BILL NUMBER: AB 1676 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fuentes
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Jeffries and Solorio )
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 the Legislature, or a public office
in a county, city, or school district, 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 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 a
public office at the time of in a
county, city, or school district on or after the effective date
of the bill. Commencing with As to
persons holding these offices serving terms of office
beginning that commence 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 provide that its provisions apply
to Members of the Legislature only for terms of office that commence
on or after December 3, 2012. The bill would authorize
enforcement of its provisions by the Attorney General,
a the 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 provisions or the
county counsel of a county for a violation involving a jurisdiction
located wholly or partially within that county, or by the city
attorney of a city for a violation involving a jurisdiction located
wholly or partially within that city .
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 majority . 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
the Legislature, or to a public office in a county, a city, or a
school district, shall 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 so as to exclude his or her place of residence .
(b) A person who violates subdivision (a) shall immediately
forfeit his or her office and is disqualified from holding any state
or local public office for a period of three years.
(c) A person who violates violation of
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) 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. An action
to enforce this section may be brought by the Attorney General, the
district attorney or county counsel of a county for a violation
involving a jurisdiction located wholly or partially within that
county, or the city attorney of a city for a violation involving a
jurisdiction located wholly or partially within that city.
(e) Except for (1)
As to Members of the Legislature, subdivisions
this section applies only to terms of office that
commence on or after December 3, 2012.
(2) Subdivisions (a) and (b)
shall be applied apply retroactively to
all persons holding state or local public office at the
time of a public office in a county, city, or school
district on or after the effective date of the statute that
added this section. Subdivision (c) shall apply
applies only to persons serving
holding these offices under terms of office commencing
that commence on or after November 2, 2010.
This paragraph does not apply to Members of the Legislature.
(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 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.