BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
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|Bill No: |AB 278 |Hearing |6/29/16 |
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|Author: |Roger Hernández |Tax Levy: |No |
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|Version: |6/20/16 |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Weinberger |
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Municipal elections
Allows any city that elects its city council at-large to enact
an ordinance switching its election method to by-district
without obtaining voter approval.
Background
Existing law permits a general law city that elects its
councilmembers through at-large elections to provide for city
council members to be elected by district. A city may only
change its election method after the city's voters approve a
measure proposing a switch. The measure can either be submitted
to the voters by the city council or placed on the ballot
through the initiative process. The ordinance changing the
method of election must state the number of legislative
districts, describe the boundaries of each, number the
districts, and state the method for electing the members of the
legislative body,
The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) prohibits an at-large
method of election from being imposed or applied in a political
subdivision (including a special district) in a manner that
impairs the ability of a protected class of voters to elect the
candidate of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome
of an election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgement
of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class (SB
AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16
Page 2 of ?
976, Polanco, 2002). The CVRA was enacted to address racial
block voting in at-large elections for local office in
California. In areas where racial block voting occurs, an
at-large method of election can dilute the voting rights of a
protected class of voters if a majority usually votes for
candidates who differ from candidates who are preferred by the
protected class of voters. In such situations, breaking up a
jurisdiction into districts can result in districts in which a
protected class of voters can elect the candidate of its choice
or otherwise have the power to influence the outcome of an
election. If a judge finds that a city's at-large election
method violates the CVRA, state law requires the court to
implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of
district-based elections.
At least 160 local governments have switched from at-large to
district-based elections since the enactment of the CVRA in
2002. While some jurisdictions did so in response to
litigation, other jurisdictions proactively changed election
methods because they believed they could be susceptible to a
legal challenge under the CVRA, and they wished to avoid the
potential expense of litigation. However, submitting an
ordinance to voters via the ballot initiative process can be
cumbersome and costly. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that
a city's voters will approve a proposed change, no matter how
proactive the city council.
Last year, the Legislature responded by allowing cities with
populations of less than 100,000 people to change to a
district-based electoral system without having to obtain voter
approval (SB 493, Cannella, 2015). Some city officials now want
the Legislature to extend that authority to all cities,
regardless of their populations, and provide city officials with
more a more flexible process for adopting electoral district
maps when a city switches to a by-district election method.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 278 allows the legislative body of any city,
regardless of its population, to adopt an ordinance that
requires members of the city's legislative body to be elected by
district or by district with an elective mayor, without having
to submit the ordinance to the city's voters for approval. The
AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16
Page 3 of ?
adopted ordinance must include a declaration that the change in
the method of electing members of the legislative body is being
made in furtherance of the purposes of the California Voting
Rights Act of 2001.
AB 278 deletes a statutory requirement that the ordinance must
describe the boundaries, and number, of each legislative
district and, instead, requires the legislative body to prepare
a proposed map describing the boundaries and numbers of the
legislative districts after the ordinance is passed or enacted,
as specified.
AB 278 requires a legislative body changing from a from district
method of election to a by-district method of election, or
adjusting the district boundaries, to hold public hearings on
the change, as specified.
AB 278 provides that after an ordinance is passed by the voters
or after an ordinance is enacted by the legislative body to
change from an at-large method of election to a district-based
election, the legislative body shall prepare a proposed map that
describes the boundaries and numbers of the districts for the
legislative body. In preparing the proposed map, the
legislative body may seek public input, including accepting
proposed maps submitted by the public.
AB 278 provides that if the legislative body is changing from an
at-large method of election to a district-based election, the
legislative body shall, pursuant to existing provisions of the
Elections Code, hold at least two public hearings on the
proposed district boundaries. If the legislative body is
otherwise adjusting the district boundaries, the legislative
body shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposed
district boundaries pursuant to other existing provisions of the
Elections Code. AB 278 requires the districts to comply with
applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The bill makes numerous technical, nonsubstantive, and
conforming changes to state law.
State Revenue Impact
AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16
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No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . Since the passage of the California
Voting Rights Act of 2001, an increasing number of cities are
opting to switch to by-district elections. Numerous cities that
use at-large election methods have been sued under the CVRA by
groups arguing that at-large elections prevent minority groups
from electing candidates that represent their community or their
interests. In all such cases, citizens alleging that at-large
elections violated the CVRA prevailed. Reading the proverbial
writing on the wall, cities with at-large election methods want
to avoid inevitable CVRA lawsuits, but are also weary of the
costly process of submitting an ordinance to the voters for
approval to switch to by-district voting-which, ultimately, the
voters might reject. Last year, the Legislature allow cities
with fewer than 100,000 residents to switch to by-district
elections, as recommended by many judges in CVRA lawsuits,
without having to first go through the costly and uncertain
process of voter approval. AB 278 builds upon last year's bill
by extending the same authority to all cities. AB 278 also
provides local officials more flexibility in developing
electoral district maps by establishing an alternative process
for adopting district maps after local officials, or voters,
have approved a switch to district-based elections.
2. Finding a balance . The CVRA was enacted to protect
democratic principles of fairness and equal access to
representation in government. Democratic principles also
suggest that local voters should be allowed to make fundamental
decisions about the methods by which their communities' local
officials are elected. Sometimes, these principles conflict, as
is the case when at-large elections for a local governing board
are supported by a majority of a community's voters but impair a
protected class of voters' ability to influence elections. AB
278 attempts to strike a balance between making it easier for
local governments to modify their elections to comply with the
CVRA while still leaving some local discretion over the method
by which governing boards are elected.
3. Related Legislation . AB 2220 (Cooper), which will be heard
by the Senate Governance & Finance Committee at its June 29
AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16
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hearing, also would allow all cities, regardless of population
size, to change the method of electing council members to a
by-district method of election without receiving voter approval.
AB 2389 (Ridley-Thomas), which will be heard by the Senate
Governance & Finance Committee at its June 29 hearing, would
allow special districts' governing boards, without having to
seek voter approval, to change from an at-large to a by-district
method of electing the district's governing board members. SB
927 (Anderson), which is pending in the Assembly Local
Government Committee, permits directors of any public utility
district that is wholly or partially within the County of San
Diego to be elected at large or by subdistrict. The Senate
Governance & Finance Committee approved SB 927 at its March 30
hearing on a 7-0 vote.
4. Double Referred . The Senate Rules Committee has ordered a
double-referral of AB 278, first to the Senate Committee on
Elections & Constitutional Amendments, which has jurisdiction
over bills relating to local elections and the CVRA, and then to
the Senate Governance & Finance Committee, which has
jurisdiction over bills relating to special districts' governing
boards. The Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments
Committee passed AB 278 at its June 8, 2016 hearing on a 5-0
vote.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Elections & Redistricting Committee: 4-1
Assembly Local Government Committee: 5-1
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 12-0
Assembly Floor: 43-32
AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16
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Support and
Opposition (6/23/16)
Support : American Civil Liberties Union.
Opposition : League of California Cities - Riverside County
Division.
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