BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 958


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          Date of Hearing:  June 29, 2016


                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT


                           Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair


          SB  
          958 (Lara and Hall) - As Amended June 21, 2016


          SENATE VOTE:  26-11


          SUBJECT:  County of Los Angeles Citizens Redistricting  
          Commission.


          SUMMARY:  Creates a Citizens Redistricting Commission in Los  
          Angeles County and requires it to adjust the County's  
          supervisorial districts after each decennial census.   
          Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Creates a Citizens Redistricting Commission (commission) in  
            Los Angeles County, and requires the commission to adjust the  
            boundary lines of the County's supervisorial districts in the  
            year following the year in which the decennial federal census  
            is taken.  

          2)Requires the commission to be comprised of 14 members, and to  
            be created no later than December 31, 2020, and in each year  
            ending in the number zero thereafter.

          3)States that the selection process is designed to produce a  
            commission that is independent from the influence of the  
            County Board of Supervisors (board) and reasonably  








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            representative of the County's diversity.

          4)Requires the political party preferences of commission  
            members, as shown on the members' most recent voter  
            registration affidavits, to be as proportional as possible to  
            the total number of voters who are registered with each  
            political party in the County, as determined by registration  
            at the most recent statewide election.  Provides that the  
            political party preferences of commission members are not  
            required to be exactly the same as the proportion of political  
            party preferences among the registered voters of the County.   
            Requires at least one commission member to reside in each of  
            the five existing supervisorial districts of the board.

          5)Requires each commission member to meet all of the following  
            qualifications:

             a)   Be a resident of, and a registered voter in, Los Angeles  
               County, who has been continuously registered in the County  
               with the same political party or unaffiliated with a  
               political party and who has not changed political party  
               affiliation for five or more years immediately preceding  
               the date of his or her appointment to the commission;

             b)   Has voted in at least one of the last three statewide  
               elections immediately preceding his or her application to  
               be a member of the commission;

             c)   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;

             d)   Possess experience that demonstrates an ability to be  
               impartial; and,

             e)   Possess experience that demonstrates an appreciation for  
               the diverse demographics and geography of Los Angeles  
               County.








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          6)Provides that, within the 10 years immediately preceding the  
            date of application to the commission, neither the applicant,  
            nor an immediate family member of the applicant, as defined,  
            may have done any of the following:

             a)   Been appointed to, elected to, or have been a candidate  
               for office at the local, state, or federal level  
               representing Los Angeles County, including as a member of  
               the board; 

             b)   Served as an employee of, or paid consultant for, an  
               elected representative at the local, state, or federal  
               level representing Los Angeles County;

             c)   Served as an employee of, or paid consultant for, a  
               candidate for office at the local, state, or federal level  
               representing Los Angeles County;

             d)   Served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a  
               political party or as an appointed member of a political  
               party central committee; or,

             e)   Been a registered state or local lobbyist.

          7)Permits an interested person meeting the qualifications  
            detailed above to submit an application to the county  
            elections official to be considered for membership on the  
            commission.  Requires the county elections official to review  
            the applications and eliminate applicants who do not meet the  
            qualifications detailed above.

          8)Requires the county elections official to select 60 of the  
            most qualified applicants, taking into account the relevant  
            requirements, and to make public their names for at least 30  
            days.  Prohibits the county elections official from  
            communicating with a member of the board, or an agent for a  
            member of the board, about any matter related to the  
            nomination process or applicants before the publication of the  








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            list of the 60 most qualified applicants.  Permits the  
            elections official, during this period, to eliminate any of  
            the previously selected applicants if the official becomes  
            aware that the applicant does not meet the qualifications.   
            Requires the county elections official to create a subpool for  
            each of the five existing supervisorial districts of the  
            board.

          9)Requires, at a regularly scheduled meeting of the board, the  
            Auditor-Controller of Los Angeles County to conduct a random  
            drawing to select one commissioner from each of the five  
            subpools established by the county elections official.   
            Requires the Auditor-Controller, after completing that drawing  
            and at the same meeting of the board, to conduct a random  
            drawing from all the remaining applicants, without respect to  
            subpools, to select three additional commissioners.

