BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 35
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 3, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 35 (Padilla) - As Amended: June 27, 2012
SENATE VOTE : (vote not relevant)
SUBJECT : Voter registration agencies.
SUMMARY : Expands the list of public assistance agencies
required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA)
to provide voter registration opportunities and codifies various
other provisions of the NVRA. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that it is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting
the provisions of this bill, to facilitate compliance with the
requirements set forth in the federal NVRA relating to voter
registration services.
2)Defines the following terms, for the purposes of this bill:
a) "Agency coordinator" to mean a person designated by a
voter registration agency to coordinate and administer the
agency's responsibilities under this bill and the federal
NVRA.
b) "County coordinator" to mean a person designated by a
county elections official to coordinate and administer the
county's responsibilities under this bill and the federal
NVRA.
c) "State coordinator" to mean a person designated by the
Secretary of State (SOS) to coordinate and administer the
SOS's responsibilities under this bill and the federal
NVRA.
d) "Voter preference form" to mean a form described in the
United States Code that contains certain language, as
specified, asking an applicant if he or she wishes to
register to vote.
e) "'Voter registration agency" to mean either the
following:
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i) A department, division, or office of state or local
government, or program supported by state funds, that is
designated under this bill or pursuant to the federal
NVRA as a voter registration agency; or,
ii) A private entity under contract with a designated
voter registration agency to provide services or
assistance on behalf of the agency.
3)Provides that the SOS is the chief state elections official
responsible for coordination of the state's responsibilities
under the NVRA. Requires the SOS to adopt regulations
necessary to implement the provisions of this bill and the
federal NVRA.
4)Designates, in addition to the agencies and offices designated
as voter registration agencies pursuant to Executive Order
W-98-94, issued August 12, 1994, and the federal NVRA, the
following as voter registration agencies:
a) California Department of Aging;
b) California Health Benefit Exchange;
c) Department of Veterans Affairs;
d) Employment Development Department;
e) Franchise Tax Board;
f) Office of AIDS;
g) State Board of Equalization;
h) State Emergency Food Assistance Program;
i) State Personnel Board;
j) Each high school, trade or vocational school, and campus
of the California Community Colleges and the California
State University; and,
aa) Each office in the state that accepts applications and
administers benefits or services for any of the following
programs:
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i) Access for Infants and Mothers Program;
ii) Community-based adult services provided pursuant to
the California Adult Day Health Care Act;
iii) Healthy Families Program;
iv) Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program;
and,
v) Multipurpose Senior Services Program.
5)Encourages the University of California to comply with the
duties and responsibilities of a voter registration agency as
set forth in the provisions this bill and the federal NVRA.
6)Requires a voter registration agency to comply with the
applicable duties and responsibilities of a voter registration
agency set forth in the federal NVRA. Requires a voter
registration agency, with each application for service or
assistance and with each recertification, renewal, or change
of address form relating to the service or assistance, and in
accordance with the federal NVRA, to provide to an applicant
both of the following:
a) A voter preference form; and,
b) A voter registration card, unless the applicant, in
writing, declines to register to vote. Provides for the
purposes of these provisions that an applicant's failure to
respond to the question of whether he or she would like to
register to vote does not constitute a declination to
register.
7)Requires the SOS to designate a state officer or employee
within his or her office to be the state coordinator.
Requires the state coordinator to do all of the following:
a) Coordinate with each county coordinator and agency
coordinator to implement the provisions of this bill;
b) Post the name of, and the contact information for, each
county coordinator on the SOS's Internet Web site;
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c) Notify each county coordinator of the name of each voter
registration agency with an office or site within that
county and the location of each office or site;
d) Prepare written materials that describe the
responsibilities of a county coordinator and an agency
coordinator pursuant to the provisions of this bill and the
federal NVRA;
e) Conduct an audit of a voter registration agency if the
agency fails to timely submit a report as specified by this
bill, or if a report indicates that the agency is not
complying with the requirements of this bill or the federal
NVRA;
f) Conduct an audit of a county coordinator if the county
coordinator fails to timely submit a report as specified by
this bill, or if a report indicates that the county
coordinator is not complying with the requirements of this
bill or the federal NVRA; and,
g) Post the results of an audit conducted pursuant to the
requirements stated above on the SOS's Internet Web site.
8)Requires a county elections official to designate a person
within the county to serve as the county coordinator.
