BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Bill No: |SB 958 |Hearing |4/20/16 | | | |Date: | | |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------| |Author: |Lara |Tax Levy: |No | |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------| |Version: |2/8/16 |Fiscal: |Yes | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Weinberger | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- County of Los Angeles Citizens Redistricting Commission Creates a citizens redistricting commission to adjust the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' district boundaries after each decennial federal census. Background State law requires the board of supervisors of each county, following each decennial federal census, and using that census as a basis, to adjust the boundaries of any or all of the supervisorial districts of the county so that the districts are as nearly equal in populations possible be and comply with the applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA), as amended. A board of supervisors, when adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts, may give consideration to: topography, geography, communities of interests, and cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory. A board of supervisors must hold at least one public hearing on any proposal to adjust the boundaries of a supervisorial district before the public hearing at which the board votes to approve or defeat the proposal. In 2008, California voters approved Proposition 11 which amended the California Constitution to transfer the power to redraw SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 2 of ? electoral district boundaries for seats in the state legislature to an independent 14-member citizen's redistricting commission. State law allows a county board of supervisors, following a decennial federal census, to appoint an advisory committee, comprised of county residents, to study and make recommendations on changes to supervisorial boundaries (SB 407, Bradley, 1970). However, because the California Constitution specifically says that "Charter counties are subject to statutes that relate to apportioning population of governing body districts," charter counties can't create citizens redistricting commissions to redraw supervisorial districts unless state law is amended to specifically authorize them to do so. In 2012, at the request of San Diego County officials, the Legislature passed a bill to establish a redistricting commission in San Diego County and charge it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census (SB 1331, Kehoe, 2012). The San Diego County redistricting commission is comprised of five former or retired state or federal judges who are residents and voters in the county. The commission members are picked from among qualified applicants through a random drawing. Some elected officials want the Legislature to enact similar legislation to create a citizens redistricting commission to redraw Los Angeles County's supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census. Proposed Law Redistricting commission formation . Senate Bill 958 establishes, in the County of Los Angeles, a Citizens Redistricting Commission, which must adjust the boundary lines of the supervisorial districts of the board following a decennial federal census. SB 958 requires that the 14-member commission must be created no later than December 31st in 2020, and in each year ending in the number zero thereafter. SB 958 requires that the political party preferences of the commission members, as shown on the members' most recent affidavits of registration, must be as proportional as possible to the total number of voters who are SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 3 of ? registered with each political party in the County of Los Angeles, as determined by registration at the most recent statewide election. The bill requires at least one commission member to reside in each of the eight service planning areas in the County of Los Angeles. Redistricting commission members . Senate Bill 958 requires each commission member to: Be a Los Angeles County resident. Be a registered voter in Los Angeles County who has not changed political party affiliation for five or more years immediately preceding the date of being appointed to the commission. Have voted in at least one of the last three statewide elections immediately preceding applying to be a member of the commission. Possess experience that demonstrates analytical skills relevant to the redistricting process and voting rights, and possess an ability to comprehend and apply the applicable state and federal legal requirements. Possess experience that demonstrates an ability to be impartial. Possess experience that demonstrates an appreciation for the diverse demographics and geography of the County of Los Angeles. SB 958 prohibits each person who applies to serve on the commission, and any immediate family member of an applicant, from having done any of the following within 10 years before applying to serve on the commission: Being appointed to, elected to, or having been a candidate for office at the local, state, or federal level representing the County of Los Angeles, including as a member of the board. Serving as an employee of, or paid consultant for, an elected representative at the local, state, or federal level representing the County of Los Angeles. SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 4 of ? Serving as an employee of, or paid consultant for, a candidate for office at the local, state, or federal level representing the County of Los Angeles. Serving as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a political party or as an appointed member of a political party central committee. Being a registered state or local lobbyist. Commission application and selection process . Senate Bill 958 allows an interested person who meets the bill's specified qualifications to submit an application to the county elections official to be considered for membership on the commission. SB 958 requires that the county elections official must: Review the applications and eliminate applicants who do not meet the specified qualifications. Select 60 of the most qualified applicants from the pool of