BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 786


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          Date of Hearing:  May 20, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          786 (Levine) - As Amended April 21, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill:


          1)Requires the DMV, to the extent the state's implementation  








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            plan for the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 is  
            inconsistent with federal law, to coordinate with the  
            Secretary of State (SOS) to take additional steps to fully  
            implement and further comply with NVRA. (This would require  
            the DMV to use information on a driver's license (DL)  
            application directly for voter registration rather than  
            requiring a separate voter registration card (VRC) to be  
            completed by the applicant.)


          2)Requires the DMV, until July 1, 2016, if requested by a  
            registered voter, to notify county elections officials in both  
            counties when a voter moves from one county to another.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          One-time cost of $2.35 million General Fund to the DMV ($1.25  
          million) and SOS ($1.1 million). This cost is based on a  
          recently-released budget proposal in the Governor's May revision  
          to provide software/hardware upgrades to the DMV's in-person DL  
          application process and online DL renewal process and for  
          related updates to the SOS's voter registration systems. The  
          proposal does not require separate legislation.

          COMMENTS:


          1)NVRA Background. Also known as the "Motor Voter Act,"  
            enactment of the NVRA in 1993 was intended to enhance and  
            increase voting opportunities for eligible voters to register  
            to vote and maintain their registration. The NVRA requires  
            states to provide persons the opportunity to apply to register  
            to vote for federal elections through various methods,  
            including requiring voter registration opportunities at motor  
            vehicle agencies.

            Several states failed to take the steps necessary to comply  








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            with the law and several also challenged the constitutionality  
            of the federal mandate. In 1994, Governor Pete Wilson signed  
            an executive order directing state and local agencies to  
            implement the NVRA only to the extent that federal funding was  
            provided. Three separate lawsuits concerning California's  
            implementation of the NVRA were filed in federal court, and  
            the courts found the NVRA constitutional, despite the lack of  
            federal funding provided to states. The courts also ruled that  
            California was obligated to implement the NVRA and ordered the  
            state to submit an implementation plan to the court for review  
            to ensure conformity of the law's requirements.

            DMV's Process. DMV's implementation of NVRA provides every  
            person who applies for or renews a driver's license or  
            identification card, or submits a change of address form, with  
            a VRC.  The VRC can be used to register to vote or to  
            re-register after a change in name, address, or party  
            preference.  When voters update their address with a DMV  
            office, the new address is sent electronically to the SOS's  
            statewide voter registration database, which then shares the  
            information with county elections officials who update voter  
            registration records. When voters move to a new county, the  
            DMV instructs them to complete a new VRC.  DMV accepts  
            completed VRCs and forwards them to the SOS or the county  
            where the voter lives.  

            This process does not comply with the federal NVRA, which  
            generally prohibits an individual who wants to register to  
            vote to be required to provide any information that duplicates  
            information already required on the driver's license form.  
            Nevertheless, the federal court reviewed and approved the  
            state's implementation plan, and according to the SOS, the  
            state's current provisional voting laws meet NVRA  
            requirements.

            Earlier this year, a letter was sent to the SOS from ACLU  
            Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Dmos, Morrison  
            & Forester LLP, and Project Vote stating that California is  
            engaging in continuous and ongoing violations of Section 5 of  








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            the NVRA. The letter also stated that it constituted a formal  
            notice of their intent to initiate litigation at the end of  
            the statutory 90-day waiting period should California fail to  
            remedy the violations of Section 5 of the NVRA, as specified.

          2)Purpose. The author argues that DMV should become in full  
            compliance with NVRA, which he asserts will ease the voter  
            registration process. According to the author, this bill also  
            addresses reports indicating that voters are being removed  
            from the rolls against their will when they move from one  
            county to another. These voters rely on DMV to process their  
            voter registration change of address.  However, DMV and the  
            county elections offices fail to process the change of address  
            in a timely manner.  

          3)Related Legislation. AB 1461 (Gonzalez), also on today's  
            committee agenda, requires the SOS to use records from the DMV  
            to automatically register to vote those individuals who are  
            eligible.  

          4)Prior Legislation. AB 1122 (Levine) of 2013, which was similar  
            to this bill, was held on this committee's Suspense file.
          


          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081