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 ****