BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 354
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 354 (Dahle) - As Amended: April 23, 2013
SUBJECT : Ballot measures: ballot title and summary: ballot
label: impartial analysis.
SUMMARY : Requires a statement indicating whether a state or
local ballot measure was placed on the ballot by a petition
signed by the requisite number of voters or by the legislative
body, respectively, to be included in the ballot measure
analysis and on the ballot. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the ballot label for each statewide measure to
include a statement indicating whether the measure was placed
on the ballot by petition or by the Legislature. Requires the
ballot title and summary that appears in the ballot pamphlet
to include a statement indicating whether the measure was
placed on the ballot by petition or by the Legislature.
2)Requires the analysis of a county ballot measure, prepared by
the county counsel or district attorney, to include a
statement indicating whether the measure was placed on the
ballot by a petition signed by the requisite number of voters
or by the board of supervisors.
3)Requires the analysis of a city ballot measure, prepared by
the city attorney, to include a statement indicating whether
the measure was placed on the ballot by a petition signed by
the requisite number of voters or by the governing body of the
city.
4)Requires the analysis of a district ballot measure, prepared
by the county counsel or district attorney as specified, to
include a statement indicating whether the measure was placed
on the ballot by a petition signed by the requisite number of
voters or by the governing body of the district.
5)Requires the analysis of a water district ballot measure,
prepared by the legal counsel of the water district or the
county counsel as specified, to include a statement indicating
whether the measure was placed on the ballot by a petition
signed by the requisite number of voters or by the governing
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body of the water district.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Attorney General (AG) to prepare a title and
summary of the chief purpose and points of a proposed
statewide ballot measure that appears in the state ballot
pamphlet. Requires the title and summary to not exceed a
total of 100 words, including the fiscal impact statement.
Requires the AG, in providing the ballot title and summary, to
give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the
measure in such language that the ballot title shall neither
be an argument, nor likely to create prejudice, for or against
the proposed measure.
2)Requires the AG, during the preparation of a title and summary
for a proposed statewide ballot measure, to determine whether
the measure would affect the revenues or expenditures of the
state or local government. Requires the Department of Finance
(DOF) and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) to
prepare an estimate of the impact on revenues or expenditures
if the AG determines that the initiative would affect revenues
or expenditures. Provides that a statement of fiscal impact
prepared by the Legislative Analyst may be used by JLBC and
DOF in the preparation of the fiscal estimate or opinion.
Requires the AG to include this estimate in the title and
summary.
3)Requires the AG to prepare a ballot label for each statewide
ballot measure, which is the portion of the ballot that
contains the names of candidates or a statement of a ballot
measure. Requires statewide ballot measure ballot labels to
contain no more than 75 words and to be a condensed version of
the ballot title and summary, including the fiscal impact
summary.
4)Requires a county counsel or district attorney to prepare an
impartial analysis of a qualified county ballot measure
showing the effect of the measure on existing law and the
operation of the measure. Provides that the analysis shall
not exceed 500 words in length.
5)Requires a city attorney, unless the organization or salaries
of the office of the city attorney are affected, to prepare an
impartial analysis of a qualified city ballot measure showing
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the effect of the measure on existing law and the operation of
the measure. Provides that the analysis shall not exceed 500
words in length.
6)Requires the county counsel or, if there is no county counsel,
the district attorney of the county that contains the largest
number of registered voters of the district, to prepare an
impartial analysis of a district measure showing the effect of
the measure on existing law and the operation of the measure.
Provides that the analysis shall not exceed 500 words in
length.
7)Requires the legal counsel for a water district or, if there
is no legal counsel for the water district, the county counsel
of the county that contains the largest number of registered
voters of the water district, to prepare an impartial analysis
of the measure showing the effect of the measure on the
existing law and the operation of the measure. Provides that
the analysis shall not exceed 500 words in length.
8)Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to prepare a state
ballot pamphlet for every statewide election.
9)Requires the state ballot pamphlet to contain, among other
things, the following items:
a) A complete copy of each state ballot measure;
b) A copy of the specific constitutional or statutory
provision, if any, that each state measure would repeal or
revise;
c) A copy of the arguments and rebuttals for and against
each state measure; and,
d) A copy of the analysis of each state measure, prepared
by the Legislative Analyst.
