BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 680 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 18, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 680 (Block) - As Amended: May 5, 2011 Policy Committee: Higher EducationVote:8-0 Elections 6-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill requires that trustees of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD) governing board be elected by trustee area rather than at-large. Specifically, this bill: 1)Specifies that the board be composed of between five and nine members and that boundaries for the trustee areas be those established by the board or the county committee on school district reorganization prior to January 1, 2012, to reflect 2010 U.S. Census data. 2)Specifies that trustee elections shall coincide with state primary and general elections and that the two candidates in each trustee area receiving the highest number of votes in the primary election shall be nominees for the general election. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible state costs, as the bill was requested by the GCCCD, who will bear any costs for its implementation, and potential significant one-time savings to the district in avoiding the costs of an election seeking approval to change from at-large to trustee-area representation. COMMENTS 1)Background . The California Voting Rights Act (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 AB 680 Page 2 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. Since the enactment of the CVRA in 2002, a number of local jurisdictions have converted, or are in the process of converting, from an at-large method of election to district-based elections. Existing law permits the State Board of Education (SBE) to waive all or part of any section of the Education Code, with certain exceptions, upon request by the governing board of a school district or county board of education. Some school districts that have sought to move from at-large elections to district-based elections since the enactment of the CVRA have applied for and received a waiver from the requirement that the change from at-large to district elections be approved by the voters of the district, the saving the cost of such an election. AB 684 (Block), a bill passed by this committee last week, enacts a similar waiver process by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors for community college districts. 2)Purpose . In contrast to AB 684, this bill, requested by the GCCCD, provides for the election of trustees by area in statute. This is intended to allow the district to immediately proceed with trustee-area election beginning with the June 2012 primary. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081