BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2766
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Date of Hearing: May 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 2766 (Elections & Redistricting Committee) - As Introduced:
April 2, 2014
SUBJECT : Elections: central committees: oaths.
SUMMARY : Repeals provisions of law that require county central
committee members of Democratic, Republican, and American
Independent parties, whether elected to the committee or
appointed to fill a vacancy, before he or she enters upon the
duties of his office, to take and subscribe the oath or
affirmation to uphold the California and United States
Constitutions.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires public officials to take an oath or affirmation of
office to support and defend the California and United States
Constitutions.
2)Requires and defines a public officer and employee to include
"every officer and employee of the State, including the
University of California, every county, city, city and county,
district, and authority, including any department, division,
bureau, board, commission, agency, or instrumentality of any
of the foregoing."
3)Requires county central committee members of the Democratic,
Republican, and American Independent Parties, whether elected
to the committee or appointed to fill a vacancy, before he or
she enters upon the duties of his office, to take and
subscribe the oath or affirmation to uphold the California and
United States Constitutions.
4)Provides that it is the right of the people to freely exercise
religion, freedom of speech and press, and to peaceably
assemble and to petition the government for redress of
grievances.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
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1)Purpose of the Bill : This is one of the Assembly Elections &
Redistricting Committee's bills, containing changes to
provisions of the Elections Code to conform state law to a
recent Superior Court ruling in Barta v. Bowen , in which the
court found that the Elections Code requirement for central
committee members to take the oath of office was
unconstitutional. The provisions of this bill are changes
requested by the Secretary of State (SOS).
2)Loyalty Oaths : Article XX, Section 3 of the California
Constitution requires public officials to take an oath or
affirmation of office to support and defend the California and
United States Constitutions. Additionally, existing state
statute requires each county central committee member of the
Democratic, Republican, and American Independent Party,
whether elected to the committee or appointed to fill a
vacancy, to take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation set
forth in Article XX, Section 3 of the California Constitution,
before he or she enters upon the duties of his or her office.
Current law does not include a similar loyalty oath
requirement for members of the central committee of the Peace
and Freedom Party.
Last year, a lawsuit was filed against the SOS challenging the
loyalty oath requirement for political party central committee
members. In the lawsuit, the petitioner alleged that
requiring central committee members to take the oath of office
found in the Article XX, Section 3 of the California
Constitution is a violation of the United States and
California Constitutions. The petitioner requested the court
to declare Elections Code Sections 7210, 7408, and 7655
invalid because county central committee members are not
public officeholders or employees and consequently, they
should not be required to take the oath. Additionally, the
petitioner alleged that the oath requirement violates the
associational rights of the political parties by regulating
the internal affairs of these political parties without a
compelling state interest.
The Superior Court ruled in favor of the petitioner's request
for a declaratory judgment that Elections Code Sections 7210,
7408, and 7655 are unconstitutional.
In light of the Superior Court's decision and because the SOS
AB 2766
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concedes that Elections Code Sections 7210, 7408, and 7655
could be considered unconstitutional, this bill repeals the
loyalty oath requirements in the Elections Code for the county
central committee members of the Democratic, Republican, and
American Independent Parties. Political parties would be free
to impose their own requirements for members of their central
committees, but the state would no longer require central
committee members to take the oath contained in Article XX,
Section 3 of the California Constitution before taking office.
3)Arguments in Support : Secretary of State Debra Bowen writes
in support:
A Superior Court decision in Barta v. Bowen (2013) ruled
the loyalty oath required of the county central committee
members is unconstitutional based on the U.S. Constitution
First Amendment right to association. The Court has said
party offices are not public offices and the state can only
require an oath for people serving public offices.
The freedom to association is an essential cornerstone of a
democracy. It is not in the interest of California to
legislate the inner workings of political parties, and AB
2766 allows the decision of whether to require an oath from
county central committee members to be made by the
political party itself. Parties that wish to require
loyalty oaths of their central committee members may do so
under their own party rules. AB 2766 will avoid
unnecessary state costs that would be incurred defending an
unconstitutional requirement currently placed upon
political parties.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
AB 2766
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