BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 684 HEARING DATE:
7/5/11
AUTHOR: BLOCK ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 6/28/11
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Community college districts: trustee elections
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides for the election of school district
and community college district board members, the
determination of the number of board members, and provides
for the establishment and adjustment of trustee areas.
Existing law also provides for the change from an at-large
election method to a by-trustee area election method if
initiated by a petition of the electorate, initiated by the
county committee on school district organization, or
initiated by the district. Each of these options requires
the approval of the voters prior to implementation.
Existing law establishes the California Voting Rights Act
of 2001 (CVRA) which provides that an at-large method of
election may not be imposed or applied in a manner that
impairs the ability of a protected class to elect
candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the
outcome of an election, as a result of the dilution or the
abridgment of the rights of voters who are members of a
protected class, as defined. The CVRA also establishes
criteria in state law through which the validity of
at-large election systems can be challenged in court.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school
district or a county board of education, after a public
hearing on the matter, to request the State Board of
Education to waive all or part of any section of the
Education Code or any Board adopted regulation that
implements a provision of the Education Code and specifies
statutes that are excepted from this waiver authority.
This bill authorizes the local governing board of a
community college district to change election systems in
accordance with specified provisions and the CVRA upon
adoption of a resolution by the Board of Trustees and
approval of the Board of Governors.
This bill authorizes a local governing board of a community
college district to establish election by trustee areas, as
specified; establish a top-two primary election system, as
specified; and determine the number of trustees, as
specified.
This bill prohibits the application of these provisions to
any community college district statutorily authorized to
provide for its own trustee elections.
This bill provides for the number and election of members
and the reapportionment of trustee areas for the governing
board of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.
BACKGROUND
Parallel Authority . According to the State Board of
Education, since 2009 it has approved 20 requests from
school districts for a waiver of the requirement that voter
approval be secured to change their voting systems from
"at-large" to "district-based" elections. One of these
waivers was granted to a County Board of Education on
behalf of a local community college district.
This bill proposes to give the Board of Governors (arguably
a more suitable oversight body for community colleges) a
similar waiver authority. While the Board of Governors
does not currently possess as expansive a waiver authority
as the State Board, current law does grant the Board of
Governors the authority to grant exemptions from the 50%
law under specified conditions. In addition, current law
grants the Board of Governors the authority to exercise
general supervision over the formation of, and the approval
or disapproval of plans for, new community college
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districts and the reorganization of existing community
college districts.
The CVRA . The CVRA provides that an at-large method of
election may not be imposed or applied in a manner that
impairs the ability of a protected class (as defined by the
federal Voting Rights Act) to elect candidates of its
choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an
election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgment of
the rights of voters who are members of a protected class.
A violation of this provision is generally established if
it is shown that racially polarized voting occurs in
elections for members of the governing body of the
jurisdiction in question.
"Racially polarized voting" means voting in which there is
a difference in the choice of candidates that are preferred
by voters in a protected class, and in the choice of
candidates that are preferred by voters in the rest of the
electorate. The methodologies for estimating group voting
behavior as approved in applicable federal cases to enforce
the federal Voting Rights Act to establish racially
polarized voting are used for purposes of the CVRA to prove
that elections are characterized by racially polarized
voting.
Upon a finding of a violation of the CVRA, the court shall
implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of
district-based elections that are tailored to remedy the
violation.
Related CVRA Court Cases . Several local jurisdictions have
been subjected to lawsuits for violation of the CVRA.
These include the following:
Sanchez v. The City of Modesto . In 2004 the Lawyers
Committee for Civil Rights filed a suit under the CVRA
against the City of Modesto on behalf of three Latino
residents. The committee claimed that racially polarized
voting was keeping Latinos out of office; the city had
elected only one Latino council member since 1911 even
though the Latino population exceeded 25 percent. The
Superior Court sided with the city and declared the CVRA
unconstitutional. The case was appealed to the 5th
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District Court of Appeals who struck down the initial
ruling. The city appealed the case to the State Supreme
Court which refused to hear the case. The City of
Modesto paid $4.7 million in court costs and in 2009
adopted district voting.
Gomez v. Hanford Joint Union School District . In July,
2003 the school district of Hanford was sued by Latino
voters (backed by civil rights organizations) under the
CVRA; the suit claimed that racially polarized voting
had negatively affected the ability of Latinos to assume
office. The city chose to settle and agreed to use "by
district" voting for the board of trustees.
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights v. Madera Unified
School District . In August 2008 the Lawyers Committee
for Civil Rights filed suit against the Madera Unified
School District on behalf of three Latino residents.
The plaintiffs pointed out that while 82 percent of
students in Madera were Latino, only one out of seven
board members was Latino. The city, instead of going to
trial, agreed to draw district lines.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , many community college
districts that use at-large election systems are
obligated to switch election systems to trustee area
elections under the California Voting Rights Act
(CVRA). Generally this requires an election
authorizing the change in election systems. For K-12
schools, an appeal to the State Board of Education can
result in a waiver of these requirements and avoid the
cost of an election in order to come into compliance
with the CVRA. Community colleges do not have a clear
option for requesting a waiver, and even in the event
of an election, could be prohibited from making the
changes necessary to comply with the CVRA if they are
rejected by voters. The purpose of AB 684 is to allow
community college districts to avoid costly elections
and potential litigations costs by facilitating their
ability to conform to the CVRA.
2. Why separate provisions for Grossmont-Cuyamaca ?
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According to the author, in anticipation of the 2012
election cycle, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College
District has moved ahead in establishing a trustee-area
election method. The district believes that it would
be out of compliance with the California Voting Rights
Act under its current at-large method and has already
adopted a board resolution expressing their intent to
move to a trustee-area election. Inclusion of specific
language for Grossmont-Cuyamaca in AB 684 puts them a
step ahead in the process of changing their method,
avoiding potential lawsuits and gives the district as
well as local election officials ample time to prepare
for the June 2012 election cycle.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 6-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 15-1
Assembly Floor: 72-3
Senate Education Committee: 9-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Community College League of California
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
Support: Chabot-Las Positas Community College District
Chaffey Community College District
College of the Desert
Community College League of California
Feather River College
Foothill De Anza Community College District
MiraCosta College
Santa Monica College
Yosemite Community College District
Oppose: None received
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