qualified applicants, taking into account the requirements specified in the bill. Make public the names of the 60 most qualified applicants for at least 30 days. Not communicate with a member of the board of supervisors, or an agent for a member of the board, about any matter related to the nomination process or applicants prior to the publication of the list of the 60 most qualified applicants. The bill allows the county elections official, during the minimum 30 day period during which the names are public, to eliminate any of the previously selected applicants if the official becomes aware that the applicant does not meet specified qualifications. SB 958 requires the county elections official to create a subpool of applicants for each of the eight service planning areas in the County of Los Angeles. SB 958 requires that the county auditor-controller, at a regularly scheduled meeting of the board of supervisors, must SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 5 of ? conduct a random drawing to select one commissioner from each of the eight subpools established by the county elections official. The eight selected commissioners must review the remaining names in the subpools of applicants and must appoint six additional applicants to the commission, who must be chosen based on relevant experience, analytical skills, and ability to be impartial, and to ensure that the commission reflects the county's diversity, including racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity. The bill requires the eight commissioners to also consider political party preference, selecting applicants so that the political party preference of the members of the commission are as proportional as possible to that of the registered voters in the county. The bill prohibits formulas or specific ratios from being applied for this purpose. SB 958 declares that selection process is designed to produce a commission that is independent from the influence of the board and reasonably representative of the county's diversity. Commission responsibilities . Senate Bill 958 requires a commission member to apply the bill's provisions in a manner that is impartial and that reinforces public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. SB 958 directs that each commission member's term expires upon the appointment of the first member of a succeeding commission. The bill specifies that nine members of the commission constitutes a quorum and that nine or more affirmative votes are required for any official action. The bill prohibits the commission from retaining a consultant, as defined, who would not be qualified as an applicant pursuant to specified requirements enacted by the bill. SB 958 requires the commission to establish single-member supervisorial districts for the board pursuant to a mapping process using the following criteria as set forth in the following order of priority: Districts must comply with the United States Constitution and each district must have reasonably equal population with other districts for the board, except where deviation is required to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act or allowable by law. Districts must comply with the federal Voting Rights SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 6 of ? Act. Districts must be geographically contiguous. The geographic integrity of any city, county, city and county, local neighborhood, or local community of interest, as defined in the bill, must be respected in a manner that minimizes their division to the extent possible without violating other specified criteria. To the extent practicable, and where it does not conflict with other specified criteria, districts must be drawn to encourage geographical compactness such that nearby areas of population are not bypassed for more distant population. SB 958 prohibits the commission from: Considering the place of residence of any incumbent or political candidate in the creation of a map. Drawing districts for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party. SB 958 requires that before the commission draws a map, it must conduct at least seven public hearings, to take place over a period of no fewer than thirty days, with at least one public hearing held in each supervisorial district. The bill requires the commission to establish and make available to the public a calendar of specified public hearings and requires all commission meetings to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act's open government requirements. After the commission draws a draft map, the commission must: Post the map for public comment on the Internet Web site of the County of Los Angeles. Conduct at least two public hearings to take place over a period of at least 30 days. The bill contains numerous additional provisions governing the manner in which the commission must fulfill its responsibilities, including provisions relating to: Agendas for commission meetings. SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 7 of ? Live translation of commission hearings. Encouraging county residents to participate in the redistricting public review process. Public access to a computerized database, redistricting data, and computer software. Preserving specified commission records and data as public records. Redistricting plan . Senate Bill 958 requires the commission to adopt a redistricting plan adjusting the boundaries of the supervisorial districts and to file the plan with the county elections official before August 15 of the year following the year in which each decennial federal census is taken. The bill requires that: The plan must be effective 30 days after it is filed with the county elections official. The plan must be subject to referendum in the same manner as ordinances. The commission must issue, with the final map, a report that explains the basis on which the commission made its decisions in achieving compliance with the specified criteria. State Revenue Impact No estimate. Comments 1. Purpose of the bill . Senate Bill 958 seeks to align the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' redistricting policy with SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 8 of ? the statewide movement toward independent redistricting. SB 958 builds upon the precedent