BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 958|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 958
Author: Lara (D) and Hall (D)
Amended: 6/21/16
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 4/5/16
AYES: Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu
NOES: Anderson
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 5-2, 4/20/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
NOES: Nguyen, Moorlach
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 26-11, 5/31/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, Cannella, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan,
Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: De León, Nguyen, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 47-29, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: County of Los Angeles Citizens Redistricting
Commission
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill establishes a 14-member Citizens
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Redistricting Commission in the County of Los Angeles, which
would be charged with adjusting the boundary lines of the
districts of the Board of Supervisors in accordance with
specified criteria.
Assembly Amendments require 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; 2)
provide that following service on the commission, commission
members are ineligible for a period of five years beginning from
the date of appointment to hold specified elective offices,
specified appointive and other positions, or register as a
lobbyist; 3) require at least one commission member to reside in
each of five existing supervisorial districts of the board
rather than the eight service planning areas in the county; 4)
require the board of supervisors to provide for reasonable
funding and staffing for the commission; and 5) make other
conforming changes.
ANALYSIS:
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 federal Voting
Rights Act (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
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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
the board votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
4)Provides, pursuant to the California Constitution, that
charter counties are subject to state statutes that relate to
redistricting seats of the counties' boards of supervisors.
5) Permits a county board of supervisors to appoint a committee
composed of residents of the county to study the matter of
changing the boundaries of the supervisorial districts but
provides that the recommendations of the committee are
advisory only unless otherwise permitted by state law.
6) Establishes a redistricting commission in San Diego County
and charges 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 picked from
among qualified applicants through a random drawing.
This bill:
1) 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.
2) Requires the political party preferences of commission
members to be as proportional as possible to the registered
voter population in the County, as specified. Requires at
least one commission member to reside in each of the five
existing supervisorial districts.
3) Requires each commission member to have various
qualifications, including possessing experience that
demonstrates relevant analytical skills and an ability to be
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impartial.
4) Prohibits a person from being a member of the commission if,
in the prior 10 years, that person or an immediate family
member of the person was a candidate for, or an elected
official of, an office representing Los Angeles County; an
employee or consultant of such a candidate or official; an
officer, employee, consultant, or appointed member of a
political party; or a registered state or local lobbyist, as
specified. Prohibits the commission from retaining a
consultant who would not be qualified as a commission
applicant due to any of these disqualifying criteria.
5) Permits any interested person meeting the qualifications to
apply for the commission. Requires the county elections
official to review applications, eliminate applicants who do
not meet the required qualifications, and select 60 of the
most qualified applicants, as specified.
6) Requires the Auditor-Controller of Los Angeles County to
randomly select at least eight commissioners from the pool of
applicants selected by the county elections official,
including at least one commissioner from each of the five
supervisorial districts. Requires the eight selected
commissioners to appoint six additional applicants to the
commission from the pool of applicants selected by the county
elections official. Requires the appointees to be chosen
based on relevant experience and skills, and to ensure that
the commission reflects the county's diversity, as specified.
7) Requires nine or more affirmative votes by commissioners for
any official action.
8) Requires the commission to establish single-member
supervisorial districts for the board pursuant to a mapping
process using specified criteria.
9) Specifies minimum requirements for hearings conducted by the
commission, and for the preparation and adoption of a
district map by the commission.
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10)Prohibits commissioners from holding public office, serving
as paid staff to a public official, or serving as a lobbyist
for five years after being appointed to the commission, as
specified.
Background
California Counties Must Follow State Law Governing
Redistricting. A number of California cities have established
redistricting commissions to adjust city council districts
following each decennial census. In some cities, these
commissions are advisory, and only make recommendations to the
city council, but in other cities, the redistricting commission
has the authority to adopt a redistricting plan independent of
the city council. Charter cities are able to establish such
commissions 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.
General law cities and all counties, on the other hand, are not
granted the same level of authority over the conduct of their
elections, and in fact, 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 provision of the state Constitution, charter
counties are unable to provide for the creation of a
redistricting commission through an amendment to the county
charter unless statutory authority is provided to allow a county
to have such a commission.
