Amended in Senate May 24, 2013

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate Bill No. 654

Introduced by Senators Leno and Padilla

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(Coauthors: Senators Hancock and Yee)

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February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections begin delete 9001, end delete 9002, 9004, and 9006 of, and to add Sections begin delete 9006.5, 9023, end delete begin insert 9023 end insert and 11042.5 to, the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 654, as amended, Leno. Ballot measure petitions: translations.

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Existing law requires the Attorney General, upon receipt of the text of a proposed initiative or referendum measure, to prepare a circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure. Existing law requires the Attorney General to provide a copy of the circulating title and summary of a proposed initiative measure to the proponents of the measure and the Secretary of State within 15 days, as specified. Existing law requires the Attorney General to provide a copy of the circulating title and summary of a proposed referendum measure to the proponents of the measure and the Secretary of State within 10 days after receipt of the proposed referendum.

begin insert This bill would require the Attorney General to provide a notice to the proponents stating that, if the proponents intend to circulate the petition for the proposed initiative or referendum measure, the proponents shall submit a list of specified counties in which the petition will be circulated. end insert This bill would require the proponents of an initiative or referendum measure begin delete , at the time of submitting the text of the proposed measure to the Attorney General, end delete to submit a list of specified counties in which the initiative or referendum petition will be circulated begin insert no later than 5 days after receipt of the circulating title and summary end insert . Upon submission of the list, this bill would require the Attorney General to prepare a translation of the circulating title and summary of the proposed initiative or referendum measure in a language other than English under certain circumstances. begin delete If the Attorney General is required to prepare a translation, this bill would require the end delete begin insert This bill would require the end insert Attorney General to provide a copy of begin delete the circulating title and summary and its translation end delete begin insert each translation end insert to the proponents and the Secretary of State begin delete within 25 days, as specified, for a proposed initiative measure and within 20 days after receipt of a proposed referendum measure end delete begin insert , as specified end insert .

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert Existing law permits any person who is a voter or who is qualified to register to vote in the state to circulate an initiative or referendum petition for signature and imposes certain requirements on these circulators.

If an initiative or referendum petition is circulated in a specified county, this bill would require a copy of the applicable translated circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney General to be attached to the petition and available to each person whom the circulator solicits in that language to sign the petition. This bill would also require a circulator to provide a copy of the applicable translated circulating title and summary to any person upon request.

begin insert (3) end insert begin insert   end insert Existing provisions of the California Constitution and statute authorize the recall of state officers. Existing law requires the proponents of the recall to file 2 blank copies of the petition to recall the officer with the Secretary of State, who is required to ascertain if the proposed form and wording of the petition meet specified requirements.

This bill would require the proponents of a recall of a state officer, at the time of filing the 2 blank copies of the petition with the Secretary of State, to submit a list of specified counties in which the recall petition will be circulated. If the proponents submit this list of counties, this bill would require the Secretary of State, within 10 days after ascertaining that the proposed form and wording of the recall petition meet specified requirements, to prepare a translation of the petition in each applicable minority language of the counties identified by the proponents, and provide a copy of each translation to the proponents.

begin insert (4) end insert begin insert   end insert Existing law requires a recall petition to use a specified format and contain certain information. Under existing law, any person who is a registered voter of the electoral jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled may circulate the recall petition for signatures.

If a recall petition is circulated in a specified county, this bill would require a copy of the applicable translation of the petition prepared by the Secretary of State to be attached to the petition and available to each person whom the circulator solicits in that language to sign the petition. This bill would also require the circulator to provide a copy of the translation of the petition to any person upon request.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 9001 of the Elections Code is amended
to read:

9001.  

(a) (1) Prior to the circulation of an initiative or
referendum petition for signatures, the text of the proposed measure
shall be submitted to the Attorney General with a written request
that a circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points
of the proposed measure be prepared. The electors presenting the
request shall be known as the “proponents.” The Attorney General
shall preserve the written request until after the next general
election.

(2) The proponents of an initiative or referendum measure, at
the time of submitting the text of the proposed measure to the
Attorney General, shall submit to the Attorney General a list of
the counties in which the petition will be circulated that are covered
by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

(b) Each proponent of a proposed initiative measure shall, at
the time of submitting the text of the proposed measure, provide
both of the following:

(1) An original signed certification stating that “I, (insert name),
declare under penalty of perjury that I am a citizen of the United
States, 18 years of age or older, and a resident of (insert county),
California.”

(2) Public contact information.

(c) The proponents of an initiative measure, at the time of
submitting the text of the proposed measure to the Attorney
General, shall pay a fee of two hundred dollars ($200), which shall
be placed in a trust fund in the office of the Treasurer and refunded
to the proponents if the measure qualifies for the ballot within two
years from the date the summary is furnished to the proponents.
If the measure does not qualify within that period, the fee shall be
immediately paid into the General Fund of the state.

(d) All referenda and proposed initiative measures shall be
submitted to the Attorney General’s Initiative Coordinator located
in the Sacramento Attorney General’s Office via United States
Postal Service, alternative mail service, or personal delivery. Only
printed documents will be accepted; facsimile or e-mail delivery
will not be accepted.