          10)Requires the eight selected commissioners to review the  
            remaining names in the subpools of applicants and to appoint  
            six additional applicants to the commission.  Requires the six  
            appointees to 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, provided  
            that formulas or specific ratios are not applied for this  
            purpose.  Requires the eight commissioners additionally to  
            consider political party preference, and to select applicants  
            so that the political party preferences of the members of the  
            commission are as proportional as possible to the registered  
            voters in the county, as detailed above. 

          11)Requires commission members to apply the requirements of this  
            bill in a manner that is impartial and that reinforces public  
            confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process.

          12)Provides that the term of office of each member of the  
            commission expires upon the appointment of the first member of  
            the succeeding commission.









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          13)Provides that nine members of the commission shall constitute  
            a quorum and that nine or more affirmative votes are required  
            for any official action.

          14)Prohibits the commission from retaining a consultant who  
            would not be qualified as a commission applicant due to any of  
            the disqualifying criteria described in 6), above.  Provides,  
            for this purpose, that the term "consultant" means a person,  
            whether or not compensated, retained to advise the commission  
            or a commission member regarding any aspect of the  
            redistricting process.

          15)Requires each commission member to be a designated employee  
            for the purposes of the conflict of interest code adopted by  
            Los Angeles County, as specified, thereby requiring members to  
            file statements of economic interests and to comply with  
            specified state laws regarding conflicts of interests and  
            limits on gifts and honoraria.

          16)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:

             a)   Requires districts to comply with the United States  
               Constitution and requires each district to have a  
               reasonably equal population with other districts for the  
               board, except where deviation is required to comply with  
               the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) or allowable by law;

             b)   Requires districts to comply with the federal VRA;

             c)   Requires districts to be geographically contiguous;

             d)   Requires the geographic integrity of any city, local  
               neighborhood, or local community of interest, as defined,  
               to be respected in a manner that minimizes its division to  
               the extent possible without violating the above  
               requirements; and,








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             e)   Requires, to the extent practicable, and where this does  
               not conflict with the higher-priority criteria detailed  
               above, districts to be drawn to encourage geographical  
               compactness such that nearby areas of population are not  
               bypassed for more distant areas of population.

          17)Prohibits the place of residence of any incumbent or  
            political candidate from being considered in the creation of a  
            map, and prohibits districts from being drawn for the purpose  
            of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political  
            candidate, or political party.

          18)Requires the commission to comply with the Ralph M. Brown  
            Act.

          19)Requires the commission, prior to drawing a draft map, to  
            conduct at least seven public hearings, to take place over a  
            period of no fewer than 30 days, with at least one public  
            hearing held in each supervisorial district.

          20)Requires the commission, after drawing a draft map, to do  
            both of the following:

             a)   Post the map for public comment on Los Angeles County's  
               Internet Web site; and,

             b)   Conduct at least two public hearings to take place over  
               a period of no fewer than thirty days.

          21)Requires hearings to be scheduled at various times and days  
            of the week to accommodate a variety of work schedules and to  
            reach as large an audience as possible.

          22)Requires the commission to establish and make available to  
            the public a calendar of all public hearings and to post the  
            agenda for the public hearings at least seven days before the  
            hearings.  Requires the agenda for a meeting conducted after  
            the commission has drawn a draft map to include a copy of that  








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            map.

          23)Requires the commission to arrange for the live translation  
            of their hearings in an applicable language if a request for  
            translation is made at least 24 hours before the hearing.   
            Provides that an "applicable language," for these purposes,  
            means a language for which the number of residents of Los  
            Angeles County, who are members of a language minority, is  
            greater than or equal to three percent of the total voting age  
            residents of the county.

          24)Requires the commission to take steps to encourage county  
            residents to participate in the redistricting public review  
            process.  Provides that these steps may include the following:

             a)   Providing information through media, social media, and  
               public service announcements;

             b)   Coordinating with community organizations; and,

             c)   Posting information on Los Angeles County's Internet Web  
               site that explains the redistricting process and includes a  
               notice of each public hearing and the procedures for  
               testifying during a hearing or submitting written testimony  
               directly to the commission.

          25)Requires the board to provide for reasonable funding and  
            staffing for the commission, and to take all steps necessary  
            to ensure that a complete and accurate computerized database  
            is available for redistricting, and that procedures are in  
            place to provide to the public ready access to redistricting  
            data and computer software equivalent to what is available to  
            the commission members.