The San Diego County Commission. SB 1331 (Kehoe, Chapter 508
Statutes of 2012), established an independent redistricting
commission in San Diego County to adjust the boundaries of
supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census.
The bill was requested by the San Diego County Board of
Supervisors who sought the change in state law necessary to
create a commission comprised of retired judges. As mentioned
above, because the Elections Code controls and limits the
redistricting process, the County Board could not reformulate
its redistricting process unless the Legislature changed the
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code. Furthermore, because the county board requested the bill,
the state was not subject to a reimbursable local mandate.
California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Proposition 11,
which was approved by the voters at the 2008 Statewide General
Election, created the Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC),
and gave it the responsibility for establishing district lines
for the Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization.
Proposition 11 also modified the criteria to be used when
drawing district lines. Proposition 20, which was approved by
the voters at the 2010 Statewide General Election, 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.
Comments
1)According to the author, SB 958 is a good government proposal
for the citizens of Los Angeles County. This bill seeks to
align the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors'
redistricting policy with the statewide movement toward
independent redistricting. San Diego, the second most
populous county in California, established an independent
redistricting commission for its Board therefore it is
possible for the largest county in California, Los Angeles, to
maximize public participation for its 10 million residents.
SB 958 requires district lines to be drawn by bipartisan groups
and diverse representatives of the county. As Los Angeles is
one of the most geographically and ethnically diverse counties
in the state it is vital that the Board reflects its regional
diversity. SB 958 will also help to maintain communities of
interests, to ensure groups with similar socioeconomic
interests are not negatively impacted by redistricting. For
the purposes of fair representation, the political party
preferences of the 14 commission members, as shown on the
members' most recent registration affidavits, will be
proportional to the total number of registered voters.
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Election districts drawn by citizens can increase the
supervisors' responsiveness to constituents. By requiring an
independent body to draw the Board's district lines, elections
would become more competitive, thereby increasing
accountability to Los Angeles citizens. Government entities
need to remain accountable to the public and SB 958 can aid in
achieving this goal.
Following each decennial federal census, county supervisorial
districts can be redrawn. In accordance with this law, SB
958 provides that the Board's independent redistricting
commission would go into effect December 31, 2020. This
provision would allow four years for public deliberation. The
public will also have the opportunity to review redistricting
maps and appointments. The geographic integrity of any city,
county, city and county, local neighborhood, or local
community of interest will also be respected.
The goal of SB 958 is to provide a similar public process as was
provided by the CRC.
2)Partisan Make Up. The legislation establishing the San Diego
County Redistricting Commission did not include a requirement
that its members be registered as preferring any specific
political parties. Proposition 11, which established the
state's redistricting commission, requires that of its 14
members, five be registered as preferring the Democratic
Party, five be registered as preferring the Republican Party,
and four be registered as preferring other parties or having
no party preference. This bill requires the political party
preferences of the Los Angeles County redistricting commission
members to be as proportional as possible to the total number
of voters who are registered with each political party in the
County of Los Angeles, as determined by registration at the
most recent statewide election.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1108 (Allen, 2016), which is pending concurrence in Assembly
amendments at the time of this writing, would authorize any
county or city to establish a redistricting commission that has
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the authority to adjust the boundaries of the districts of the
board of supervisors or the city council.
SB 1331 (Kehoe, Chapter 508, Statutes of 2012), established a
redistricting commission in San Diego County to adjust the
boundaries of supervisorial districts after each decennial
federal census.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Significant state reimbursable General Fund costs of at least
of several hundred thousand dollars every ten years. (Unlike
prior legislation establishing a similar commission for San
Diego County, SB 958 is not being requested by LA County and
thus creates a reimbursable state mandate.)
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/16)
League of Women Voters of California
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/30/16)
California State Association of Counties
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 47-29, 8/18/16
AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Campos,
Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian,
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O'Donnell, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang,
Chávez, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Ridley-Thomas,
Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bloom, Bonilla, Calderon, Roger Hernández
Prepared by:Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106
8/30/16 12:02:39
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