BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1331|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1331
          Author:   Kehoe (D)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMDMTS. COMM.  :  5-0, 4/19/12
          AYES:  Correa, La Malfa, De León, Gaines, Lieu

          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


           SUBJECT  :    San Diego County:  independent redistricting 
          commission

           SOURCE  :     San Diego County Board of Supervisors


           DIGEST  :    This bill establishes the Independent 
          Redistricting Commission in San Diego County.  It requires 
          the clerk of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to 
          select, at random, the members of the Commission from 
          persons interested in, and qualified to serve on, the 
          Commission.  It requires the County to provide reasonable 
          staffing and logistical support to the Commission.  It 
          requires the Commission to hold at least seven public 
          hearings, and requires the Commission to adjust the 
          boundaries of the supervisorial boundaries of the county, 
          as specified.  It requires the Commission to adopt a 
          redistricting plan, as specified, and provides that the 
          plan become effective 30 days following submission to the 
          clerk of the Board.  This bill subjects the plan to 
          referendum. 
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           ANALYSIS  :    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:  (1) 
          topography, (2) geography, (3) cohesiveness, contiguity, 
          integrity, and compactness of territory, and (4) 
          communities of interest.

          This bill instead establishes, for San Diego County only, a 
          five-member Independent Redistricting Commission to adjust 
          San Diego County's supervisorial districts and requires the 
          County to provide reasonable staffing and logistical 
          support to the Commission. 

          This bill provides that any interested person that meets 
          the following qualifications may submit his/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:  (1) be a former or 
          retired state or federal judge, (2) be a resident of San 
          Diego County, (3) be a registered voter of San Diego 
          County, and (4) 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:  (1) topography, (2) geography, (3) 
          cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of 
          territory, and (4) community of interests in each district.
           
           This bill requires the Board 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 

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          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 
          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.

           Comments
           
          According to the author's office, redistricting is the 
          process of redrawing, or adjusting, electoral district 
          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 (Board) to redistrict the County's 
          supervisorial districts.  California Constitution Article 

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          XI § 4 states that county charters are subject to state 
          statutes relating to redistricting.  The Board voted on 
          January 24, 2012, to seek changes in state law necessary to 
          create an independent redistricting commission comprised of 
          retired judges.  This bill creates the independent 
          commission and shifts the authority for redistricting San 
          Diego County's supervisorial districts from the 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 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 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."  The Board 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.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/3/12)

          San Diego County Board of Supervisors (source)

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          California State Association of Counties 
          Latino American Political Association of San Diego
          Urban Counties Caucus


          DLW:mw  5/7/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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