BILL NUMBER: SB 1253 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Steinberg
( Coauthors: Senators Leno
and Lieu )
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Quirk-Silva )
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to amend Sections 101, 303.5, 9002, 9004, 9005, 9014, 9033,
9034, 9051, 9082.7, 9094.5, and 9604 , and
18621 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1253, as amended, Steinberg. Initiative measures.
(1) Under existing law, the text of a proposed initiative measure
is required to be submitted to the Attorney General for preparation
of a circulating title and summary before the petition may be
circulated for signatures. Existing law requires the Department of
Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to jointly develop
an estimate of the fiscal impact of the initiative measure and to
deliver that fiscal estimate to the Attorney General within 25
working days, except as specified, for inclusion in the circulating
title and summary. Existing law further requires the Secretary of
State, upon request of the proponents of an initiative measure, to
review the provisions of the initiative measure and to comment on the
provisions of the measure with respect to form and language clarity.
This bill would require the Attorney General, upon receipt of a
request to prepare the circulating title and summary, to initiate a
30-day public review process for the proposed initiative measure, as
specified. The bill would require that the fiscal estimate be
prepared jointly by the Department of Finance and the Legislative
Analyst. The bill would require the estimate to be delivered to the
Attorney General within 45 days of the date of receipt of the
proposed initiative measure by the Attorney General instead of 25
working days from the receipt of the final version of the proposed
initiative measure.
(2) Existing law requires the Attorney General to provide a ballot
label and a ballot title for each measure to be submitted to the
voters at a statewide election. Existing law requires the Attorney
General to prepare a summary of the chief purposes and points of each
statewide ballot measure as part of the ballot title.
This bill would impose specified requirements with respect to the
ballot materials required to be prepared by the Attorney General.
(3) Existing law prohibits a petition for a proposed initiative or
referendum measure from being circulated prior to the official
summary date, and prohibits a petition with signatures on a proposed
initiative measure from being filed with the county elections
official later than 150 days from the official summary date.
This bill would extend the date that a petition with signatures on
a proposed initiative measure is required to be filed with the
county elections official to not later than 180 days from the
official summary date.
(4) Existing law requires the Secretary of State to notify the
proponents, and immediately transmit to the elections official or
registrar of voters of every county or city and county in the state a
certificate, when the Secretary of State has received from one or
more elections officials or registrars a petition certified to have
been signed by the requisite number of qualified voters.
This bill would instead require the Secretary of State to issue a
notice of qualification. The bill would require the Secretary of
State to issue a certificate identifying all of the measures for
which he or she issued a notice of qualification for a given
election, as specified.
(5) Under existing law, the Secretary of State is required to
transmit copies of an initiative measure and its circulating title
and summary to the Senate and the Assembly after the measure is
certified to appear on the ballot for consideration by the voters.
Existing law requires that each house of the Legislature assign the
initiative measure to its appropriate committees, and that the
committees hold joint public hearings on the subject of the proposed
measure prior to the date of the election at which the measure is to
be voted upon, as specified.
This bill would require the Secretary of State to transmit copies
of the initiative measure and circulating title and summary to the
Legislature after receiving a certification from the initiative
proponents, signed under penalty of perjury, that they have collected
25% of the number of signatures needed to qualify the initiative
measure for the ballot. The bill would require the appropriate
committees of the Senate and Assembly to hold the joint public
hearing on the subject of the measure not later than 131 days prior
to the date of the election at which the measure is to be voted upon.
(6) Existing law requires the Secretary of State to disseminate
the complete state ballot pamphlet over the Internet and to establish
a process to enable a voter to opt out of receiving the state ballot
pamphlet by mail. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to
develop a program to utilize modern communications and information
processing technology to enhance the availability and accessibility
of information on statewide candidates and ballot initiatives,
including making information available online as well as through
other information processing technology.
This bill would require the Secretary of State to establish
a process processes to enable a voter
to receive the state ballot pamphlet in an electronic format instead
of by mail. The bill would also require the Secretary of State to
create an Internet Web site, or use other available technology, to
consolidate information about each ballot measure in a manner that is
easy for voters to access and understand. The Internet Web site
would be required to include a summary of each ballot measure and to
identify the donors and other sources of funding for the campaigns
for and against each ballot measure.
