BILL NUMBER: SB 1272 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 6, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 12, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Kehoe
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to amend Sections 7206, 7225, 7226, 7228, 7242, 7404, 7420,
7421, 7423, 7443, 7643, 7652, 7670, 7671, 7673, 7680, 7692, 7750,
7751, 7770, 7771, 7772, 7772.1, 7780, 7800, 7840, 7850, 7857, 7882,
8001, and 8020 of, and to add Sections 7230, 7425, 7675, and 7784 to,
the Elections Code, relating to political party organization.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1272, Kehoe. Political party organization: county central
committees.
Existing law establishes the political party organizations of the
Democratic Party of California, the California Republican Party, the
American Independent Party of California, and the Peace and Freedom
Party of California. Existing law requires the members of a county
central committee of each of those parties be elected in each county
at every statewide direct primary election.
This bill would delete the requirement that those members be
elected at every statewide direct primary election and instead would
permit those members to be elected at every presidential primary
election.
This bill would specify that a county central committee of any of
those parties, in accordance with specified rules and regulations,
may select its members at any time by holding a caucus or convention,
or by using any other approved method of selection.
If a county elections official finds that the number of candidates
nominated for a political party's county central committee does not
exceed the number to be elected, existing law requires that the
designation of the office and the names of the candidates not be
printed on the party's ballot, unless a petition is filed indicating
that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office. In lieu
thereof, existing law requires the county board of supervisors to
declare elected those candidates who have been nominated, and states
that those candidates are entitled to receive certificates of
election in the same manner as other candidates elected to the
committee.
This bill would delete the exception for petitions indicating a
write-in campaign will be conducted and would delete the provision
relating to candidates' entitlements to receive certificates of
election.
Existing law requires that a candidate for membership on a county
central committee must be affiliated with the political party of that
committee for not less than 3 months immediately prior to presenting
his or her declaration of candidacy, and requires that the candidate
must not have been affiliated with any other political party within
12 months prior to filing a declaration of candidacy.
This bill would permit a county central committee to establish the
length of time that a candidate for membership on the committee must
be affiliated with the party of that committee, or must not have
been affiliated with any other political party.
Existing law requires a candidate for membership on a county
central committee to file nomination forms, as specified. Existing
law requires that the nomination forms be made available on the 113th
day prior to a direct primary election and be delivered no later
than 5:00 p.m. on the 88th day prior to the direct primary election.
This bill would instead require that the nomination forms for
candidates for county central committees be available 158 days prior
to the primary election.
This bill would provide that its provisions are severable.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 7206 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7206. In each county the nominee of this party for Senator or the
incumbent Senator, the nominees of this party for the Assembly, and
any person elected to either the Senate or Assembly at a special
election to fill a vacancy in that house, and the nominee of this
party for Representative in Congress, and any person elected at a
special election to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives,
shall be ex officio members of this committee. If the person elected
from one party at the special election for an Assembly or Senate
seat, or for the House of Representatives, shall be other than the
nominee of that party for the same office at the prior election, the
ex officio membership of the nominee shall expire immediately upon
certification by the Secretary of State of the election. Ex officio
members shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges, including
the right to vote, and shall have the same standing in every way as
other members of this committee, except they shall not be entitled to
a ballot designation of incumbent upon seeking election to this
committee in the next presidential primary.
SEC. 2. Section 7225 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7225. At every presidential primary election, a county central
committee may be elected in each county.
SEC. 3. Section 7226 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7226. The elections official, no later than January 31 preceding
the presidential primary, shall compute the number of members of the
committee allotted to each Assembly district or supervisor district,
as the case may be, pursuant to this article.
SEC. 4. Section 7228 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7228. If the elections official, on the 73rd day prior to the
presidential primary election, finds that the number of candidates
nominated for election to a committee from an Assembly or
supervisorial district does not exceed the number of candidates to be
elected from that Assembly or supervisorial district, the
designation of the office and the names of the candidates shall not
be printed on this party's ballot in the Assembly or supervisorial
district. In lieu thereof, the board of supervisors shall declare
elected the candidates who have been nominated.
SEC. 5. Section 7230 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
7230. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
central committee, in accordance with the rules and regulations
adopted by the committee, may select its members at any time by
holding a caucus or convention, or by using any other method of
selection approved by the committee.
SEC. 6. Section 7242 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7242. The committees shall perform any other duties and services
for this political party as seem to be for the benefit of the party.
They shall continue to function and exist until the election at the
succeeding presidential primary, or the selection pursuant to Section
7230, and qualification of the members of the new committees.
