BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Bill No: |AB 2220 |Hearing |6/29/16 | | | |Date: | | |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------| |Author: |Cooper |Tax Levy: |No | |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------| |Version: |5/19/16 |Fiscal: |No | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Weinberger | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 of ? 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 of ? 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 of ? 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. -- END --