BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS 
                         AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
                           Senator Lou Correa, Chair


          BILL NO:   SB 448              HEARING DATE:4/5/11
          AUTHOR:    DeSAULNIER          ANALYSIS BY:Frances Tibon 
          Estoista
          AMENDED:   AS INTRODUCED
          FISCAL:    NO
          
                                     SUBJECT

           Elections: paid signature gatherers

                                   DESCRIPTION  
          
           Existing law  requires that any state or local initiative 
          petition contain a statement, notifying the public that the 
          petition may be circulated by either a paid or a volunteer 
          signature gatherer, and that the public has the right to 
          ask.

           Existing law  establishes a process for proposing initiative 
          measures submitted to voters in California and sets forth 
          qualifications for persons who circulate initiative 
          petitions.

           Existing law  provides that a person who is a voter or who 
          is qualified to register to vote in this state may 
          circulate a state initiative or referendum petition 
          anywhere within the state.
           
          This bill  would require an individual who receives 
          compensation to circulate an initiative, referendum, or 
          recall petition to identify him or herself as a paid 
          signature gatherer by wearing a badge stating "PAID 
          SIGNATURE GATHERER."

           This bill  would require an individual circulating an 
          initiative, referendum, or recall petition to identify the 
          jurisdiction in which he or she is registered to vote by 
          placing on the badge the name of the California county in 
          which he or she is registered to vote.  If he or she is not 
          registered to vote, the badge shall state "NOT REGISTERED 
          TO VOTE."  









           
           This bill  further requires individuals circulating an 
          initiative, referendum, or recall petition to wear the 
          badge on his or her chest in clear view of all individuals 
          signing or asked to sign the petition, and that the print 
          on the badge be no smaller than a 30-point font.

                                    BACKGROUND  
          
          Until the 1980s, courts upheld bans on paid signature 
          gatherers.  That changed in 1988, when the U.S. Supreme 
          Court invalidated Colorado's ban in the 
           Meyer  v.  Grant  decision as a violation of the First 
          Amendment's guarantee of free speech.

          In  Buckley  v.  American Constitutional Law Foundation 
           (1999), the U.S. Supreme Court examined a Colorado law that 
          provided a number of other restrictions on the signature 
          collection process for ballot initiatives.  In  Buckley  , the 
          court invalidated Colorado's requirement that paid petition 
          circulators wear a badge identifying themselves and 
          identifying that they are paid circulators.  The court 
          stated the requirement to wear badges inhibits 
          participation in the petitioning process, "because the 
          badge requirement compels personal name identification at 
          the precise moment when the circulator's interest in 
          anonymity is greatest, it does not qualify for inclusion 
          among 'the more limited Ýelection process] identification 
          requirementÝs].'"  However, the  Buckley  decision did not 
          rule on the validity of the requirement that a circulator 
          wear a badge stating whether a petition circulator was paid 
          or a volunteer.

                                     COMMENTS  
          
             1.  According to the author  , most proponents of ballot 
              initiatives pay signature  gatherers on a "per 
              signature" basis, which some critics point to as a 
              financial incentive to commit fraud.  While efforts to 
              ban paid signature gatherers have foundered in the 
              courts, states have passed disclosure requirements for 
              paid signature gatherers.  In fact, at least 10 states 
              require circulators to disclose whether they are paid 
              or volunteer, most often on the petition itself.
          SB 448 (DeSAULNIER)                                    Page 
          2  
           









            2.  Nobody likes feeling left out  .  Although current law 
              gives a person the right to inquire as to whether the 
              person circulating the petition is being paid or is a 
              volunteer, not all people are aware of this right, let 
              alone exercise it.  It might therefore be useful if a 
              person who is a volunteer collecting petition 
              signatures also be required to wear a badge, similar to 
              the badge that a paid signature gatherer would be 
              required to wear, indicating that he or she is a 
              volunteer.

             3.  Legislative Counsel Opinion  :  In an April 17, 2001, 
              opinion, Legislative Counsel opined that a statute to 
              require an individual circulating a petition to 
              disclose (verbally or by a sign, pin, badge, hat, or 
              other indication) whether the individual is paid to 
              circulate the petition is valid under the California 
              and United States Constitutions.  In its analysis, 
              Legislative Counsel wrote "in our view the disclosure 
              of the paid or unpaid status of the petition circulator 
              at the time of circulation properly may be 
              characterized as the least drastic means to accomplish 
              the substantial state interest of enabling potential 
              petition signers to assess the sincerity of 
              circulators."

             4.  Prior and related legislation  .  SB 1203 (DeSaulnier) 
              of 2010, was nearly identical to this bill.  SB 1203 
              was approved by this committee, but subsequently was 
              gutted and amended for an unrelated purpose.

              SB 168 (Corbett), makes it a misdemeanor for a person 
              to pay or to receive money or any other thing of value 
              based on the number of signatures collected on a state 
              or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition.  
              SB 168 passed out of this committee and is scheduled 
              for hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee.

           AB 481 (Gordon), requires a person who is paid for 
              collecting petition signatures to wear a badge 
              indicating that he or she is a paid signature gatherer, 
              and requires similar information be disclosed on any 
              state or local initiative, referendum, or recall 
          SB 448 (DeSAULNIER)                                    Page 
          3  
           








              petition.  AB 481 is scheduled for hearing in the 
              Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee.

           AB 651 (Hueso), requires paid signature gatherers to wear 
              a badge identifying their employer, and requires firms 
              that pay individuals to circulate petitions and gather 
              signatures to register with the SOS.  AB 651 is pending 
              hearing in Assembly Appropriations Committee.

                                     POSITIONS  
                                        
          Sponsor: Author

           Support: None received

           Oppose:  Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association


























          SB 448 (DeSAULNIER)                                    Page 
          4