BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1253| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 1253 Author: Steinberg (D), et al. Amended: 5/27/14 Vote: 21 SENATE ELECTIONS & CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND. COMM. : 4-1, 4/22/14 AYES: Torres, Hancock, Jackson, Padilla NOES: Anderson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/14 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NOES: Walters, Gaines SUBJECT : Initiative measures SOURCE : California Common Cause League of Women Voters of California DIGEST : This bill makes several changes to the initiative process including providing a 30-day public review process, extending the timeframe allowed for circulating a petition, and allowing the withdrawal of a petition at any time before the measure qualifies for the ballot; and makes several other changes to the procedures and requirements for placing an initiative petition measure on the ballot. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Establishes specific procedures and requirements for placing an initiative petition measure on the ballot. CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 2 2.Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) 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. 3.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. 4.Requires the SOS 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. 5.Requires the SOS 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. 6.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. 7.Requires that state initiative petitions circulated for signature include a prescribed notice to the public. 8.Makes certain activities relating to the circulation of an initiative referendum, or recall petition a criminal offense. This bill: 1. Imposes specified requirements with respect to the ballot materials required to be prepared by the Attorney General (AG). This bill requires the AG to do the following: A. Upon receipt of a request from the proponents of a proposed initiative measure for a circulating title and summary, the AG shall initiate a 30-day public review process of the proposal. CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 3 B. Post the text of the proposed initiative measure on the AG's Internet Web site. C. Promote public participation by inviting on the AG's Internet Web site written public comments on the proposed initiative measure, and allow the site to 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. Requires the AG to transmit any written public comments received during the public review period to the proponents of the proposed initiative measure. D. Allow proponents of the proposed initiative measure, during the public review period, to submit amendments to the measure. An amendment shall be submitted to the AG's Sacramento Office via United States Postal Service. Provides that an amendment shall not be accepted more than five days after the public review period is concluded, however a proponent is not prohibited from proposing a new initiative measure and requesting that a circulating title and summary be prepared for that measure. 1. Requires the AG to provide a ballot title and summary 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, and also requires the following be satisfied: A. If the measure imposes or increases a tax or fee, the type and amount of the tax or fee shall be described. B. If the measure repeals existing law in any substantial manner, that fact shall be included. C. If the measure is contingent on the passage or defeat of another measure or statute, that fact shall be included. 1. Requires the AG to invite and consider public comment in preparing each ballot title and summary. 2. Requires the Legislature to provide the AG with sufficient CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 4 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. 3. Provides that the submission of an amendment shall not extend the period to prepare the fiscal estimate. 4. Requires the prepared circulating title and summary to be not less than 25 words and not more than 150 words in length. 5. Requires the fiscal estimate be prepared jointly by the DOF and the Legislative Analyst and further provides that the fiscal estimate be delivered to the AG within 45 days of the date of receipt of the proposed initiative measure. 6. Extends 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. 7. Requires the SOS, on the 131st day before an election, to issue a certificate identifying each initiative measure for which he or she issued a notice of qualification for a given election. 8. Requires the SOS 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, upon collection of 25 percent of the number of signatures needed to qualify the initiative measure for the ballot. 9. Requires the appropriate committees of the Senate and Assembly to hold joint public hearing 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. 10.Requires the SOS to establish processes to enable a voter to receive the state ballot pamphlet in an electronic format instead of by mail, and also requires the SOS to create an Internet Web site, or use other available technology, to consolidate information about each ballot measure in a manner CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 5 that is easy for voters to access and understand. The information shall include: A. A summary of each ballot measure's content. B. A list of each committee formed or existing primarily to support or oppose the ballot measure, and a means to access information about the sources of contributions reported for each committee. C. Information about the sources of contributions is required to be updated as new information becomes available to the public pursuant to the Political Reform Act of 1974. D. If a committee receives at least $1 million in contributions for an election, the SOS shall also list the committee's top 10 contributors reported to the FPPC. E. The FPPC shall automatically provide the list of top 10 contributors, and any subsequent updates to that list, to the SOS for purposes of compliance. F. Any other Internet Web site hyperlinks to other relevant information. 1. Authorizes the proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum measure to have the measure withdrawn from the ballot at any time before the SOS certifies that the measure has qualified for the ballot. 2. Requires 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. 3. Makes 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. 