10)Requires the state ballot pamphlet, for each statewide ballot
measure, to contain the following, among other things:
a) Identification of the measure by number and title;
b) The official summary prepared by the AG; and,
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c) The total number of votes cast for and against the
measure in both the Senate and Assembly, if the measure was
passed by the Legislature.
11)Requires the county elections official to prepare a sample
ballot for each election.
12)Requires the sample ballot to contain, among other things,
the following items:
a) A copy of the official ballot used in the election;
b) A notice of the polling place to each voter;
c) A complete copy of the each local measure;
d) A copy of the arguments and rebuttals for and against
each local measure; and,
e) A copy of the analysis of each local measure.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Current law does not require that a source of a qualified
ballot initiative be noted on the ballot or within the
ballot summary. AB 354 would simply require that the
source of the initiative be noted in the ballot summary and
on the ballot itself. This will help voters determine how
an initiative got on the ballot, especially when there are
competing issues.
2)Limited Ballot Space : Existing law requires the elections
official to prepare the ballot and include, among other
things, the title of each office, the names of all qualified
candidates, titles and summaries of measures, instructions to
voters on marking the ballot, and translations. Additionally,
strict requirements are in place regarding the ballot design,
format, font style and size, among other things.
Consequently, due to the strict requirements in place for
ballots, it is challenging for elections official to find
space on the ballot to add more information.
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In addition, as mentioned above, current law has strict
requirements in place pertaining to the length of a title and
summary placed in the state ballot pamphlet, the county sample
ballot and on the ballot. For instance, existing law requires
the title and summary for state ballot measure to not exceed a
total of 100 words in length, which includes the fiscal impact
statement. Additionally, current law requires the ballot
label of a statewide ballot measure to contain no more than 75
words and to be a condensed version of the ballot title and
summary, including the fiscal impact summary. The statement
required by this bill would count toward the word count limit
thereby limiting other information that can be included in
ballot labels and titles and summaries.
Although, it is plausible that the statement could be
relatively short in length, the statement would still be
required to be included in the strict word count requirements.
Moreover, the author's statement states that the intent of
this bill to require the statement to be placed in the ballot
measure summary and on the ballot itself. However, it is
unclear whether this bill accomplishes the author's goals.
While this bill requires the statement described above to be
included in the ballot pamphlet and on the ballot for
statewide measures, it is unclear whether the provisions of
this bill require the statement to be included on the ballot
for local measures. According to the author's staff, it is
not the author's intention to treat state and ballot measures
differently. Consequently, in order to provide consistency
for all ballot measures the committee may wish to amend the
bill to ensure all ballots contain the statement described
above.
Alternatively, due to the limited space on the ballot and
because there is more flexibility with respect to the state
ballot pamphlet and the county sample ballot, the committee
may wish to consider deleting the requirement for the
statement to be included on the ballot for state and local
measures and instead only require the statement to be included
in the state ballot pamphlet and the sample ballots.
3)Ballot Pamphlets and Sample Ballots : Existing law requires
the SOS to prepare the state ballot pamphlet for each
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statewide election, which includes information about ballot
measures that will appear on the ballot. Among the
information that is included for each ballot measure is an
impartial analysis of the measure, arguments for and against
the measure, and the full text of the measure, and, for
measures passed by the Legislature, the total number of votes
cast for and against the measure in both the Senate and
Assembly.
The requirement in this bill to include a statement indicating
whether the measure was placed on the ballot by petition or by
the Legislature may be redundant for statewide ballot
measures, as existing law requires statewide ballot measures
placed on the ballot by the Legislature to include the votes
cast for and against each measure in both the Senate Assembly.
Conversely, because this requirement is not in place for
local ballot measures placed on the ballot by their respective
governing bodies, it may be of value as it will ensure voters
receive consistent information for all ballot measures.
4)What about School Districts Measures ? As mentioned above,
this bill requires a statement indicating whether a state,
county, city, district, and water district ballot measure was
placed on the ballot by a petition signed by the requisite
number of voters or by the governing body, to be included in
the analysis and on the ballot. However, this bill does not
apply these same requirements to school district measures.
According to the author's staff, it is the author's intention
to apply these requirements to all ballot measures, ensuring
there is uniformity across all jurisdictions. The committee
may wish to amend the bill to apply the same requirements to
school district ballot measures.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support Opposition
None on file. None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
AB 354
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