Amended in Senate March 26, 2015

Senate Bill No. 283

Introduced by Senator Nielsen

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(Coauthor: Senator Morrell)

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chang, Chávez, Dahle, Lackey, and Olsen)

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February 19, 2015

An act to amend Sections 9050, 9051, 9053, 9086, 9087, 13262, 13282, and 18602 of the Elections Code, and to amend Section 88002 of the Government Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 283, as amended, Nielsen. Elections: ballot titles and summaries.

Existing law requires the Attorney General to provide a ballot label and a ballot title for each measure to be submitted to the voters at a statewide election. Existing law requires the Attorney General to prepare a summary of the chief purposes and points of each statewide ballot measure as part of the ballot title. Existing law, including provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires that the ballot pamphlet contain, among other things, the official summary prepared by the Attorney General.

This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, instead of the Attorney General, to prepare the ballot label and the ballot title and summary for all measures submitted to the voters of the state. The bill would also make conforming changes.

The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2⁄3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.

This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 9050 of the Elections Code is amended
to read:

9050.  

After the Secretary of State determines that a measure
will appear on the ballot at the next statewide election, the
Secretary of State shall promptly transmit a copy of the measure
to the Legislative Analyst. The Legislative Analyst shall provide
and return to the Secretary of State a ballot title and summary and
ballot label for the measure. The Legislative Analyst shall prepare
a ballot title and summary and ballot label for each measure
submitted to the voters of the whole state by a date sufficient to
meet the ballot pamphlet public display deadlines.

SEC. 2.  

Section 9051 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9051.  

(a) (1) The ballot title and summary may differ from
the legislative, circulating, or other title and summary of the
measure and shall not exceed 100 words, not including the fiscal
impact.

(2) The ballot title and summary shall be amended to include a
summary of the Legislative Analyst’s estimate of the net state and
local government fiscal impact prepared pursuant to Section 9087
of this code and Section 88003 of the Government Code.

(b) The ballot label shall not contain more than 75 words and
shall be a condensed version of the ballot title and summary
including the financial impact summary prepared pursuant to
Section 9087 of this code and Section 88003 of the Government
Code.

(c) In preparing the ballot title and summary, the Legislative
Analyst shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of
the measure in such language that the ballot title and summary
shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for
or against the proposed measure.

(d) The Legislative Analyst shall invite and consider public
comment in preparing each ballot title and summary.

SEC. 3.  

Section 9053 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9053.  

A measure shall be designated on the ballot by the ballot
label certified to the Secretary of State by the Legislative Analyst.

SEC. 4.  

Section 9086 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9086.  

The ballot pamphlet shall contain begin insert , end insert as to each state
measure to be voted upon, the begin delete following, end delete begin insert following end insert in the order
set forth in this section:

(a) (1) Upon the top portion of the first page, and not exceeding
one-third of the page, shall appear:

(A) Identification of the measure by number and title.

(B) The official summary prepared by the Legislative Analyst.

(C) The total number of votes cast for and against the measure
in both the State Senate and begin delete Assembly, end delete begin insert Assembly end insert if the measure
was passed by the Legislature.

(2) The space in the title and summary that is used for an
explanatory table prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
(e) of Section 9087 of this code and Section 88003 of the
Government Code shall not be included when measuring the
amount of space the information described in paragraph (1) has
taken for purposes of determining compliance with the restriction
prohibiting the information described in paragraph (1) from
exceeding one-third of the page.

(b) Beginning at the top of the right page shall appear the
analysis prepared by the Legislative Analyst, provided that the
analysis fits on a single page. If it does not fit on a single page,
the analysis shall begin on the lower portion of the first left page
and shall continue on subsequent pages until it is completed.

(c) Immediately below the analysis prepared by the Legislative
Analyst shall appear a printed statement that refers voters to the
Secretary of State’s Internet Web site for a list of committees
primarily formed to support or oppose a ballot measure, and
information on how to access the committee’s top 10 contributors.

