BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2389
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Date of Hearing: March 30, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Shirley Weber, Chair
AB 2389
(Ridley-Thomas) - As Introduced February 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Special districts: district-based elections:
reapportionment.
SUMMARY: Permits a special district to change the method of
electing its governing board members from at-large to a
by-district method of election without receiving voter approval.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes 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.
2)Defines a "special district," for the purposes for these
provisions, to mean an agency of the state formed pursuant to
general law or special act for the local performance of
governmental or proprietary functions within limited
boundaries, except a city, county, city and county, school or
community college district, or special assessment district.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Provides that the principal act of a district shall govern
whether directors are elected by divisions or by the district
at-large.
2)Provides that the term "by districts" means the election of
members by voters of the district alone; provides that "from
districts" means the election of members who are residents of
the districts from which they are elected, but who are elected
by voters of the jurisdiction as a whole.
3)Prohibits, pursuant to the California Voting Rights Act of
2001 (CVRA), 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.
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: None. Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
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Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:
Current law provides for different forms of government
for special districts in California. Depending on the
type of district, a special district can be organized
so that members of the governing board are elected
at-large or are elected using districts.
In jurisdictions that have districts, the districts
can be organized such that the registered voters in
the entire district vote for governing board members
from each of the districts (known as "from district"
elections), or the jurisdiction can be organized so
that only the registered voters in a district vote in
the election to choose the board member from that area
(known as "by district" elections). In either case, a
candidate for the governing body must reside in the
district in which he or she is running.
The CVRA is designed to protect against at-large
election systems that dilute minority voting rights.
As a result of the CVRA, local governments throughout
the state have been transitioning from at-large to
district-based elections.
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If a special district wishes to move from at-large
elections to a district-based method of election to
address concerns under the CVRA, existing law provides
no uniform process for accomplishing that conversion.
This voter approval requirement, however, can make it
difficult and costly for jurisdictions to proactively
transition to district-based elections in order to
address potential liability under the CVRA.
AB 2389 allows a special district that is concerned
about liability under the CVRA to voluntarily convert
from at-large to district-based elections without the
expense of a ballot initiative.
This bill mirrors a similar process that is already in
place for general law cities with populations of fewer
than 100,000 people.
2)At-Large vs. District Elections: Under existing law, a
special district can be organized so that its governing board
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members are elected at-large or elected using districts.
Jurisdictions that are organized using district-based methods
are usually organized as "by-district" or "from-district." A
"by-district" jurisdiction allows only the registered voters
in a district to vote in the election to choose the governing
board member from that area. A "from-district" jurisdiction
permits registered voters in the entire jurisdiction to vote
for governing board members from each of the districts. In
either case, a candidate for the governing board must reside
in the district in which he or she is running.
There is no uniform process for a special district to convert
from at-large elections to a district-based method of
election. Current law provides that the principal act of a
special district shall govern whether the governing board
members are elected by districts or by the district at-large.
Moreover, depending on the kind of district and its size,
existing law may specify which method of election it is
required to use to elect its governing board members as well
as the process for conversion.
3)Previous Legislation and Suggested Amendment: Last year the
Legislature approved and the Governor signed SB 493
(Cannella), Chapter 735, Statutes of 2015, which permits a
city with a population of fewer than 100,000 people to change
the method of electing council members to a by-district method
of election without receiving voter approval. This bill
mirrors this process and permits the governing body of a
special district, as defined, to adopt a resolution, without
being required to submit the resolution to the voters for
approval, to elect the members of its governing body using
district-based elections.
As mentioned above, it is the author's intent to make it easier
for a jurisdiction to proactively transition to district-based
elections in order to address potential liability under the
CVRA. However, in order to ensure this bill does not
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facilitate changes in the method of electing governing board
members in special districts that are unrelated to CVRA
concerns, the committee and the author may wish to consider an
amendment to require a governing board that changes the method
of electing members pursuant to this bill to make findings and
declarations when adopting the resolution that the changes are
being made in furtherance of the purposes of the CVRA. This
amendment also mirrors provisions of SB 493.
4)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
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
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five years after its passage.
Since the case in Modesto was resolved, 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.
In many cases, local government bodies must receive voter
approval to move from an at-large method of election to a
district-based method of election for selecting governing
board members. This voter approval requirement can make it
difficult 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
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.
5)Arguments in Support: The sponsors of the bill, Mexican
American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), write in
support:
Current law provides for different forms of government
for special districts in California. Depending on the
type of district, the code may provide for district
elections or at-large elections, and/or may provide
for conversion to district election by voter approval
or by Board ordinance alone. AB 2389 (Ridley-Thomas)
would give the Boards of all special districts in
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California the authority to convert from at-large to
by-district elections by Board ordinance, in the same
way that last session's SB 493 (Cannella, Statutes of
2015) conferred that authority to general law cities
under 100,000 in populations and provide uniformity.
AB 2389 would thus provide to special districts the
flexibility to end minority vote dilution caused by
at-large electoral systems without enduring costly
litigation. For example, in 2015 MALDEF filed a
voting rights lawsuit against Fallbrook's Public
Utility District under the CVRA. Fallbrook recently
entered into a court-approved settlement agreement,
and has now converted to district elections. This
legislation would have given the Fallbrook Board of
Directors the option to avoid litigation entirely,
with the same result?
6)Related Legislation: SB 927 (Anderson), permits directors of
any public utility district that is wholly or partially within
the County of San Diego to be elected at large, by
subdistrict, or from subdistricts, as defined. SB 927 is
pending in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
7)Double-Referral: This bill has been double-referred to the
Assembly Committee on Local Government.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Association of California Water Agencies
California Association of Recreation and Park Districts
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
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