BILL NUMBER: AB 435 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wagner
FEBRUARY 14, 2011
An act to amend Section 18521 Sections
13307 and 13308 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 435, as amended, Wagner. Elections: voting
inducements. candidate's statement: nonpartisan
office.
Existing law permits each candidate for a nonpartisan elective
office in a local government agency to prepare a candidate's
statement for publication in the voter's pamphlet sent to voters
prior to the election. Existing law requires that the candidate's
statement be limited to a recitation of the candidate's own personal
background and qualifications and not make reference to other
candidates for that office or to another candidate's qualifications,
character, or activities.
This bill would further prohibit the statement of a candidate for
a nonpartisan local office from containing a pledge, promise, or
commitment with respect to a matter that could come before the
candidate in the office to which he or she is seeking election. In
addition, the bill would require that the statement of the candidate'
s personal background and qualifications be limited to objective,
verifiable facts concerning the candidate's experiences,
accomplishments, and credentials and not include references to the
candidate's beliefs, ideas, ideology, viewpoints, or campaign
platform. The bill would also require that each voter's pamphlet
contain a notice informing the voter that each candidate's statement
has been prepared solely by, and contains the representations solely
of, that candidate and has not been independently verified by the
elections official or any other government official or agency.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Existing law makes it a crime for a person to attempt to influence
a voter, through the use of money, gifts, loans, or other valuable
consideration, to vote or refrain from voting for a particular person
or measure.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) A candidate's statement permitted under Section 13307 of the
Elections Code is a limited public forum subject to reasonable time,
place, and manner restrictions.
(b) The public relies upon a candidate's statement to obtain
accurate, verifiable, and factual information about that candidate.
(c) A candidate for public office has considerable opportunities
outside of the limited public forum of a candidate's statement in the
ballot pamphlet to express his or her beliefs, ideas, ideology,
viewpoints, and campaign platform.
(d) A candidate's beliefs, ideas, ideology, viewpoints, and
campaign platform frequently change during the course of a campaign
or during a term of office, if the candidate is elected.
(e) The beliefs, ideas, ideology, viewpoints, and campaign
platform set forth in a candidate's statement for the voter's
pamphlet can limit the ability of the candidate, once elected to
office, to respond to those issues with which he or she is
confronted.
(f) The California Court of Appeal, in the case of Hammond v.
Agran (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 1181, incorrectly construed Section 13307
of the Elections Code when it ruled that a candidate's statement of
his or her "qualifications" could include that candidate's beliefs,
ideas, ideology, viewpoints, and campaign platform.
(g) The term "qualifications," as used in Sections 13307 and 13308
of the Elections Code, should not be interpreted to include a
candidate's beliefs, ideas, ideology, viewpoints, or campaign
platform, but should be interpreted to mean only factual information
capable of objective verification.
SEC. 2. Section 13307 of the Elections
Code is amended to read:
13307. (a) (1) Each candidate for nonpartisan elective office in
any local agency, including any city, county, city and county, or
district, may prepare a candidate's statement on an appropriate form
provided by the elections official. The statement may include the
name, age, and occupation of the candidate and a brief description,
of no more than 200 words, of the candidate's education and
qualifications expressed by the candidate himself or herself.
However, the governing body of the local agency may authorize an
increase in the limitations on words for the statement from 200 to
400 words. The statement shall not include the party affiliation of
the candidate, nor membership or activity in partisan political
organizations.
(2) The statement authorized by this subdivision shall be filed in
the office of the elections official when the candidate's nomination
papers are returned for filing, if it is for a primary election, or
for an election for offices for which there is no primary. The
statement shall be filed in the office of the elections official no
later than the 88th day before the election, if it is for an election
for which nomination papers are not required to be filed. If a
runoff election or general election occurs within 88 days of the
primary or first election, the statement shall be filed with the
elections official by the third day following the governing body's
declaration of the results from the primary or first election.
(3) Except as provided in Section 13309, the statement may be
withdrawn, but not changed, during the period for filing nomination
papers and until 5 p.m. of the next working day after the close of
the nomination period.