SEC. 7. Section 7404 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7404. (a) In each county, the nominee of the party for State
Senator, the nominees of the party for the Assembly, and any person
nominated to either the Senate or Assembly at a special election to
fill a vacancy in the house, and the nominee of the party for
Representative in Congress shall be ex officio members of this
committee. If the person most recently nominated or elected from one
party at the special election for an Assembly or Senate seat, or for
the House of Representatives shall be other than the nominee of that
party for the same office at the earlier election, the ex officio
membership of the latter nominee shall expire immediately upon
certification by the Secretary of State of the nomination or, if
there is no runoff, the election of the person most recently
nominated or elected. Ex officio members shall be entitled to all the
rights and privileges, including the right to vote, and shall have
the same standing in every way as other members of this committee,
except they shall not be entitled to a ballot designation of
incumbent upon seeking election to this committee in the next
presidential primary. A person shall be entitled to ex officio
membership upon receiving a certificate of nomination from the
Secretary of State pursuant to Section 8147, at which time the term
of the former nominee shall expire.
(b) If the person most recently nominated to the Senate, Assembly,
or House of Representatives received fewer votes for the particular
office at the ensuing general election than a write-in candidate for
the same office, and the write-in candidate is elected to that
office, the write-in candidate shall, for purposes of this part, be
considered the ex officio member of each affected county, provided
that the write-in candidate's affidavit of registration reflects that
that candidate has been affiliated with the party for at least six
months prior to the general election.
(c) If a write-in candidate is entitled to ex officio membership
on each affected county central committee pursuant to subdivision
(b), each affected county central committee shall designate the party
nominee described in subdivision (b) as an additional ex officio
member to its committee. Any person designated as an ex officio
member under this subdivision shall be entitled to all the rights and
privileges as other ex officio members of the committee.
SEC. 8. Section 7420 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7420. (a) At every presidential primary election, a member may be
elected to a county central committee to replace a member whose term
is expiring.
(b) When district boundaries are redrawn and districts are
renumbered in accordance with the decennial census, a member of a
county central committee may run for election in a newly numbered
district at the next election even though his or her current term of
office has not expired. If a person is elected in the newly numbered
district and takes the oath of office, the person is deemed to have
resigned from his or her previous district office at that time.
SEC. 9. Section 7421 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7421. The elections official, no later than January 31 preceding
the presidential primary, shall compute the number of members of the
committee allotted to each Assembly district or supervisor district,
as the case may be, pursuant to this article.
SEC. 10. Section 7423 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7423. If the elections official, on the 73rd day prior to the
presidential primary election, finds that the number of candidates
nominated for election to a committee from an Assembly or
supervisorial district does not exceed the number of candidates to be
elected from that Assembly or supervisorial district, the
designation of the office and the names of the candidates shall not
be printed on this party's ballot in the Assembly or supervisorial
district. In lieu thereof, the board of supervisors shall declare
elected the candidates who have been nominated.
SEC. 11. Section 7425 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
7425. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
central committee, in accordance with the rules and regulations
adopted by the committee, may determine the number, the district
allocation, and the manner of election of its members at any time by
holding a caucus or convention, or by using any other method approved
by the committee.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit a county
central committee to remove an ex officio member of the committee.
SEC. 12. Section 7443 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7443. The committees shall perform any other duties and services
for this political party as seem to be for the benefit of the party.
Members of a county central committee may serve after the expiration
date of their terms until the election, or the selection pursuant to
Section 7425, and qualification of the new members replacing them on
the county central committees.
SEC. 13. Section 7643 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7643. This committee shall conduct party campaigns for this party
and in behalf of the candidates of this party. It shall appoint
committees and appoint and employ campaign directors and perfect
whatever campaign organizations it deems suitable or desirable and
for the best interest of the party.
This committee shall have power to appoint interim county central
committees in all counties in which the voters have not elected one
or more county central committee members in the presidential primary
preceding the organization of this committee. Persons appointed to
interim county central committees pursuant to this section shall meet
the qualifications otherwise required by Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 7650) for appointees to fill vacancies on county central
committees. Notice of all appointments pursuant to this section shall
be filed by the state central committee with the elections official
of the county for which that interim county central committee is
appointed. Interim county central committees appointed pursuant to
this section shall have all of the powers and privileges afforded
county central committees by the provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 7650), but members of interim county central committees
shall not be designated as incumbents on the ballot in the succeeding
primary election.
SEC. 14. Section 7652 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7652. The incumbent or nominee of each of the following offices
shall be an ex officio member of the committee in the county in which
he or she resides:
(a) Governor.