(7) Existing law authorizes the proponents of a statewide
initiative or referendum measure to withdraw the measure at any time
before filing the petition with the appropriate elections official.
Existing law also requires that state initiative petitions circulated
for signature include a prescribed notice to the public.
This bill would authorize the proponents of a statewide initiative
or referendum measure to have the measure withdrawn from the ballot
at any time before the measure qualifies for the ballot. The bill
would require a petition for a statewide initiative measure to
contain additional prescribed language in its notice to the public
describing the right of proponents to withdraw the measure from the
ballot, as specified.
This bill would make it a crime, with a prescribed penalty, for a
person to pay or offer to pay money or other valuable consideration
to a proponent of a statewide initiative or referendum measure to
obtain the withdrawal of the measure. The bill would also make it a
crime for a proponent of a statewide initiative or referendum measure
to solicit or accept such a payment or offer of payment. By
establishing a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
(8) Existing law makes certain activities relating to the
circulation of an initiative, referendum, or recall petition a
criminal offense.
The bill would make it a crime for a proponent of a statewide
initiative measure to seek, solicit, bargain for, or obtain any money
or thing of value of or from any person, firm, or corporation for
the purpose of withdrawing an initiative petition after filing it
with the appropriate elections official. By establishing a new crime,
this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(8)
(9) The California Constitution requires the state to
reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs
mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for
making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Ballot
Initiative Transparency Act.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Initiative measures, also known as ballot measures or
propositions, allow California voters to participate directly in
lawmaking. California voters have enjoyed the right to enact laws
through the initiative process since 1911. However, many voters find
it difficult to understand the language of an initiative measure and
to learn who is behind an initiative measure.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
update the initiative process, which is more than 100 years old, by
doing all of the following:
(1) Providing voters with more useful information so that they are
able to make an informed decision about an initiative measure. Under
this act, the Secretary of State would be required to give voters
one-stop access to a clear explanation of each measure and
information about the individuals and groups behind each measure.
This would give voters updated information about who is spending
large sums of money to support or oppose each initiative measure.
Voters would also be allowed to request an electronic copy of ballot
materials, thereby reducing the expenses of printing and mailing.
(2) Providing a voter-friendly explanation of each initiative
measure. The act would require that ballot materials be drafted in
clear and impartial language.
(3) Identifying and correcting flaws in an initiative measure
before it appears on the ballot. Currently, proponents of an
initiative measure have few options to correct the language of an
initiative measure or to withdraw a petition for a proposed
initiative measure, even when flaws are identified. This act would
give voters an opportunity to comment on an initiative measure before
the petition is circulated for signatures. By extending the time for
gathering signatures, this act would give the Legislature the
opportunity to hold earlier public hearings to review initiative
measures. This act would also allow the proponents of an initiative
measure to withdraw the measure after the petition and signatures are
submitted to elections officials, but before the measure qualifies
for the ballot.
SEC. 3. Section 101 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
101. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a state or local
initiative petition required to be signed by voters shall contain in
12-point type, before that portion of the petition for voters'
signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, the following
language:
"NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
THIS PETITION MAY BE CIRCULATED BY A PAID SIGNATURE GATHERER OR A
VOLUNTEER. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK."
(b) A state initiative petition shall contain, in the same
location and type size described in subdivision (a), the following
language:
"THE PROPONENTS OF THIS PROPOSED INITIATIVE MEASURE HAVE THE RIGHT
TO WITHDRAW THIS PETITION AT ANY TIME BEFORE THE MEASURE QUALIFIES
FOR THE BALLOT."
SEC. 4. Section 303.5 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
303.5. (a) "Ballot title" is the name of a statewide measure
included in the ballot label and the ballot title and summary.
(b) "Ballot title and summary" means the summary of the chief
purpose and points, including the fiscal impact summary, of any
measure that appears in the state ballot pamphlet. The ballot title
and summary shall include a statement of the measure's fiscal impact.
