BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 958
Page 1
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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