(d) Arguments for and against the measure shall be placed on
the next left and right pages, respectively, following the final page
of the analysis of the Legislative Analyst. The rebuttals shall be
placed immediately below the arguments.

(e) If no argument against the measure has been submitted, the
argument for the measure shall appear on the right page facing the
analysis.

(f) The complete text of each measure shall appear at the back
of the pamphlet. The text of the measure shall contain the
provisions of the proposed measure and the existing provisions of
law repealed or revised by the measure. The provisions of the
proposed measure differing from the existing provisions of law
affected shall be distinguished in print, so as to facilitate
comparison.

(g) The following statement shall be printed at the bottom of
each page where arguments appear: “Arguments printed on this
page are the opinions of the authors, and have not been checked
for accuracy by any official agency.”

SEC. 5.  

Section 9087 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9087.  

(a) The Legislative Analyst shall prepare an impartial
analysis of the measure describing the measure and including a
fiscal analysis of the measure showing the amount of any increase
or decrease in revenue or cost to state or local government. If it is
estimated that a measure would result in increased cost to the state,
an analysis of the measure’s estimated impact on the state shall be
provided, including an estimate of the percentage of the General
Fund that would be expended due to the measure, using visual aids
when appropriate. An estimate of increased cost to the state or
local governments shall be set out in boldface print in the ballot
pamphlet.

(b) The analysis shall be written in clear and concise terms, so
as to be easily understood by the average voter, and shall avoid
the use of technical terms wherever possible. The analysis may
contain background information, including the effect of the
measure on existing law and the effect of enacted legislation which
will become effective if the measure is adopted, and shall generally
set forth in an impartial manner the information the average voter
needs to adequately understand the measure. To the extent
practicable, the Legislative Analyst shall use a uniform method in
each analysis to describe the estimated increase or decrease in
revenue or cost of a measure, so that the average voter may draw
comparisons among the fiscal impacts of measures. The condensed
statement of the fiscal impact summary for the measure prepared
by the Legislative Analyst to appear on the ballot shall contain the
uniform estimate of increase or decrease in revenue or cost of the
measure prepared pursuant to this subdivision.

(c) The Legislative Analyst may contract with a professional
writer, educational specialist, or another person for assistance in
writing an analysis that fulfills the requirements of this section,
including the requirement that the analysis be written so that it
will be easily understood by the average voter. The Legislative
Analyst may also request the assistance of a state department,
agency, or official in preparing his or her analysis.

(d) Before submitting the analysis to the Secretary of State, the
Legislative Analyst shall submit the analysis to a committee of
five persons, appointed by the Legislative Analyst, for the purpose
of reviewing the analysis to confirm its clarity and easy
comprehension to the average voter. The committee shall be drawn
from the public at large, and one member shall be a specialist in
education, one member shall be bilingual, and one member shall
be a professional writer. Members of the committee shall be
reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in
performing their duties. Within five days of the submission of the
analysis to the committee, the committee shall make
recommendations to the Legislative Analyst as it deems appropriate
to guarantee that the analysis can be easily understood by the
average voter. The Legislative Analyst shall consider the
committee’s recommendations, and he or she shall incorporate in
the analysis those changes recommended by the committee that
he or she deems to be appropriate. The Legislative Analyst is solely
responsible for determining the content of the analysis required
by this section.

(e) (1) The title and summary of any measure that appears on
the ballot shall be amended to contain a summary of the Legislative
Analyst’s estimate of the net state and local government fiscal
impact.

(2) For state bond measures that are submitted to the voters for
their approval or rejection, the summary of the Legislative
Analyst’s estimate described in paragraph (1) shall include an
explanatory table of the information in the summary.

SEC. 6.  

Section 13262 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

13262.  

(a) The ballot shall contain the same material as to
candidates and measures, and shall be printed in the same order
as provided for paper ballots, and may be arranged in parallel
columns on one or more ballot cards as required, except that the
column in which the voter marks his or her choices may be at the
left of the names of candidates and the designation of measures.