(b) Lieutenant Governor.
(c) Secretary of State.
(d) Controller.
(e) Treasurer.
(f) Attorney General.
(g) Member of the State Board of Equalization.
(h) United States Senator from California.
(i) Representative in Congress from California.
(j) All Members of the Legislature.
(k) Any person nominated to a partisan office at a special
election to fill a vacancy in that office.
Ex officio members shall be entitled to all the rights and
privileges, including the right to vote, and shall have the same
standing in every way as other members of this committee, except they
shall not be entitled to a ballot designation of incumbent upon
seeking election to this committee in the next presidential primary.
SEC. 15. Section 7670 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7670. At every presidential primary election, a county central
committee may be elected in each county.
SEC. 16. Section 7671 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7671. The Secretary of State, no later than 125 days before the
presidential primary, shall compute the number of members of central
committees to be elected in each county, and shall mail a certificate
reporting that information to the elections official of each county
and to the Chairperson of the American Independent Party State
Central Committee.
SEC. 17. Section 7673 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7673. If the elections official, on the 73rd day prior to the
presidential primary election, finds that the number of candidates
nominated for election to a committee from an Assembly or supervisor
district does not exceed the number of candidates to be elected from
that Assembly or supervisor district, the designation of the office
and the names of the candidates shall not be printed on this party's
ballot in the Assembly or supervisor district. In lieu thereof, the
board of supervisors shall declare elected the candidates who have
been nominated.
SEC. 18. Section 7675 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
7675. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
central committee may select its members at any time by holding a
caucus or convention in accordance with the rules and regulations
adopted by the county central committee and the state central
committee, or by using any other method of selection approved by the
state central committee.
SEC. 19. Section 7680 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7680. Each committee shall meet at its county seat, upon call,
which shall be given by the chairperson of the county central
committee or the immediate predecessor of the current chairperson of
the county committee on the second Tuesday in July following the
presidential primary election, except that in any year in which a
national convention of the party includes that date, the existing
executive committee of a committee shall set the date of the meeting,
not to exceed 30 days after the date herein specified.
SEC. 20. Section 7692 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7692. The committee shall perform other duties and services for
this political party as seem to be for the benefit of the party. They
shall continue to function and exist until the election at the
succeeding presidential primary, or the selection pursuant to Section
7675, and qualification of the members of the new committees.
SEC. 21. Section 7750 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7750. At each presidential primary election, members of central
committees may be elected in each county.
SEC. 22. Section 7751 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7751. For the purposes of this chapter, the registration figures
used shall be those taken from the statement of voters and their
political affiliations transmitted by the elections officials to the
Secretary of State on the 135th day prior to the next presidential
primary election.
SEC. 23. Section 7770 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7770. The state party chairperson, no later than the 135th day
before the presidential primary election, shall notify the Secretary
of State whether or not a county central committee election will be
held. In the event that a county central committee election is not
held, a county central committee will be convened pursuant to rules
adopted by the party.
SEC. 24. Section 7771 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7771. The elections official, no later than the 115th day before
the presidential primary election, shall compute the number of
members of central committees to be elected in each supervisorial or
Assembly district if the election of the members is to be by
supervisorial or Assembly district pursuant to this chapter.
SEC. 25. Section 7772 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7772. In each county, the name of each candidate for member of
central committees shall appear on the ballot only if she or he has
done either of the following:
(a) Filed a nomination paper pursuant to Article 2 (commencing
with Section 8020) to Article 6 (commencing with Section 8100),
inclusive, of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 8, signed in the
candidate's behalf by the voters of the central committee election
district in which she or he is a candidate.
(b) Qualified to have her or his name printed on the presidential
primary ballot as a candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party
nomination to a partisan public office.
SEC. 26. Section 7772.1 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7772.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
elections official, on the 73rd day prior to the presidential primary
election, finds that the number of candidates nominated for election
to a central committee from any election jurisdiction does not
exceed the number to be elected from that jurisdiction, the
designation of the office and the names of the candidates shall not
be printed on this party's ballot in that jurisdiction. In lieu
thereof, the board of supervisors shall declare elected the
candidates who have been nominated.
SEC. 27. Section 7780 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7780. The office of member of central committees may be placed on
the presidential primary ballot under the heading "Party Central
Committees" in the place and manner designated for the office of
county central committee pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 13100) of Division 13. The subheading printed under party
central committees on the presidential primary ballot shall be in
substantially the following form:
Member of Peace and Freedom Party
Central Committees, 55th Assembly District
or
Member of Peace and Freedom Party
Central Committees, Alpine County
SEC. 28. Section 7784 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
7784. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
central committee, in accordance with the rules and regulations
adopted by the committee and subject to the bylaws of the state
central committee, may select its members at any time by holding a
caucus or convention, or by using any other method of selection
approved by the committee.