(e) The Attorney General shall not deem a request for a
circulating title and summary submitted until all of the
requirements of this section are met.

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

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(a) California is a diverse state with a government selected by
the votes of its citizens. The state’s robust initiative process is
designed to put lawmaking in the hands of the people, and
continues to play an important role in setting public policy with
regard to education, civil rights, fiscal policy, and other issues
that affect the lives of all Californians, including the state’s 6.9
million limited-English-proficient residents. The referendum and
recall processes also play an important role in developing public
policy.

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(b) The signature-gathering phase to qualify these proposed
measures for the ballot is an integral part of the state’s electoral
system.

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(c) The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971
et seq.) prohibits discriminatory voting practices and protects the
rights of voters with limited English proficiency by requiring
covered jurisdictions to provide voting materials in the language
of specified minority groups. However, ballot measure petitions,
which are circulated for signature in hopes of qualifying a measure
for the ballot, are not required to be provided in other languages
under existing law. As a result, millions of voters with limited
English proficiency are excluded from playing a role in
determining which proposed measures qualify for the ballot.

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(d) The provision of translated versions of circulating titles and
summaries of initiative and referendum measures, and of translated
versions of recall petitions, will further the purpose of the federal
Voting Rights Act and ensure that voters with limited English
proficiency have the ability to exercise their fundamental
democratic rights.

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SEC. 2.  

Section 9002 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9002.  

(a)  begin delete Except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section
9004, the end delete begin insert The end insert Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title
and summary to the begin delete Secretary of State end delete begin insert proponents end insert within 15 days
after receipt of the final version of a proposed initiative measure,
or, if a fiscal estimate or opinion is to be included, within 15 days
after receipt of the fiscal estimate or opinion prepared by the
Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
pursuant to Section 9005. If during the 15-day period the
proponents of the proposed initiative measure submit amendments,
other than technical, nonsubstantive amendments, to the final
version of the measure, the Attorney General shall provide a copy
of the title and summary to the Secretary of State within 15 days
after receipt of the amendments.

(b) The amendment shall be submitted with a signed request by
all the proponents to prepare a circulating title and summary using
the amended language.

(c) The amendment shall be submitted to the Attorney General’s
Initiative Coordinator located in the Sacramento Attorney General’s
Office via United States Postal Service, alternative mail service,
or personal delivery. Only printed documents will be accepted;
facsimile or e-mail delivery will not be accepted.

SEC. 3.  

Section 9004 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9004.  

(a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed initiative
measure, the Attorney General shall prepare a circulating title and
summary of the chief purposes and points of the proposed measure.
The circulating title and summary shall not exceed a total of 100
words. The Attorney General shall also provide a unique numeric
identifier for each proposed initiative measure. The circulating
title and summary shall be prepared in the manner provided for
the preparation of ballot titles and summaries in Article 5
(commencing with Section 9050), the provisions of which, in
regard to the preparation, filing, and settlement of ballot titles and
summaries, are hereby made applicable to the circulating title and
summary.

(b)  begin delete Except as provided in subdivision (c), the end delete begin insert The end insert Attorney
General shall provide a copy of the circulating title and summary
and its unique numeric identifier to the proponents begin delete and to the
Secretary of State end delete within 15 days begin delete after receipt of the fiscal estimate
or opinion prepared by the Department of Finance and the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee pursuant to end delete begin insert , as specified in end insert Section
begin delete 9005 end delete begin insert 9002 end insert . The date the copy is delivered or mailed to the
proponents is the “official summary date.” begin insert The Attorney General
shall include with the copy of the circulating title and summary a
notice stating that, if the proponents intend to circulate the
proposed initiative measure, the proponents shall, no later than
five days after receipt of the copy of the circulating title and
summary, submit to the Attorney General a list of the counties in
which the petition will be circulated that are covered by Section
203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. end insert

begin insert

(c) If the proponents intend to circulate the initiative measure
petition, the proponents shall, no later than five days after receipt
of the copy of the circulating title and summary, submit to the
Attorney General a list of the counties in which the petition will
be circulated that are covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Upon receipt of the list of
counties, the Attorney General shall prepare a translation of the
circulating title and summary of the proposed initiative measure
in each applicable minority language for the counties identified
by the proponents that are covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Attorney General shall
provide a copy of each translation to the proponents no later than
10 days after receipt of the list of counties.

end insert begin delete

(c)

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begin insert (d) end insert   begin delete In the event that the Attorney General is required to prepare
a translation of the circulating title and summary pursuant to
Section 9006.5, the end delete begin insert The end insert Attorney General shall provide a copy of
the circulating title and summary, begin delete its translation, and end delete its unique
numeric identifier begin insert , the list of counties identified by the proponents,
and each translation of the circulating title and summary end insert to the
begin delete proponents and the end delete Secretary of State within begin delete 25 end delete begin insert 10 end insert days after
receipt of the begin delete fiscal estimate or opinion prepared by the Department
of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee pursuant
to Section 9005. The Attorney General shall also provide the
Secretary of State with a list of the counties identified by the
proponents pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
9001 end delete begin insert list of counties identified by the proponents end insert .