(b) If there are a greater number of candidates for an office or
for a party nomination for an office than the number whose names
can be placed on one pair of facing ballot pages, a series of
overlaying pages printed only on the same, single side shall be
used, and the ballot shall be clearly marked to indicate that the list
of candidates for the office is continued on the following page or
pages. If the names of candidates for the office are not required to
be rotated, they shall be rotated by groups of candidates in a
manner so that the name of each candidate shall appear on each
page of the ballot in approximately the same number of precincts
as the names of all other candidates.

(c) Space shall be provided on the ballot or on a separate write-in
ballot to permit voters to write in names not printed on the ballot
when authorized by law. The size of the voting square and the
spacing of the material may be varied to suit the conditions
imposed by the use of ballot cards, provided the size of the type
is not reduced below the minimum size requirements set forth in
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100).

(d) The statement of measure submitted to the voters may be
abbreviated if necessary on the ballot, if each and every statement
of measure on that ballot is abbreviated. Any abbreviation of
matters to be voted on throughout the state shall be composed by
the Legislative Analyst.

SEC. 7.  

Section 13282 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

13282.  

Whenever the Legislative Analyst prepares a ballot
label, the Legislative Analyst shall file a copy of the ballot label
with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall make a
copy of the ballot label available for public examination before
the printing of the ballot label on any ballot. The public shall be
permitted to examine the ballot label for at least 20 days, and the
Secretary of State may consolidate the examination requirement
under this section with the public examination requirements set
forth in Section 9092. A voter may seek a writ of mandate requiring
a ballot label, or portion thereof, to be amended or deleted. The
provisions set forth in Section 9092 concerning the issuance of the
writ and the nature of the proceedings shall be applicable to this
section.

SEC. 8.  

Section 18602 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

18602.  

A person working for the proponent or proponents of
a statewide initiative or referendum measure who covers or
otherwise obscures the summary of the measure prepared by the
Legislative Analyst from the view of a prospective signer is guilty
of a misdemeanor.

SEC. 9.  

Section 88002 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

88002.  

The ballot pamphlet shall contain begin insert , end insert as to each state
measure to be voted upon, the following in the order set forth in
this section:

(a) (1) Upon the top portion of the first page begin insert , end insert and not exceeding
one-third of the page begin insert , end insert shall appear:

(A) The identification of the measure by number and title.

(B) The official summary prepared by the Legislative Analyst.

(C) The total number of votes cast for and against the measure
in both the State Senate and Assembly if the measure was passed
by the Legislature.

(2) The space in the title and summary that is used for an
explanatory table prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
(e) of Section 9087 of the Elections Code and Section 88003 of
this code shall not be included when measuring the amount of
space the information described in paragraph (1) has taken for
purposes of determining compliance with the restriction prohibiting
the information described in paragraph (1) from exceeding
one-third of the page.

(b) Beginning at the top of the right page shall appear the
analysis prepared by the Legislative Analyst, provided that the
analysis fits on a single page. If it does not fit on a single page,
then the analysis shall begin on the lower portion of the first left
page and shall continue on subsequent pages until it is completed.

(c) Immediately below the analysis prepared by the Legislative
Analyst shall appear a printed statement that refers voters to the
Secretary of State’s Internet Web site for a list of committees
primarily formed to support or oppose a ballot measure, and
information on how to access the committee’s top 10 contributors.

(d) Arguments for and against the measure shall be placed on
the next left and right pages, respectively, following the page on
which the analysis of the Legislative Analyst ends. The rebuttals
shall be placed immediately below the arguments.

(e) If no argument against the measure has been submitted, the
argument for the measure shall appear on the right page facing the
analysis.

(f) The complete text of each measure shall appear at the back
of the pamphlet. The text of the measure shall contain the
provisions of the proposed measure and the existing provisions of
law repealed or revised by the measure. The provisions of the
proposed measure differing from the existing provisions of law
affected shall be distinguished in print, so as to facilitate
comparison.

(g) The following statement shall be printed at the bottom of
each page where arguments appear: “Arguments printed on this
page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked
for accuracy by any official agency.”

SEC. 10.  

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill
furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within
the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
Code.