BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
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|Bill No: |AB 2389 |Hearing |6/29/16 |
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|Author: |Ridley-Thomas |Tax Levy: |No |
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|Version: |5/9/16 |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Weinberger |
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Special districts: district-based elections: reapportionment
Allows a special district's governing board, 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.
Background
Unlike counties and cities, which deliver a wide range of public
services over large areas, special districts offer focused
services, delivering just one or two services to specific
geographic areas where the recipients are willing to pay.
About 2,100 of the state's special districts are independent
districts, which have their own separate governing boards that
are comprised of members who are either elected by the
districts' own voters or appointed to serve for fixed terms.
Most independent special districts have elected boards of
directors. For those that do, state law says that the statutes
that provide for the creation of a particular special district
or type of special district govern whether directors of a
district are elected by divisions or by the district at large.
An "at-large" method of election allows a voter residing
anywhere within the local government's boundaries to vote for
any candidate for the governing board. A "district-based"
method of election - sometimes called a "by district" election -
allows a voter to vote only for a candidate who runs and resides
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in the same geographical district in which the voter resides.
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
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.
The numerous statutes that govern the methods that special
districts use to elect their governing boards vary widely. Some
statutes require that special district boards must obtain voter
approval to switch from at-large to district-based elections.
State law doesn't allow some other types of special districts to
use district-based election at all. Because a growing number of
districts are seeking to transition to district-based elections
in response to concerns about compliance with the CVRA, some
public officials want the Legislature to allow those special
districts to adopt district-based elections without having to
seek voter approval.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 2389 allows the governing body of a special
district to adopt a resolution, without being required to submit
the resolution to the voters for approval, requiring members of
its governing body to be elected using district-based elections.
The resolution must include a declaration that the change in
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the method of electing members of the governing body is in
furtherance of the purposes of the CVRA.
AB 2389 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.
The bill provides that a "special district" does not include a
city, county, city and county, school or community college
district, special assessment district, or a district with
appointed members on its governing board.
The bill makes other conforming changes to state law.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . 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. A voter
approval requirement 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 the
Legislature enacted for general law cities with populations of
fewer than 100,000 people (SB 493, Cannella, 2015). AB 2389
doesn't force any special district to alter its current method
of electing board members and doesn't prevent a district from
seeking voter approval for switching to a district-based
election method if it chooses to do so. The bill simply
provides a tool that can be used by special district officials
who wish to avoid unnecessary costs and delays by expediting
their districts' conversion to district-based elections to
comply with the CVRA.
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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
2389 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) and AB 2220
(Cooper), which both will be heard by the Senate Governance &
Finance Committee at its June 29 hearing, would allow all
cities, regardless of population size, to change the method of
electing council members to a by-district method of election
without receiving voter approval. 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.
4. Double-referred . The Senate Rules Committee has ordered a
double-referral of AB 2389, first to the Senate Committee on
Elections & Constitutional Amendments, which has jurisdiction
over bills relating to local elections and the CVRA, and then to
the Senate Governance & Finance Committee, which has
jurisdiction over bills relating to special districts' governing
boards. The Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments
Committee passed AB 2398 at its June 8, 2016 hearing on a 5-0
vote.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 5-2
Assembly Local Government Committee: 8-0
Assembly Floor: 59-16
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Support and
Opposition (6/23/16)
Support : American Civil Liberties Union; Association of
California Healthcare Districts; Association of California Water
Agencies; California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials; California Association of Recreation and Park
Districts; California Special Districts Association; Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights; League of Women Voters of
California; Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Opposition : Unknown.
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