The ballot title and summary shall be not less than 25 words and not
more than 150 words in length, not including the fiscal impact
statement.
(c) (1) "Circulating title and summary" means the text that is
required to be placed on a petition for signatures that is either one
of the following:
(A) The summary of the chief purpose and points of a proposed
initiative measure that affects the Constitution or laws of the
state, and the fiscal impact of the proposed initiative measure.
(B) The summary of the chief purpose and points of a referendum
measure that affects a law or laws of the state.
(2) The circulating title and summary shall be not less than 25
words and not more than 150 words in length, not including the fiscal
impact summary.
SEC. 5. Section 9002 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9002. (a) Upon receipt of a request from the proponents of a
proposed initiative measure for a circulating title and summary, the
Attorney General shall initiate a public review process for a period
of 30 days by doing all of the following:
(1) Posting the text of the proposed initiative measure on the
Attorney General's Internet Web site.
(2) Promoting public participation by inviting on the Attorney
General's Internet Web site written public comments on the proposed
initiative measure. The site shall accept written public comments for
the duration of the public review period. Public comments may
address perceived errors in the drafting of, or perceived unintended
consequences of, the proposed initiative measure. The Attorney
General shall transmit any written public comments received during
the public review period to the proponents of the proposed initiative
measure.
(b) During the public review period, the proponents of the
proposed initiative measure may submit amendments to the measure.
(1) An amendment shall be submitted with a signed request by all
the proponents to prepare a circulating title and summary using the
amended language.
(2) An amendment shall be submitted to the Attorney General's
Initiative Coordinator located in the Attorney General's Sacramento
Office via United States Postal Service, alternative mail service, or
personal delivery. Only printed documents shall be accepted;
facsimile or email delivery shall not be accepted.
(3) The submission of an amendment shall not extend the period to
prepare the estimate required by Section 9005.
(4) An amendment shall not be accepted more than five days after
the public review period is concluded. However, a proponent shall not
be prohibited from proposing a new initiative measure and requesting
that a circulating title and summary be prepared for that measure
pursuant to Section 9001.
SEC. 6. Section 9004 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9004. (a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed initiative
measure, and after the public review period provided for in Section
9002, 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 be not less than 25 words and
not more than 150 words in length. 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 applicable to the circulating title and summary.
(b) The Attorney General shall provide a copy of the circulating
title and summary and its unique numeric identifier to the proponents
and to the Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of the
fiscal estimate or opinion prepared by the Department of Finance and
the Legislative Analyst pursuant to Section 9005. The date the copy
is delivered or mailed to the proponents is the "official summary
date."
(c) 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. This
notification shall also include a complete schedule showing the
maximum filing deadline, and the certification deadline by the
counties to the Secretary of State.
SEC. 7. Section 9005 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9005. (a) The Attorney General, in preparing a circulating title
and summary for a proposed initiative measure, shall, in boldface
print, include in the circulating title and summary either the
estimate of the amount of any increase or decrease in revenues or
costs to the state or local government, or an opinion as to whether
or not a substantial net change in state or local finances would
result if the proposed initiative is adopted.
(b) The estimate as required by this section shall be made jointly
by the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst, who shall
deliver the estimate to the Attorney General so that he or she may
include the estimate in the circulating title and summary prepared by
him or her.
(c) The estimate shall be delivered to the Attorney General within
45 days of the date of receipt of the proposed initiative measure by
the Attorney General, unless, in the opinion of both the Department
of Finance and the Legislative Analyst, a reasonable estimate of the
net impact of the proposed initiative measure cannot be prepared
within the 45-day period. In the latter case, the Department of
Finance and the Legislative Analyst shall, within the 45-day period,
give the Attorney General their opinion as to whether or not a
substantial net change in state or local finances would result if the
proposed initiative measure is adopted.
(d) A statement of fiscal impact prepared by the Legislative
Analyst pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12172 of the
Government Code may be used by the Department of Finance and the
Legislative Analyst in the preparation of the fiscal estimate or the
opinion.
