BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1311 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1311 (Bradford) As Amended August 18, 2014 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |57-14|(May 13, 2014) |SENATE: |34-2 |(August 21, | | | | | | |2014) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1311 Page 2 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 AB 1311 Page 3 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 FN: 0005170