set by SB 1331 (Kehoe), which created an independent redistricting commission to draw San Diego County's supervisorial district boundaries. The bill establishes a commission with a structure and selection process that are nearly identical to those used by the successful statewide citizens redistricting commission that was established when California voters approved Proposition 11 in November, 2008. By empowering a 14-member body to redraw supervisors' districts, instead of allowing the five county supervisors to draw the lines themselves, SB 958 will allow a broader range of perspectives and voices to determine the boundaries' shape. This will help ensure that supervisorial boundaries will reflect Los Angeles County's broad demographic and regional diversity. Because boundaries drawn by an independent citizen's commission are not likely to be drawn in a manner that specifically favors incumbent supervisors, the resulting districts will likely generate more competitive elections for seats on the board. More competitive elections, in turn, benefit all Los Angeles County residents by increasing the incentives for county supervisors to be attentive and responsive to their constituents. 2. State interests vs. home rule . Unlike SB 1330, which was sponsored by San Diego County and reflected recommendations for a redistricting commission that had been developed locally, SB 958 does not reflect any particular local public discussion or consensus about a Los Angeles redistricting commission. Counties adopt voter-approved charters to gain more local control over their governance structure. If SB 958 is enacted, any subsequent changes that Los Angeles County residents want to make to the citizens redistricting commission will require the Legislature's approval. To be more consistent with the home-rule purpose of county charters, the Committee may wish to consider amending SB 958 to provide a greater role for Los Angeles residents in determining the structure and functions of the county's citizens redistricting commission. For example, the bill could be amended to require the Board of Supervisors to establish the commission subject to a set of minimum statutory requirements, while allowing the board to exercise discretion over how the commission should be structured and operate to best reflect local priorities and values. 3. Political Reform Act . SB 958 requires that anyone applying SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 9 of ? to be a member of the citizens redistricting commission must comply with numerous requirements and prohibitions. These provisions are intended to provide some confidence that the applicant will make truly independent decisions if selected to serve on the commission. However, the bill does not specifically require that members of the commission must be subject to any of the Political Reform Act's reporting provisions, which require many other state and local government officials to publicly disclose income, loans, gifts, and other activities that could potentially influence decisions they make as public officials. To provide greater confidence that redistricting commission members won't be influenced by gifts or other benefits they receive while serving on a commission, the Committee may wish to consider amending SB 958 to make commission members subject to the Political Reform Act's reporting requirements. 4. Clarification . SB 958 requires that commission members must be selected so that the party preferences of the commission's members "are as proportional as possible to that of the registered voters in the county." The bill also says that "formulas or specific ratios shall not be applied for this purpose." It's unclear how to determine whether the party preferences of commission members are "as proportional as possible" to party preferences among voter without applying any "specific ratios." This language is intended to ensure that the composition of the commission cannot be challenged on the basis that the percent of the commission's members representing a particular party registration does not precisely match the percentage of county voters registered with that party. For example, although voters who decline to state a party preference account for 24.77% of registered voters in Los Angeles County, the commission's membership could include either three decline-to-state members (representing 21.43% of the commission's membership) or four decline-to-state members (accounting for 28.57% of the commission's membership). The Committee may wish to consider amending the bill to clarify that the party preferences of the commission's members must be as proportional as possible to voters' party preferences, but that the bill does not require any of the party registration proportions on the committee to be exactly the same as the proportions among registered voters. 5. Mandate . The California Constitution requires the state to SB 958 (Lara) 2/8/16 Page 10 of ? reimburse local governments for the costs of new or expanded state mandated local programs. Because SB 958 imposes new duties on Los Angeles County government officials, Legislative Counsel says that it imposes a new state mandate. The state was able to disclaim responsibility for reimbursing local costs associated with the redistricting commission established by SB 1331 (Kehoe, 2012) because that legislation was requested by San Diego County officials. However, because Los Angeles County officials are not requesting SB 958's enactment, the bill requires the state to reimburse local agencies if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill imposes a reimbursable mandate. 6. Special legislation . The California Constitution prohibits special legislation when a general law can apply (Article IV, §16). Senate Bill 958 contains findings and declarations explaining the need for legislation that applies only to Los Angeles County. 7. Related legislation . SB 1108 (Allen), which will also be heard at the Senate Governance & Finance Committee's April 20 hearing, would allow any city or county to establish a commission to change the boundaries of county supervisors' or city council members' electoral districts after a federal census. Support and Opposition (4/14/16) Support : Unknown. Opposition : Unknown. -- END --