BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 493| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 493 Author: Cannella (R) Amended: 4/20/15 Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/6/15 AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach, Pavley SUBJECT: Elections in cities: by or from districts. SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill authorizes the legislative body of a city to adopt an ordinance that requires members of the legislative body to be elected by district or by district with an elective mayor without being required to submit the ordinance to the voters for approval. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Permits a general law city that elects its councilmembers through at-large elections to change to a by-district electoral system, provided that the city's voters approve the change through a ballot measure or the initiative process. SB 493 Page 2 2)Prohibits cities from imposing at-large city council elections in a manner that impairs the ability of minority groups to elect a candidate of their choice, or minorities' ability to influence the outcome of an election. 3)Requires courts, in cases where at-large city council elections impermissibly result in racially polarized voting, to implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of district-based elections. This bill allows the legislative body of a city to adopt an ordinance that requires members of the city's legislative body to be elected by district or by district with an elective mayor, without having to submit the ordinance to the city's voters for approval. Background Existing law permits a general law city that elects its councilmembers through at-large elections to provide for city council members to be elected by district. A city may only change its election method after the city's voters approve a measure proposing a switch. The measure can either be submitted to the voters by the city council or placed on the ballot through the initiative process. The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) prohibits cities from imposing at-large city council elections in a manner that impairs the ability of minority groups to elect a candidate of their choice, or minorities' ability to influence the outcome of an election. The CVRA was enacted to address racial block voting in at-large elections for local office in California, in which an at-large method of election dilutes the voting rights of minority communities if the majority usually votes for majority candidates rather than for minority candidates. In such situations, breaking up a jurisdiction into districts can result in districts in which a minority community 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 SB 493 Page 3 at-large election method violates the CVRA, state law requires the court to implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of district-based elections. Over 130 local governments have switched from at-large to district-based elections since the enactment of the CVRA in 2001. While some jurisdictions did so in response to litigation or threats of litigation, other jurisdictions proactively changed election methods because they believed they could be susceptible to a legal challenge under the CVRA, and they wished to avoid the potential expense of litigation. However, submitting an ordinance to voters via the ballot initiative process can be cumbersome and costly. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a city's voters will approve a proposed change, no matter how proactive the city council. Therefore, some officials now seek to remove the requirement in state law that they must obtain voter approval before changing their electoral system. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:NoLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified5/8/15) City of Ceres City of Greenfield Latino Community Roundtable League of California Cities OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/8/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "California cities have commonly used at-large election methods to select their legislative bodies. However, since the passage of the California Voting Rights of 2001 (CVRA), many cities have switched from electing their city councils at-large to SB 493 Page 4 by-district. Those continuing to use at-large elections have increasingly found themselves faced with lawsuits asserting that racially polarized voting is occurring and demanding that district-based elections be implemented. "SB 493 would allow general law cities to switch from at-large city council elections to district-based without a vote of the people." Prepared by:Toren Lewis / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119 5/8/15 15:09:23 **** END ****