SEC. 29. Section 7800 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7800. At the convention meeting of the state central committee,
the state central committee shall consist initially of only those
members of central committees elected at the most recent presidential
primary election or selected pursuant to Section 7784.
SEC. 30. Section 7840 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7840. The state central committee shall have power to appoint
interim county central committees in the following counties:
(a) Counties in which the voters have not elected one or more
members of central committees in the presidential primary election
preceding the organization of this committee.
(b) Counties in which all members of a county central committee
are removed from office or cease to be registered as affiliated with
the Peace and Freedom Party.
Persons appointed to interim county central committees pursuant to
this section shall meet the qualifications otherwise required of
appointees to membership on the county central committees. Notice of
any appointments pursuant to this section shall be filed by the state
central committee with the elections official of the county for
which that interim county central committee is appointed. Interim
county central committees appointed pursuant to this section shall
have all the powers and privileges afforded county central committees
by this part.
SEC. 31. Section 7850 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7850. At its first meeting on the second Tuesday in July
following the presidential primary election and at subsequent
meetings, a county central committee, in its sole discretion, may
appoint any additional members to the county central committee as it
may desire.
SEC. 32. Section 7857 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7857. If no members of central committees have been elected in a
county at the preceding presidential primary election or selected in
a county pursuant to Section 7784, or, if for any reason all the
members of a county central committee are removed from office or
cease to be registered as affiliated as members of the Peace and
Freedom Party, then an interim county central committee with full
powers may be appointed by the state central committee under the
procedures specified in Section 7840.
SEC. 33. Section 7882 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
7882. The committees shall perform other duties and services for
this political party as seem to be for the benefit of the party. They
shall continue to function and exist until the members of the new
committees take office after the succeeding presidential primary
election or pursuant to Section 7784.
SEC. 34. Section 8001 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
8001. (a) No declaration of candidacy for a partisan office or
for membership on a county central committee shall be filed by a
candidate unless (1) at the time of presentation of the declaration
and continuously for not less than three months immediately prior to
that time, or for as long as he or she has been eligible to register
to vote in the state, the candidate is shown by his or her affidavit
of registration to be affiliated with the political party the
nomination of which he or she seeks, and (2) the candidate has not
been registered as affiliated with a qualified political party other
than that political party the nomination of which he or she seeks
within 12 months, or, in the case of an election governed by Chapter
1 (commencing with Section 10700) of Part 6 of Division 10, within
three months immediately prior to the filing of the declaration.
(b) The elections official shall attach a certificate to the
declaration of candidacy showing the date on which the candidate
registered as intending to affiliate with the political party the
nomination of which he or she seeks, and indicating that the
candidate has not been affiliated with any other qualified political
party for the period specified in subdivision (a) immediately
preceding the filing of the declaration. This section shall not apply
to declarations of candidacy filed by a candidate of a political
party participating in its first direct primary election subsequent
to its qualification as a political party pursuant to Section 5100.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a county central committee,
subject to the bylaws of the state central committee, may establish
the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee
must be shown by his or her affidavit of registration to be
affiliated with the political party of that committee, and may
establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that
committee must not have been registered as affiliated with a
qualified political party other than the political party of that
committee.
SEC. 35. Section 8020 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
8020. (a) No candidate's name shall be printed on the ballot to
be used at the direct primary unless the following nomination
documents are delivered for filing to the county elections official:
(1) Declaration of candidacy pursuant to Section 8040.
(2) Nomination papers signed by signers pursuant to Section 8041.
(b) The forms shall first be available on the 113th day prior to
the direct primary election, or on the 158th day prior to the primary
election for a candidate for membership on a county central
committee, and shall be delivered not later than 5 p.m. on the 88th
day prior to the primary election. The forms may be delivered to the
county elections official by a person other than the candidate.
(c) Upon the receipt of an executed nomination document, the
county elections official shall give the person delivering the
document a receipt, properly dated, indicating that the document was
delivered to the county elections official.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 8028, upon request of a candidate, the
county elections official shall provide the candidate with a
declaration of candidacy. The county elections official shall not
require a candidate to sign, file, or sign and file, a declaration of
candidacy as a condition of receiving nomination papers.
SEC. 36. The provisions of this act are severable. If any
provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application.