BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1108


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1108 (Allen)


          As Amended  June 8, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  34-0


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Elections       |5-2  |Weber, Gordon, Low,   |Harper, Travis      |
          |                |     |Mullin, Nazarian      |Allen               |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Local           |6-1  |Eggman, Bonilla,      |Beth Gaines         |
          |Government      |     |Chiu, Cooley, Gordon, |                    |
          |                |     |Linder                |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Permits a county or a general law city to establish a  
          commission charged with adjusting the boundaries of  
          supervisorial districts or city council districts after each  
          decennial federal census, subject to certain conditions.   
          Specifically, this bill:  








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          1)Permits a county or a general law city (hereinafter referred  
            to as the "local jurisdiction"), by resolution or ordinance,  
            to establish an independent redistricting commission  
            (independent commission) that has the power to adopt the  
            district boundaries of the legislative body.


          2)Permits a local jurisdiction to decide how members are  
            appointed to an independent commission, but requires the  
            application process to be open to all eligible residents.


          3)Prohibits an independent commission from being comprised  
            entirely of members who are registered to vote with the same  
            political party preference.


          4)Prohibits a person from being appointed to an independent  
            commission if that person or a family member has done any of  
            the following in the preceding eight years:


             a)   Been elected or appointed to, or a candidate for,  
               elective office of the local jurisdiction;


             b)   Served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a  
               political party or of a campaign committee or a candidate  
               for elective office of the local jurisdiction;


             c)   Served as an elected or appointed member of a political  
               party central committee;


             d)   Served as a staff member of, consultant to, or  
               contracted with, a currently-serving elected officer of the  








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               local jurisdiction;


             e)   Been registered to lobby the local jurisdiction; or,


             f)   Contributed $500 or more in a year to any candidate for  
               an elective office of the local jurisdiction, provided that  
               the jurisdiction may adjust this amount to reflect  
               inflation.


          5)Permits the local jurisdiction to impose additional  
            qualifications and restrictions for members of the independent  
            commission.


          6)Requires each member of an independent commission to be a  
            designated employee for the purposes of the commission's  
            conflict of interest code.


          7)Prohibits a member, while serving on the independent  
            commission, from endorsing, working for, volunteering for, or  
            making a campaign contribution to, a candidate for elective  
            office of the jurisdiction.


          8)Prohibits a member, for 10 years following his or her  
            appointment to an independent commission, from being a  
            candidate for an elective office of the local jurisdiction.


          9)Prohibits a member, for four years following his or her  
            appointment to an independent commission, from doing any of  
            the following:


             a)   Accepting an appointment to an office of the local  








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               jurisdiction;


             b)   Accepting employment as a staff member of, or consultant  
               to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of  
               the local jurisdiction;


             c)   Receiving a non-competitively bid contract with the  
               local jurisdiction; or,


             d)   Registering as a lobbyist for the local jurisdiction.


          10)Requires an independent commission to comply with applicable  
            provisions of the Brown Act and the Public Records Act.


          11)Requires an independent commission to adopt new boundaries  
            within six months after the final population figures from the  
            census have been released, but not later than November 1 of  
            the year following the year in which the census is taken.


          12)Requires an independent commission to publish and make  
            available to the public a map of proposed boundaries for at  
            least seven days prior to adopting those boundaries.  Requires  
            the commission to hold at least three public hearings prior to  
            the hearing at which the new boundaries are adopted.


          13)Prohibits an independent commission from drawing districts  
            for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against any  
            incumbent or political candidate.


          14)Prohibits any of the following individuals from serving on an  
            advisory redistricting commission (advisory commission):








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             a)   An elected official of the jurisdiction; or,


             b)   Family, staff, or paid campaign staff of an elected  
               official of the jurisdiction.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, "Existing law permits cities  
          and counties to create redistricting commissions but limits  
          these commissions to making recommendations on an advisory basis  
          only.  They cannot actually establish the new districts.  The  
          lone exception to this are charter cities.  SB 1108 would permit  
          all cities and counties to establish redistricting commissions  
          that actually have the authority to establish new council and  
          supervisorial districts.


          "This bill does not force any city or county to create a  
          commission, it just gives them the authority if they so choose.   
          The bill also provides, much like our state redistricting  
          commission, that local commission members may have no familial,  
          political, or professional relationships with any officeholders  
          or candidates in the city or county.  Following service on the  
          commission, members may not seek elective office themselves or  
          employment from an officeholder within the jurisdiction for  
          specified time periods."


          Existing law permits a county or a city to create an advisory  
          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  








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          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.  


          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094  FN:  
          0003591