BILL NUMBER: AB 1726 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
An act to amend Section 6258 of the Penal Code, relating
to inmates. An act to amend Section 1363.03 of the
Civil Code, relating to common interest developments.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1726, as amended, Swanson. Inmates: reentry.
Common interest developments: ballots: quorums.
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act governs the
establishment and management of common interest developments. These
provisions require that a common interest development be managed by
an association and that elections related to the governance or
administration of the common interest development conform to
specified requirements, including the establishment of a quorum.
Existing law provides for votes on specified matters to be held by
secret ballot and requires the ballots to be sent, with 2
preaddressed envelopes, to each member of the association, in
accordance with the model used by California counties for ensuring
confidentiality of "vote by mail" ballots.
This bill would clarify that the ballots are mailed in accordance
with the model used by California counties for ensuring
confidentiality of "voter absentee" ballots, and would specify that
each ballot be placed into an inner envelope that is sealed and then
placed into an outside mailing envelope addressed to the inspector
for the election.
This bill would provide that, in the event there is not a quorum
for a members meeting or for an election of directors, the meeting
may be adjourned and that the subsequent members meeting or election
of directors would require a quorum of 33% of the association
membership entitled to vote. This bill would provide that these
provisions do not apply to any other part of the act.
This bill would also make technical, clarifying changes to that
provision.
Existing law provides that the Secretary of Corrections and
Rehabilitation may contract for the establishment and operation of
community correctional reentry centers, as specified.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1363.03 of the Civil
Code is amended to read:
1363.03. (a) An association shall adopt rules, in accordance with
the procedures prescribed by Article 4 (commencing with Section
1357.100) of Chapter 2, that do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that if any candidate or member advocating a point of
view is provided access to association media, newsletters, or
Internet Web sites during a campaign, for purposes that are
reasonably related to that election, equal access shall be provided
to all candidates and members advocating a point of view, including
those not endorsed by the board, for purposes that are reasonably
related to the election. The association shall not edit or redact any
content from these communications, but may include a statement
specifying that the candidate or member, and not the association, is
responsible for that content.
(2) Ensure access to the common area meeting space, if any exists,
during a campaign, at no cost, to all candidates, including those
who are not incumbents, and to all members advocating a point of
view, including those not endorsed by the board, for purposes
reasonably related to the election.
(3) Specify the qualifications for candidates for the board of
directors and any other elected position, and procedures for the
nomination of candidates, consistent with the governing documents.
A
(4) A nomination or election
procedure shall not be deemed reasonable if it disallows any member
of the association from nominating himself or herself for election to
the board of directors.
(4)
(5 ) Specify the qualifications for voting,
the voting power of each membership, the authenticity, validity, and
effect of proxies, and the voting period for elections, including the
times at which polls will open and close, consistent with the
governing documents.
(5)
(6 ) Specify a method of selecting one or
three independent third parties as inspector, or inspectors, of
election utilizing one of the following methods:
(A) Appointment of the inspector or inspectors by the board.
(B) Election of the inspector or inspectors by the members of the
association.
(C) Any other method for selecting the inspector or inspectors.
(6)
(7 ) Allow the inspector, or inspectors, to
appoint and oversee additional persons to verify signatures and to
count and tabulate votes as the inspector or inspectors deem
appropriate, provided that the persons are independent third parties.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law or provision of the governing
documents, elections regarding assessments legally requiring a vote,
election and removal of members of the association board of
directors, amendments to the governing documents, or the grant of
exclusive use of common area property pursuant to Section 1363.07
shall be held by secret ballot in accordance with the procedures set
forth in this section. A quorum shall be required only if so stated
in the governing documents of the association or other provisions of
law. If a quorum is required by the governing documents, each
ballot outside mailing envelope completed
pursuant to subdivision (f) received by the inspector of
elections shall be treated as a member present at a meeting for
purposes of establishing a quorum. An association shall allow for
cumulative voting using the secret ballot procedures provided in this
section, if cumulative voting is provided for in the governing
documents.