SEC. 8. Section 9014 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9014. A petition for a proposed initiative measure or referendum
shall not be circulated for signatures before the official summary
date. A petition with signatures on a proposed initiative measure
shall be filed with the county elections official not later than 180
days from the official summary date, and a county elections official
shall not accept a petition for the proposed initiative measure after
that period. A petition for a proposed referendum measure shall be
filed with the county elections officials not later than 90 days from
the date the legislative bill was chaptered by the Secretary of
State, and a county elections official shall not accept a petition
for the proposed referendum after that period.
SEC. 9. Section 9033 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9033. (a) When the Secretary of State has received from one or
more elections officials or registrars a petition, certified as
herein provided to have been signed by the requisite number of
qualified voters, the Secretary of State shall forthwith notify the
proponents and immediately transmit to the elections official or
registrar of voters of every county or city and county in the state a
notice of qualification showing this fact so that signature
verification can be terminated. A petition shall be deemed to be
filed with the Secretary of State upon the date of the receipt by the
Secretary of State of a certificate or certificates showing the
petition to be signed by the requisite number of voters of the state.
Any elections official shall, upon receipt of the copy, file the
notification for record in that office.
(b) On the 131st day before an election at which an initiative
measure is to be voted upon, the Secretary of State shall issue a
certificate identifying each initiative measure for which he or she
issued a notice of qualification, as required by subdivision (a), on
or before that date.
SEC. 10. Section 9034 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9034. (a) The proponents of a proposed initiative measure shall
submit a certification, signed under penalty of perjury, to the
Secretary of State immediately upon the collection of 25 percent of
the number of signatures needed to qualify the initiative measure for
the ballot.
(b) Upon the receipt of the certification required by subdivision
(a), the Secretary of State shall transmit copies of the initiative
measure, together with the circulating title and summary as prepared
by the Attorney General pursuant to Section 9004, to the Senate and
the Assembly. Each house shall assign the initiative measure to its
appropriate committees. The appropriate committees shall hold joint
public hearings on the subject of the measure not later than 131 days
before the date of the election at which the measure is to be voted
upon.
(c) This section shall not be construed as authority for the
Legislature to alter the initiative measure or prevent it from
appearing on the ballot.
SEC. 11. Section 9051 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9051. (a) (1) The ballot title and summary may differ from the
legislative, circulating, or other title and summary of the measure
and shall be not less than 25 words and not more than 150 words in
length, not including the fiscal impact statement.
(2) The ballot title and summary shall include a summary of the
Legislative Analyst's estimate of the net state and local government
fiscal impact prepared pursuant to Section 9087 of this code and
Section 88003 of the Government Code.
(b) The ballot label shall not contain more than 75 words and
shall be a condensed version of the ballot title and summary
including the financial impact summary prepared pursuant to Section
9087 of this code and Section 88003 of the Government Code.
(c) In providing the ballot title and summary, the Attorney
General shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of
the measure in such language that the ballot title and summary shall
neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for or
against the proposed measure. The ballot title and summary shall also
satisfy all of the following:
(1) Be written in clear and concise terms, understandable to the
average voter, and in an objective and nonpartisan manner, avoiding
the use of technical terms whenever possible.
(2) If the measure imposes or increases a tax or fee, the type and
amount of the tax or fee shall be described.
(3) If the measure repeals existing law in any substantial manner,
that fact shall be included.
(4) If the measure is contingent on the passage or defeat of
another measure or statute, that fact shall be included.
(d) The Legislature shall provide the Attorney General with
sufficient funding for administrative and other support relating to
preparation of the ballot title and summary for initiative measures,
including, but not limited to, plain-language specialists.
(e) The Attorney General shall invite and consider public comment
in preparing each ballot title and summary.
SEC. 12. Section 9082.7 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9082.7. (a) The Secretary of State shall make available the
complete state ballot pamphlet over the Internet.
(b) The Secretary of State shall create an Internet Web site, or
use other available technology, to consolidate information about each
ballot measure in a manner that is easy for voters to access and
understand. The information shall include all of the following:
(1) A summary of the ballot measure's content.
