BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 448|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 448
Author: DeSaulnier (D) & Hancock (D)
Amended: 7/14/11
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMMITTEE : 3-2, 5/3/11
AYES: Correa, De León, Lieu
NOES: La Malfa, Gaines
SENATE FLOOR : 25-15, 5/9/11
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De León,
DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu,
Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price,
Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cannella, Dutton,
Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Runner,
Strickland, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-27, 8/15/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elections: circulation of petition
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires an individual who receives
compensation to circulate an initiative, referendum, or
recall petition to wear a badge stating, in no smaller than
30-point font print, that he/she is a "paid signature
gatherer and this bill requires the individual circulating
the initiative, referendum, or recall petition to wear the
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badge on his/her chest in clear view of all individuals
signing or asked to sign the petition.
Assembly Amendments narrows the bill to those who receive
compensation.
ANALYSIS : 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.
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
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rule on the validity of the requirement that a circulator
wear a badge stating whether a petition circulator was paid
or a volunteer.
Comments
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."
Prior and related legislation
SB 1203 (DeSaulnier) of 2010, was nearly identical to this
bill. SB 1203 was approved by the Senate Elections and
Constitutional Amendments 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 the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments
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/she is a paid signature gatherer, and requires
similar information be disclosed on any state or local
initiative, referendum, or recall petition. AB 481 is
scheduled for hearing in the Assembly Elections and
Redistricting Committee.
AB 651 (Hueso) requires paid signature gatherers to wear a
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badge identifying their employer, and requires firms that
pay individuals to circulate petitions and gather
signatures to register with the Secretary of State. AB 651
is currently in Senate Rules Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/11)
Secretary of State
Ballot Initiative
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/16/11)
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
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.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer
Association states, by making it harder and more obtrusive
for individuals to collect signatures, this in turn will
make it more difficult for measures to qualify for the
ballot, inhibiting the democratic process. Individuals who
desire to sign petitions currently have the ability to ask
signature gatherers if they are being paid, and by whom.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-27, 8/15/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon,
Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon,
Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell,
Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams,
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Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth,
Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Bonilla, Gorell
DLW:do 8/16/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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