BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 609
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Chair
AB 609
(Cristina Garcia) - As Amended April 22, 2015
SUBJECT: Members of the Legislature: residency.
SUMMARY: Permits a candidate for Member of the Legislature to
file a statement with the Secretary of State (SOS), as
specified, in which the candidate voluntarily agrees that, if
elected, he or she will continue to reside within the district
for which he or she was elected during his or her term of
office. Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes Legislative findings and declarations that, in order to
ensure that Members of the Legislature adequately and
effectively represent their constituents, those elected to the
Legislature should continue to reside in the districts that
they are elected to represent during their terms of office.
2)Permits a candidate for Member of the Legislature to file a
statement with the SOS in which the candidate voluntarily
agrees that, if elected, he or she will continue to reside
within the district from which he or she was elected during
his or her term of office. Provides that a person does not
violate the voluntary agreement if, after being elected for a
term of office, the boundaries of the district from which he
or she was elected are changed during that term of office so
AB 609
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as to exclude his or her residence from the district.
3)Requires the statement, if a candidate for a Member of the
Legislature elects to file the voluntary statement of
continuing residency pursuant to this bill, to be filed with
his or her nomination documents.
4)Requires the SOS to designate in the state ballot pamphlet
those candidates for Member of the Legislature who have
voluntarily agreed to the continuing residency requirement set
forth by in this bill.
EXISTING LAW provides that a person is ineligible to be a member
of the Legislature unless the person is an elector and has been
a resident of the legislative district for one year, and a
citizen of the United States and a resident of California for
three years, immediately preceding the election.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:
Current law requires a candidate for the California
Legislature to live within the district they intend to
represent. However, there is no requirement that they must
continue reside there, once elected. Voters have the right
to know if the person they elected intends on living
amongst their constituents. AB 609 creates a designation
for those who wish to voluntarily declare that they will
continue to reside within their district.
AB 609
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2)Current Law: Article IV, Section 2 of the California
Constitution provides that a person is ineligible to be a
member of the Legislature unless the person is an elector and
has been a resident of the legislative district for one year,
and a citizen of the United States and a resident of
California for three years, immediately preceding the
election. The SOS has long held that this requirement is
unconstitutional, however, and as a result it is not enforced.
Moreover, existing law does not explicitly require a Member
of the Legislature to reside in his or her district for the
duration of his or her term of office.
This bill permits a candidate for State Senate or Assembly to
file a statement with the SOS in which the candidate
voluntarily agrees that, if elected, he or she will continue
to reside within the district from which he or she was elected
during his or her term of office, as specified. In addition,
this bill requires the SOS, if a candidate for a Member of the
Legislature elects to file the voluntary statement of
continuing residency pursuant to the provisions of this bill,
to designate in the state ballot pamphlet those candidates who
have voluntarily agreed to the continuing residency
requirement.
3)State Ballot Pamphlet: Current law requires the SOS to
prepare a state ballot pamphlet for every statewide election
and send to every registered voter a state ballot pamphlet, as
specified. Existing law requires the SOS to include important
voter information in the state pamphlet, such as a copy,
analysis, and arguments for and against each state measure,
the Voters Bill of Rights, and statewide candidate statements,
as specified. In practice, if the state ballot pamphlet has
extra pages, the SOS will add other important voter
information. This bill adds more information to the state
ballot pamphlet and requires the SOS to designate in the state
ballot pamphlet those candidates for Member of the Legislature
AB 609
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who have voluntarily agreed to the continuing residency
requirement in this bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094