BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2220
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Shirley Weber, Chair
AB 2220
(Cooper) - As Introduced February 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Elections in cities: by or from district.
SUMMARY: Allows all cities, regardless of population, to change
the method of electing council members to a by-district method
of election without receiving voter approval. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Repeals the population limitation on a law that permits the
legislative body of a city with a population of fewer than
100,000 people to adopt an ordinance, without being required
to submit the ordinance to the voters for approval, that
requires the members of the legislative body to be elected by
districts, thereby giving all cities, regardless of population
the flexibility that is provided by that law.
2)Makes conforming changes.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Permits a city, with a population of fewer than 100,000
people, which elects its city council members at-large to
enact an ordinance switching its election method to
by-district without submitting the change to voters for
approval. Requires ordinances adopted pursuant to this
provision to be accompanied by a declaration that the change
is being made in furtherance of the purposes of the California
Voting Rights Act (CVRA) of 2001.
2)Permits a city, with a population of 100,000 people or more,
to submit an ordinance to the voters of the city to provide
for city council members to be elected in any of the following
ways:
a) By districts, in five, seven, or nine districts;
b) From districts, in five, seven, or nine districts
c) By districts, in four, six, or eight districts, with a
mayor who is elected citywide; or,
d) From districts, in four, six, or eight districts, with a
mayor who is elected citywide.
Provides that adoption of the ordinance shall occur only upon
the approval of the voters. Provides that the term "by
districts," for the purposes of this provision, means the
election of members by voters of the district alone and
provides that "from districts" means the election of members
who are residents of the district from which they are elected,
but who are elected by voters of the city as a whole.
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3)Prohibits, pursuant to the CVRA, an at-large method of
election from being imposed or applied in a political
subdivision (including a city, county, city and county, school
district, and special district) in a manner that impairs the
ability of a protected class of voters to elect the candidate
of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an
election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgement of
the rights of voters who are members of a protected class.
4)Provides that a violation of the CVRA may be established if it
is shown that racially polarized voting occurs in elections
for members of the governing body of the political subdivision
or in elections incorporating other electoral choices by the
voters of the political subdivision.
5)Requires a court, upon finding a violation of the CVRA, to
implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of
district-based elections, which are tailored to remedy the
violation.
6)Permits any voter who is a member of a protected class and who
resides in a political subdivision where a violation of the
CVRA is alleged to file an action in the superior court of the
county in which the political subdivision is located.
FISCAL EFFECT: Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:
AB 2220 provides large cities with a cost effective
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method and streamlined process to convert from
at-large to by-district council elections while
furthering the purposes of the California Voting
Rights Act (CVRA).
Last year, the Governor signed SB 493 (Cannella) which
allows jurisdictions under 100,000 in population the
option to convert from at-large to by-district
elections by ordinance or resolution. AB 2220 would
do the same for those jurisdictions over 100,000 in
population who opt to convert to by-district
elections. Cities with populations over 100,000 in
California need a streamlined tool they can utilize to
convert to by-district elections if they decide to
convert on their own or when they are facing a
potential lawsuit under CVRA. Since the enactment of
SB 493, 3 cities have already elected to convert to
by-district elections by ordinance or resolution.
This tool serves as a cost saving measure to
jurisdictions who face possible litigation under the
CVRA because it allows them to settle with the
plaintiffs and convert to by-district election system
quicker than by placing the question on the ballot for
voter approval. Under current law jurisdictions over
100,000 are required to go to the voters to approve
converting to by-district elections. For cities over
100,000 in population requiring them to gain voter
approval on the conversion can be costly and prolongs
the process that they are able to take towards a
settlement. Cities have reported costs ranging from
$1,000,000 to $6,000,000 in legal fees and election
costs associated with CVRA litigation and
"by-district" conversions. These important local
resources can be better used providing critical
services for the community.
2)At-Large vs. District-Based Elections: Under existing law, a
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city can be organized so that members of the city council are
elected at-large or are elected using districts. In cities
that have districts, the city can be organized such that the
registered voters in the entire city vote for councilmembers
from each of the districts (known as "from district"
elections), or the city can be organized so that only the
registered voters in a district vote in the election to choose
the councilmember from that area (known as by-district
elections). In either instance, a candidate for the city
council must reside in the district in which he or she is
running.
For any city with a population of fewer than 100,000 people
that wishes to move from an at-large method of electing their
city council members, an ordinance may be adopted to switch
their method of voting to by-district elections without
seeking the approval of the voters, but a city with a
population of 100,000 or more requires the voters of the city
to approve the change. If the voters reject the proposed
change, the city must continue holding elections using an
at-large method of election.
3)California Voting Rights Act of 2001: SB 976 (Polanco),
Chapter 129, Statutes of 2002, enacted the CVRA to address
racial block voting in at-large elections for local office in
California. In areas where racial block voting occurs, an
at-large method of election can dilute the voting rights of
minority communities if the majority typically votes to
support candidates that differ from the candidates who are
preferred by minority communities. In such situations,
breaking a jurisdiction up into districts can result in
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districts in which a minority community can elect the
candidate of its choice or otherwise have the ability to
influence the outcome of an election. Accordingly, the CVRA
prohibits an at-large method of election from being imposed or
applied in a political subdivision in a manner that impairs
the ability of a protected class of voters to elect the
candidate of its choice or to influence the outcome of an
election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgement of
the rights of voters who are members of the protected class.