(2) The sources of funding for (A)
A list of each committee primarily
formed or existing primarily to support or oppose
the ballot measure, as described in Section 82047.5 of the Government
Code , and a means to access information about the
sources of contributions reported for each committee .
(3) A statement identifying the 10 donors who have contributed the
largest amounts to campaigns for and against a ballot measure. The
statement
(B) Information about the sources of
contributions shall be updated as new information becomes
available to the public pursuant to the Political Reform Act of 1974
(Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000) of the Government Code).
(C) (i) If a committee identified in subparagraph (A) receives at
least one million dollars ($1,000,000) in contributions for an
election, the Secretary of State shall also list the committee's top
10 contributors reported to the Fair Political Practices Commission
pursuant to Section 84223 of the Government Code.
(ii) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (C) of Section
84223 of the Government Code, the Fair Political Practices Commission
shall automatically provide the list of top 10 contributors, and any
subsequent updates to that list, to the Secretary of State for
purposes of compliance with this section.
(4)
(3) Any other Internet Web site hyperlinks to other
relevant information.
SEC. 13. Section 9094.5 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9094.5. (a) The Secretary of State shall establish a
process processes to enable a voter
to opt out of receiving by mail the state ballot pamphlet prepared
pursuant to Section 9081 and to instead receive either the
state ballot pamphlet in an electronic format or an electronic
notification making the pamphlet available by means of online access
. This process These processes
shall become effective only after the Secretary of State certifies
that the state has a statewide voter registration database that
complies with the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 15301 et seq.).
(b) The process processes described
in subdivision (a) shall not apply where two or more registered
voters have the same postal address unless each voter who shares the
same postal address has chosen to discontinue receiving the ballot
pamphlet by mail.
(c) The Secretary of State shall also establish a procedure to
permit a voter to begin receiving the ballot pamphlet by mail again
after the voter has discontinued receiving it pursuant to subdivision
(a).
SEC. 14. Section 9604 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9604. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person may engage in
good faith bargaining between competing interests to secure
legislative approval of matters embraced in a statewide or local
initiative or referendum measure, and the proponents may, as a result
of these negotiations, withdraw the measure at any time before
filing the petition with the appropriate elections official.
(b) In addition to the procedure under subdivision (a), the
proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum measure may
withdraw the measure after filing the petition with the appropriate
elections official at any time before the Secretary of State
certifies that the measure qualifies
has qualified for the ballot.
(c) Withdrawal of a statewide initiative or referendum measure
shall be effective upon receipt by the Secretary of State of a
written notice of withdrawal, signed by all proponents of the
measure.
(d) Withdrawal of a local initiative or referendum measure shall
be effective upon receipt by the appropriate local elections official
of a written notice of withdrawal, signed by all proponents of the
measure.
(e) The proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum measure
shall not solicit or accept, and a person shall not offer or pay,
any money or other valuable consideration to obtain the withdrawal of
a statewide initiative or referendum measure from the ballot. A
violation of this subdivision shall be subject to the same penalty as
provided for in Section 18660.
SEC. 15 . Section 18621 of the
Elections Code is amended to read:
18621. Any proponent of an initiative or referendum measure or
recall petition who seeks, solicits, bargains for, or obtains any
money or thing of value of or from any person, firm, or corporation
for the purpose of abandoning the same or stopping the circulation of
petitions concerning the same, or failing or neglecting or refusing
to file the measure or petition in the office of the elections
official or other officer designated by law within the time required
by law after obtaining the number of signatures required under the
law to qualify the measure or petition, or withdrawing an
initiative petition after filing it with the appropriate elections
official, or performing any act that will prevent or aid in
preventing the initiative, referendum , or recall proposed
from qualifying as an initiative or referendum measure, or resulting
in a recall election is punishable by a fine not exceeding five
thousand dollars ($5,000) or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision
(h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three
years, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that
fine and imprisonment.
SEC. 15. SEC. 16. No reimbursement
is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of
the California Constitution because the only costs that may be
incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred
because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a
crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or
infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.