BILL ANALYSIS AB 1668 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1668 (Knight) As Amended May 24, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(April 15, |SENATE: |29-0 |(June 17, | | | |2010) | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: E. & R. SUMMARY : Extends the amount of time a city council has to fill a vacancy by appointment in an elective city office. 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. Makes various non-substantive changes to existing law to make references to city council members gender neutral. 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. The Senate amendments change the references to city "councilman" and "councilmen" to city "council member" and "council members" in various provisions of law and are consistent with Assembly actions. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was similar to the version approved by the Senate. FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : According to the author, "Current law dictates that a city council must fill a vacant council position within 30 days from the time the member steps down. It requires that the council either appoint a replacement, or they must schedule a special election if they cannot come to an agreement. This law results in an unnecessary financial burden on the citizens of the city when the council is AB 1668 Page 2 only provided 30 days to not only agree upon a replacement but also undergo the process of appointing the chosen replacement. AB 1668 would allow a city council seat to remain vacant for up to 60 days before a city council must appoint a new member or call a special election. "In addition, this bill conforms three sections of the Government Code pertaining to city council election terms of newly incorporated cities. By conforming GC Section 57377 and Section 57379 with GC Section 34884 it ensures that regardless of which of those three election systems the people initially choose, if they decide later to be represented differently, the same number of council members would be up for reelection at the first election following incorporation." This bill is similar to AB 18 (Knight) of 2009. The measure was vetoed by the Governor, who stated that "30 days is a sufficient amount of time for a city council to fill a vacancy in an elective city office by appointment or to call a special election." Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0004466