          26)Provides that all records of the commission relating to  
            redistricting, and all data considered by the commission in  
            drawing a draft map or the final map, are public records.

          27)Requires the commission to adopt a redistricting plan and to  








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            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.  Provides that the plan is effective  
            30 days after it is filed with the county elections official,  
            and is subject to referendum in the same manner as ordinances.

          28)Requires the commission to issue, with the final map, a  
            report that explains the basis on which the commission made  
            its decisions in achieving compliance with the criteria  
            described above.

          29)Prohibits a commission member from holding elective public  
            office at the federal, state, county, or city level in the  
            state for a period of five years beginning from the date of  
            his or her appointment to the commission.

          30)Prohibits a commission member from doing any of the following  
            for a period of three years beginning from the date of his or  
            her appointment to the commission:

             a)   Holding an appointive federal, state, or local public  
               office;

             b)   Serving as paid staff for or a paid consultant to, the  
               Board of Equalization, Congress, the Legislature, or any  
               individual legislator; or,

             c)   Registering as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in  
               the state. 

          31)Defines "immediate family member," for the purposes of this  
            bill, as a spouse, child, in-law, parent, or sibling.

          32)Defines "community of interest," for the purposes of this  
            bill, as a contiguous population that shares common social and  
            economic interests that should be included within a single  
            district for purposes of its effective and fair  
            representation.  Provides that communities of interest do not  
            include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or  








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            political candidates.

          33)Makes findings and declarations that a special law is  
            necessary because of the unique circumstances facing Los  
            Angeles County.

          34)Provides that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines  
            that this bill contains costs mandated by the state,  
            reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those  
            costs shall be made pursuant to current law governing state  
            mandated local costs.

          EXISTING LAW:   


          1)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 as may be and comply with  
            the applicable provisions of Section 2 of the VRA, as amended.  
             

          2)Permits a board of supervisors, when adjusting the boundaries  
            of supervisorial districts, to give consideration to the  
            following factors:

             a)   Topography;

             b)   Geography;

             c)   Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of  
               territory; and,

             d)   Communities of interests in the districts.

          3)Requires a board of supervisors to hold at least one public  
            hearing on any proposal to adjust the boundaries of a  
            supervisorial district prior to the public hearing at which  








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            the board votes to approve or defeat the proposal.

          4)Permits the board of supervisors of a county to appoint a  
            committee composed of residents of the county to study the  
            matter of changing the boundaries of supervisorial districts,  
            as specified.  Provides that recommendations of the committee  
            are advisory only.

          5)Establishes a procedure for a county to adopt a charter by a  
            majority vote of its electors voting on the question.    

          6)Provides that counties that have adopted charters are subject  
            to statutes that relate to apportioning population of  
            governing body districts.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, "This bill would likely result in a reimbursable  
          state mandate.  Estimated costs to the State are unknown; but  
          could potentially reach the high hundreds of thousands of  
          dollars (General Fund) every ten years.  As an upper bound, the  
          statewide Citizens Redistricting Commission incurred costs of $6  
          million (General Fund) to draw the 2010 decennial boundaries for  
          the State's congressional delegation, State Senate, State  
          Assembly, and the Board of Equalization.  Staff notes that the  
          Citizens Redistricting Commission redraws the boundaries for a  
          total of 177 districts.  In contrast, this bill would redraw the  
          boundaries of only the five Los Angeles County supervisorial  
          districts.  Thus, its costs, while unknown, would be smaller,  
          likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars every ten years."


          COMMENTS:  


          1)Bill Summary.  This bill creates a Citizens Redistricting  
            Commission for the County of Los Angeles and requires the  
            commission to adjust the boundaries of the County's  
            supervisorial districts after every decennial census.  The  








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            bill establishes the composition of the commission at 14  
            members, requires at least one member to reside in each of the  
            five existing districts, and further specifies the  
            qualifications of commission members.  


            The bill outlines the selection process for commission members  
            and specifies their terms and their conduct, including  
            numerous prohibited activities to avoid conflicts of interest.  
             It also imposes requirements for the districts that the  
            commission would establish and the process the commission must  
            follow in drafting and adopting the districts, including  
            extensive public input.  This bill is sponsored by the author.


