BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       SB 1108|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


                                UNFINISHED BUSINESS 


          Bill No:  SB 1108
          Author:   Allen (D), et al.
          Amended:  6/8/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE:  5-0, 4/5/16
           AYES:  Allen, Anderson, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu

           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE:  5-0, 4/27/16
           AYES:  Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Nguyen, Moorlach

           SENATE FLOOR:  34-0, 5/12/16
           AYES:  Allen, Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, De León,  
            Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill,  
            Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza,  
            Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan,  
            Pavley, Roth, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bates, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines, Liu, Runner

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  62-14, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
           
           SUBJECT:   Elections:  state and local reapportionment


          SOURCE:    California Common Cause
          
          DIGEST:   This bill 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.  


          Assembly Amendments (1) define "family member" as a spouse,  
          registered domestic partner, sibling, parent, child, or in-law;  








                                                                    SB 1108  
                                                                    Page  2



          (2) provide that, notwithstanding any other law, the local  
          jurisdiction may prescribe the manner in which members are  
          appointed to a commission provided they use an open application  
          process; (3) prohibit an independent commission from drawing  
          lines to favor an incumbent or political candidate; (4) provide  
          that advisory commissions cannot have a family member of an  
          elected official, their personal staff, or their campaign staff  
          serve on the commission; (5) provide that a person is not  
          eligible to serve on an independent commission if he or she has  
          contributed $500 or more in a year to any candidate in the local  
          jurisdiction; and (6) require at least three hearings prior to a  
          final vote and the final map must be in print for seven days  
          prior to adoption. 


          ANALYSIS:   

          Existing law:

           1) Requires the governing bodies of each city and county,  
             following each decennial federal census, and using that  
             census as a basis, to adjust the boundaries of any or all of  
             the council districts and supervisorial districts 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 city council or county board of supervisors to  
             appoint a committee composed of residents of the city or  
             county to study the matter of changing the boundaries of the  
             council or supervisorial districts but provides that the  
             recommendations of the committee are advisory only unless  
             otherwise permitted by state law. 

           3) 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.

           4) 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 members  








                                                                    SB 1108  
                                                                    Page  3



             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) 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 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  








                                                                    SB 1108  
                                                                    Page  4



                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  
                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  








                                                                    SB 1108  
                                                                    Page  5



             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):

              a)    An elected official of the jurisdiction; or,

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


          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 some charter 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 county  
          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."  








                                                                    SB 1108  
                                                                    Page  6



          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 such a commission.  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 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 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, 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.  There is  
            an exception however, for charter cities where these  








                                                                    SB 1108 
                                                                    Page  7



            redistricting commissions have 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.

          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.  Therefore, these jurisdictions  
            are unable to provide for the creation of a redistricting  
            commission that has the authority to adopt a redistricting  
            plan.

          This bill 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.

            Cities and counties that wish to establish independent citizen  
            redistricting commissions should not be prevented from doing  
            so by state law.  This bill will not require any city or  
            county to create such a commission, it merely grants them the  
            authority to do so.

          Related/Prior Legislation
          
          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.

          SB 958 (Lara, 2016), which was pending on the Assembly Floor at  
          the time this analysis was written, establishes a Citizens  
          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.
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No










                                                                    SB 1108  
                                                                    Page  8



          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/18/16)


          California Common Cause (source)
          California Forward Action Fund
          League of California Cities
          League of Women Voters of California


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/18/16)


          None received

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  62-14, 8/18/16
           AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,  
            Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,  
            Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,  
            Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Holden, Irwin, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Mayes, McCarty,  
            Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Quirk,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,  
            Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
           NOES:  Travis Allen, Brough, Chávez, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove,  
            Harper, Lackey, Maienschein, Mathis, Melendez, Patterson,  
            Steinorth, Waldron
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bigelow, Gallagher, Roger Hernández, Olsen



          Prepared by:Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106
          8/19/16 19:37:17


                                   ****  END  ****


          











                                                                    SB 1108  
                                                                    Page  9