BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 362 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 362 (Padilla) - As Amended: August 5, 2013 Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:5-2 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes SUMMARY This bill authorizes emergency workers who are out of state during an election to cast a ballot, under specified conditions and procedures. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires an elections official-upon declaration of an out-of-state emergency by the Governor and issuance of an executive order allowing an out-of-state emergency worker, as defined, to cast a ballot outside his or her home precinct-to issue a vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot to the emergency worker. The VBM ballot may be sent to the emergency worker via mail, fax, or electronically. 2)Requires a VBM ballot per (1), in order to be counted, to be received by the elections official in accordance with existing law, i.e. by the close of polls on election day. FISCAL EFFECT Any minor costs to elections officials would be state reimbursable. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . The genesis of this bill was Hurricane Sandy, which struck the northeast U.S. one week before the 2012 Presidential Election. In the aftermath of this disaster, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, SoCal Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric, the California Red Cross, the California Emergency Management Urban Search and Rescue Team, and many other California residents went to New York and New Jersey to volunteer. Many of the California SB 362 Page 2 volunteers had little time to make special arrangements to vote and the deadline to apply for a VBM ballot had already passed. Consequently, the California Utilities Emergency Association (CUEA), which oversees the state's national relief efforts, found that several hundred utility workers were unable to vote. 2)Related Legislation . AB 214 (Skinner), pending in the Senate Appropriations, requires the Secretary of State to establish procedures and guidelines for voting in the event of a natural disaster or other state of emergency. SB 29 (Correa), also on today's committee agenda, allows VBM ballots to be received by elections officials up to three days after election day. If SB 29 is enacted, the three-day timeframe will also apply to VBM ballots from out-of-state emergency workers. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081