BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2466


                                                                    Page  1





          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          2466 (Weber)


          As Amended  May 3, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Elections       |5-2  |Weber, Gordon, Low,   |Harper, Travis      |
          |                |     |Mullin, Nazarian      |Allen               |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |13-6 |Gonzalez, Bloom,      |Bigelow, Chang,     |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,       |Gallagher, Jones,   |
          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,       |Obernolte, Wagner   |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo       |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden,       |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Conforms state law to a recent Superior Court ruling  
          in Scott v. Bowen, in which the court found that individuals on  
          post-release community supervision (PRCS) and mandatory  
          supervision are eligible to vote under California Constitution  








                                                                    AB 2466


                                                                    Page  2





          Article II, Section 2, as specified.  Makes other significant  
          changes to voter eligibility provisions of law, as specified.   
          Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Provides that a person who is not imprisoned or on parole for  
            the conviction of a felony, instead of a person who is not in  
            prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, is  
            eligible to register to vote, as specified.  Provides that the  
            following definitions apply to these provisions:


             a)   Defines "imprisoned" to mean currently serving a state  
               or federal prison sentence.


             b)   Defines "parole" to mean a term of supervision by the  
               Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).


             c)   Provides that "conviction" does not include a juvenile  
               adjudication made pursuant existing law.  


          2)Makes changes to statements required to be included in printed  
            literature and media announcements used in county programs  
            designed to encourage registration of electors, as specified.   



          3)Makes changes to statements required to be sent from the clerk  
            of the county superior court to the county elections  
            officials, that show the names, addresses, and dates of birth  
            of all persons who have been convicted of felonies, as  
            specified.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, any costs to the courts and county elections  








                                                                    AB 2466


                                                                    Page  3





          officials to modify existing reporting and notification  
          requirements will be minor and absorbable.


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, "The Criminal Justice  
          Realignment Act of 2011 (CJRA) created three new categories of  
          sentencing for people convicted of low-level felonies: mandatory  
          supervision, [PRCS], and a term in county jail.  These new  
          categories caused confusion for local elections officials and  
          voters.  Last year, in Scott v. Bowen, the issue of the voting  
          rights of people sentenced under the first two categories of  
          local supervision was finalized, and with the support of the  
          Secretary of State, more than 50,000 people under mandatory and  
          post-release community supervision had their voting rights  
          restored.




          "AB 2466 amends the Elections Code to reflect the decision in  
          Scott v. Bowen and clarifies that the third category of CJRA  
          sentencing - a term in county jail - likewise does not strip  
          people of their constitutional right to vote.  This  
          clarification completes the restoration of the law prior to the  
          CJRA: only those serving a state-prison sentence or on parole  
          and under CDCR supervision lose the right to vote?"




          The Secretary of State's (SOS) office, at the request of county  
          elections officials, issued a memorandum on December 5, 2011  
          which analyzed CJRA and its effect on voter eligibility.  The  
          SOS's office concluded that realignment "does not change the  
          voting status of offenders convicted of CJRA-defined low-level  
          felonies, either because they serve their felony sentences in  
          county jail instead of state prison or because the mandatory  
          supervision that is a condition of their release from prison is  
          labeled something other than 'parole.'  Offenders convicted of  








                                                                    AB 2466


                                                                    Page  4





          CJRA-defined low-level felonies continue to be disqualified from  
          voting while serving a felony sentence in county jail, while at  
          the discretion of the court serving a concluding portion of that  
          term on county-supervised probation, or while they remain under  
          mandatory 'post release community supervision' after release  
          from state prison."




          In February of 2014, a lawsuit was filed in the Alameda Superior  
          Court challenging the SOS's memorandum, claiming that  
          individuals on PRCS and mandatory supervision are eligible to  
          vote under California Constitution Article II, Section 4 (Scott  
          et al. v. Bowen (2014) No. RG14-712570).




          In May of 2014, the Superior Court issued a final judgment  
          rejecting the interpretation of Realignment in SOS's memorandum.  
           The Superior Court held "as a matter of law that California  
          Constitution Article II, Section 2 and Elections Code [Section]  
          2101, require the State of California to provide all otherwise  
          eligible persons on [mandatory supervision and PRCS] the same  
          right to register to vote and to vote as all otherwise eligible  
          persons."  The court concluded that restoring voting rights of  
          persons under PRCS and or mandatory supervision is consistent  
          with the Realignment policy goal to promote reintegration of  
          low-level offenders back into the community.  In addition, the  
          court relied upon the long-held principle in California law  
          requiring courts "to give every reasonable presumption in favor  
          of the right of people to vote" and to "not engage in any  
          construction of an election law that would disenfranchise any  
          voter if the law is reasonably susceptible of any other  
          meaning."  The Superior Court decision, however, did not address  
          the conclusion in SOS's memorandum that persons convicted of a  
          felony and serving time in county jail under Realignment are  
          ineligible to vote.








                                                                    AB 2466


                                                                    Page  5









          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          on this bill.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
          Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094  FN: 0002868