(b) (1) The elections official shall send to
each voter, together with the sample ballot, a voter's pamphlet
which contains the written statements of each candidate that is
prepared pursuant to this section. The statement of each candidate
shall be printed in type of uniform size and darkness, and with
uniform spacing. The elections official shall provide a Spanish
translation to those candidates who wish to have one, and shall
select a person to provide that translation from the list of approved
Spanish language translators and interpreters of the superior court
of the county or from an institution accredited by the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges.
(2) Each voter's pamphlet shall contain a notice informing the
voter of all of the following:
(A) Each candidate's statement has been prepared solely by that
candidate.
(B) The representations made in each candidate's statement are the
representations solely of that candidate.
(C) The accuracy and validity of the representations made in each
candidate's statement have not been independently verified by the
elections official or any other government official or agency.
(c) The local agency may estimate the total cost of printing,
handling, translating, and mailing the candidate's statements filed
pursuant to this section, including costs incurred as a result of
complying with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended. The
local agency may require each candidate filing a statement to pay in
advance to the local agency his or her estimated pro rata share as a
condition of having his or her statement included in the voter's
pamphlet. In the event the estimated payment is required, the receipt
for the payment shall include a written notice that the estimate is
just an approximation of the actual cost that varies from one
election to another election and may be significantly more or less
than the estimate, depending on the actual number of candidates
filing statements. Accordingly, the local agency is not bound by the
estimate and may, on a pro rata basis, bill the candidate for
additional actual expense or refund any excess paid depending on the
final actual cost. In the event of underpayment, the local agency may
require the candidate to pay the balance of the cost incurred. In
the event of overpayment, the local agency which, or the elections
official who, collected the estimated cost shall prorate the excess
amount among the candidates and refund the excess amount paid within
30 days of the election.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to make any statement,
or the authors thereof, free or exempt from any civil or criminal
action or penalty because of any false, slanderous, or libelous
statements offered for printing or contained in the voter's pamphlet.
(e) Before the nominating period opens, the local agency for that
election shall determine whether a charge shall be levied against
that candidate for the candidate's statement sent to each voter. This
decision shall not be revoked or modified after the seventh day
prior to the opening of the nominating period. A written statement of
the regulations with respect to charges for handling, packaging, and
mailing shall be provided to each candidate or his or her
representative at the time he or she picks up the nomination papers.
(f) For purposes of this section and Section 13310, the board of
supervisors shall be deemed the governing body of judicial elections.
SEC. 2. Section 13308 of the Elections
Code is amended to read:
13308. (a) In addition to the restrictions
set forth in Section 13307, any a
candidate's statement submitted pursuant to Section 13307 shall be
limited to as follows:
(1) A candidate's statement shall be
limited to a recitation of the candidate's own personal
background and qualifications, and shall not in any way
make reference to other candidates for that office or to
another candidate's qualifications, character, or activities.
The
(2) A candidate's statement shall not contain a pledge, promise,
or commitment with respect to a matter that could come before the
candidate in the office to which he or she is seeking election.
(b) For purposes of this section and Section 13307, "personal
background" and "qualifications" shall be limited to objective,
verifiable facts concerning the candidate's experiences,
accomplishments, and credentials and shall not include references to
the candidate's beliefs, ideas, ideology, viewpoints, or campaign
platform.
(c) An elections official shall
not cause to be printed or circulated any a
candidate's statement submitted pursuant to Section 13307
that the elections official determines is not so
limited or that includes any reference prohibited by this
section.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. Section 18521 of the Elections Code
is amended to read:
18521. A person shall not directly or through another person
receive, agree, or contract for, before, during or after an election,
any money, gift, loan, or other valuable consideration, office,
place, or employment for himself or herself or another person because
he or she or another person did any of the following:
(a) Voted, agreed to vote, refrained from voting, or agreed to
refrain from voting for any particular person or measure.
(b) Remained away from the polls.
(c) Refrained or agreed to refrain from voting.
(d) Induced any other person to do any of the following:
(1) Remain away from the polls.
(2) Refrain from voting.
(3) Vote or refrain from voting for a particular person or
measure.
Any person violating this section is punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison for 16 months or two or three years.