BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS Senator Alex Padilla, Chair BILL NO: AB 1752 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14 AUTHOR: FONG ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon Estoista AMENDED: 5/13/14 FISCAL: NO SUBJECT Redistricting: incumbent designation DESCRIPTION Existing law provides in the first election for Representative in Congress, State Senator, Assemblymember, and Member of the Board of Equalization (BOE) following the adjustment of boundaries of districts, the candidate who is considered the incumbent in the race shall be based on the following: a) If a candidate is running for the same office which he or she holds, and is running for reelection in a district that has the identical boundaries and number as the district from which he or she was last elected, that person is deemed to be the incumbent; b) If there is no candidate for which (a) applies, but there is a candidate running for the same office which he or she holds, and is running for reelection in a district that has the identical boundaries as the district from which he or she was last elected, but which has a different number, that person is deemed to be the incumbent; c) If there is no candidate for which (a) or (b) applies, but there is a candidate running for the same office which he or she holds, and who is running for reelection in a district that has the identical number as the district from which he or she was last elected, that person is deemed to be the incumbent; provided, however, that a candidate for Assembly is considered the incumbent in this case only if the district bearing the same number is located in the same county as the district which previously bore that number; d) If there is no candidate for which (a), (b), or (c) applies, but there is a candidate running for the same office that he or she then holds, and who is running for reelection in a district that contains some portion of the territory previously contained within the district from which he or she was last elected, that person is deemed to be the incumbent; provided, however, that in a new district that contains portions of the territory of more than one former district, the incumbent is the candidate whose former district includes the largest portion of the territory of the new district; and, e) If there is no candidate for which (a), (b), (c), or (d) applies, any candidate for the same office that he or she then holds and who fulfills the residential requirements of law for candidacy within the district is considered the incumbent. Existing law establishes the Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC), and gives it the responsibility for establishing the district lines for State Senate, Assembly, Congress, and the BOE. This bill provides in the first election for Representative in Congress, State Senator, Assemblymember, or Member of the BOE following the adjustment of boundaries of districts, if more than one sitting member of a governmental body is running for election in a new district, the candidate who is considered the "incumbent" in the new district is the candidate whose district has the largest portion of the population, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, instead of the candidate who is running in a district bearing the same number as the district represented by the candidate, if any. This bill makes conforming changes to reflect that the CRC, rather than the Legislature, is responsible for adjusting the boundaries of Congressional, Legislative, and BOE districts following the federal decennial census. This bill also makes corresponding and technical changes. BACKGROUND Every ten years, following the completion of the Census, the AB 1752 (FONG) Page 2 boundary lines of Legislative, Congressional, and Board of Equalization districts are required to be adjusted so that all the districts for the same office have approximately equal populations. When district boundaries are adjusted, it is possible that more than one sitting member of a house of the Legislature, of Congress, or of the Board of Equalization, may end up in the same district. In recognition of the potential for such a situation, state law contains a method for determining which candidate is considered the incumbent when two or more sitting members are running against each other following the adjustment of boundary lines. Under that method, if both sitting members represent a portion of the new district in which they are running, the member who is running for the district with the same district number is considered the incumbent, and is able to use the ballot designation of "Incumbent." When the Legislature was responsible for drawing new district lines, it typically numbered districts in a manner that was designed to promote continuity in district numbers, so the practical effect was that the person who represented a larger portion of the new district was considered the incumbent. But when the Citizens Redistricting Commission numbered districts, it did so in a manner that much more strictly followed the geographic placement of the districts. AB 1752 (FONG) Page 3 COMMENTS 1. According to the Author : The purpose of allowing a candidate to use the ballot designation "Incumbent" is to provide information to voters about the individual who has been representing them. In light of that fact, state law should give priority to the person who represents the largest population from the new district, rather than the person who is running in the same district number. AB 1752 ensures that a candidate who represents the largest population in a new district following redistricting will be considered the incumbent in that district. Additionally, AB 1752 updates California law to reflect the fact that redistricting of Legislative, Congressional, and Board of Equalization districts is now carried out by the Citizens Redistricting Commission. 2. Prior Legislation : AB 2444 (Crown), Ch. 1238, Statutes of 1961, established the existing rules that are used to determine incumbency after redistricting. Those rules have not been materially changed since that time. PRIOR ACTION Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 6-0 Assembly Floor: 74-0 POSITIONS Sponsor: Author Support: None received Oppose: None received AB 1752 (FONG) Page 4