The first case brought under the CVRA was filed in 2004, and
the jurisdiction that was the target of that case-the City of
Modesto-challenged the constitutionality of the law.
Ultimately, the City of Modesto appealed that case all the way
to the United States Supreme Court, which rejected the city's
appeal in October 2007. The legal uncertainty surrounding the
CVRA may have limited the impacts of that law in the first
five years after its passage.
Since the resolution of the Modesto case, however, many local
jurisdictions have converted or are in the process of
converting from an at-large method of election to
district-based elections due to the CVRA.
Generally, in order to move from an at-large method of
election to a district-based method of selecting governing
board members, local government bodies must first receive
approval from the voters. This voter approval requirement can
be an obstacle for jurisdictions to proactively transition to
district-based elections in order to address potential
liability under the CVRA. If a jurisdiction attempts to
transition from at-large to district-based elections to
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address CVRA concerns, but the voters reject the proposal, the
jurisdiction nonetheless remains subject to a lawsuit under
the CVRA. Furthermore, to the extent that there is racially
polarized voting on the question of whether to transition from
at-large to district-based elections, the results of the vote
on that question could provide further evidence for a lawsuit
under the CVRA. As a result, many jurisdictions have sought
ways to transition from at-large to district-based elections
without having to receive voter approval for such a change.
Since the enactment of the CVRA in 2001, at least 160 local
governments have switched from at-large to district based
elections. While some jurisdictions did so in response to
litigation or threats of litigation, other jurisdictions
proactively changed election methods because they believed
they could be susceptible to a legal challenge under the CVRA,
and they wished to avoid the potential expense of litigation.
Notably, many school districts have transitioned from at-large
to district-based elections without receiving voter approval
in an effort to avoid potential liability under the CVRA.
Even though state law generally requires such a transition to
be approved by the voters in a school district, existing law
also permits the State Board of Education (SBE) to waive all
or part of any section of the Education Code, with certain
identified exceptions, upon request by the governing board of
a school district or county board of education. The SBE
generally is required to approve any and all requests for
waivers unless it makes a finding that one of the seven
enumerated conditions exists. Since 2009, the SBE has approved
more than 130 waivers to permit school districts to change
from at-large to district-based elections without voter
approval, as would otherwise be required by the Education
Code.
Furthermore, in response to concerns that community college
districts were subject to liability under the CVRA but were
unable to change from at-large to district-based elections
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without receiving voter approval, AB 684 (Block), Chapter 614,
Statutes of 2011, established a process under which a
community college district could transition from at-large to
district-based elections without receiving voter approval if
such a transition was first approved by the Board of Governors
(BOG) of the California Community Colleges, among other
provisions. Since the enactment of AB 684, the BOG has
received and approved requests from approximately 20 community
college districts to change their election method from
at-large to district-based elections.
This bill would permit cities of any size (not just cities
with populations of less than 100,000) to transition to
district-based elections without receiving voter approval,
which could allow cities that potentially face liability under
the CVRA to proactively change their method of electing city
council members.
3)Arguments in Support: In support of this bill, the Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights writes:
AB 2220 would authorize a city to enact an ordinance
switching its city council election method to
by-district without submitting it to the voters for
approval. The bill would also allow the city council
to by-pass the voter approval process for those
jurisdiction with populations over 100,000 as
determined under the most recent decennial census in
the same way that last sessions' SB 493 (Cannella,
Statutes of 2015) conferred that authority on general
law cities under 100,000 in population and provide
uniformity.
The CVRA is designed to protect against at-large
election systems that dilute minority voting rights.
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As a result of the CVRA, local governments throughout
the state have been transitioning from at-large to
district based elections. Since the passage of SB 493
last year, at least 3 municipalities have already
taken advantage and have voluntarily converted to
district based elections without the added difficulty
or confusion.
4)Related or Previous Legislation: AB 2389 (Ridley-Thomas)
which was approved by this committee on a 5-2 vote and is
pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee, would
authorize the governing body of a special district to
adopt a resolution, without being required to submit the
resolution to the voters for approval, that requires
members of its governing body to be elected using
district-based elections to further the purposes of the
CVRA.
AB 278 (Roger Hernández) which is currently pending in
the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments
Committee, contains provisions that are identical to this
bill, but also contains other provisions governing the
creation of district boundaries in cities. AB 278 was
previously considered and approved by this committee but
at that time, it would have required general law cities
with a population of 100,000 or more to elect city
council members through by-district elections.
SB 493 (Cannella), Chapter 735, Statutes of 2015, permits a
general law city with a population of fewer than 100,000
people, to enact an ordinance switching its election method to
by-district without receiving voter approval. SB 493
additionally requires any ordinance adopted to change the
method of election to be accompanied by a declaration that the
change is in furtherance of the purposes of the CVRA.
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5)Double-Referral: This bill has been double referred to the
Assembly Committee on Local Government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
League of California Cities (co-sponsor)
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (co-sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
City Clerks Association of California
City of Fontana
City of Rancho Cucamonga
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
League of California Cities, Los Angeles County Division
League of Women Voters of California
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094