BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 448|
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                                      VETO


          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

           SENATE FLOOR  :  24-15, 8/18/11
          AYES:  Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, 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
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  De León


           SUBJECT  :    Elections:  circulation of petition
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           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 
          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 

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          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
           
           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.

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          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 
          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.   

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           GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
           
            "I am returning Senate Bill 448 without my signature. 

            I find this bill provocative, but ultimately 
            unpersuasive. 

            If it is acceptable to force paid signature gatherers 
            to place identifying badges on their chests, will 
            similar requirements soon be placed on paid campaign 
            workers? 

            I choose not to go down this slippery slope where the 
            state decides what citizens must wear when petitioning 
            their government."


           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, 
            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  1/4/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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