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  Upon receipt of the circulating title and summary from the
Attorney General, the Secretary of State shall, within one business
day, notify the proponents and county elections official of each
county of the official summary date and provide a copy of the
circulating title and summary to each county elections official. begin delete In
the event that the Secretary of State receives from the Attorney
General a translation of the circulating title and summary pursuant
to subdivision (c), the end delete begin insert The end insert Secretary of State shall begin insert also end insert provide
the relevant translation to the county elections official in each
county identified by the proponents begin delete pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 9001 end delete . begin delete This end delete begin insert The end insert notification begin insert provided
pursuant to this subdivision end insert shall also include a complete schedule
showing the maximum filing deadline, and the certification
deadline by the counties to the Secretary of State.

SEC. 4.  

Section 9006 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9006.  

(a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed referendum,
the Attorney General shall prepare a circulating title and summary
of the chief purpose and points of the proposed statute at issue.
The circulating title and summary shall not exceed a total of 100
words. No fiscal analysis shall be included.

(b)  begin delete Except as provided in subdivision (c), the end delete begin insert The end insert Attorney
General shall provide a copy of the circulating title and summary
of the proposed referendum to the proponents begin delete and to the Secretary
of State end delete within 10 days after receipt of the proposed referendum.
begin insert The Attorney General shall include with the copy of the circulating
title and summary a notice stating that, if the proponents intend
to circulate the proposed referendum measure, the proponents
shall, no later than five days after receipt of the copy of the
circulating title and summary, submit to the Attorney General a
list of the counties in which the petition will be circulated that are
covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section
4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights
Act of 1965. end insert

begin insert

(c) If the proponents intend to circulate the referendum measure
petition, the proponents shall, no later than five days after receipt
of the copy of the circulating title and summary, submit to the
Attorney General a list of the counties in which the petition will
be circulated that are covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Upon receipt of the list of
counties, the Attorney General shall prepare a translation of the
circulating title and summary of the proposed referendum measure
in each applicable minority language for the counties identified
by the proponents that are covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Attorney General shall
provide a copy of each translation to the proponents no later than
10 days after receipt of the list of counties.

end insert begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert   begin delete In the event that the Attorney General is required to prepare
a translation of the circulating title and summary pursuant to
Section 9006.5, the end delete begin insert The end insert Attorney General shall provide a copy of
the circulating title and summary, begin delete its translation, and end delete its unique
numeric identifier begin insert , end insert begin insert the list of counties identified by the proponents,
and each translation of the circulating title and summary end insert to the
begin delete proponents and the end delete Secretary of State within begin delete 20 end delete begin insert 10 end insert days after
receipt of the begin delete proposed referendum end delete begin insert list of counties identified by
the proponents end insert .

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(d)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  Upon receipt of the circulating title and summary from the
Attorney General, the Secretary of State shall, within one business
day, notify the proponents and county elections official of each
county of the official summary date and provide a copy of the
circulating title and summary to each county elections official. begin delete In
the event that the Secretary of State receives from the Attorney
General a translation of the circulating title and summary pursuant
to subdivision (c), the end delete begin insert The end insert Secretary of State shall begin insert also end insert provide
the relevant translation to the county elections official in each
county identified by the proponents begin delete pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 9001 end delete . begin delete This end delete begin insert The end insert notification begin insert provide
pursuant to this subdivision end insert shall also include a complete schedule
showing the maximum filing deadline, and the certification
deadline by the counties to the Secretary of State.

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SEC. 5.  

Section 9006.5 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

9006.5.  

In the event that the proponents of an initiative or
referendum measure submit to the Attorney General a list of
counties pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
9001, the Attorney General shall prepare a translation of the
circulating title and summary of the proposed measure in each
applicable minority language for the counties identified by the
proponents that are covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 6. end delete
begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

Section 9023 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

9023.  

In the event that the circulator of an initiative or
referendum petition circulates the petition in a county covered by
Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965,
a copy of the applicable translated circulating title and summary
prepared by the Attorney General shall be attached to the petition
and available to each person whom the circulator solicits in that
language to sign the petition. The circulator shall also provide a
copy of the applicable translated circulating title and summary to
any person upon request.

begin delete SEC. 7. end delete
begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

Section 11042.5 is added to the Elections Code, to
read:

11042.5.  

(a) This section applies only to the recall of state
officers.

(b) At the time of the filing of two blank copies of the petition
pursuant to Section 11042, the proponents shall also submit to the
Secretary of State a list of the counties in which the petition will
be circulated that are covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

(c) If the proponents submit a list of counties pursuant to
subdivision (b), the Secretary of State, within 10 days after
ascertaining that the proposed form and wording of the petition
meet the requirements of this chapter, shall prepare a translation
of the petition in each applicable minority language for the counties
identified by the proponents that are covered by Section 203 (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, and provide
a copy of each translation to the proponents.

(d) If a recall petition is circulated in a county covered by
Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965,
a copy of the applicable translation of the petition prepared by the
Secretary of State shall be attached to the petition and available
to each person whom the circulator solicits in that language to sign
the petition. The circulator shall also provide a copy of the
applicable translation of the petition to any person upon request.