(c) (1) The association shall select an independent third party or
parties as an inspector of election. The number of inspectors of
election shall be one or three.
(2) For the purposes of this section, an independent third party
includes, but is not limited to, a volunteer poll worker with the
county registrar of voters, a licensee of the California Board of
Accountancy, or a notary public. An independent third party may be a
member of the association, but may not be a member of the board of
directors or a candidate for the board of directors or related to a
member of the board of directors or a candidate for the board of
directors. An independent third party may not be a person, business
entity, or subdivision of a business entity who
that is currently employed by or under contract
to with the association for any
compensable services unless expressly authorized by rules of the
association adopted pursuant to paragraph (5)
(6) of subdivision (a).
(3) The inspector or inspectors of election shall do all of the
following:
(A) Determine the number of memberships entitled to vote and the
voting power of each.
(B) Determine the authenticity, validity, and effect of proxies,
if any.
(C) Receive ballots.
(D) Hear and determine all challenges and questions in any way
arising out of or in connection with the right to vote.
(E) Count and tabulate all votes.
(F) Determine when the polls shall close, consistent with the
governing documents.
(G) Determine the tabulated results of the election.
(H) Perform any acts as may be proper to conduct the election with
fairness to all members in accordance with this section, the
Corporations Code, and all applicable rules of the association
regarding the conduct of the election that are not in conflict with
this section.
(4) An inspector of election shall perform his or her duties
impartially, in good faith, to the best of his or her ability, and as
expeditiously as is practical. If there are three inspectors of
election, the decision or act of a majority shall be effective in all
respects as the decision or act of all. Any report made by the
inspector or inspectors of election is prima facie evidence of the
facts stated in the report.
(d) (1) For purposes of this
section, the following definitions shall apply:
(A)
(1 ) "Proxy" means a written authorization
signed by a member or the authorized representative of the member
that gives another member or members the power to vote on behalf of
that member.
(B) "Signed"
(2) "Sign or signed"
means the placing of the member's name on the proxy (whether by
manual signature, typewriting, telegraphic transmission, or
otherwise) by the member or authorized representative of the member.
(2)
(e ) Proxies shall not be construed or used
in lieu of a ballot. An association may use proxies if permitted or
required by the bylaws of the association and if those proxies meet
the requirements of this article, other laws, and the association's
governing documents, but the association shall not be required to
prepare or distribute proxies pursuant to this section.
(3) Any
section. Any instruction given in a proxy issued for an
election that directs the manner in which the proxyholder
p roxy holder is to cast the vote
shall be set forth on a separate page of the proxy that can be
detached and given to the proxyholder proxy
holder to retain. The proxyholder proxy
holder shall cast the member's vote by secret ballot. The
proxy may be revoked by the member prior to the receipt of the ballot
by the inspector of elections as described in Section 7613 of the
Corporations Code.
(e)
(f) Ballots and two preaddressed envelopes with
instructions on how to return ballots shall be mailed by first-class
mail or delivered by the association to every member not less than 30
days prior to the deadline for voting. In order to preserve
confidentiality, a voter may not be identified by name, address, or
lot, parcel, or unit number on the ballot. The association shall use
as a model those procedures used by California counties for ensuring
confidentiality of vote by mail voter
absentee ballots, including all of the following:
(1) The ballot itself is not signed by the voter, but is inserted
into an inner envelope that is sealed. This
The envelope is inserted into a second
an outside mailing envelope that is sealed. In
the upper left-hand corner of the second
outside mailing envelope, the voter shall sign his or her name
, indicate his or her name, and indicate the
address or separate interest identifier that entitles him or her to
vote.
(2) The second outside mailing
envelope is addressed to the inspector or inspectors of election, who
will be tallying the votes. The envelope may be mailed or delivered
by hand to a location specified by the inspector or inspectors of
election. The member may request a receipt for delivery.