4. Finds and declares all of the following: A. Initiative measures, also known as ballot measures or CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 6 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 the Ballot Initiative Transparency Act (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 SOS will 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 gives voters updated information about who is spending large sums of money to support or oppose each initiative measure. Voters will 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. This Act requires 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 gives 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 also allows 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. CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 7 Background The Initiative and Referendum Institute . According to the iandrinstitute.org, although the initiative process is different in every state, there are certain aspects of the process that are common to all. The five basic steps to any initiative are: Preliminary filing of a proposed initiative with a designated state official; Review of the initiative for compliance with statutory requirements prior to circulation; Circulation of the petition to obtain the required number of signatures; Submission of the petition signatures to the state elections official for verification of the signatures; and The placement of the initiative on the ballot and subsequent vote. The following is a national comparison on pre-circulation filing requirements and review processes: Prior to circulating a petition, the proposed initiative and a request to circulate must be submitted to the designated public officer such as the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General or Secretary of State for approval. Nine states require the proposed initiative to be submitted with a certain number of signatures, ranging from five in Montana to 100 in Alaska. Five states require a deposit that is refunded when the completed petition has been filed. Depending, on the state the petition may be reviewed for form, language and/or constitutionality. Ten states require the Secretary of State's office or the Attorney General to review initiatives for proper form only. Twelve states require some form of pre-circulation/certification review regarding language, content or constitutionality. However, in all but four of these states, the results of the review are advisory only. In Arkansas, the Attorney General has authority to reject a proposal if it utilizes misleading terminology. In Utah, the Attorney General can reject an initiative if it is patently unconstitutional, nonsensical, or if the proposed law could not become law if passed. In Oregon, the Attorney General can stop an initiative from circulating if he believes it violates the single amendment provision for initiatives and in Florida, the State Supreme Court, during its mandatory review, can stop an initiative if it is CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 8 unconstitutional or violates the state's very strict single subject requirement. Circulation periods range from as brief as 64 days in Massachusetts to an unlimited duration, though there are limits on how long a petition signature is valid. Most states also have deadlines for submitting initiative petitions, so that officials will have time to verify the signatures, publish the initiative, and prepare the ballot. Arkansas, Ohio and Utah have no time limit for signature gathering. Oklahoma at 90 days, California at 150 days, and Massachusetts at 64 days have the shortest circulation periods. It is unknown if any of the 24 states provides opportunity during the process for the proponent to withdraw a proposal at any time before the measure qualifies for the ballot. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, annual costs of $114,326 to AG's Office (General Fund). The AG's Office indicates the need for one personnel year at Associate Governmental Program Analyst position to handle the additional workload related to monitoring the required public comment section and associated duties. The SOS has indicated that amending the initiative qualification process will have minor cost implications for providing notice to the Legislature and providing a certification of all voter initiated measures that qualify for the ballot. SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/14) California Common Cause (co-source) League of Women Voters of California (co-source) AARP California Calls California Chamber of Commerce California Church IMPACT California Forward Action Fund California State Employees Association NAACP RFK Democratic Club CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 9 Think Long Committee for California Yucaipa-Calimesa Democratic Club ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: The changes in this bill are similar to the recommendations made twenty years ago by the Citizen's Commission on Ballot Initiatives. The current 150 days to gather signature does not provide enough time for public input or changes to the initiative language. This bill extends the time allowed to gather signatures and establishes a prequalification process. The prequalification process includes the ability to amend an initiative before it appears on the ballot as long as the changes are consistent with the original intent. The prequalification process also engages the Legislature earlier in the process. Presently, there is not a sufficient review process of initiatives by the public or the Legislature where either is able to provide greater input and suggest amendments or correct flaws before the measure is printed on the ballot. Implementing a better public review process before the title and summary process by the AG and allowing the Legislature to hold a hearing after 25% of signatures are collected helps address this deficiency. Also, the concern that voters are asked to decide important issues through the initiative process without adequate information is real. This bill aims to provide clearer and more thorough information. Another problem in current law is inability for a proponent to withdraw their own initiative. As described in the previous section, if a proponent of an initiative pursues an alternative path to solving an issue - specifically through compromise through the legislative process - there is no mechanism for the proponent to remove their own ballot initiative after it's been qualified. RM:nl 5/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED SB 1253 Page 10 CONTINUED