BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1440
Author: Campos (D)
Amended: 4/8/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 4-0, 6/17/14
AYES: Padilla, Hancock, Jackson, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elections: district boundaries: public hearing
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires political subdivisions that change
from an at-large method of election to a district-based election
to hold public hearings, and requires special districts to hold
a public hearing before adjusting the boundaries of a division.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides for all of the following:
A. Requires the board of supervisors of a county to hold at
least one public hearing on any proposal to adjust the
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boundaries of a supervisorial district prior to a public
hearing at which the board votes to approve or defeat the
proposal.
B. Requires the council of a city to hold at least one
public hearing on any proposal to adjust the boundaries of
a city council district prior to a public hearing at which
the council votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
C. Requires counties, cities, and specified districts to
adjust the boundaries of the governing boards' districts in
the year following the decennial census. Requires the new
boundaries to result in districts that are as equal in
population as practicable.
1.Defines "at-large method of election" as any of the following
methods of electing members to the governing body of a
political subdivision:
A. One in which the voters of the entire jurisdiction elect
the members to the governing body.
B. One in which the candidates are required to reside
within given areas of the jurisdiction and the voters of
the entire jurisdiction elect the members to the governing
body.
C. One which combines at-large elections with
district-based elections.
1.Defines "district-based election" as a method of electing
members to the governing body of a political subdivision in
which the candidate must reside within an election district
that is a divisible part of the political subdivision and is
elected only by voters residing within that election district.
2.Defines "political subdivision" as a geographic area of
representation created for the provision of government
services, including, but not limited to, a city, a school
district, a community college district, or other district
organized pursuant to state law.
This bill:
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1.Requires a political subdivision that changes from an at-large
method of election to a district-based election to hold at
least two public hearings on a proposal to establish the
district boundaries of the political subdivision prior to the
public hearing at which the governing body of the political
subdivision votes to approve or defeat the proposal. This
requirement applies to, but is not limited to, a proposal that
is required due to a court-imposed change from an at-large
method of election to a district-based election.
2.Requires the governing body of a district to hold at least one
public hearing on any proposal to adjust the boundaries of a
division prior to a public hearing at which the governing body
votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
Background
The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) . SB 976 (Polanco,
Chapter 129, Statutes of 2002) enacted the CVRA to address
racial block voting in at-large elections for local office in
California. In areas where racial block voting occurs, an
at-large method of election can dilute the voting rights of
minority communities if the majority usually votes for majority
candidates rather than for minority candidates. In such
situations, breaking up a jurisdiction into districts can result
in districts in which a minority community can elect the
candidate of its choice or otherwise have the ability to
influence the outcome of an election. Accordingly, the CVRA
prohibits an at-large method of election from being imposed or
applied in a political subdivision in a manner that impairs the
ability of a protected class of voters to elect the candidate of
its choice or to influence the outcome of an election, as a
result of the dilution or the abridgement of the rights of
voters who are members of the protected class.
The CVRA also allows a prevailing plaintiff to recover
attorney's fees and litigation expenses to increase the
likelihood that attorneys will be willing to bring challenges
under the law.
Approximately 130 local government bodies have transitioned from
at-large to district-based elections since the enactment of the
CVRA. While some jurisdictions did so in response to litigation
or threats of litigation, other jurisdictions proactively
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changed election methods because they believed they could be
susceptible to a legal challenge under the CVRA, and they wished
to avoid the potential expense of litigation.
Voter approval and waivers . Generally, local government bodies
must receive voter approval to move from an at-large method of
election to a district-based method of election for selecting
governing board members. However, the State Board of Education
(SBE) and the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges can waive the voter-approval requirement for school
districts and community college districts. The SBE and the
Board of Governors have granted nearly 120 requests for waivers
from the voter-approval requirement for school districts and
community college districts that have sought to move to
district-based elections for board members due to concerns about
potential liability under the CVRA.
There is no procedure in statute for cities or special districts
to receive a waiver for the voter-approval requirement to move
from at-large to district-based elections if those governmental
bodies have concerns about liability under the CVRA. However,
in at least some cases, judges have approved settlements to CVRA
lawsuits that allow the governing body to transition from
at-large to district-based elections without voter approval.
According to information compiled by the Lawyers' Committee for
Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, at least a dozen
other local jurisdictions statewide have transitioned to
electing governing board members by districts as a result of
settlements to lawsuits brought under the CVRA.
Public hearing requirements . While existing law generally
requires cities and counties to hold at least one public hearing
on a proposal to adjust the boundaries of city council or county
supervisorial districts prior to the hearing at which the
council or board votes on the proposed adjustment, state law
does not appear to require hearings on proposed district
boundaries when a local governmental body transitions from
at-large to district-based elections. Given the large number of
jurisdictions that have been transitioning from at-large to
district-based elections due to the CVRA, many local
governmental bodies are in the process of developing proposed
district boundaries without any requirement that public hearings
be conducted to ensure public access and involvement in those
decisions.
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Districts and Redistricting After the Decennial Census . As
noted above, counties, cities, and districts that elect
governing board members using a district-based election system
are required under existing law to adjust the boundaries of the
governing boards' districts in the year following the decennial
census. The purpose of adjusting the district lines is to
ensure that all districts within a local government body have
roughly equal populations. AB 186 (Hertzberg, Chapter 429,
Statutes of 1999) required county boards of supervisors and city
councils to hold a public hearing prior to a vote to adjust the
boundaries of council or supervisorial districts. However, no
such public hearing requirement applies to districts when they
are considering proposals to adjust the boundaries of the
governing board's divisions.
Related Legislation
AB 2715 (Hernandez) requires cities with a population of 100,000
or more to elect city council members by district, instead of
at-large. The bill was held in Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
SB 1365 (Padilla) prohibits the use of a district-based election
in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a
protected class to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise
influence the outcome of an election as a result of the dilution
or the abridgment of the rights of voters who are members of a
protected class and would require a court to implement specified
remedies.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Per Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments
Committee analysis of 4/8/14--unable to reverify at time of
writing)
California Federation of Teachers
California Professional Firefighters
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Professional
Firefighters, state that, "AB 1440 would help increase public
confidence in the process of drawing new district lines in a
manner that is open, fair and indicative of sufficient public
input?"
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.
Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Vacancy
RM:e 7/2/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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