BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair SB 1063 (Block) - Voter Registration: Juvenile Detention Facilities Amended: May 6, 2014 Policy Vote: E&CA 4-1 Urgency: No Mandate: Yes Hearing Date: May 12, 2014 Consultant: Maureen Ortiz This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SB 1063 requires state and local detention facilities to assist any person who is of age to register to vote with the completion of the affidavit of registration, and to transmit those cards to the county elections official. Fiscal Impact: Unknown, potentially significant reimbursable mandate costs to local detention facilities (General Fund) Minor costs to CDCR (General Fund) Background: Under existing law, a person is entitled to register to vote if he or she is a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and will be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election. Proposed Law: SB 1063 will require a state or local juvenile detention facility, including but not limited to, a juvenile hall, juvenile ranch, juvenile camp, or a facility of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice to do all of the following: 1) Identify each individual housed in the facility who is of age to register to vote. 2) Assist each of those individuals with the completion of the affidavit of registration, unless the individual declines assistance. 3) Provide an affidavit of registration to each individual SB 1063 (Block) Page 1 housed in the facility who is of age to register to vote by either providing the individual with a paper affidavit of registration, or directing the individual to an affidavit of registration provided on the Internet Web site of the county or the Secretary of State. 4) Accept any completed paper affidavits and transmit them to the county elections official within 10 days, or within 5 days if the card was received within five days before the last day for registration to vote in an election. As an alternate, the facility may assist the individual who completed the voter registration card in returning the completed card to the county elections official. Staff Comments: The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires public assistance agencies, particularly those that serve low-income or disabled populations, to provide voter registration materials to individuals who receive assistance at its facility. According to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, they already provide voter registration assistance to individuals in their youth facilities who are 18 years of age and over. Proposed Author Amendments: The author intends to amend this bill to delete the provision that enables the facility to direct eligible voters to the county website since online voter registration is currently only available through the Secretary of State website.