BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1311
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1311 (Bradford)
          As Amended  August 18, 2014
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |57-14|(May 13, 2014)  |SENATE: |34-2 |(August 21,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2014)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    E. & R.  

           SUMMARY  :  Establishes a process for filling a vacancy in an  
          office that occurs after a recall petition has been filed  
          against the vacating officer and clarifies provisions of law  
          related to voter registration assistance for a conservatee.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Requires the elections official or officials to verify the  
            signatures on the recall petition that have been submitted as  
            of the date of the vacancy.

          2)Provides that if a sufficient number of signatures have been  
            filed for the recall to qualify as of the date of the vacancy,  
            the recall election shall proceed.

          3)Provides that if an insufficient number of signatures or no  
            signatures were filed for the recall to qualify as of the date  
            of the vacancy, the recall shall not proceed and the vacancy  
            shall be filled as provided by law.

          4)Provides that a person who is the subject of a recall petition  
            may not be appointed to fill the vacancy in the office that he  
            or she vacated nor shall that person be appointed to fill any  
            other vacancy in office on the same governing board for the  
            duration of the term of office of the seat that he or she  
            vacated.

           The Senate amendments  :

          1)Prohibit a person, including a conservatee, from being  
            disqualified from voting on the basis that he or she signs the  
            affidavit of voter registration with mark or a cross, signs  
            the affidavit of voter registration with a signature stamp, or  
            completes the affidavit of registration with the assistance of  








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            another person.

          2)Make other corresponding changes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "Questions have arisen of  
          how current law would be interpreted regarding the timing of a  
          vacancy in an office subject to a recall.  Specifically,  
          concerns have been raised over 'musical chairs' gamesmanship,  
          where someone might resign to avoid a recall moving forward then  
          get appointed to another vacancy on the same governing body.  
          Current law provides that if an elected official resigns after a  
          recall petition is filed with the county elections official, the  
          entire recall process, including the requirement that an  
          election be held, must proceed? AB 1311 addresses this conflict  
          by clarifying the process to be followed when the elected  
          official resigns after recall petitions have been filed with a  
          county elections office." 
           
           AB 2088 (Adams) of 2010 was substantially similar to the recall  
          related portion of this measure except that AB 2088 would have  
          clarified a conflict regarding the number of signatures that  
          need to be verified using a random sampling technique when  
          recall petitions are filed.  AB 2088 was vetoed by Governor  
          Schwarzenegger.  In his veto message, Governor Schwarzenegger  
          said that "This bill would limit an important power of direct  
          democracy by limiting voters' ability to recall an elected  
          official and elect a replacement.  Unfortunately recall efforts  
          can become punitive rather than a constructive effort to replace  
          an officeholder; however, the recall process as a whole is an  
          important component of the people's right to directly change  
          their government.  Under the provisions of this bill, an  
          official subject to a recall could resign and allow a successor  
          to take their place.  This limits the ability of the voters to  
          select the replacement through a recall election." 
           
           The Senate amendments add language to the bill related to voter  
          registration assistance for a conservatee.  Specifically, the  
          amendments prohibit a person, including a conservatee, from  
          being disqualified from voting on the basis that he or she signs  
          the affidavit of voter registration with mark or a cross, signs  
          the affidavit of voter registration with a signature stamp, or  
          completes the affidavit of registration with the assistance of  








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          another person.  These provisions of this bill have not been  
          heard in an Assembly policy committee. 
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Nichole Becker & Lori Barber / E. & R.  
          / (916) 319-2094 


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