BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 330
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 330 (Saldana)
          As Introduced  February 18, 2009
          Majority vote 

           ELECTIONS           7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      16-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Fong, Adams, Bill         |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen,         |
          |     |Berryhill, Coto, Mendoza, |     |Ammiano,                  |
          |     |Saldana, Swanson          |     |Charles Calderon, Davis,  |
          |     |                          |     |Duvall, Fuentes, Hall,    |
          |     |                          |     |Harkey, Miller,           |
          |     |                          |     |John A. Perez, Price,     |
          |     |                          |     |Skinner, Solorio, Audra   |
          |     |                          |     |Strickland, Torlakson     |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Requires county elections officials to give a five-day  
          public notice of the time and place of the preparation and  
          operation of, and tests on, ballot tabulating devices.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Requires the county elections official to provide at least a  
            five-day public notice of the date, time, and location of the  
            following:

             a)   Testing conducted on ballot tabulating devices prior to  
               an election to ensure that the tabulating devices  
               accurately record votes; and,

             b)   Preparation and operation of the tabulating devices and  
               the programming and testing of those devices.

          2)Permits the county elections official to limit attendance of  
            representatives at such tests, preparations, and operations to  
            no more than 10 representatives, provided that representatives  
            of political parties are not subject to the limitation.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, "[n]egligible annual reimbursable costs for county  
          elections officials to provide the required public notices."
           








                                                                 AB 330
                                                                  Page  2


          COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "The purpose of having a  
          public review process is to ensure that interested parties and  
          citizens have the opportunity to observe vote tabulating devices  
          that our elections depend on for accuracy and reliability.  By  
          requiring that elections officials notify the public five days  
          in advance of when the testing of the devices will take place,  
          AB 330 protects the intent of current law by ensuring that  
          members of the public will be provided adequate notice to  
          observe an important aspect of the voting process."


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




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