BILL NUMBER: AB 1676 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fuentes
JANUARY 21, 2010
An act to add Section 1065 to the Government Code, relating to
elected officials, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1676, as amended, Fuentes. Elected officials: residency
requirements.
The California Constitution requires that a person reside for one
year within the legislative district for which he or she seeks
election as a Member of the Legislature. Various statutory provisions
impose residency requirements on other specified elected officials
in California.
This bill would require that a person elected to a state or local
public office maintain his or her place of residence within the
jurisdiction within which voters are qualified to vote for the office
during his or her term of office. The bill would require a person
who violates this provision to immediately forfeit his or her office
and would disqualify the person from holding any state or local
public office in the future for a period of 3
years . The bill would provide that , except for Members
of the Legislature, these provisions would apply retroactively
to all persons holding state or local public office at the time of
the effective date of the bill. Commencing with persons serving terms
of office beginning on or after November 2, 2010, the bill would
also make a violation of the residency requirement punishable by
either a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 or a fine not to exceed
$1,000, imprisonment in a county jail for no more than 6 months, or
by both fine and imprisonment. The bill would authorize the
Attorney General, a district attorney, a county counsel, or
a city attorney with enforcement authority to enforce a
violation of these provisions. The bill would exempt a judge of
a court of record from the bill's pr ovisions.
By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1065 is added to the Government Code, to read:
1065. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
elected to state or local public office must continue to maintain his
or her place of residence within the jurisdiction in which voters
are qualified to vote for the office during his or her term of
office. A person does not violate this subdivision if, after being
elected for a term of office, the boundaries of the jurisdiction in
which voters are qualified to vote for the office are changed during
that term of office.
(b) A person who violates subdivision (a) shall immediately
forfeit his or her office and is forever
disqualified from holding any state or local public office for a
period of three years .
(c) A person who violates subdivision (a) is punishable by one of
the following:
(1) A civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(2) By imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or
by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both
that fine and imprisonment.
(d) A The Attorney General, a
district attorney, a county counsel, or a city
attorney shall have the authority to seek enforcement of this section
for a violation.
(e) Subdivisions Except for Members of the
Legislature, subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be applied
retroactively to all persons holding state or local public office at
the time of the effective date of the statute that added this section
, except that subdivision . Subdivision
(c) shall apply only to persons serving terms of office commencing
on or after November 2, 2010.
(f) This section does not apply to a judge of a court of record.
SEC. 2. The provisions of this section are severable. If any
provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
Because existing law is unclear as to whether a public official
must reside in the jurisdiction in which voters are qualified to vote
for the office during his or her incumbency in the office, it is
necessary that this act take immediate effect.
Because existing law is unclear as to whether state and local
officials must continue to reside within the districts that they
represent, every election can potentially result in a fraud on the
voters, as the public presumes that the persons elected to represent
them live within the district. Residency in the district is crucial
because, to effectively represent a district, an elected official
must possess knowledge of the needs and idiosyncrasies of the
communities that he or she represents. Therefore, it is necessary
that this act take immediate effect.