BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 732
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 732 (Buchanan)
As Amended August 31, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-0 |(May 26, 2011) |SENATE: |39-0 |(September 8, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Requires the summary prepared by the Attorney General
(AG) for state bond measures that are submitted to the voters
for their approval or rejection to include an explanatory table
summarizing the Legislative Analyst's estimate of the net state
and local government fiscal impact. Provides that this
explanatory table shall not count against the limitation on the
space of the summary.
The Senate amendments double-joint this bill to AB 1021 (Gordon)
and SB 334 (DeSaulnier).
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 732 attempts to decrease
California's future debt obligations by improving voter clarity
on bond measures and their future fiscal implications. The bill
would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to prepare a
simple and easy to understand graph, chart, or report card for
each statewide bond measure, illustrating the information
discussed in the Overview of State Bond Debt section of the
Voter Information Guide. AB 732 stems from a recommendation
from the Little Hoover Commission's 2009 report, Bond Spending:
Expanding and Enhancing Oversight. "
In 2009, the Little Hoover Commission (LHC) released a report
entitled, "Bond Spending: Expanding and Enhancing Oversight."
In the report, the LHC made several recommendations to the
Legislature aimed at increasing the oversight and accountability
of bond measures that have already passed, as well as increasing
AB 732
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the clarity and transparency for bond measures that will be
proposed to voters in the future. One of the recommendations
included in the report was for the state to establish
fundamental criteria for ballot measures and to have the
criteria evaluated and included as a simple and
easy-to-understand report card in the voter guide for all bond
measures placed on the ballot. In the discussion for this
recommendation, the LHC described a comprehensive report that
reflected established standards or fundamental criteria for bond
measures. However, given that the Legislative Analyst is
required by law to be impartial in their analysis, and that
creation of a report card based on established standards would
create a new mandate on the Legislative Analyst, this bill
requires that the fiscal summary, already required under current
law, be displayed in a table form.
California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974
that created the Fair Political Practices Commission and
codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on
candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. That initiative is
commonly known as the Political Reform Act (PRA). Amendments to
the PRA that are not submitted to the voters must further the
purposes of the initiative and require a two-thirds vote of both
houses of the Legislature, unless the amendments are to
specified provisions to add information to the ballot pamphlet.
This bill would require additional information to be included in
the ballot pamphlet, and therefore requires a majority vote.
This bill, as amended in the Senate, is substantively identical
to the version approved by the Assembly, and therefore is
consistent with Assembly actions. The Senate amendments are
entirely non-substantive, double-jointing this bill with AB 1021
(Gordon) and SB 334 (DeSaulnier).
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones and Maria Garcia / E. & R.
/ (916) 319-2094
FN: 0002547