BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 254| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 254 Author: Roger Hernández (D) and Calderon (D) Amended: 6/1/15 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 3-1, 6/30/15 AYES: Allen, Hertzberg, Liu NOES: Anderson NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-31, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Election dates SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill requires general law cities, school districts, community college districts, and special districts to hold their general elections and certain special elections at the same time as the statewide primary or statewide general election, or in June or November of odd-numbered years, beginning in 2020. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1) Provides that the following dates are "established election dates": AB 254 Page 2 a) The second Tuesday of April in each even-numbered year; b) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of each odd-numbered year; c) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in each year; and, d) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each year. 2) Requires all state, county, municipal, district, and school district elections to be held on an established election date, except as specified. Provides that the following types of elections, among others, are not required to be held on an established election date: a) Any special election called by the Governor; b) Elections held in chartered cities or chartered counties in which the charter provisions are inconsistent with state election laws; c) School governing board elections conducted pursuant to specified provisions of law; d) Elections required or permitted to be held by a school district located in a chartered city or county when the election is consolidated with a regular city or county election held in a jurisdiction that includes 95 percent or more of the school district's population; e) County, municipal, district, and school district initiative, referendum, or recall elections; f) Any election conducted solely by mailed ballot pursuant to specified provisions of law; and, g) Elections held pursuant to specified provisions of law on the question of whether to authorize school bonds. 3) Requires a general law city to hold its general municipal election on an established election date or on the second AB 254 Page 3 Tuesday in April of each odd-numbered year, except as specified. 4) Requires a school district, community college district, or county board of education to hold the regular election to select governing board members on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in each odd-numbered year, or at the same time as the statewide direct primary election, the statewide general election, or the general municipal election, except as specified. 5) Requires the general district election held to elect members of the governing board of a special district to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year, unless the principal act of the district provides for the general district election to be held on a different established election date, or on an established mailed ballot election date, as specified. Permits a special district to adopt a resolution requiring its general district election to be held on the same day as the statewide general election, upon approval of the county board of supervisors, as specified. 6) Requires various special elections, including the following types of elections, to be held on an established election date: a) An election to fill a vacancy on the governing board of a city, school district, or community college district; b) An election on a proposal to transfer territory between counties; c) An election to elect a county charter commission; and, d) Specified elections on proposals to form special districts. 7) Permits a county or a city to provide for its own governance through the adoption of a charter by a majority vote of its electors voting on the question. AB 254 Page 4 8) Permits a city charter to provide for the conduct of city elections. Grants plenary authority, subject to limited restrictions, for a city's charter to provide for the manner in which and the method by which municipal officers are elected. 9) Provides that a legally adopted city charter supersedes all laws inconsistent with that charter with respect to municipal affairs. 10)Provides that requests to consolidate certain local elections with statewide election dates shall be approved by the board of supervisors of a county unless the ballot style, voting equipment, or computer capability is such that additional elections or materials cannot be handled. This bill: 1) Eliminates the second Tuesday in April of each even-numbered year, and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of each odd-numbered year, from the list of dates that are considered "established election dates" on which cities may hold their general municipal elections, and on which special districts may hold their general district elections, effective January 1, 2020. 2) Eliminates the second Tuesday in April of each odd-numbered year as a date on which cities may hold their general municipal elections, effective January 1, 2020. 3) Declares the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this bill, to do the following: a) Encourage increased voter participation; and, b) Not alter the date of a runoff election provided for in the principal act of a district. 4) Specifies that this bill shall not be construed to shorten the term of office of any officeholder in office on the effective date of this bill. Provides that for each office for which this bill causes the election to be held at a later date than would have been the case in the absence of this bill, the incumbent shall hold office until a successor AB 254 Page 5 qualifies for the office, but in no event shall the term of an incumbent be extended by more than four years. 