          2)Author's Statement.  According to the author, "Senate Bill 958  
            seeks to align the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors'  
            redistricting policy with 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,  








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            benefit all Los Angeles County residents by increasing the  
            incentives for county supervisors to be attentive and  
            responsive to their constituents." 


          3)Background.  The California Citizens Redistricting Commission  
            (CRC) was created by Proposition 11, which voters approved in  
            2008.  The CRC is responsible for establishing district lines  
            for the Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization.   
            Proposition 11 also modified the criteria used when drawing  
            district lines.  Proposition 20, approved by voters in 2010,  
            gave the CRC the responsibility for establishing lines for  
            California's congressional districts, and made other changes  
            to the procedures and criteria to be used by the CRC.  The CRC  
            consists of 14 registered voters, including five Democrats,  
            five Republicans, and four others, all of whom are chosen  
            according to procedures specified in Proposition 11.


            Existing law allows a county or a city to create an advisory  
            redistricting commission (described in state law as a  
            "committee" of residents of the jurisdiction), but does not  
            expressly permit local jurisdictions to create commissions  
            that have the authority to establish district boundaries.   
            Instead, the authority to establish district boundaries for a  
            local jurisdiction generally is held by the governing body of  
            that jurisdiction.  Charter cities are able to establish  
            redistricting commissions that have the authority to establish  
            district boundaries because the state Constitution gives  
            charter cities broad authority over the conduct of city  
            elections and over the manner in which, method by which, times  
            at which, and terms for which municipal officers are elected.   
            As a result, a number of California cities have established  
            redistricting commissions to adjust city council districts  
            following each decennial census.












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            Charter counties, on the other hand, are not granted the same  
            level of authority over the conduct of county elections.  The  
            state Constitution explicitly provides that "[c]harter  
            counties are subject to statutes that relate to apportioning  
            population of governing body districts."  In light of this  
            constitutional provision, charter counties are unable to  
            provide for the creation of a redistricting commission that  
            has the authority to establish district boundaries, unless  
            statutory authority is provided to allow a county to have such  
            a commission.





            The Legislature granted such authority in 2012, when it passed  
            SB 1331 (Kehoe), Chapter 508, Statutes of 2012, which  
            established a redistricting commission in San Diego County and  
            charged it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial  
            districts after each decennial federal census.  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 chosen from among  
            qualified applicants through a random drawing.





          4)Related Legislation.  SB 1108 (Allen), which is also being  
            heard in this committee today, allows a county or a general  
            law city to establish an independent redistricting commission  
            with the power to adopt district boundaries of the county's or  
            city's legislative body.


          5)Previous Legislation.  SB 1331 (Kehoe), Chapter 508, Statutes  
            of 2012, gave San Diego County the authority to establish a  








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            redistricting commission, charged with adjusting the  
            boundaries of supervisorial districts after each decennial  
            federal census.


          6)Policy Consideration.  Unlike SB 1331, which San Diego County  
            requested, this bill creates a commission for Los Angeles  
            County that is not being requested by the county.  In  
            addition, SB 1108 allows - rather than requires - local  
            jurisdictions to create their own independent commissions if  
            they so choose.  A perennial theme discussed in this Committee  
            is the principle of local control.  SB 1108 maintains local  
            control for all counties (as well as cities) statewide, while  
            this bill confiscates it from Los Angeles County only.  The  
            Committee may wish to consider the implications of these  
            conflicting policy approaches to redistricting practices in  
            the state.


          7)State Mandate.  This bill is keyed a state mandate, which  
            means the state could be required to reimburse local agencies  
            and school districts for implementing the bill's provisions if  
            the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill  
            contains costs mandated by the state.  


          8)Arguments in Support.  The League of Women Voters of  
            California, in support, writes, "The League of Women Voters of  
            California supports a state redistricting process and  
            standards that promote fair and effective representation with  
            maximum opportunity for public scrutiny.  We believe  
            responsibility for redistricting preferably should be vested  
            in an independent commission with diverse membership that is  
            representative of the public at large and protective of  
            minority group interests."












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          9)Arguments in Opposition.  None on file.


          10)Double-Referral.  This bill was heard by the Elections and  
            Redistricting Committee on 


          June 15, 2016, where it passed with a 5-2 vote.
          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support




          League of Women Voters of California


          Opposition


          


          None on file




          Analysis Prepared by:Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958












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