BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 680
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 680 (Block) - As Amended: March 29, 2011
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
SUBJECT : Community college districts: Grossmont-Cuyamaca
Community College District.
SUMMARY : Requires members of the governing board of the
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD) to be
elected by trustee areas subject to certain provisions.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires candidates for election to the governing board of the
GCCCD to be nominated by trustee area at a primary election
held on the date of the statewide direct primary election.
Provides that the two candidates receiving the highest number
of votes within the trustee area shall be nominees for the
district general election for that trustee area, and that the
nominee who receives the majority of votes cast by the voters
of the trustee area in the general election shall be elected
to represent that trustee area. Requires the general election
to be held on the same date as the statewide general election.
2)Requires candidates for the governing board of the GCCCD to
file a declaration of candidacy as otherwise provided by state
law.
3)Provides that each member of a governing board elected at the
district general election shall hold office for a term of four
years commencing on the first Friday in December following his
or her election.
4)Provides that the members of the governing board in office on
the effective date of this bill shall hold office until the
first Friday in December in the year in which their respective
terms of office would otherwise have terminated, or until a
successor qualifies.
5)Requires the territory of the GCCCD to be divided into not
fewer than five and not more than nine trustee areas, as
determined by the governing board. Requires the governing
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board to establish new trustee areas, abolish existing trustee
areas, or adjust the boundaries of trustee areas if the board
increases or decreases the number of members of the governing
board, such that the number of trustee areas is equal to the
number of governing board members. Provides that if the
number of members of the governing board is increased, the
additional members of the governing board shall be elected at
the next regular general district election of board members
occurring at least 123 days after the governing board approved
the increased number of members. Requires, prior to the next
district general election, that the governing board divide by
lot the additional trustee area portions that are created so
that the term of one-half of the board members elected to
those positions expire on the first Friday in December
following the next district general election, and so that the
term of the other board members elected to fill the remainder
of the additional positions expire on the first Friday in
December following the second district general election
succeeding their election.
6)Requires one member to be elected from each trustee area.
Requires a candidate for election to the governing board to
reside in, and be registered to vote in, the trustee area he
or she seeks to represent.
7)Provides that boundaries of trustee areas established by the
governing board of the GCCCD or the county committee on school
district organization prior to January 1, 2012, to reflect the
population enumerated in the 2010 decennial federal census,
shall be in effect when this bill becomes operative. Requires
the boundaries of each trustee area to be set so that the
population of each area is, as nearly as may be, the same
proportion of the total population of the district as each of
the other areas. Provides thereafter that boundaries of
trustee areas shall be adjusted pursuant to existing law, and
may be abolished or rearranged as otherwise provided pursuant
to existing law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, in every community college district in which trustee
areas have not been established, that the governing board of
the district be comprised of either five or seven members
elected at-large from the district. Provides that each member
shall serve a term of four years.
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2)Permits the county committee on school district organization,
upon petition of the governing board of any community college
district, to provide for the establishment, rearrangement, or
abolishment of trustee areas in the community college
district. Requires the petition to establish whether the
election of a trustee from a trustee area shall be by only the
registered electors of that trustee area, or by the registered
electors of the entire community college district. Requires
the resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to
establish or abolish trustee areas to be submitted to the
voters.
3)Prohibits, pursuant to the California Voting Rights Act
(CVRA), an at-large method of election from being imposed or
applied in a political subdivision in a manner that impairs
the ability of a protected class of voters to elect the
candidate of its choice or its ability to influence the
outcome of an election, as a result of the dilution or the
abridgement of the rights of voters who are members of a
protected class.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
a local request disclaimer.
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Amendments : In response to concerns that the
timelines set forth in this bill would not provide elections
officials with sufficient time to prepare for the 2012
elections, the author is proposing amendments that provide for
trustee areas to be developed by the GCCCD or the county
committee on school district organization prior to January 1,
2012. That deadline should give elections officials enough
time to make preparations for a June 2012 primary election.
This analysis reflects these author's amendments.
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2)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
The system of election for board trustees of the
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District has the
potential for a concentration of members from one small
area of the district, subverting geographic representation
of district voters.
District-wide elections are more costly than smaller
trustee-area elections, creating a higher barrier to entry
for some candidates to successfully compete to win office.
More importantly, at-large electoral systems are subject to
challenge under the California Voting Rights Act if it can
be determined that the opportunity to suppress election of
a minority candidate exists. In fact, of the last 20 board
trustees elected, only three were a person of color.
The education code requires the election of community
college board trustees through at-large seats unless
otherwise changed.
In a resolution adopted on February 22, 2011, the governing
board of trustees of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community
College District believes that starting with the 2012 board
elections, and with the benefit of the 2010 census data,
the public interest will be better served by election of
its governing board members through "by-trustee area"
elections where a member is elected by the registered
voters of that particular trustee area. The problems for
the district of at-large elections described above,
including liability to legal challenge, would be avoided
while election outcomes better reflecting the diversity of
the district would be strengthened. AB 680 would mirror
current code allowed for the neighboring San Diego
Community College District.
3)Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Background :
According to information from the GCCCD, the GCCCD includes
two colleges-Grossmont and Cuyamaca-that together serve more
than 30,000 students. The GCCCD is located entirely within
San Diego County, with Grossmont College located in northwest
El Cajon, and Cuyamaca College located in Rancho San Diego.
The GCCCD governing board consists of five members elected
at-large by the voters of the GCCCD and two student members
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elected by students at their respective colleges.
