BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 823


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          Date of Hearing:  April 8, 2015


                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT


                              Brian Maienschein, Chair


          AB 823  
          (Bigelow) - As Introduced February 26, 2015


          SUBJECT:  Counties:  ordinances.


          SUMMARY:  Allows counties to post on their websites proposed and  
          adopted ordinances as an alternative to posting a copy of the  
          full text of the ordinance in the office of the clerk of the  
          board of supervisors.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Removes a requirement that a copy of the full text of proposed  
            ordinances, proposed amendments to existing ordinances,  
            adopted ordinances and adopted amendments to existing  
            ordinances be posted in the office of the clerk (clerk) of the  
            board of supervisors (board).


          2)Requires, instead, a certified copy of the full text of a  
            proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to be made available  
            to the public upon request by the clerk at least five days  
            prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or  
            amendment or alteration thereto is to be adopted.  The clerk  
            also shall either post a copy of the full text of the  
            ordinance or amendment on the county's Internet Web site  
            (website) or post a certified copy of the full text in the  
            office of the clerk five days prior to the board meeting at  
            which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration is to  








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            be adopted. 


          3)Requires, within 15 days after adoption of an ordinance or  
            amendment, the clerk to make available to the public, upon  
            request, a certified copy of the full text of the adopted  
            ordinance or amendment along with the names of those  
            supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment.  
             The clerk shall also either post a copy of the full text of  
            the ordinance or amendment and the names of those supervisors  
            voting for and against the ordinance or amendment on the  
            county's website or shall post in the office of the clerk a  
            certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or  
            amendment along with the vote information specified in this  
            paragraph.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Requires a county board, before the expiration of 15 days  
            after the passage of an ordinance by the board, to publish the  
            ordinance with the names of those members voting for and  
            against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county,  
            if there is one.  If there is no newspaper published in the  
            county, the ordinance must be posted in a prominent location  
            at the board's chambers within the 15-day period and remain  
            posted thereafter for at least one week. 


          2)Allows the publication requirement specified above to be  
            satisfied by either of the following procedures:


             a)   At least five days prior to the board meeting at which  
               the proposed ordinance or amendment is to be adopted, a  
               summary of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to  
               an existing ordinance must be published and a certified  
               copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance or proposed  








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               amendment must be posted in the office of the clerk; and,


               Within 15 days after the adoption of the ordinance or  
               amendment, the board of supervisors must publish a summary  
               of the ordinance or amendment with the names of those  
               supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or  
               amendment, and the clerk must post in his or her office a  
               certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or  
               amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting  
               for and against the ordinance or amendment; or,


             b)   If a county official designated by the board determines  
               that it is not feasible to prepare a fair and adequate  
               summary of the proposed or adopted ordinance or amendment,  
               and if the board so orders, a display advertisement of at  
               least one-quarter of a page in a newspaper of general  
               circulation in the county shall be published at least five  
               days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed  
               ordinance or amendment or alteration thereto is to be  
               adopted; and,


               Within 15 days after adoption of the ordinance or  
               amendment, a display advertisement 


               of at least one-quarter of a page shall be published.  The  
               advertisement shall indicate the general nature of, and  
               provide information about, the proposed or adopted  
               ordinance or amendment, including information sufficient to  
               enable the public to obtain copies of the complete text of  
               such ordinance or amendment, and the names of those  
               supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or  
               amendment.
          3)Provides that, if the clerk fails to publish an ordinance  
            within 15 days after the date of adoption, the ordinance shall  
            not take effect until 30 days after the date of publication.








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          FISCAL EFFECT:  None


          COMMENTS:  


          1)Bill Summary.  This bill allows counties to post on their  
            websites proposed and adopted ordinances as an alternative to  
            posting a copy of the full text of the ordinance in the office  

          of the clerk of the board.  This bill is sponsored by the  
            California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials.



          2)Author's Statement.  According to the author, "AB 823 will  
            eliminate a potentially unnecessary requirement to post the  
            certified copy of full text of proposed ordinances 5 days  
            prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and instead  
            would require the county to post the ordinance online or  
            provide a copy of the language of the ordinance upon request.   
            Current law requires clerks to physically post a certified  
            copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance in the office of  
            the clerk 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors  
            and also requires the clerk to post a certified copy of the  
            approved ordinance in the office of the clerk after the vote.   




            "According to clerks statewide, the members of the public  
            rarely, if ever, are observed in the office of the clerk to  
            review the posted language.  As an alternative, the clerks  
            propose to post the ordinance on the county's internet website  
            while offering to furnish a certified copy of the ordinance,  
            if requested.  This would save time and money in the  
            administrative office of the county while maintaining open  








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            access to the public for requested public information and  
            would allow the clerk to make the information available using  
            more modern technology."





          3)Background.  State law requires, with certain exceptions, that  
            county ordinances be published once in a newspaper in the  
            county within 15 days of passage and become effective within  
            30 days of final passage.  Ordinances not published within the  
            15 day time frame do not become effective until 30 days after  
            publication.  



            Instead of publishing the entire ordinance, supervisors can  
            publish a summary or a 1/4 display ad of the ordinance, as  
            long as the ordinance's full text is posted and available at  
            the office of the clerk of the board.





            This bill removes the requirement that a certified copy of the  
            full text of a proposed or adopted ordinance be posted in the  
            clerk's office and, instead, allows counties to choose to  
            continue posting in this manner or to post the full text  
            online.





          4)Previous Legislation.  AB 390 (Conroy, et al.), Chapter 23,  
            Statutes of 1995, provided that any exhibit attached to and  
            incorporated by reference in an ordinance, except for maps,  








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            need not be published if the publication lists all those  
            exhibits, by title or description, and notes that a complete  
            copy of each exhibit is on file with the clerk of the board of  
            supervisors and is available for viewing and copying in  
            accordance with the California Public Records Act.



          5)Arguments in Support.  The California Association of Clerks  
            and Elections Officials, sponsor of this bill, states, "The  
            mandated procedure to print and post the text of the  
            ordinances each week is often unnecessary and could be  
            modified in lieu of a more responsive, updated and customized  
            approach?(AB 823) will allow local governments to tailor their  
            mandated services with respect to providing public access to  
            proposed and adopted county ordinances based on technology and  
            the requests of their constituents."



          6)Arguments in Opposition.  None on file.


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials  
          [SPONSOR]


          California State Association of Counties


          Rural County Representatives of California








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          Urban Counties Caucus




          Opposition


          None on file




          Analysis Prepared by:Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958