BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 654|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 654
Author: Leno (D) and Padilla (D), et al.
Amended: 5/24/13
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 4-1, 4/30/13
AYES: Correa, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Ballot measure petitions: translations
SOURCE : Greenlining Institute
DIGEST : This bill requires the Attorney General (AG) 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 must submit a
list of specified counties in which the petition will be
circulated.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Requires the proponent of a proposed initiative or referendum
to submit the proposal to the AG who must prepare a
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circulating title and summary of its chief points and
purposes. The AG must provide a copy of the title and summary
to the Secretary of State (SOS) within 15 days after receipt
of the final version of a proposed initiative measure, or if a
fiscal estimate is to be included, within 15 days after
receipt of the fiscal estimate prepared by the Department of
Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee who have 25
days to prepare the fiscal estimate. The AG must provide a
copy of the circulating title and summary of a proposed
referendum measure to the proponents of the measure and the
SOS within 10 days after receipt of the proposed referendum.
2.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.
3.Authorizes the recall of state officers under provisions of
the California Constitution and statute.
4.Requires the proponents of the recall to file two blank copies
of the petition to recall the officer with the SOS, who is
required to ascertain if the proposed form and wording of the
petition meet specified requirements.
5.Requires a recall petition to use a specified format and
contain certain information. 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.
6.Requires a recall petition to use a specified format and
contain certain information. 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.
This bill:
1.Requires the AG 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.
2.Requires the proponents of an initiative or referendum measure
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to submit a list of specified counties in which the initiative
or referendum petition will be circulated no later than five
days after receipt of the circulating title and summary. Upon
submission of the list, this bill requires the AG 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
3.Requires the AG to provide a copy of each translation to the
proponents and the SOS, as specified.
4.Requires the proponents of a recall of a state officer, at the
time of filing the two-blank copies of the petition with the
SOS, to submit a list of specified counties in which the
recall petition will be circulated; requires if the proponents
submit this list of counties, the SOS, within 10 days after
ascertaining that the proposed form and wording of the recall
petition meets 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.
5.Requires, if a recall petition is circulated in a specified
county, a copy of the applicable translation of the petition
prepared by the SOS to be attached to the petition and
available to each person whom the circulator solicits in that
language to sign the petition. Requires the circulator to
provide a copy of the translation of the petition to any
person upon request.
Background
The federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) outlawed discriminatory
voting practices and outlined a number of provisions aimed at
providing all eligible voters with the opportunity to exercise
their right to vote free from discrimination or intimidation.
To this end, Section 203 of the VRA as well as conforming state
law requires jurisdictions with sufficiently large Limited
English Proficient (LEP) populations to provide elections
materials in the group's language. In California, this has
meant that several counties provide voting materials, such as a
ballot pamphlet and sample ballot, in numerous languages. The
VRA currently does not extend to initiative materials prior to
qualification for the ballot.
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Note:Although Spanish translations are a statewide requirement
(e.g., the statewide ballot pamphlet), if the minority
language group within a certain county doesn't meet the
population requirements, then Spanish translations aren't
required to be provided.
Prior Legislation
SB 1233 (Padilla, 2012) was identical to this bill but was
vetoed by the Governor who stated in his veto message:
"The provisions of this bill are well intended.
Unfortunately, however, they add substantial burdens to the
petition process without commensurate benefit. I would
also note that the vast majority of initiatives submitted
to the AG's Office never get to the circulation stage."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
First year costs of $94,000 and annual ongoing of
$129,000 to the AG for translation services (General Fund)
SOS costs of up to $69,000 annually dependent on the
number of recall petitions (General Fund)
Costs to the AG's Office result from one Associate
Government Program Analyst position in the Civil Law
Division of the Department of Justice, and for two external
translation contracts. These contract cost estimates are
based on an anticipated 80 measures at $391 per measure.
The estimated costs for the SOS are based upon the highest
number of recall petitions received in one year (17 in
1989) but would likely be less in any given year.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/13)
Greenlining Institute (source)
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18 Million Rising
American Civil Liberties Union
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
California Association of Nonprofits
California Communities United Institute
California Labor Federation
California Nurses Association
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Maplight
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
California is a diverse state with a government selected by
the votes of its citizens. In addition, we have a robust
initiative process designed to put lawmaking in the hands
of the people. Federal law recognizes that many Americans
rely heavily on languages other than English, and that they
require information in minority languages in order to be
informed voters and participate effectively in our
representative democracy.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, California is
home to the largest foreign-born LEP population in the
United States - approximately 5,807,401 persons, to be
precise - many of whom are eligible to vote. 46.5% of
California's naturalized U.S. citizens age five and older
are limited-or non-English-proficient.
RM:ej 5/25/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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