Requires the county coordinator to be responsible for
coordinating with the state coordinator and each applicable
agency coordinator within the county to administer the voter
registration services required pursuant to the provisions of
this bill and the federal NVRA. Requires the county
coordinator to do all of the following:
a) Provide voter registration cards to a voter registration
agency upon request of the agency coordinator;
b) Maintain a record of the number of voter registration
cards provided to and received from each voter registration
agency, and each office or site thereof; and,
c) Assist a voter registration agency, upon request, in
conducting a training program for its employees on the
requirements in this bill and the federal NVRA.
9)Requires a voter registration agency to designate a person
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within that agency to serve as the agency coordinator.
Permits the voter registration agency, if it has more than one
office or site within the state, to designate multiple persons
within the agency to each serve as an agency coordinator for
one or more specified offices or sites. Requires the agency
coordinator to do all of the following:
a) Notify the state coordinator of the location of each of
the voter registration agency's offices or sites within the
state;
b) Request, as needed, voter registration cards from a
county coordinator;
c) Take steps to ensure that the voter registration agency,
or each office or site of the voter registration agency for
which the agency coordinator has been designated, has a
sufficient supply of voter preference forms and voter
registration cards available, including voter preference
forms and voter registration cards in all languages
required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA);
d) Maintain records of the number of voter preference forms
submitted to the voter registration agency, or each office
or site of the voter registration agency for which the
agency coordinator has been designated, and the responses
indicated on those voter preference forms;
e) Conduct a training program on the requirements of the
this bill and the federal NVRA for each employee of the
voter registration agency, or of the office or site of the
voter registration agency for which the agency coordinator
has been designated, who may provide voter registration
services; and,
f) Monitor and, if necessary, conduct an audit of the voter
registration agency, or each office or site of the voter
registration agency for which the agency coordinator has
been designated, as necessary, to ensure compliance with
the provisions of this bill and the federal NVRA.
10)Requires a voter registration agency, each time there is a
change in an agency coordinator, to immediately forward the
name and contact information of the new agency coordinator to
each applicable county coordinator and the state coordinator.
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11)Requires a county coordinator, within 10 days after the
beginning of each calendar month, to report to the state
coordinator, on a form prescribed by the SOS, all the
following information for the preceding month:
a) The number of voter registration cards sent to each
voter registration agency and to each office or site
thereof; and,
b) The number of voter registration cards received from
each voter registration agency and from each office or site
thereof.
12)Requires an agency coordinator, within 10 days after the
beginning of each calendar month, to report to the state
coordinator, on a form prescribed by the SOS, and to each
applicable county coordinator, all the following information
for the preceding month:
a) The number of voter preference forms completed by
applicants at the voter registration agency, or at an
office or site thereof; and,
b) A summary of the responses indicated on the voter
preference forms.
13)Requires the state coordinator to post the information
contained in each report received from a county coordinator or
an agency coordinator on the SOS's Internet Web site.
14)Requires a voter registration agency that allows a person to
apply online for services or assistance, or to submit a
recertification, renewal, or change of address form relating
to the service or assistance online, to implement a process
and infrastructure that allows an applicant to electronically
submit a voter preference form to the voter registration
agency, and to submit an affidavit of voter registration
electronically on the SOS's Internet Web site in accordance
with online voter registration provisions of law. Requires
the state coordinator to work in conjunction with each voter
registration agency to develop the process and infrastructure
described above.
15)Requires a person that indicates on his or her electronic
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voter preference form that he or she would like to register to
vote, to be informed that he or she may register to vote
through one of the following options, if applicable:
a) Submitting an affidavit of voter registration
electronically on the SOS's Internet Web site pursuant to
existing law;
b) Completing an affidavit of voter registration
electronically on the SOS's Internet Web site, printing a
hard copy of the completed affidavit, and mailing or
delivering the hard copy of the completed affidavit to the
SOS or the appropriate county elections official pursuant
to existing law;
c) Obtaining a voter registration card on a county's
Internet Web site and printing, completing, signing, and
returning the card to the county's elections official
pursuant to existing law; or,
d) Requesting a voter registration card to be mailed to him
or her pursuant to existing law and completing, signing,
and returning the card as instructed.
16)Requires a voter registration agency to take steps to ensure
that the information entered into a person's electronic
application for service or assistance, or his or her
electronic recertification, renewal, or change of address form
relating to the service or assistance, be automatically
transferred to the electronic affidavit of voter registration
if the person indicates that he or she would like to register
to vote.
