BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1331
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1331 (Kehoe)
          As Introduced  February 23, 2012
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :32-3  
           
           ELECTIONS           5-1         APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Fong, Bonilla, Hall,      |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield,     |
          |     |Mendoza, Swanson          |     |Bradford, Charles         |
          |     |                          |     |Calderon, Campos, Davis,  |
          |     |                          |     |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara,  |
          |     |                          |     |Mitchell, Solorio         |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Donnelly                  |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly,         |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner    |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          SUMMARY  :  Establishes a redistricting commission in San Diego 
          County to adjust the boundaries of supervisorial districts after 
          each decennial federal census.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Provides for the creation of a redistricting commission in San 
            Diego County.  Requires the commission to be comprised of five 
            members and two alternates.  Makes current members of the 
            county board of supervisors ineligible to serve on the 
            commission, and requires every member and alternate to be a 
            resident of and registered voter in San Diego County and a 
            former or retired state or federal judge.

          2)Permits any person who meets the qualifications to serve on 
            the commission to submit his or her name to the clerk of the 
            board of supervisors of San Diego County to be included in a 
            random drawing to select the members and alternates to the 
            commission.  Permits the presiding judge of the San Diego 
            County Superior Court to assist the clerk of the board of 
            supervisors in San Diego County in identifying former or 
            retired judges that may be qualified to be included in the 
            drawing.

          3)Requires the redistricting commission to adjust the 








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            supervisorial district boundaries after each decennial federal 
            census.  Requires that the boundaries be adjusted so that the 
            resulting supervisorial districts are equal or nearly equal in 
            population, and comply with any applicable provisions of 
            Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act.  

          4)Permits the redistricting commission to consider the following 
            factors when establishing boundaries of supervisorial 
            districts:  topography; geography; cohesiveness, contiguity, 
            integrity, and compactness of territory; and, communities of 
            interests.

          5)Requires the board of supervisors of San Diego County to 
            provide for reasonable staffing and logistical support for the 
            commission.

          6)Makes the redistricting commission subject to the Ralph M. 
            Brown Act (the state's open meetings law) and requires the 
            commission to conduct at least seven public hearings with at 
            least one public hearing held in each supervisorial district.

          7)Requires the redistricting commission to adopt a redistricting 
            plan adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts and 
            to file the plan with the clerk of the board of supervisors 
            prior to the first day of October of the year following the 
            year in which each decennial federal census is taken.  
            Provides that the plan is effective 30 days after it is filed 
            with the clerk.  Provides that the plan is subject to 
            referendum in the same manner as ordinances.

           EXISTING LAW  provides that counties that have adopted charters 
          are subject to statutes that relate to apportioning population 
          of governing body districts.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, any costs to the county will not be 
          state-reimbursable, because the county has requested and is 
          sponsoring this legislation.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "SB 1331 promotes a specific 
          redistricting reform solution supported by elected officials, 
          Latino voter advocacy groups, and others from San Diego County.  
          The San Diego County Board of Supervisors (the County Board) 
          voted on January 24, 2012 to seek changes in state law necessary 








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          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."

          A number of California cities have established redistricting 
          commissions to adjust city council districts following each 
          decennial census.  Charter cities are able to establish such 
          commissions because the state Constitution gives charter cities 
          broad authority over the conduct of city elections and over the 
          manner in which, method by which, times at which, and terms for 
          which municipal officers are elected.  Charter counties, on the 
          other hand, are not granted the same level of authority over the 
          conduct of county elections, and in fact, the state Constitution 
          explicitly provides that "Ýc]harter counties are subject to 
          statutes that relate to apportioning population of governing 
          body districts."  Because existing law does not permit San Diego 
          County to establish a redistricting commission without statutory 
          authorization, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has 
          sponsored this bill requesting authorization for the county to 
          create such a commission.  This bill goes beyond simply 
          providing such authorization to San Diego County, however, as it 
          imposes a number of conditions on the formation and composition 
          of any commission that the county establishes.  Because of the 
          conditions that this bill creates for any San Diego County 
          redistricting commission, subsequent legislation would be 
          required for any change that the voters of San Diego County 
          wished to make to the structure of the redistricting commission.

          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion 
          of this bill.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 


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