BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1331 HEARING DATE:
4/19/12
AUTHOR: KEHOE ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
County of San Diego Independent Redistricting Commission
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires the board of supervisors of each
county, following each decennial federal census, to adjust
the boundaries of the supervisorial districts so that the
districts are as nearly equal in population as possible and
in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act. In
establishing the boundaries of the districts the board may
give consideration to the following factors:
Topography.
Geography.
Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of
territory.
Communities of interest.
This bill would instead establish, for the County of San
Diego only, a five-member Independent Redistricting
Commission to adjust San Diego County's supervisorial
districts and would require the county to provide
reasonable staffing and logistical support to the
commission.
This bill would provide that any interested person that
meets the following qualifications may submit his or her
name to the clerk of the board to be included in a random
drawing to determine the five commission members and two
alternates. The qualifications are as follows:
Be a former or retired state or federal judge.
Be a resident of the County of San Diego.
Be a registered voter of the County of San Diego.
Not be a current member of the board.
This bill requires the commission to adjust the
supervisorial district boundaries after each decennial
federal census so that the districts are equal, or nearly
equal in population and so that they comply with any
applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act, as
amended. The commission may consider all of the following
factors in establishing the boundaries of the supervisorial
districts:
Topography.
Geography.
Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of
territory.
Community of interests in each district.
This bill requires the Board of Supervisors to provide for
reasonable staffing and logistical support for the
commission and provides that the commission shall be
subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act (the open meeting law)
and shall conduct at least seven public hearings with at
least one public hearing held in each supervisorial
district. The commission must adopt a redistricting plan
adjusting
the boundaries prior to the first day of October of the
year following the year in which each decennial federal
census is taken and the plan shall be subject to referendum
in the same manner as ordinances.
BACKGROUND
City of San Diego Redistricting Commission . The council
districts for the City of San Diego are already adjusted by
a commission rather that the city council. Pursuant to the
San Diego City Charter, the San Diego Redistricting
Commission is composed of seven members appointed by the
Presiding Judge of the Municipal Court, San Diego Judicial
District. The Presiding Judge must appoint women and men
who will give the Redistricting Commission geographic,
social and ethnic diversity, and who have a high degree of
competency to carry out the responsibilities of the
Commission. The appointees must include individuals with a
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demonstrated capacity to serve with impartiality in a
nonpartisan role and must be registered to vote in The City
of San Diego. Persons who accept appointment to the
Commission, at the time of their appointment, must file a
written declaration with the City Clerk stating that within
five years of the Commission's adoption of a final
redistricting plan, they will not seek election to a San
Diego City public office. The districts must be contiguous
and as equal in population and as geographically compact as
possible. The districts must also, as far as possible, be
bounded by natural boundaries, by street lines and/or by
city boundary lines.
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission . In
November, 2008, voters passed Proposition 11, which created
the Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCR) to establish
new district boundaries for the State Assembly, State
Senate, and Board of Equalization beginning after the 2010
census. In November, 2010, voters passed Proposition 20
which required the commission to also establish new
boundaries for California's congressional districts. The
commission consists of 14 registered voters, including five
Democrats, five Republicans, and four others all of whom
applied for the position and were chosen according to a
procedure specified in the ballot measures.
Pursuant to the California Constitution, the place of
residence of any incumbent or political candidate shall not
be considered by the CCR in the creation of a map and
districts shall not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or
discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate,
or political party. The CCR must establish districts
pursuant to criteria set forth in the following order of
priority:
Districts shall comply with the United States
Constitution. Congressional districts shall achieve
population equality as nearly as is practicable, and
Senatorial, Assembly, and State Board of Equalization
districts shall have reasonably equal population with
other districts for the same office, except where
deviation is required to comply with the federal Voting
Rights Act or allowable by law.
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Districts shall comply with the federal Voting Rights
Act.
Districts shall be geographically contiguous.
The geographic integrity of any city, county, city and
county, local neighborhood, or local community of
interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes
their division to the extent possible without violating
the requirements of any of the preceding criteria.
