BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 214 (Skinner) - Voting: State of Emergency
Amended: May 28, 2013 Policy Vote: E&CA 3-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: June 24, 2013
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 214 requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to
establish procedures and guidelines for voting in the event of a
natural disaster or other state of emergency, by December 31,
2014. The procedures and guidelines will be published on the
SOS Internet Web site.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of $124,403 to the Secretary of State
(General Fund).
Background:
Existing law permits the Governor, during a state of war or a
state of emergency, to suspend any regulatory statute, or
statute prescribing the procedure for conduct of state business,
or the orders, rules, or regulations of any state agency and to
make, amend, and rescind orders and regulations that have the
force and effect of law.
Elections officials are required, upon the declaration of a
state of emergency by the Governor, to authorize an emergency
worker to cast a ballot outside of his or her home precinct by
providing the worker with a provisional ballot.
Existing law also permits elections officials to set up
satellite voting locations and requires the elections official
to issue a general news release not later than 14 days prior to
voting at the satellite location.
Efforts on the Federal Level : To support state efforts aimed at
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establishing sound administrative election practices in
emergency conditions, the members of the National Association of
Secretaries of State (NASS) earlier this year created the NASS
Task Force on Emergency Preparedness for Elections. The task
force is a national initiative, formed in the wake of Hurricane
Sandy, which struck the East Coast just days before the
presidential election on November 6, 2012. The effort, which
includes chief state election officials from twenty-two states
and the District of Columbia, will focus on identifying laws and
practices that enhance the ability of state election officials
to prepare for, and respond to, emergency situations. The task
force also works closely with other stakeholder organizations,
including the National Emergency Management Association and the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. California Secretary of
State Debra Bowen is a member of the newly formed task force.
According to the NASS website, the task force convened a
conference call earlier this month to determine the range of
issues that will be researched. Emergency planning and response
issues that arose due to Hurricane Sandy included emergency
voting/absentee ballot procedures, state-local/municipal
information sharing and emergency communications, equipment
shortages, emergency authority issues, and continuity of
elections. Additionally, the task force is planning to release
a white paper early next year.
Other States : According to the NASS Task Force on Emergency
Preparedness for Elections, the following states have emergency
response laws in place authorizing election contingency plans in
the event of an emergency: Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa,
Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia. In
addition, Delaware, Connecticut, and South Dakota have enacted
election-related state of emergency statutes within the last two
years. This year, Alabama and Oklahoma have introduced laws
authorizing election contingency plans in the event of an
emergency.
Proposed Law: AB 214 requires the Secretary of State, in
consultation with county election officials, to establish
procedures and guidelines for voting in the event of a natural
disaster or other state of emergency. The guidelines must be
completed by December 31, 2014 and must be posted on the SOS Web
site.
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Additionally, the SOS will be required to report to the
Legislature by December 31, 2014 on the readiness of the state
to hold elections during or following a natural disaster or
other state of emergency.
Staff Comments: The Secretary of State indicates the need for
PY at the level of Attorney III to conduct research, solicit
county participation, prepare draft procedures and guidelines,
revise and review for final and to post the guidelines on the
Internet web site.