17)Requires the SOS to take steps to ensure that the electronic
affidavit of voter registration is available in all languages
required by the federal VRA.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each state to designate agencies for registration of
voters in elections for federal office. Requires each state
to offer voter registration services at motor vehicle agency
offices, offices that provide public assistance, offices that
provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing
services to persons with disabilities, Armed Forces
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recruitment offices, and other state and local offices within
the state designated as NVRA voter registration agencies.
Permits the designation of other state and local offices as
NVRA voter registration agencies, to include state and local
government offices such as public libraries, public schools,
offices of city and county clerks, fishing and hunting license
bureaus, government revenue offices, unemployment compensation
offices, and offices not described above that provide services
to persons with disabilities and federal and nongovernmental
offices, with the agreement of such offices.
2)Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to provide the
opportunity to register to vote to individuals who apply for,
renew or change an address for a driver's license or personal
identification card issued by the DMV.
3)Requires all NVRA designated voter registration agencies to
provide the opportunity to register to vote to persons
applying for the agency's assistance or services, seeking
recertification or renewal of those services, and changing
address for the assistance or services.
4)Requires NVRA designated voter registration agencies to
distribute voter registration forms and NVRA voter preference
forms, assist in filling out the voter registration form,
accept and transmit completed voter registration forms to
county elections officials, and accept and retain completed
preference forms on file for two years.
5)Requires NVRA designated agencies to provide to each
individual the same degree of assistance in completing the
voter registration application form as is provided by the
office in completing its own agency forms, unless the
applicant declines to register to voter or declines such
assistance. Requires voter registration services to be
provided whether the transaction is conducted in person or
remotely via the internet, the telephone or by mail.
6)Requires a completed voter registration application accepted
at a voter registration agency to be transmitted, not later
than 10 days after the date of acceptance, to the appropriate
election official. Requires a voter registration that is
accepted within five days before the last day to register to
vote to be transmitted to the appropriate elections official
not later than five days after the date of acceptance.
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7)Requires each state to designate a state officer or employee
as the chief state election official to be responsible for
coordinating the state responsibilities under the NVRA.
8)Prohibits a person providing the voter registration services
described above from seeking to influence an applicant's
political preference or party registration, displaying any
such political preference or party allegiance, making any
statement to an applicant or taking any action with the
purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant from
registering to vote, or making any statement or taking any
action with the purpose or effect of which leads to the
applicant believing that a decision to register or not to
register has any bearing on the availability of services or
benefits.
9)Requires NVRA designated voter registration offices that
provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing
services to persons with disabilities that provide services at
a person's home to provide the voter registration services at
the person's home.
10)Requires the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to
report to Congress, not later than June 30 of each
odd-numbered year, on the impact of the NVRA during the
preceding two year period and include recommendations for
improvements in federal and state forms, procedures, and other
matters affected by the NVRA. Authorizes the EAC, in
consultation with the chief elections officials of the states,
to prescribe regulations necessary to implement the above
reporting requirement. Requires states to report various
voter registration information to the EAC that includes, among
other information, the number of voter registration forms
received or generated by mail, and from the DMV, public
assistance offices, offices providing state-funded programs
primarily serving persons with disabilities, Armed Forces
recruitment offices, and other state designated offices and
agencies.
11)Permits the United States Attorney General to bring a civil
action in an appropriate district court for declaratory or
injunctive relief as is necessary to carry out the NVRA.
Permits a person who is aggrieved by a violation of the NVRA
to bring a civil action in the appropriate district court for
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declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the
violation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Congress enacted the National Voter Registration Act of
1993 ("NVRA" or the "Motor Voter Act"), to enhance voting
opportunities for every American. The Act has made it
easier for all Americans to register to vote and to
maintain their registration by requiring that individuals
be given the opportunity to register to vote or to change
their voter registration data when applying for or renewing
their driver's license.
A lesser known provision of the Motor Voter Act requires
states to provide individuals the opportunity to register
to vote or to change their voter registration data when
applying for, or receiving, services at state public
assistance office as designated by the state. These
designated agencies are known as Voter Registration
Agencies.
