BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SCA 8 (Mendoza) - Counties: board of supervisors: redistricting ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: July 9, 2015 |Policy Vote: GOV.&F. 4 - 2, | | | E.&C.A. 4 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SCA 8, if approved by the voters, would require counties with a population greater than two million residents after the 2020 United States Census to have a governing body consisting of at least seven members. The bill would also require members of a county governing body to be elected by district, beginning in 2021. Fiscal Impact: One-time costs in the range of $275,000 to $330,000 to the Secretary of State (SOS) in 2015-16 for printing and mailing SCA 8 (Mendoza) Page 1 of ? costs to place the measure on the ballot in the next statewide election. (General Fund) Unknown, likely significant local costs and cost pressures to establish additional district boundaries, perform election related duties, and make necessary office and facility improvements, beginning in 2021. (local funds) Background: Existing law, Section 4 of Article XI of the California Constitution, requires county charters to provide for a governing body of at least five members, elected by district, or at large, as specified. Existing law authorizes a charter county to expand the number of governing body members by a simple majority vote of its residents. There have only been five attempts to expand charter county boards of supervisors, all of which failed to achieve voter-approval: On November 6, 1962, Los Angeles County voters rejected Proposition D, which would have expanded the Board of Supervisors from five to seven members. At the November 2, 1976 General Election, Los Angeles County voters rejected Proposition B, which would have expanded the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members. Proposition C on the November 3, 1992 ballot, would have increased the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to nine members, but the measure failed by a margin of about two-to-one. On the March 26, 1996 primary ballot, voters in Orange County rejected Measure U, a charter proposal to expand the board of supervisors from five to nine members. On November 7, 2000, more than 64% of Los Angeles County voters rejected Measure A, which would have increased the number of county supervisors from five to nine. There are 14 charter counties in California: Alameda, Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Tehama. Currently, only five counties have populations of more than two million residents: Los Angeles (10.1 million), San Diego (3.2 million), Orange (3.1 million), Riverside (2.3 SCA 8 (Mendoza) Page 2 of ? million), and San Bernardino (2.1 million). All counties in California conduct elections for county supervisors by district. Proposed Law: SCA 8 would place a measure on the statewide ballot to amend the California Constitution to do the following: Require the county charter in a county with a population of more than two million residents at a decennial U.S. Census, beginning with the 2020 U.S. Census, to provide for a governing body of seven or more members, elected by district, with a requirement that the member reside in a district, as specified. Require general law counties with over 2 million residents as of the 2020 U.S. Census to also have a governing body of seven or more members, as specified. Require the county charter in a county with over 2 million residents to limit the expenditures for the governing body and its staff to the lesser of the amount budgeted in the 2020-21 fiscal year or the proportional amount that the county budgeted for governing body and staff expenditures as a percentage of the total county budget in 2020-21. These limitations would also apply to general law counties with over 2 million residents as of the 2020 U.S. Census. Require the members of a governing body of a general law county to be elected by district, with the member residing in a respective district, beginning in 2021. Repeal the authority for any county charter to provide for a governing body elected at large or at large by district on January 1, 2021. Repeal constitutional provisions on January 1, 2021 that specify the manner in which some charter counties can prescribe the salary of the governing body by ordinance. Make additional non-substantive and conforming changes. SCA 8 (Mendoza) Page 3 of ? Related Legislation: SCA 7 (Polanco) of the 1999-2000 Session, would have amended the California Constitution to require a charter county with a population of over 5 million to have a governing body of at least nine members, which only applied to Los Angeles County. The measure was approved by the Senate but held in the Assembly Elections, Redistricting, and Constitutional Amendments Committee. Staff Comments: This bill is intended to make California's largest counties more responsive and representative by mandating the addition of two county supervisors to counties with a population of over 2 million residents, while ensuring that the larger boards do not increase costs for board operations. Staff notes, however, that freezing or reducing the total budgets for governing body members and associated staff at the 2020-21 level would likely result in reduced resources for constituent services. Despite these limits on board operations budgets, affected counties would incur significant one-time costs to make necessary district boundary changes, conduct elections, and make facility improvements. According to the SOS, the printing and mailing costs associated with placing a measure on the statewide ballot are approximately $55,000 per page, depending on the length of the ballot. The fiscal estimates noted above reflect the addition of a minimum of 5-6 pages in the Voter Information Guide for this initiative. Actual costs would depend upon the length of the title and summary, analysis by the Legislative Analyst's Office, proponent and opponent arguments, and text of the proposal. -- END --