BILL ANALYSIS
AB 419
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 419 (Caballero)
As Amended May 17, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |73-0 |(January 27, |SENATE: |33-0 |(June 17, |
| | |2010) | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Requires a county board of supervisors or city council to
take timely action on items approved by a local agency formation
commission (LAFCO) that require an election.
The Senate amendments :
1)Clarify that the board of supervisors or city council shall
direct the elections official to designate precincts and polling
places and to take any other action necessary to call, provide
for, and give notice of the special election or elections and to
provide for the conduct and the canvass of returns of the
election, as determined by LAFCO.
2)Provide that the elections official shall place the item on the
ballot at the next established election date at least 88 days
after the date of the notification to the elections official.
3)Provide that the election on the question of the change of
organization or reorganization shall be called pursuant to
applicable provisions of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local
Reorganization Act of 2000 (Act), and held on the next
established election date pursuant to applicable provisions of
the Elections Code, or in the case of an election conducted
solely by mailed ballot, occurring at least 88 days after the
date upon which the resolution calling the election was adopted.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the procedures for the organization and
reorganization of cities, counties, and special districts under
the Act.
2)Provides that when a board of supervisors or a city council is
informed by the LAFCO that a determination has been made that
requires an election, it shall direct the elections official to
conduct the necessary election.
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3)Provides that the board of supervisors or city council shall
call, provide for, and give notice of a special election or
elections upon that question, fix a date for that election,
designate precincts and polling places, and take any other action
necessary to call, provide for, and give notice of the special
election or election and to provide for the conduct and the
canvass of returns of the election.
4)Provides that any person or affected agency may file a written
request with the executive officer requesting amendments to or
reconsideration of the resolution within 30 days of the adoption
of the initial or superseding resolution by the LAFCO making
determinations.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required a LAFCO upon approval of a proposal that would require
an election to be conducted, to inform the county or city
elections official of that county or city.
2)Required the county board of supervisors or city council to take
action within 45 days to direct the elections official to conduct
the necessary election, upon the notification by the LAFCO that a
determination has been made that requires an election.
3)Specified that if the board of supervisors or city council fails
to direct the elections official to conduct the election within
the 45 days of receipt of the notification by the LAFCO, the
elections official shall place the item on the ballot for the
next regular election.
4)Provided that the 45-day requirement contained in the bill will
take effect on January 1, 2011, and will not affect any
applications filed with the LAFCO prior to that date.
5)Made other conforming changes to sections of the Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This bill makes a number of changes to the Act in order
to bring clarity to a vague section of law regarding the timeframe
and process to be undertaken by local governments upon notification
by the LAFCO that an item approved by LAFCO requires an election.
Under current law, there is no deadline specified for a county
board of supervisors, city council, or elections official from that
city or county to place the LAFCO-approved item on the ballot. The
requirements contained in this bill would not apply to any current
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application filed with LAFCO, and instead, the bill's provisions
would take effect on January 1, 2011.
The action by the city or county to place an item approved by LAFCO
on the ballot constitutes a ministerial act, meaning that the city
or county has no discretion in the action once the local government
is in receipt of the notification from LAFCO. It is possible under
current law that a LAFCO-approved item could face significant delay
in being placed on the ballot. This bill would remedy this by
specifying that a county board of supervisors or city council would
have 45 days to direct the elections official to conduct the
necessary election, upon receipt of the notification by LAFCO of
the item requiring an election. This bill also requires the LAFCO,
upon approval of an item that would require a ballot election, to
notify the elections official, in addition to the current
notification requirements of the affected county board of
supervisors or the city council. If the board of supervisors or
city council fails to direct the elections official within 45 days
of notification to conduct the election, this bill requires the
elections official to place the item on the ballot for the next
regular election.
Support arguments: The California Association of Local Agency
Formation Commissions (CALAFCO), writing in support, notes that
this "adds precision to the process timeline and sets expectations
for both LAFCO applicants and the commission itself on when
applications that require an election must be completed and
forwarded to the board of supervisors or city council to be placed
on a ballot." CALAFCO believes that "current law is vague and
could lead to a missed deadline for placing an item on the ballot"
and that this bill "helps assure better implementation of the
Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act."
Opposition arguments: None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
FN: 0004905