Following the passage of the NVRA, Governor Pete Wilson
designated the minimum number of agencies, two, as voter
registration agencies as required by the law. Since 1994,
no additional agencies have been designated Voter
Registration Agencies despite California's discretionary
authority to do so. Thus, multiple state agencies in
California, some of which did not even exist in 1994 and
that together process millions of applications for public
benefits each year, have yet to be designated voter
registration agencies.
Section 7 of NVRA establishes clear obligations on the part
of state public Voter Registration Agencies to provide
voter registration services; obligations for which both the
Secretary of State, as the State's Chief Election Official,
and public assistance agencies share responsibility.
Congress enacted Section 7 specifically to reach those in
our electorate who would have less cause to visit motor
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vehicle offices, in particular low-income and disabled
citizens. Section 7 requires states to "designate as voter
registration agencies all offices in the state that provide
public assistance."
Section 7 also requires that each state agency provide
their clients with a mail-in voter registration application
when applying for benefits, renewing/recertifying benefits,
and reporting a change of address. Agencies are also
required to assist the client in filling out the voter
registration application and submit the completed
application for the client.
The need for stronger compliance with Section 7 is
demonstrated by the number of unregistered voters in
California, especially among low-income citizens. Since the
implementation of NVRA there has been an 87% decline in the
amount of registration applications collected by California
Voter Registration Agencies.
For the 2010 election, at least 22% of California's
approximately 22,766,764 adult citizens were not registered
to vote. This is four percentage points worse than the
national average of 18%. Moreover, in 2010 at least 31% of
low-income adult Californians (low-income is defined as
households earning less than $25,000 a year) were not
registered to vote. Again, this is 4% percentage points
worse than the national average for that income group.
In 2009, Project Vote conducted field investigations in
California to assess NVRA compliance in public assistance
offices. They investigated 29 public assistance agency
offices in six California counties and completed interviews
with 127 public assistance clients. Investigations of
public assistance offices were conducted to determine if
voter registration services were being provided in these
offices in the manner required by the NVRA.
Interviews with clients of these offices were also
conducted to assess what, if any, voter registration
services clients had received while at the office for
NVRA-covered transactions. Project Vote's field
investigations provide strong evidence of compliance
problems. Of the 21 offices that provided the Project Vote
investigator with a benefits application packet, only one
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provided voter registration applications and services to
clients in the manner required by the NVRA.
2)National Voter Registration Act : The NVRA was enacted by
Congress in 1993 and took effect in 1995. Also known as the
"Motor Voter Act," the enactment of the NVRA was intended to
enhance and increase voting opportunities for eligible voters
to register to vote and maintain their registration. In
addition to other methods of voter registration states offer,
the NVRA requires states to provide the opportunity to apply
to register to vote for federal elections through various
methods. Section 5 of the NVRA requires states to offer voter
registration opportunities at motor vehicle agencies.
Additionally, Section 6 of the NVRA requires states to provide
voter registration opportunities by mail-in application.
Finally, Section 7 of the NVRA requires states to offer voter
registration opportunities at all offices that provide public
assistance or state-funded programs primarily engaged in
providing services to persons with disabilities. Armed Forces
recruitment offices must also provide voter registration
services. Moreover, Section 7 of the NVRA requires a state to
designate "other offices" within the state as voter
registration agencies. According to the US Department of
Justice (DOJ) NVRA guidelines, a state is free to determine
which other agencies or offices should be designated,
according to its needs and preferences, but it must make
additional designations. In California, the following state
and local offices are NVRA voter registration agencies:
DMV
Public assistance agencies (including County Human
Service Agencies)
o County offices which accept applications and
administer benefits for CalFresh, formerly known as
Food Stamps, and the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS);
o County offices which accept applications and
administer benefits for the Medi-Cal program; and,
o Community-based nonprofit organizations under
contract with the Department of Public Health to
administer the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
program;
State-funded agencies primarily serving persons with
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disabilities
o Department of Rehabilitation offices offering
vocational rehabilitation services;
o Independent Living Centers;
o Department of Development Services Regional
Centers;
o Offices under contract with the Department of
Social Services, Office of Deaf Access to provide
services to the deaf; and,
o State and county mental health providers;
Armed Forces Recruitment offices
Other agencies designated by the state under the NVRA
o Franchise Tax Board (FTB) offices offering
forms, instruction, and assistance to the public for
income tax and the Homeowners and Renter Assistance
program; and,
o Board of Equalization (BOE) offices serving
the public.
