BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1668
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1668 (Knight)
As Amended May 24, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(April 15, |SENATE: |29-0 |(June 17, |
| | |2010) | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Extends the amount of time a city council has to fill a
vacancy by appointment in an elective city office. Changes the
number of city council members that hold office following the first
general municipal election in a newly incorporated city that elects
council members at large. Makes various non-substantive changes to
existing law to make references to city council members gender
neutral. Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends the amount of time that a city council has to fill a
vacancy in an elective city office, including the office of mayor,
from 30 days to 60 days from the date of the vacancy.
2)Decreases the number of city council members in a newly
incorporated city that elects council members at large that hold
office until the first general municipal election after
incorporation from three to two and increases the number of city
council members that hold office until the second general
municipal election after incorporation from two to three.
The Senate amendments change the references to city "councilman" and
"councilmen" to city "council member" and "council members" in
various provisions of law and are consistent with Assembly actions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was similar to the version
approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Current law dictates that a
city council must fill a vacant council position within 30 days from
the time the member steps down. It requires that the council either
appoint a replacement, or they must schedule a special election if
they cannot come to an agreement. This law results in an unnecessary
financial burden on the citizens of the city when the council is
AB 1668
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only provided 30 days to not only agree upon a replacement but also
undergo the process of appointing the chosen replacement. AB 1668
would allow a city council seat to remain vacant for up to 60 days
before a city council must appoint a new member or call a special
election.
"In addition, this bill conforms three sections of the Government
Code pertaining to city council election terms of newly incorporated
cities. By conforming GC Section 57377 and Section 57379 with GC
Section 34884 it ensures that regardless of which of those three
election systems the people initially choose, if they decide later
to be represented differently, the same number of council members
would be up for reelection at the first election following
incorporation."
This bill is similar to AB 18 (Knight) of 2009. The measure was
vetoed by the Governor, who stated that "30 days is a sufficient
amount of time for a city council to fill a vacancy in an elective
city office by appointment or to call a special election."
Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0004466