BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 111 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 3, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 111 (Beall) - As Amended: March 6, 2013 Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:6-0 (Consent) Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill allows a person authorized to use a signature stamp for voter registration to register online, pursuant to current law, using a signature stamp approved by the DMV and transmitted to the Secretary of State (SOS). FISCAL EFFECT Negligible fiscal impact, as online voter registration is already operative and the registrant's signature stamp must already have been approved and on file with the DMV. COMMENTS 1)Background . SB 397 (Yee)/Chapter 561 of 2011, allowed online voter registration to begin prior to the completion of a new statewide voter registration database if the DMV and the SOS developed a process to transfer the electronic copy of a person's signature from the DMV to the SOS. Currently, a person can fill out a voter registration application online and authorize the use of their signature on file with the DMV to "sign" the application. AB 18 (Blakeslee)/Chapter 485 of 2007, enabled a person who, due to a disability, is unable to provide a handwritten signature, to use a signature stamp in situations where the Elections Code requires a signature. In the case of voter registration, the person must use the stamp to sign their application in the presence of a county elections official. 2)Purpose . SB 44 allows a person to use a signature stamp SB 111 Page 2 approved for use by and on file with the DMV to submit a voter registration application online. According to the author, this bill will not only streamline the voter registration process for people who cannot sign their name, but will also create equal access to online voter registration for people using signature stamps. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081