In addition to expanding opportunities to register to vote,
the NVRA imposes requirements on states to protect the
integrity of the electoral process and ensure that accurate
and current voter registration rolls are maintained.
As the author states above, following the passage of the NVRA,
then-Governor Pete Wilson designated, as required by the NVRA,
two agencies the FTB and the BOE as NVRA voter registration
agencies, however no additional agencies have been designated
since. While the committee is unaware of any evidence to
dispute this claim, it should be acknowledged that efforts
were made by the current SOS to designate other federal
agencies as NVRA voter registration agencies. As mentioned
above, the NVRA permits a state to designate federal and
nongovernmental offices as NVRA voter registration agencies as
long as the office agrees to the request. Additionally, under
Presidential Executive Order 12926, the chief elections
official of any state is authorized to ask a federal agency to
designate itself as a voter registration agency and provide
voter registration services. Moreover, the Order requires
federal agencies to accept the designation to the greatest
extent practicable provided that doing so is consistent with
the agency's legal authority and availability of funds. In
May of 2008, the SOS sent a letter to the US Department of
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Veterans Affairs asking the Department to designate itself as
a voter registration agency and begin offering voter
registration services under the NVRA. The US Department of
Veterans Affairs initially declined the request, however, in
September of 2008 the decision was reversed and the US
Department of Veterans Affairs issued a directive permitting
elections officials and non-partisan groups to provide voter
registration services at Veterans Affairs hospitals and
in-patient locations.
Additionally, in September of 2009, the SOS renewed her
request to the US Department of Veterans Affairs and also sent
letters to the US Social Security Administration, US
Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the US Department of
Health and Human Services asking these agencies to accept the
designation as voter registration agencies under NVRA and
begin offering voter registration services. According to a
representative from the SOS's office, no response was received
from any of the departments.
1)New Requirements : This bill codifies some existing best
practices and guidelines that are not consistently practiced
by all NVRA designated agencies, consequently imposing new
duties and mandates that may result in costs to the state.
However, some of the changes in this bill, despite being
challenging to implement, have the potential to help ensure
all agencies and the state are in compliance with the
requirements of the NVRA. For example, as stated above,
current law requires states to report various voter
registration information to the EAC in response to an EAC
survey every two years. The SOS gathers this information from
the counties and compiles one comprehensive report for the
state. One of the voter registration reporting requirements
includes, but is not limited to, the number of voter
registration applications received from and generated by each
of the NVRA designated agencies. Collecting this data will
provide an indication of the level of voter registration
activity from each agency and assist in achieving one of the
principal objectives of the NVRA, which is to expand the
number and range of locations where eligible citizens may
obtain and complete a voter registration application.
According to the SOS's website, the DMV sends monthly
statistical reports to each county elections official with the
total number of voter registration and intra- and inter-county
address changes received by the DMV for the county and also
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sends a statewide report to the SOS. However, other NVRA
voter registration agencies have not historically provided
reports to county election officials or to the SOS. This bill
requires, within 10 days after the beginning of each calendar
month, each county and agency coordinator, as established by
this bill, to report to the state coordinator, as specified,
various voter registration data. While codifying a reporting
practice may be burdensome and cause for concern, it may
simultaneously be beneficial. Ensuring data is consistently
and timely reported to the counties and in turn reported to
the SOS will not only ensure California is in compliance with
the NVRA reporting requirements, but also help in the overall
assessment of the impact of the NVRA.
2)Phase-In : This bill requires a voter registration agency, in
conjunction with the state coordinator, to implement a process
and infrastructure that allows an applicant to electronically
submit a voter preference form to the voter registration
agency and to submit an affidavit of registration
electronically on the SOS's website. Additionally, the bill
requires an applicant's information to be automatically
transferred to the electronic affidavit of voter registration
if the person indicates that he or she would like to register
to vote. SB 397 (Yee), Chapter 561, Statutes of 2011,
established online voter registration, however, the
implementation of online voter registration was contingent
upon various factors. Consequently, online voter registration
is not currently functioning. According to the SOS's office,
online voter registration is currently in its testing phase
and is projected to go live later this year. Considering the
timeline for online voter registration, the committee may wish
to consider whether it would be more appropriate to phase-in
this part of the bill to allow for more time for online voter
registration to be in effect statewide.
