BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1272
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1272 (Lieu)
As Amended May 27, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :23-12
ELECTIONS 5-0 APPROPRIATIONS 11-4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Fong, Bonta, Hall, Perea, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Rodriguez | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Pan, |
| | | |Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, |
| | | |Linder, Wagner |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Places an advisory question on the November 4, 2014,
Statewide General Election ballot on amending the United States
Constitution to address campaign finance issues. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires the following advisory question to be placed on the
ballot at the November 4, 2014 Statewide General Election:
Shall the Congress of the United States propose, and the
California Legislature ratify, an amendment or
amendments to the United States Constitution to overturn
Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)
558 U.S. 310, and other applicable judicial precedents,
to allow the full regulation or limitation of campaign
contributions and spending, to ensure that all citizens,
regardless of wealth, may express their views to one
another, and to make clear that the rights protected by
the United States Constitution are the rights of natural
persons only?
2)Contains various findings and declarations about the rights
guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
SB 1272
Page 2
3)Requires the Secretary of State to communicate the results of
the vote on the advisory question to Congress.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time General Fund printing cost of at least
$275,000, based on $55,000 per page, to include in the statewide
ballot pamphlet the text of the measure, title and summary,
Legislative Analyst's Office analysis, and arguments in support
and opposition.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "The United States
Constitution and the Bill of Rights explicitly intend to protect
the rights of individual human beings as indicated by the phrase
'We the people' in the preamble to the Constitution. But in the
case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010),
corporations have been granted the same rights as people and
free speech is now being equated with money, especially as it
pertains to political and campaign donations. And in February
2010 Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 80% of Americans
oppose the U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United ruling. The most
recent Supreme Court ruling is McCutcheon v. Federal Elections
Commission which was handed down April 2, 2014, and decided that
it is permissible for individuals to make limitless
contributions to federal campaign and federal candidate
committees?
"Given that 80% of Americans oppose the Citizens United ruling
and are likely to be equally opposed to the McCutcheon ruling,
SB 1272 would advance the efforts to reverse the Supreme Court's
ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission
and other applicable judicial precedents, including McCutcheon
v. Federal Election Commission."
While it is uncommon for advisory questions to appear on the
ballot at statewide elections, in at least three other instances
in California's history, one or more statewide advisory measures
have appeared on the ballot. In November 1892, voters approved
an advisory measure that was placed on the ballot by the
Legislature asking whether United States Senators should be
directly elected by a vote of the people. At a statewide
special election in June 1933, voters rejected Propositions 9
and 10, which asked the voters whether the Legislature should
divert gasoline tax revenues to the general fund to pay off
SB 1272
Page 3
highway bonds. These two measures were put on the ballot by the
Legislature. Finally, at the November 1982 Statewide General
Election, voters approved Proposition 12, which was placed on
the ballot by an initiative. Proposition 12 urged the United
States government to propose to the Soviet Union that both
countries agree to immediately halt the testing, production and
further deployment of all nuclear weapons, missiles and delivery
systems in a way that could be checked and verified by both
sides.
Subsequent to the voters' approval of Proposition 12 in 1982,
the California State Supreme Court ruled that placing advisory
questions before the voters was not a proper use of the
initiative power. The Court's decision did not, however, rule
on whether it was permissible for the Legislature to place an
advisory question before the voters.
In January 2010, the United States Supreme Court issued its
ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a case
involving a nonprofit corporation that sought to run television
commercials promoting a film it produced that was critical of
then-Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. In its
decision, the Supreme Court struck down the 63-year old law that
prohibited corporations and unions from using their general
treasury funds to make independent expenditures in federal
elections, finding that the law unconstitutionally abridged the
freedom of speech.
Last session, the Legislature approved AJR 22 (Wieckowski),
Resolution Chapter 69, Statutes of 2012, which called upon the
United States Congress to propose and send to the states for
ratification a constitutional amendment that would overturn
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
Because this bill calls an election within the meaning of
Article IV of the Constitution, it would go into immediate
effect if signed by the Governor. The statutory deadline for
including legislative ballot measures on the November ballot is
June 26, 2014.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
SB 1272
Page 4
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0004023