(f)
(g) All votes shall be counted and tabulated by the
inspector or inspectors of election or his or her designee in public
at a properly noticed open meeting of the board of directors or
members. Any candidate or other member of the association may witness
the counting and tabulation of the votes. No person, including a
member of the association or an employee of the management company,
shall open or otherwise review any ballot prior to the time and place
at which the ballots are counted and tabulated. The inspector of
election, or his or her designee, may verify the member's information
and signature on the outer outside mailing
envelope prior to the meeting at which ballots are tabulated.
Once a secret ballot is received by the inspector of elections, it
shall be irrevocable.
(g)
(h) The tabulated results of the election shall be
promptly reported to the board of directors of the association and
shall be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting of the board of
directors and shall be available for review by members of the
association. Within 15 days of the election, the board shall
publicize the tabulated results of the election in a communication
directed to all members.
(h)
(i ) The sealed ballots at all times shall
be in the custody of the inspector or inspectors of election or at a
location designated by the inspector or inspectors until after the
tabulation of the vote, and until the time allowed by Section 7527 of
the Corporations Code for challenging the election has expired, at
which time custody shall be transferred to the association. If there
is a recount or other challenge to the election process, the
inspector or inspectors of election shall, upon written request, make
the ballots available for inspection and review by an association
member or his or her authorized representative. Any recount shall be
conducted in a manner that preserves the confidentiality of the vote.
(i)
(j ) After the transfer of the ballots to
the association, the ballots shall be stored by the association in a
secure place for no less than one year after the date of the
election.
(j)
(k ) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the rules adopted pursuant to this section may provide for the
nomination of candidates from the floor of membership meetings or
nomination by any other manner. Those rules may permit write-in
candidates for ballots.
(k)
( l ) Except for the meeting to
count the votes required in subdivision (f), an election may be
conducted entirely by mail unless otherwise specified in the
governing documents.
(l)
(m ) The provisions of this section apply to
both incorporated and unincorporated associations, notwithstanding
any contrary provision of the governing documents.
(m)
(n ) The procedures set forth in this
section shall apply to votes cast directly by the membership, but do
not apply to votes cast by delegates or other elected
representatives.
(n)
(o ) In the event of a conflict between this
section and the provisions of the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit
Corporation Law (Part 3 (commencing with Section 7110) of Division 2
of Title 1 of the Corporations Code) relating to elections, the
provisions of this section shall prevail.
(o) The amendments made to this section by the act adding this
subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2006.
(p) (1) In the event there is not a quorum for a members meeting
or for an election of directors the meeting may be adjourned. The
quorum required for the subsequent meeting or election of directors
shall be 33 percent of the association membership entitled to vote.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall only apply to this
section and are not applicable to any other provision in this title.
SECTION 1. Section 6258 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
6258. (a) The Secretary of Corrections and Rehabilitation may
contract for the establishment and operation of separate community
correctional reentry centers for men and women, provided that the
per-inmate cost for operating these facilities under contract will be
less than the per-inmate cost of maintaining custody of the inmates
by the department.
(b) The purpose of the community correctional reentry center is to
provide an enhancement program to increase the likelihood of a
successful parole. The objective of the program is to make the
inmates aware of their responsibility to society, and to assist the
inmates with educational and employment training to ensure
employability once on parole.
(c) A community correctional reentry center shall prepare the
inmate for reintegration into society. These centers shall provide
counseling in the areas of drug and alcohol abuse, stress, employment
skills, victim awareness, and shall, in general, prepare the inmate
for return to society. The program shall also emphasize literacy
training and utilize computer-supported training so that the inmate
can read and write at least at a ninth grade level.
(d) In awarding contracts pursuant to this section, the secretary
may entertain proposals for the establishment and operation of
community correctional reentry centers from public and private
entities and shall give preference to community correctional reentry
centers located near large population centers.