BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1396|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1396
Author: Torres (D)
Amended: 9/2/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS, REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COM. : 5-0, 6/16/09
AYES: Hancock, Walters, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/11/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Elections: state central committee
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill repeals provisions of the Elections
Code governing the membership and operations of the state
central committee of the Democratic Party of California
(Party), and instead requires that the standing rules and
bylaws of the Party govern the membership and operations of
the state central committee.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/2/09 remove "the procedure for
the adoption of a state party platform" provision from the
list of elements and practices the state central committee
of the Democratic Party of California shall follow.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law specifies the membership of, and governs the
CONTINUED
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operations of, the state central committee of the Party.
This bill repeals all provisions of the Elections Code
governing the membership and operations of the state
central committee of the Party.
This bill requires the elements and practices of the state
central committee of the Democratic Party to be the same as
set forth in the standing rules and bylaws of the Party,
including the following:
1. The membership of the state central committee.
2. The procedures for notifying members of appointments.
3. Proxy provisions.
4. The form of appointment of members to the state central
committee.
5. The officers, methods of electing officers, and their
terms.
6. Quorum requirements for meetings of the state central
committee.
7. The procedures for the conduct of committee proceedings.
This bill requires the state central committee to conduct
party campaigns for the Party and on behalf of candidates
of the Party. Requires the state central committee to
appoint committees and appoint and employ campaign
directors and perform all other activities relating to
campaign organizations it deems suitable or desirable and
in the best interest of the Party.
This bill requires the Party to post a current copy of its
standing rules and bylaws for public inspection on its
Internet Web site.
Background
Internal Governance : In Eu v. San Francisco County
Democratic Central Committee (1989), 489 U.S. 214, the
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United States Supreme Court examined the right of a state
to impose laws relating to the internal affairs of
political parties. The Court found that laws burdening the
associational rights of political parties and their members
must serve a compelling state interest. Therefore, because
a state has a compelling interest in preserving the
integrity of its election process, it may properly enact
laws that interfere with a political party's internal
affairs when necessary to ensure that elections are fair
and honest. (For example, a state may properly impose
certain eligibility requirements for voters in the general
election, even though they limit the ability of political
parties to garner support and members, where such
requirements are necessary to ensure that elections are
fair and honest.) However, a state cannot justify
regulating a party's internal affairs without showing that
such regulation is necessary to ensure an election that is
orderly and fair.
In Eu , the Court reiterated that a political party's
determination of the structure which best allows it to
pursue its political goals is protected by the Federal
Constitution ( Tashijian v. Republican Party of Connecticut
(1986), 479 U.S. 208 at 224) and further held that freedom
of association also encompasses a political party's
decisions about the identity of, and the process for
electing, its leaders. Thus, unless the state can show
that the particular internal party structure would
interfere with the integrity of the electoral process or
some other compelling state interest, the political parties
have a constitutional right to be free from state
regulations in the matter of their internal affairs.
As such, it has generally been the policy of the Senate
Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments
Committee to allow the provisions of state law relating to
a specific party to be amended as desired by the political
party.
Prior legislation
AB 965 (Anderson), Chapter 60, Statutes of 2007 , provides
that the membership of the state central committee of the
California Republican Party shall be as set forth in the
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standing rules and bylaws of the California Republican
Party, among other provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/2/09)
California Democratic Party
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
currently state law contains rules governing the operation
of the California Democratic Party. However the U.S.
Supreme Court has found in two cases that in most
circumstances the bylaws of a political party trump
provisions in the Elections Code. This can lead to
confusion when voters read state statute and believe those
are the rules governing the party's operation, creating an
unnecessary barrier to participation in the political
process.
AB 1396 repeals provisions that are unnecessary,
duplicative or in conflict with the state party bylaws and
specifies that the party's composition and procedures shall
be governed by its bylaws. This bill also mandates that
the California Democratic Party shall maintain a current
copy of its bylaws on the Internet to assure public access
to the party's governing rules.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
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Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Yamada
DLW:do 9/3/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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