4)At-Large vs. Trustee Areas : As noted above, under existing
law, a community college district board can be organized so
that members are elected at-large or so that members are
elected by trustee areas. In districts that have trustee
areas, the district can be organized such that the registered
voters in the entire community college district vote for
trustees from each of the trustee areas, or the district can
be organized so that only the registered voters in a trustee
area vote for the trustees from that area. In either case,
candidates for a trustee area must reside in and be registered
to vote in that trustee area.
For any district that wishes to move from at-large elections to
a trustee area method of election, existing law requires the
voters of the district to approve the change. If the voters
reject the proposed change, the district must continue holding
elections using an at-large method of election.
5)California Voting Rights Act : SB 976 (Polanco), Chapter 129,
Statutes of 2002, enacted the CVRA to address racial block
voting in at-large elections for local office in California.
In areas where racial block voting occurs, an at-large method
of election can dilute the voting rights of minority
communities if the majority usually votes for majority
candidates rather than for minority candidates. In such
situations, breaking a jurisdiction up into districts can
result in districts in which a minority community can elect
the candidate of its choice or otherwise have the ability to
influence the outcome of an election. Accordingly, the CVRA
prohibits an at-large method of election from being imposed or
applied in a political subdivision in a manner that impairs
the ability of a protected class of voters to elect the
candidate of its choice or to influence the outcome of an
election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgement of
the rights of voters who are members of the protected class.
The CVRA specifically provided for a prevailing plaintiff party
to have the ability to recover attorney's fees and litigation
expenses to increase the likelihood that attorneys would be
willing to bring challenges under the law.
Since the enactment of the CVRA, a number of local jurisdictions
have converted or are in the process of converting from an
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at-large method of election to district-based elections.
While some jurisdictions have done so in response to
litigation, other jurisdictions have begun the process of
changing election methods because they believe they would be
susceptible to a legal challenge under the CVRA, and they wish
to avoid the potential expense of litigation.
However, even if a local governmental body attempts to address
concerns about an at-large method of election by attempting to
move to a district-based method of election, that body could
nonetheless face a challenge under the CVRA if the change to a
district-based election method requires voter approval (as is
the case with community college districts) and the voters
reject the proposed change.
6)Education Code Waiver Procedure : Existing law permits the
State Board of Education (SBE) to waive all or part of any
section of the Education Code, with certain identified
exceptions, upon request by the governing board of a school
district or county board of education. The SBE generally is
required to approve any and all requests for waivers unless it
makes a finding that one of seven enumerated conditions
exists.
Some school districts that have sought to move from at-large
elections to district-based elections since the enactment of
the CVRA have applied to the SBE for a waiver, and have
received such a waiver, from the requirement that the change
from at-large to district elections be approved by the voters
of the district. Since 2009, the SBE has approved 20 waivers
from the requirement that the establishment of trustee areas
be approved by voters as required by the Education Code. One
of those waivers allowed the State Center Community College
District (SCCCD) to convert to trustee area elections without
voter approval; however, because the Education Code does not
explicitly allow community college districts to submit waiver
requests, the waiver actually was granted to the Fresno County
Board of Education on SCCCD's behalf.
Although the SBE has granted one waiver to allow a community
college district to convert from at-large to trustee area
elections without voter approval, community colleges typically
fall under the supervision of the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges. In light of this fact, it is
unclear whether it is appropriate for the SBE to be granting
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waivers to County Boards of Education on behalf of community
college districts.
7)Arguments in Support : According to the GCCCD Board of
Trustees:
ÝM]embers of the Board of Trustees of the
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District are currently
elected in "at-large" elections, i.e., elections in which
each governing board member is elected by the registered
voters of the entire school district.
However, it is the considered view of the Board that
starting with the 2012 board elections and with the benefit
of the 2010 census data, the public interest will be
better-served by election of its governing board members in
"by-trustee area" elections, i.e., elections in which one
or more members residing in each trustee area is elected by
the registered voters of that particular trustee area.
The board believes that "by-trustee area" elections will
enhance the ability for a greater number of candidates to
run for seats on the board by eliminating the costs
associated with running for election district-wide, and the
board believes that "by-trustee area" elections may make it
easier for trustees to get to know their constituents and
for constituents to get to know their trustees.
Additionally, "at-large" electoral systems like the one
currently used by the district are subject to challenge
under the ÝCVRA]. The district does not wish to risk the
potential of future costly litigation.
The board also recognizes that in June of 2010, the
electorate approved Proposition 14, whereby all state and
congressional elections shall be decided by a "Top-Two
Primary" in which the top two vote-getters in the primary
election advance to the general election to determine the
winner; and that by similarly changing the manner of
election of members of the district's governing board to a
"Top-Two Primary" method would best reflect the will of the
voters.
The board believes that it is appropriate to implement
these changes without submitting the matter to an election
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because an election to approve the change in voting methods
will result in a cost to the district and uncertainty as to
the outcome despite the fact that at-large electoral
systems such as the district's, are subject to challenge
under the CVRA at great financial risk to the district.
8)Related Legislation : AB 684 (Block), which is also being
heard in this committee today, would establish a procedure for
the governing board of a community college district to move
from at-large elections to elections by trustee area without
voter approval, subject to the approval of the Board of
Governors of the California Community Colleges.
AB 1252 (Davis), which is pending in this committee, would
require the Los Angeles Community College District to elect
governing board members by trustee areas, instead of at-large.
9)Double-Referral : On April 12, 2011, this bill was approved by
the Assembly Higher Education Committee on an 8-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of Teachers Guild, Local 1931
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Board of Trustees
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094