As mentioned above, the NVRA requires public assistance agencies
not only to distribute and accept voter registration forms and
NVRA voter preference forms, but to also assist in filling out
the voter registration forms. Section 7 of the NVRA
specifically requires that agencies must provide each person
the same degree of assistance in completing the voter
registration application as is provided by the office in
completing its own agency forms, unless the person declines
assistance. For example, if it is the practice of an agency
for its employees to take time to explain to each applicant
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the various forms involved in the agency application,
recertification, or other process and answer the applicant's
questions before the applicant completes the forms, this type
of assistance must also be given at that time to such
applicants with regards to the voter registration application
process. Adding new public assistance agencies to the list of
those that are required to provide voter registration
opportunities will consequently add new duties and tasks to
the public assistance employees. These new duties and tasks
will require training to ensure a high level of service is
provided. The committee may wish to consider whether it would
be more reasonable to phase-in the newly added public
assistance agencies contemplated in this bill to allow time
for proper training and implementation of the requirements of
this bill.
3)Enforcement of the NVRA : The DOJ has enforcement
responsibility under the NVRA. The DOJ undertakes activities
to ensure compliance with the NVRA, including monitoring state
compliance, conducting investigations, and filing litigation
in federal court to enforce the NVRA's requirements. Private
parties may also bring litigation in federal court to enforce
the NVRA.
When the NVRA was first enacted, several states, including
California, challenged the constitutionality of the federal
mandate in part on the grounds that the NVRA did not provide
funding to the states to carry out its requirements. However,
courts found the NVRA to be constitutional, despite the lack
of federal funding provided to states.
According to the SOS's 2011 NVRA manual, the NVRA did not
require the adoption of state law to give it effect, so
California did not adopt implementing statutes or regulations
under the NVRA. However, California laws permitting voter
registration by mail, vote by mail, and provisional voting, as
well as laws setting voter list maintenance standards meet or
exceed NVRA requirements.
The SOS is the chief elections official responsible for
coordination of the state's responsibilities under the NVRA.
However, it should be noted that the SOS is a constitutional
office that is elected separately and independently from the
Governor and consequently, the SOS has no direct authority
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over state agencies designated under the NVRA. Furthermore,
as a statewide elected official, the SOS does not have direct
authority over the NVRA designated local government agencies.
Despite cooperation among state and local agencies designated
under the NVRA, statewide compliance with various requirements
of the NVRA can be challenging. In order to ensure state
compliance, the SOS developed the California NVRA Manual in
collaboration with the DMV, the Department of Social Services,
the WIC Program, the California Association of Clerks and
Elections Officials, the California Welfare Directors
Association, and Project Vote. In addition, the DOJ also
published guidance that contains various best practices and
suggestions on complying with the provisions of the NVRA.
This bill would require the SOS to designate a state officer or
employee within in his or her office to be the state
coordinator. Among other duties required by this bill, the
state coordinator would be required to conduct audits of voter
registration agencies if the agency failed to timely submit a
required report, as specified, and similarly, conduct an audit
of a county coordinator if the county coordinator fails to
timely submit a report as required by this bill. These
provisions may be challenging to effectively enforce because
as mentioned above the SOS does not have direct authority over
these entities. The committee may wish to consider whether it
is appropriate for the SOS to be required to enforce
provisions of this bill over entities that do not fall within
the SOS's jurisdiction.
Moreover, as mentioned above, current law requires
community-based nonprofit organizations under contract with
the Department of Public Health to administer the WIC program
to be designated as NVRA agencies. Because this bill defines
a voter registration agency to include a private entity under
contract with a designated voter registration agency to
provide services or assistance on behalf of the agency, the
provisions of this bill would require these private entities
to be subject to audits by the state coordinator. Again, the
committee may wish to consider whether it's appropriate to
have the SOS audit agencies that are out of the SOS's
jurisdiction, and that consequently are not required by law to
be accountable to the SOS.
Furthermore, the bill requires county and agency coordinators
to report to the state coordinator every month. The committee
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may wish to consider whether the requirement to conduct an
audit of a voter registration agency coordinator or a county
coordinator every time a report is not timely submitted is
fiscally feasible.
4)State Mandates : The 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 state budgets
included the suspension of various state mandates as a
mechanism for cost savings. Included on the list of
suspensions were all six existing elections-related mandates.
The Committee may wish to consider whether it is desirable to
create new election mandates when current elections-related
mandates are suspended.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union of California (sponsor)None on
file.
California Common Cause
California State Student Association
Service Employees International Union, California State Council
Four individuals
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094