BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
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|Bill No: |SB 1108 |Hearing |4/27/16 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Author: |Allen |Tax Levy: |No |
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|Version: |2/17/16 |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Weinberger |
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Elections: state and local reapportionment
Allows a city or county to establish a commission to change the
boundaries of county supervisors' or city council members'
electoral districts after a 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 as possible 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
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electoral district boundaries for seats in the state legislature
to an independent 14-member citizen's redistricting commission.
The California Constitution provides that charter cities,
without being bound by state general laws, may control their own
municipal affairs, including matters related to the election of
their city councils. Using their authority under the
constitution's municipal affairs doctrine, some charter cities
have established independent citizen's commissions to redraw
city council district boundaries.
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).
Similarly, state law allows a city council, following a
decennial federal census, to appoint an advisory committee,
composed of city residents, to study and make recommendations
regarding changing city council districts' boundaries (AB 329,
Quimby, 1970). Unlike charter cities, counties and general law
cities can't create citizens redistricting commissions to redraw
their governing bodies' electoral 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
Senate Bill 1108 repeals state laws that allow county
supervisors or city council member to appoint advisory
committees to study and make recommendations regarding changes
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to supervisorial or council district boundaries.
SB 1108, instead, allows a county or a city to establish a
commission composed of county or city residents to either:
Change the boundaries of county supervisors' or city
council members' electoral districts, or
Recommend changes to the boundaries of county
supervisors' or city council members' electoral districts.
SB 1108 requires a commission to submit a report of its findings
on the need for changes to the boundaries, and its adopted or
recommended changes, within six months after the final
population figures determined in each federal decennial census
have been released, but in any event not later than August 1st
of the year following the year in which the census is taken.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . Existing law authorizes county boards of
supervisors and city councils to appoint committees to study the
matter of changing the boundaries of its supervisorial and
council districts but expressly states that recommendations of
the committees are advisory only. Charter cities are the only
type of local government in which a redistricting commission can
be created to adopt a redistricting plan independent of the
local governing body. Charter counties, general law counties
and general law cities, on the other hand, are not granted the
same level of authority over the conduct of elections.
Electoral district boundaries drawn by an independent citizen's
commission, compared to districts drawn by a city council or
county board of supervisors, may produce electoral districts
that are more competitive and better reflect local demographic
and regional diversity. SB 958 broadly authorizes all counties
and cities to establish a commission, composed of residents of
the county or city, to either adopt a redistricting plan
themselves or recommend changes as currently permitted. The
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bill would not require any city or county to create such a
commission, it merely grants them the authority to do so.
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2. Too much of a good thing ? Providing local officials and
residents with enough discretion to structure independent
redistricting commissions in various ways that reflect local
circumstances is a good thing. However, SB 1108 imposes almost
no limits on how local redistricting commissions can be
structured or how the commission members can exercise the
redistricting power. It might make sense for state law to
impose some statewide requirements on all local redistricting
commissions to ensure that the commissions will operate as
intended and produce truly independent results. For example,
state law could:
Prohibit a commission's membership from being comprised
entirely of members who are all registered to vote with the
same political party.
Prohibit a commission from including members whose
recent employment history or political activity casts doubt
on their ability to perform their responsibilities
independently.
Require commission members to comply with open
government provisions of the Brown Act, Public Records Act,
and Political Reform Act to ensure that they remain
accountable to the public.
The committee may wish to consider amending SB 1108 to impose
some minimum statewide standards on all local redistricting
commissions.
3. Related legislation . SB 958 (Lara), creates a citizens
redistricting commission to adjust the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors' district boundaries after each decennial federal
census. The Senate Governance & Finance Committee approved that
bill at its April 20, 2016 hearing on a 5-2 vote.
Support and
Opposition (4/21/16)
Support : California Common Cause; League of Women Voters of
California.
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Opposition : Unknown.
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