BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON
          ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
                              Senator Ben Allen, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:             AB 809         Hearing Date:    7/7/15    
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          |Author:    |Obernolte                                            |
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          |Version:   |3/26/15                                              |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|Frances Tibon Estoista                               |
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                Subject:  Local initiative measures: ballot printing  
                                   specifications

           DIGEST
           
          Requires the  ballot  , if a proposed local initiative imposes a  
          tax or raises the rate of a tax, to include in the statement of  
          the ordinance to be voted on the amount of money to be raised  
          annually and the rate of the tax to be levied.

           ANALYSIS
           
           Existing law  requires ballots used when voting upon a proposed  
          county, city, or district ordinance submitted to voters of the  
          respective local government as an initiative measure to have  
          printed on them specified text relating to the proposed  
          ordinance and dictates the placement of that text.

           This bill  requires the ballot, if a proposed local initiative  
          imposes a tax or raises the rate of a tax, to include in the  
          statement of the ordinance to be voted on the amount of money to  
          be raised annually and the rate and duration of the tax to be  
          levied.

           BACKGROUND
           
           Ballot Form  :  Existing law requires a ballot to comply with a  
          variety of laws that dictate its form and content.  For example,  
          existing law requires a ballot to contain the title of each  
          office, the names of all qualified candidates, as specified,  







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          ballot designations, as specified, titles and summaries of  
          measures submitted to voters, and instructions to voters, among  
          other things.  Moreover, existing law requires a ballot to be  
          printed in a certain form, as specified.  Once all of these  
          requirements are met, there is limited space left on the ballot  
          to accommodate further requirements.  Consequently, it is common  
          practice to include other important election information in the  
          sample ballot or ballot pamphlet that is sent to all registered  
          voters.

           COMMENTS
           
            1) According to the author  , California continues to rank at the  
             bottom when it comes to transparency and access to government  
             information.  The citizens of California have a right to know  
             how taxes will affect them and how those dollars are being  
             spent.  AB 809 takes a small step toward achieving this goal  
             by requiring the ballot statement for local tax measures to  
             include information on the amount of money to be raised  
             annually and the rate and duration of the tax to be levied.   
             This will help voters be better informed when making  
             decisions that could impact their personal budgets.

            2) One-stop shop  .  The author contends that Californians have a  
             right to know what they are voting on, especially when it  
             involves tax increases that could have a significant impact  
             on their financial position.  While having this information  
             may be helpful in determining how a local measure will raise  
             taxes as well as providing the rate and duration of the tax  
             levied, it may prove extremely challenging for elections  
             officials to include more information on the ballot.   
             Moreover, if the law allows for it, many local elections are  
             consolidated with other elections as a cost saving measure.   
             It is therefore even more likely the issue of ballot capacity  
             becomes problematic with more data being added.

                               RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
           
          AB 2551 (Wilk, Chapter 908, Statutes of 2014), requires each  
          bond issue proposed by a county, city and county, district, or  
          other political subdivision, or any agency, department, or board  
          thereof, to include the best estimate from official sources of  
          the total debt service, including the principal and interest  
          that would be required to be repaid if all the bonds are issued  








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          and sold, and permits the estimate to include information about  
          the assumptions used to determine the estimate.

           PRIOR ACTION
           
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          |Assembly Floor:                       |57 - 8                     |
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          |Assembly Appropriations Committee:    |17 - 0                     |
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          |Assembly Elections and Redistricting  |  4 - 3                    |
          |Committee:                            |                           |
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          POSITIONS
           
          Sponsor: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

           Support: California Taxpayers Association

           Oppose:  None received

                                          
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