To the extent practicable, and where this does not
conflict with the criteria above, districts shall be
drawn to encourage geographical compactness such that
nearby areas of population are not bypassed for more
distant population.
To the extent practicable, and where this does not
conflict with the criteria above, each Senate district
shall be comprised of two whole, complete, and adjacent
Assembly districts, and each Board of Equalization
district shall be comprised of 10 whole, complete, and
adjacent Senate districts.
Communities of Interest . Although not defined by this
bill, the California Constitution, for the purposes of the
CCR, defines "community of interest" as a contiguous
population which shares common social and economic
interests that should be included within a single district
for purposes of its effective and fair representation.
Examples of such shared interests are those common to an
urban area, a rural area, an industrial area, or an
agricultural area, and those common to areas in which the
people share similar living standards, use the same
transportation facilities, have similar work opportunities,
or have access to the same media of communication relevant
to the election process. Communities of interest shall not
include relationships with political parties, incumbents,
or political candidates.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author : Redistricting is the process
of redrawing, or adjusting, electoral district
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boundaries following the decennial federal census to
account for population shifts and growth during the
previous decade. The next redistricting of San Diego
County supervisorial districts will occur following the
census in 2020. Currently, California Elections Code §§
21500 and 21501 require the San Diego County Board of
Supervisors redistrict the County's supervisorial
districts. California Constitution Art. XI § 4 states
that county charters are subject to state statutes
relating to redistricting.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors (the County
Board) voted on January 24, 2012 to seek changes in
state law necessary to create an independent
redistricting commission comprised of retired judges. SB
1331 creates the independent commission and shifts the
authority for redistricting San Diego County's
supervisorial districts from the County Board to the
independent commission. Changes to the San Diego County
Charter would conform the Charter to state law,
facilitating implementation and operation of the
independent commission.
Because the Elections Code controls and limits the
redistricting process, the County Board cannot
reformulate its redistricting process unless the
legislature changes the Elections Code to provide for an
Independent Redistricting Commission in San Diego
County. Moreover, because San Diego County voters must
approve of any charter changes, the state must initiate
action on this matter so that voters will know all the
relevant statutory changes that will influence
conforming amendments to the county charter.
Throughout the 2011 redistricting process, residents of
San Diego County expressed support for an independent
redistricting commission. On December 6, 2011, the
County Board approved its 2012 Legislative Program,
which included a State Sponsorship Proposal to, "Seek a
change in state law that would permit San Diego County
to establish an independent panel of retired judges to
conduct redistricting for the County of San Diego
supervisorial districts."
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The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will not seek
mandate reimbursement to implement the terms of this
bill when the changes are confirmed through voter
approval of conforming amendments to the County charter.
This District bill will only affect the drawing of
district maps for San Diego County supervisorial
districts.
2. Should the State Grant Permission Only ? This bill
would provide for the specifics establishing the San
Diego County Independent Redistricting Commission and
the criteria that the commission must follow in state
law. Since this bill will have no effect unless the San
Diego County charter is amended to conform to it, would
it not be more prudent to amend this bill so that it
merely permits San Diego County to establish its own
redistricting commission? The advantages of a
"permission-only" approach are twofold: first, it would
not require future amendments to state law if San Diego
County wishes to adjust its process; second, it would
transfer the debate over the specifics of the make-up of
the commission and the process/criteria it must follow
to the charter amendment process in San Diego County
itself thereby making it easier for local interested
persons to participate.
If however, the author and/or the committee do not wish to
amend the bill in this suggested manner, a technical
amendment should be added to specify that it becomes
effective only if the San Diego charter is amended to
require a redistricting commission in order to prevent a
conflict between the statute and the charter.
3. Why Former Judges ? Would the people of San Diego
County be better served if the members of its
redistricting commission be drawn from a broader pool of
individuals in a manner similar to that of the San Diego
City Redistricting Commission (i.e., women and men who
will give the Redistricting Commission geographic,
social and ethnic diversity)?
POSITIONS
Sponsor: San Diego County Board of Supervisors
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Support: California State Association of Counties
Common Cause
Latino American Political Association of San
Diego
San Diego Latino Redistricting Committee
Urban Counties Caucus
Oppose: None received
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