacancy. 2)Decreases the number of city council members in a newly incorporated city that elects council members at large that hold office until the first general municipal election after incorporation from three to two and increases the number of city council members that hold office until the second general municipal election after incorporation from two to three. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides that if a vacancy occurs in an elective office, the council shall, within 30 days from the commencement of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy by appointment, or call a special election to fill the vacancy. 2)Provides that in a newly incorporated city, of the five elected city council members, the three receiving the lowest number of votes shall hold office until the first succeeding general municipal election and the two receiving the highest number of votes shall hold office until the second succeeding municipal election. 3)Provides that if the first general municipal election following an incorporation election will occur less than one year after the incorporation election, three of the five elected city council members with the lowest number of votes shall hold office until the second general municipal election following the incorporation election and the two city council AB 1668 Page 2 members receiving the highest number of votes shall hold office until the third municipal election. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : 1)AB 1668 makes two changes related to city councils elections - first, by extending the timeline with which a vacant city council seat must be filled, and second, by clarifying a statutory discrepancy over the terms of office for city council members in newly incorporated cities. 2)According to the author, current law results in an unnecessary financial burden on the citizens of the city when the city council is only provided 30 days to fill a city council vacancy. The current time frame means that the council either appoints a replacement, or must schedule a special election if the council cannot come to an agreement on a replacement. 3)Support Arguments : The League of California Cities notes that the extended time frame to fill a vacancy means that a city would be less likely to call a special election, which would potentially save taxpayer dollars. The California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions, in their support letter, writes that AB 1668 adds clarity to new city incorporations by revising the initial term of office for council members following an incorporation, thus adding stability to a new city by assuring the majority of the council serves a full term. 4)AB 1668 is substantially similar to the enrolled version of AB 18 (Knight, 2009), which was ultimately vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. A previous version of AB 18 was heard by the Assembly Local Government Committee in May of 2009 and passed out of the committee on a 7-0 vote; however, that version only included the language that would have extended the time frame for filling a vacancy from 30 to 60 days. 5)Opposition Arguments : There is no registered opposition to AB 1668. However, given that Governor Schwarzenegger's veto message of AB 18 said that "30 days is a sufficient amount of time for a city council to fill a vacant seat by appointment or to call a special election," the Committee may wish to ask the author whether he believes that Governor Schwarzenegger's AB 1668 Page 3 perspective has changed in relation to extending the time frame for filing a vacant council seat. 6)Staff notes that AB 2795 (Committee on Local Government) also contains the same language that brings consistency to the number of council members following an incorporation, as is contained in Sections 4 and 5 of AB 1668. Chaptering out amendments will need to be added to both bills as they move through the legislation process. 7)This bill was heard in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee on March 16, 2010, and passed with a 7-0 vote. Amendments taken in that committee revised the timeline for filling a vacant city council seat from 120 days down to 60 days. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions (CALAFCO) City Clerks Association of California City of Santa Rosa League of California Cities Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958