BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 93
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 93 (Lara)
          As Amended  March 14, 2011
          2/3 vote.  Urgency
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |ASSEMBLY:  |     |(February 22,   |SENATE: |35-0 |(March 17,     |
          |           |     |2011)           |        |     |2011)          |
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                               (vote not relevant)          
           
           Original Committee Reference:   Not Applicable

          SUMMARY  :  Establishes an alternate procedure for the declaration 
          of election results for, and the installation of officers 
          elected at, the March 8, 2011, municipal election in the City of 
          Bell.  

           The Senate amendments  delete the Assembly version of this bill, 
          and instead:

          1)Allow the City of Bell, in lieu of complying with specified 
            provisions of the Elections Code, to comply with the following 
            procedure with respect to its March 8, 2011, municipal 
            election, subject to the approval of the Los Angeles County 
            Board of Supervisors:

             a)   Requires the Bell City Clerk to certify the results of 
               the election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 
               upon completion of the canvass of the votes by the Los 
               Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk;

             b)   Requires the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to 
               adopt a resolution reciting the fact of the election and 
               declaring the results of the election within seven days of 
               the Bell City Clerk's certification of the election 
               results; and,

             c)   Requires the Bell City Clerk to install the newly 
               elected officers at Bell City Hall within 48 hours of the 
               time that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 
               adopts the resolution declaring the results of the 
               election.

          2)Add an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect 








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            immediately upon enactment.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires the elections official who conducts a municipal 
            election to conduct the canvass of that election and to 
            certify the results of the election to the governing body upon 
            completion of the canvass.

          2)Requires the city council, upon receipt from the city 
            elections official of a certification of election results for 
            a municipal election and before installing the new officers, 
            to adopt a resolution reciting the fact of the election.  
            Requires the governing body to declare elected the persons for 
            whom the highest number of votes was cast for each office, and 
            to install the newly elected officers.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill expressed the intent of the 
          Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget 
          Act of 2011.
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :  Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  : According to the author, "Last fall, eight current and 
          former Bell officials were arrested and charged with various 
          crimes, including misappropriation of public funds and 
          defrauding taxpayers of roughly $5.5 million. Among those 
          arrested were three of four sitting City Council Members who, 
          since the arrest, have been charged in the corruption scandal.  
          In February, at the conclusion of the preliminary hearings, a 
          Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the three City Council 
          Members to stay 100 yards from City Hall and prohibited them 
          from engaging in any City business. As a result of the court's 
          order the City is currently without a functioning City Council. 

          "On March 8, 2011, the City held a General Municipal Election, 
          Special Recall Election and Special Election to Fill a Vacancy.  
          Under the provisions of the City's Charter, the City Clerk is 
          required to certify the canvass of the vote in any general or 
          special election.  The City's Charter further requires that all 
          municipal elections are to be held, canvassed, and conducted, as 
          set forth in State law.  In accordance with Sections 10262 and 
          10263 of the Elections Code, the City Clerk is required to 
          certify the results to the City Council, and once the canvass is 
          complete, the City Council is required to declare the results of 








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          the election and install the newly elected council members.

          "The court's order directly impacts the City's ability to 
          certify, declare the results and install the new City Council, 
          following the March 8, 2011 elections.  Given the absence of a 
          functioning City Council and the statutory requirement that the 
          City Council declare the election results it is necessary for 
          the legislature to provide an alternative procedure for the 
          certification, declaration, and installation of the new city 
          council."

          As noted by the author above, last September, eight current and 
          former Bell city officials were arrested, including four of the 
          five sitting city council members at the time.  At the time of 
          the arrests, a recall effort was underway against those four 
          council members.  The recall against all four council members 
          qualified for the ballot, and the recall election was scheduled 
          for March 8, 2011, to coincide with the city's general municipal 
          election.  Although one of the council members who was the 
          subject of the recall subsequently resigned, the recall election 
          nonetheless proceeded against that official because he resigned 
          after recall petitions had been submitted for signature 
          verification.

          At the request of the City of Bell, the recall and general 
          municipal election was conducted by the Los Angeles County 
          Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.  Based on the semi-final 
          official election returns, each of the four council members was 
          successfully recalled, with over 95% of the vote cast in favor 
          of each of the four recalls.  

          This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the 
          Assembly-approved provisions of the bill were deleted.  This 
          bill, as amended in the Senate is inconsistent with Assembly 
          actions.  
           

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 
           

                                                              FN:  0000108 












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