BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 2439|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           
                                           
                                       CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 2439
          Author:   Donnelly (R)
          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  :  78-0, 5/15/14 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote


           SUBJECT  :    Secretary of State:  initiative information

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to  
          post on his/her Internet Web site and include in the Statewide  
          Initiative Guide (SIG) pamphlet, information describing that  
          specified services are available to the proponents of a proposed  
          measure.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1.Requires the SOS do all of the following upon request of the  
            proponents of an initiative measure which is to be submitted  
                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                    AB 2439
                                                                     Page  
          2

            to the voters:

                 Review the provisions of the initiative measure after it  
               is prepared prior to its circulation.

                 Analyze and comment on the provisions of the measure  
               with respect to form and language clarity.

                 Request and obtain a statement of fiscal impact from the  
               Legislative Analyst.

                 Provides that the review performed shall be for the  
               purpose of suggestion only and shall not have any binding  
               effect on the proponents of the initiative measure.

          1.Requires the SOS to prepare and make available a pamphlet  
            describing the procedures and requirements for preparing and  
            circulating a statewide initiative measure and for filing  
            sections of the petition, and describing the procedure used in  
            determining and verifying the number of qualified voters who  
            have signed the petition.

          2.Requires the Legislative Counsel (LC) to cooperate with the  
            proponents of an initiative measure in its preparation when  
            requested in writing by 25 or more electors proposing the  
            measure when, in the judgment of the LC, there is reasonable  
            probability that the measure will be submitted to the voters  
            of the state under the laws relating to the submission of  
            initiatives.

          This bill requires the SOS to post on his/her Internet Web site  
          and include in the SIG pamphlet, information describing that the  
          following services are available to the proponents of a proposed  
          measure:

       1.The LC's cooperation in preparing an initiative measure, as  
            specified in existing law; and

       2.The SOS's review of prepared initiatives prior to circulation, as  
            specified in existing law.

           Background
           
           Current assistance  .  As noted above, existing law requires the  







                                                                    AB 2439
                                                                     Page  
          3

          SOS to prepare a SIG which provides an overview of the  
          procedures and requirements for preparing and circulating  
          initiatives, for filing sections of the petition, and describing  
          the procedure of verifying signatures on the petition.  However,  
          the SIG is for general information only and does not have the  
          force and effect of law, regulation, or rule.

          Step one of the SOS's SIG states that the "first step in the  
          process of qualifying an initiative measure is to write the text  
          of the proposed law.  The initiative measure's proponent(s) may  
          obtain assistance from the Office of the Legislative Counsel in  
          drafting the language of the proposed law.  Proponent(s) must  
          obtain the signatures of 25 or more electors on a request for a  
          draft of the proposed law; proponent(s) must then present the  
          idea for the law to the Legislative Counsel.  If the Legislative  
          Counsel determines that there is a reasonable probability the  
          initiative measure will eventually be submitted to the voters,  
          the Legislative Counsel will draft the proposed law.   
          Proponent(s) may also seek the assistance of their own private  
          counsel to help draft the text of the proposed law, or they may  
          choose to write the text themselves."  The SIG also lists the  
          contact information for the Office of the LC.

          The requirement for the LC to assist proponents in the drafting  
          of the language of a proposed initiative measure became law in  
          1945 through the passage of SB 1138 (Fletcher and Burns, Chapter  
          111).  According to the LC's Office, it is difficult to quantify  
          how often this request for service has been utilized; however,  
          it is not uncommon for the LC to receive requests for drafting  
          assistance.  However, in practice, the requests tend to come  
          from initiative proponents with more limited financial  
          resources.  Initiative proponents with greater financial  
          resources tend to use private counsel or legal firms that  
          specialize in certain issue areas, such as the Political Reform  
          Act, when drafting the text of a proposed initiative.

          In 1975, the Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed AB  
          1142 (Hayden, Chapter 955), which required the SOS, upon the  
          request of the proponents of an initiative measure which is  
          intended to be submitted to the voters of the state, to review  
          the provisions of the initiative measure after its preparation  
          and before its circulation.  The review consists of analyzing  
          and commenting on the provisions of the bill with respect to  
          form and language clarity and obtaining a statement of fiscal  







                                                                    AB 2439
                                                                     Page  
          4

          impact from the Legislative Analyst.  Additionally, existing law  
          provides that the review would be for the purpose of suggestion  
          only, having no binding effect on the proponents of the  
          initiative measure.  According to the SOS's office, since its  
          implementation into law, only a handful of proponents have  
          requested this service.

           


          Comments
           
          According to the author:

            Although the initiative system provides a valuable means for  
            citizens to influence public policy, some critics have claimed  
            that initiative measures sometimes contain drafting errors  
            which could create legal ambiguities if adopted by the voters.

            Fortunately, California law already provides two avenues for  
            optional drafting assistance to initiative proponents.  The  
            first method is through the Legislative Counsel, who can  
            assist in writing the measure before it receives an initiative  
            title, and the second is through the Secretary of State, who  
            must provide a review of a measure's form and language clarity  
            prior to circulation.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  78-0, 5/15/14
          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, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,  
            Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.  
            Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,  
            Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,  
            Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins







                                                                    AB 2439
                                                                     Page  
          5

          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Mansoor, Vacancy


          RM:k  6/30/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

                                   ****  END  ****