5) Makes corresponding and technical changes. Background Local general election dates. By eliminating two established election dates, this bill limits the dates on which local governmental bodies can hold their regularly-scheduled elections to elect governing board members (commonly referred to as general municipal or general district elections). Counties are required by law to hold regularly scheduled county elections at the same time as statewide elections, so their general elections would not be affected by this bill (San Francisco, which is a consolidated city and county, has the authority over local elections that is granted to charter cities, and therefore it is not required to elect county officers at the same time as the statewide election, unlike other counties). Cities, school districts, community college districts, and special districts, however, all could be affected by this bill. Cities. According to the League of California Cities, there are 361 general law (i.e., non-charter) cities in California. Based on research by the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee staff, approximately 89 percent of general law cities hold their general municipal elections on a date that is permitted by this bill. Assuming this bill is not applicable to charter cities, there are 41 general law cities that would be required to move the date of their general municipal elections. Of those 41 cities, all but two are located in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County. As stated above, existing law provides that requests to consolidate certain local elections with statewide election dates shall be approved by the board of supervisors unless the ballot style, voting equipment, or computer capability is such that additional elections or materials cannot be handled. Los Angeles County sought the ability to deny consolidation requests in SB 693 (Robbins, Chapter 897, Statutes of 1985), because its voting system could accommodate only a limited number of contests at each election, and the County was AB 254 Page 6 concerned that the move by cities to hold their elections at the same time as the statewide election would exceed the capacity of their voting system. Los Angeles County still uses a variant of the voting system that it used in 1985, though the county is currently in the planning and design stage for developing and transitioning to a new voting system. One of the principles that the county has articulated to guide the development of its new voting system is having a system that has "sufficient technical and physical capacity to accommodate?consolidation of elections with local districts and municipalities." That voting system, however, may not be available for use countywide until 2020. Because of the capacity limitations of Los Angeles County's voting system, the County routinely has denied requests from various local governmental bodies in the county that have sought to hold their elections at the same time as - and to have their elections consolidated with - statewide elections. Recently, however, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to change its policy regarding requests for consolidations of local elections with the statewide primary or general election. Rather than routinely denying such requests, under the new policy, the Board of Supervisors will consider approving requests by local government bodies to have their elections consolidated with statewide elections on a case-by-case basis. The Board will consider approving such a request from a local governmental body if an analysis indicates that the ballots in the area of the county where the governmental body is located have had sufficient capacity to accommodate additional contests at previous statewide elections. Earlier this year, voters in the city of Los Angeles and in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) approved ballot measures to move those jurisdictions' general elections so that they are held at the same time as statewide elections, beginning in 2020. Arguments in support of those measures indicated that such a timeline would allow local elections to be consolidated with federal and state elections. In addition to including the City of Los Angeles, the LAUSD also includes all or parts of 11 other cities that currently hold their municipal elections at the same time as LAUSD elections. The shift in the date of LAUSD elections could give those cities an incentive to consider moving the dates of their municipal elections. AB 254 Page 7 In light of Los Angeles County's timeline for replacing its existing voting system, this bill will not go into effect until 2020. Comments 1)According to the author, in 2014, voter turnout hit record low numbers, with especially devastating numbers in large urban areas. One result of lower participation is that the elected officials are less likely to reflect the electorate. This is a self-perpetuating cycle, as voters feel less connected they are less likely to participate in the process in the next cycle, and so the gap between officials and their constituencies grows larger. A recent report by the Greenlining Institute examined three California case studies comparing even-year consolidated elections and off-year elections. Their data illustrates even-year consolidated elections showing a benefit of up to 54% increased participation and savings up to $50.94 per voter. Even the low end of their results show significant improvements in using consolidated elections. By consolidating elections, AB 254 will help avoid "stand-alone" local elections and result in: decreased costs, reduction of special interested influence, increased voter turnout, and a more representative government. Multiple studies in the last 15 years have determined that election date is a key factor in determining voter turnout. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, holding elections "on cycle" is the largest single factor that affects voter turnout. Elections held "on-cycle", help constituents establish voting as habit and they are more widely publicized. Both of these factors contribute to higher turnout. Given that California allows for both off-cycle and on-cycle elections, this creates a barrier to establish better voting habits. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No AB 254 Page 8 SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15) California Common Cause League of Women Voters of California OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15) City Clerks Association of California City of Azusa City of Glendora City of Lakewood City of Norwalk City of South Gate League of California Cities ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the League of Women Voters of California, local elections have significantly greater participation when they coincide with statewide or federal elections. Having elections in June or November make it easier for citizens to remember and participate, and more likely to turn out as there are multiple issues and candidates on the ballot. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the City of Lakewood, this bill removes freedom of choice of cities choosing an election date that they feel works best for them. While the intent of the bill is to increase voter participation, it is difficult to see how cities would get a better voter turnout in a June non-statewide election than they would in March or April. ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-31, 6/3/15 AYES: Alejo, Bonilla, Bonta, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, AB 254 Page 9 Lopez, Low, McCarty, Mullin, Nazarian, Perea, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Atkins NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez, Cooley, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk NO VOTE RECORDED: Bloom, Brown, Medina, O'Donnell, Quirk Prepared by:Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106 8/19/15 20:39:00 **** END ****