BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 554 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 554 (Mullin) As Introduced February 23, 2015 Majority vote ------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------| |Elections |5-2 |Ridley-Thomas, |Grove, Travis Allen | | | |Gatto, Gordon, | | | | |Mullin, Perea | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Authorizes an elections official to appoint a pupil, who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States (U.S.), to serve as a precinct board member. Specifically, this bill provides that a pupil who is a legal permanent resident may be appointed to serve as a precinct board member if the pupil otherwise possesses the qualifications required for a pupil to serve as a precinct board member. FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: According to the author, "In 2013 the Legislature passed AB 817 (Bonta), [Chapter 162, Statutes of 2013,] which was signed AB 554 Page 2 into law by Governor Brown, to allow legal permanent residents to serve as poll workers in California. The bill did not, however, similarly amend the section of law that allows high school students who are at least 16 years of age to serve as poll workers. AB 554 fixes this oversight by allowing high school students who are legal permanent residents to serve as poll workers in California elections. "This change is critical because elections officials have experienced a shortage of poll workers who can speak languages other than English. With over 2.6 million eligible voters in California who are not yet fully proficient in English, this poses a problem for elections officials who are charged with ensuring all voters have access to the polls. By further expanding the pool of bilingual poll workers to include high school students who are legal permanent residents, AB 554 helps address this issue. "Additionally, the bill provides an educational opportunity for high school-aged legal permanent residents who want to learn about the United States' democratic process, a privilege that already exists for legal permanent residents who are over 18. This opportunity is especially relevant for high school students, as they are already learning about government in civics classes. AB 554 would provide high school-aged legal permanent residents the opportunity to experience American democracy firsthand, potentially inspiring them to become naturalized voting citizens in the future." AB 817 (Bonta), Chapter 162, Statutes of 2013, authorized county elections officials to appoint a person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, and who is otherwise eligible to register to vote except for his or her lack of United States citizenship, to serve as a precinct board member. AB 1856 (McPherson), Chapter 337, Statutes of 1996, authorized AB 554 Page 3 elections officials to appoint not more than two high school seniors to work in a polling place on election day. SB 610 (Escutia), Chapter 530, Statutes of 2003, created a task force to develop uniform training standards for poll workers and increased the maximum number of student poll workers from two to five. AB 2671 (Salinas), Chapter 576, Statutes of 2006, deleted the restriction that a student must be a senior to work as a member of a precinct board. Analysis Prepared by: Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0000401