BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2572| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2572 Author: Furutani (D) Amended: 8/6/12 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 3-2, 7/03/12 AYES: Correa, Lieu, Yee NOES: La Malfa, Gaines ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-25, 5/10/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Los Angeles Community College District: governing board elections SOURCE : Los Angeles Community College District DIGEST : This bill, commencing with the 2013 election, authorizes the governing board of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) to adopt a resolution by majority vote to enact an alternative method by which members of the governing board may be elected at large and by individual seat number, as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing law generally provides that trustees of a community college district shall be elected by using one of the following methods: Election of a candidate who resides and is registered to vote in the trustee area he/she seeks to represent, by CONTINUED AB 2572 Page 2 only the voters of the same trustee area; or Election of a candidate who resides and is registered to vote in the trustee area he/she seeks to represent, by the voters of the entire community college district (at-large). Existing law requires trustees of the LACCD to be elected from individual trustee areas by voters of the entire district (at-large) and establishes seat numbers for board member elections. Members hold office for four years with elections held every odd-numbered year. Elections for the numbered seats are staggered with seats 1, 3, 5, and 7 appearing on the same ballot while seats 2, 4, and 6 appearing on the following ballot. LACCD primary elections are held the first Tuesday in April of every odd-numbered year with run-off elections (if necessary) held the last Tuesday in May of every odd-numbered year. Existing law provides that if no candidate for a LACCD seat receives more than 50 percent of the total votes cast in the primary election, a run-off election must be held between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes. This bill, commencing with the 2013 election, for the governing board of the LACCD and each election thereafter, the governing board may adopt a resolution by majority vote to enact an alternative method by which members of the governing board of the LACCD may be elected at large and by individual seat number wherein, upon certification of the election, the candidate with the highest number of votes for an individual seat number shall be deemed the candidate elected for that individual seat number. Comments According to the author's office, under existing law, the LACCD is required to have its elections coincide with the City of Los Angeles. If a candidate receives less than 50 percent of the vote in the initial election, then the district must hold a run-off for the top two vote-getters. The requirement for a primary and a run-off has created a significant financial burden for the LACCD. The process of holding an additional election has reduced the district's CONTINUED AB 2572 Page 3 resources that would otherwise go toward meeting its core mission of serving students and the community. Enactment of this bill eliminates the requirement that the LACCD conduct a run-off election if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote. The change will save the district $3 million to $5 million every two years. The savings could be redirected to the district's core mission of serving students. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 8/8/12) Los Angeles Community College District Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-25, 5/10/12 AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Gatto, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, Portantino, Skinner, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Fletcher, Furutani, Gordon, Jeffries, Olsen, V. Manuel Pérez, Solorio, John A. Pérez DLW:d 8/8/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED AB 2572 Page 4 CONTINUED