BILL NUMBER: AB 2410	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 24, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fuentes

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to  amend Section 13 of   add Section
20 to  the Elections Code, relating to elective office.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2410, as amended, Fuentes.  Legally qualified
candidate:   Elective office:  felony conviction.

   Existing law prescribes various eligibility and procedural
requirements for a person to become a candidate for elective office.
 
   This bill would prohibit the consideration of a person as a
candidate for, and would provide that the person is not eligible to
be elected to, any elective office in this state if the election
occurs within 20 years of the date upon which the person completes a
sentence, including probation, for conviction of a felony that
involved a conflict of interests, an act of fraud, dishonesty, a
breach of a public trust, or money laundering. The bill would provide
that "conviction of a felony" includes a conviction of a felony in
this state and a conviction under the laws of any other state, the
United States, or any foreign government or country of a crime that,
if committed in this state, would be a felony, and for which the
person has not received a pardon from the Governor of this state, the
governor or other officer authorized to grant pardons in another
state, the President of the United States, or the officer of the
foreign government or country authorized to grant pardons in that
foreign jurisdiction.  
   Existing law provides that a person is not a legally qualified
candidate for any office, for party nomination for a partisan office,
or for nomination to participate in the general election for any
voter-nominated office unless the person has filed a declaration of
candidacy or statement of write-in candidacy with the proper official
for the particular election or primary, or is entitled to have his
or her name placed on a general election ballot for a specified
reason.  
   This bill, in addition, would provide that a person is not a
legally qualified candidate for, and may not assume, any elective
public office in this state if the person has been convicted in this
state of a felony, or has been convicted under the laws of any other
state, the United States, or any foreign government or country of a
crime that, if committed in this state, would be a felony, and has
not been pardoned by the Governor of this state, the governor or
other officer authorized to grant pardons in another state, the
President of the United States, or the officer of the foreign
government or country authorized to grant pardons in that foreign
jurisdiction. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 20 is added to the  
Elections Code   , to read:  
   20.  (a) A person shall not be considered a candidate for, and is
not eligible to be elected to, any elective office in this state if
the election occurs within 20 years of the date upon which the person
completes a sentence, including probation, for conviction of a
felony that involved a conflict of interests, an act of fraud,
dishonesty, a breach of a public trust, or money laundering.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "conviction of a felony"
includes a conviction of a felony in this state and a conviction
under the laws of any other state, the United States, or any foreign
government or country of a crime that, if committed in this state,
would be a felony, and for which the person has not received a pardon
from the Governor of this state, the governor or other officer
authorized to grant pardons in another state, the President of the
United States, or the officer of the foreign government or country
authorized to grant pardons in that foreign jurisdiction. 

  SECTION 1.    Section 13 of the Elections Code is
amended to read:
   13.  (a) A person is not a legally qualified candidate for any
office, for party nomination for a partisan office, or for nomination
to participate in the general election for any voter-nominated
office, under the laws of this state, unless that person has filed a
declaration of candidacy or statement of write-in candidacy with the
proper official for the particular election or primary, or is
entitled to have his or her name placed on a general election ballot
by reason of having been nominated at a primary election, or having
been selected to fill a vacancy on the general election ballot as
provided in Section 8807, or having been selected as an independent
candidate pursuant to Section 8304.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing or
prohibiting a qualified voter of this state from casting a ballot for
any person by writing the name of that person on the ballot, or from
having that ballot counted or tabulated, nor shall any provision of
this section be construed as preventing or prohibiting a person from
standing or campaigning for any elective office by means of a
"write-in" campaign. However, nothing in this section shall be
construed as an exception to the requirements of Section 15341.
   (c) A person is not a legally qualified candidate for, and shall
not be permitted to assume, any elective public office in this state
if the person has been convicted in this state of a felony, or has
been convicted under the laws of any other state, the United States,
or any foreign government or country of a crime that, if committed in
this state, would be a felony, and has not been pardoned by the
Governor of this state, the governor or other officer authorized to
grant pardons in another state, the President of the United States,
or the officer of the foreign government or country authorized to
grant pardons in that foreign jurisdiction.
   (d) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
to enable the Federal Communications Commission to determine who is
a "legally qualified candidate" in this state for the purposes of
administering Section 315 of Title 47 of the United States Code.