BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1122
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1122 (Levine) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:
5-2
Transportation 12-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the DMV, to the extent the state's
implementation plan for the National Voter Registration Act
(NVRA) of 1993 is inconsistent with federal law, to coordinate
with the Secretary of State (SOS) to take additional steps to
fully implement and further comply with NVRA. (This would
require the DMV to use information on a driver's license
application directly for voter registration rather than
requiring a separate voter registration card (VRC) to be
completed by the applicant.)
FISCAL EFFECT
1)The DMV estimates one-time costs in the range of $500,000 to
redesign forms, including translation into six languages, and
for destruction of existing forms. (The department prints over
eight million driver's license/identification cards annually.)
The DMV indicates that an alternative process to transfer the
voter registration information electronically to the SOS would
have significantly higher one-time costs for programming and
ongoing costs for field office staff to enter the voter
registration information for transmission to the SOS. [Motor
Vehicle Account]
2)The SOS indicates that the cost of an electronic system would
depend on whether the system was implemented before the
VoteCal statewide voter database is operational, which is
currently expected by July 2016. The one-time cost for an
interface with VoteCal is about $250,000. The estimated
additional cost for a temporary system prior to having VoteCal
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is $300,000. [General Fund]
COMMENTS
1)NVRA Background . Also known as the "Motor Voter Act,"
enactment of the NVRA in 1993 was intended to enhance and
increase voting opportunities for eligible voters to register
to vote and maintain their registration. The NVRA requires
states to provide the opportunity to apply to register to vote
for federal elections through various methods, including
requiring voter registration opportunities at motor vehicle
agencies.
Several states failed to take the steps necessary to comply
with the law and several also challenged the constitutionality
of the federal mandate. In 1994, the Governor Pete Wilson
signed an executive order directing state and local agencies
to implement the NVRA only to the extent that federal funding
was provided. Three separate lawsuits concerning California's
implementation of the NVRA were filed in federal court, and
the courts found the NVRA constitutional, despite the lack of
federal funding provided to states. The courts also ruled that
California was obligated to implement the NVRA and ordered the
state to submit an implementation plan to the court for review
to ensure conformity of the law's requirements.
2)DMV's Process . DMV's implementation of NVRA provides every
person who applies for or renews a driver's license or
identification card, or submits a change of address form, with
a VRC. The VRC can be used to register to vote or to
re-register after a change in name, address, or party
preference. When voters update their address with a DMV
office, the new address is sent electronically to the SOS's
statewide voter registration database, which then shares the
information with county elections officials who update voter
registration records. When voters move to a new county, the
DMV instructs them to complete a new VRC. DMV accepts
completed VRCs and forwards them to the SOS or the county
where the voter lives.
This process does not comply with the federal NVRA, which
generally prohibits an individual who wants to register to
vote to be required to provide any information that duplicates
information already required on the driver's license form.
Nevertheless, the federal court reviewed and approved the
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state's implementation plan and according to the SOS, the
state's current provisional voting laws meet NVRA
requirements.
3)Purpose . The author argues that DMV should become in full
compliance with NVRA, which he asserts will ease the voter
registration process.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081