BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
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|Bill No: |AB 2220 |Hearing |6/29/16 |
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|Author: |Cooper |Tax Levy: |No |
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|Version: |5/19/16 |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Weinberger |
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Elections in cities: by or from district
Allows any city that elects its city council at-large to enact
an ordinance switching its election method to by-district
without obtaining voter approval.
Background
Existing law permits a general law city that elects its
councilmembers through at-large elections to provide for city
council members to be elected by district. A city may only
change its election method after the city's voters approve a
measure proposing a switch. The measure can either be submitted
to the voters by the city council or placed on the ballot
through the initiative process.
The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) prohibits an at-large
method of election from being imposed or applied in a political
subdivision (including a 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 (SB
976, Polanco, 2002). The CVRA was enacted 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 a
AB 2220 (Cooper) 5/19/16 Page 2
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protected class of voters if a majority usually votes for
candidates who differ from candidates who are preferred by the
protected class of voters. In such situations, breaking up a
jurisdiction into districts can result in districts in which a
protected class of voters can elect the candidate of its choice
or otherwise have the power to influence the outcome of an
election. If a judge finds that a city's at-large election
method violates the CVRA, state law requires the court to
implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of
district-based elections.
At least 160 local governments have switched from at-large to
district-based elections since the enactment of the CVRA in
2002. While some jurisdictions did so in response to
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. However, submitting an
ordinance to voters via the ballot initiative process can be
cumbersome and costly. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that
a city's voters will approve a proposed change, no matter how
proactive the city council.
Last year, the Legislature responded by allowing cities with
populations of less than 100,000 people to change to a
district-based electoral system without having to obtain voter
approval (SB 493, Cannella, 2015). Some city officials now want
the Legislature to extend that authority to all cities,
regardless of their populations.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 2220 allows the legislative body of any city,
regardless of its population, to adopt an ordinance that
requires members of the city's legislative body to be elected by
district or by district with an elective mayor, without having
to submit the ordinance to the city's voters for approval. The
adopted ordinance must include a declaration that the change in
the method of electing members of the legislative body is being
made in furtherance of the purposes of the California Voting
Rights Act of 2001.
AB 2220 (Cooper) 5/19/16 Page 3
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State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . Since the passage of the California
Voting Rights Act of 2001, an increasing number of cities are
opting to switch to by-district elections. Numerous cities that
use at-large election methods have been sued under the CVRA by
groups arguing that at-large elections prevent minority groups
from electing candidates that represent their community or their
interests. In all such cases, citizens alleging that at-large
elections violated the CVRA prevailed. Reading the proverbial
writing on the wall, cities with at-large election methods want
to avoid inevitable CVRA lawsuits, but are also weary of the
costly process of submitting an ordinance to the voters for
approval to switch to by-district voting-which, ultimately, the
voters might reject. Last year, the Legislature allow cities
with fewer than 100,000 residents to switch to by-district
elections, as recommended by many judges in CVRA lawsuits,
without having to first go through the costly and uncertain
process of voter approval. AB 2220 builds upon last year's bill
by extending the same authority to all cities.
2. Finding a balance . The CVRA was enacted to protect
democratic principles of fairness and equal access to
representation in government. Democratic principles also
suggest that local voters should be allowed to make fundamental
decisions about the methods by which their communities' local
officials are elected. Sometimes, these principles conflict, as
is the case when at-large elections for a local governing board
are supported by a majority of a community's voters but impair a
protected class of voters' ability to influence elections. AB
2220 attempts to strike a balance between making it easier for
local governments to modify their elections to comply with the
CVRA while still leaving some local discretion over the method
by which governing boards are elected.
3. Related legislation . AB 278 (Hernandez), which will be
heard by the Senate Governance & Finance Committee at its June
29 hearing, also would allow all cities, regardless of
population size, to change the method of electing council
AB 2220 (Cooper) 5/19/16 Page 4
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members to a by-district method of election without receiving
voter approval. AB 2389 (Ridley-Thomas), which will be heard by
the Senate Governance & Finance Committee at its June 29
hearing, would allow special districts' governing boards,
without having to seek voter approval, to change from an
at-large to a by-district method of electing the district's
governing board members. SB 927 (Anderson), which is pending in
the Assembly Local Government Committee, permits directors of
any public utility district that is wholly or partially within
the County of San Diego to be elected at large or by
subdistrict. The Senate Governance & Finance Committee approved
SB 927 at its March 30 hearing on a 7-0 vote.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Elections & Redistricting Committee: 5-2
Assembly Local Government Committee: 8-0
Assembly Floor: 60-11
Support and
Opposition (6/23/16)
Support : Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund;
League of California Cities; City Clerks Association of
California; Cities of Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga; Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights; League of Women Voters California;
League of California Cities, Los Angeles Division; League of
California Cities, Riverside County Division.
Opposition : Unknown.
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