BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1832 HEARING DATE:6/15/10
AUTHOR: SALDANA ANALYSIS BY:Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Initiative measures: filing fees
DESCRIPTION
Existing law establishes a process for the Attorney General
(AG) to prepare a summary of the chief purposes and points
of a proposed statewide initiative measure. Requires the
AG to provide a copy of the title and summary to the
Secretary of State (SOS) within 15 days after receipt of
the final version of a proposed initiative measure, or if a
fiscal estimate or opinion is to be included, within 15
days after receipt of the fiscal estimate or opinion
prepared by the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC).
Existing law requires proponents of any initiative measure,
at the time of submitting the draft of the measure to the
AG, to pay a fee of two hundred dollars ($200), which shall
be placed in a trust fund in the office of the Treasurer
and refunded to the proponents if the measure qualifies for
the ballot within two years from the date the summary is
furnished to the proponents. If the measure does not
qualify within that period, the fee shall be immediately
paid into the General Fund of the state.
This bill incrementally increases the fee that proponents
of an initiative measure are required to pay at the time of
submitting the draft of the measure to the Attorney General
(AG) from $200 to $2000. Specifically, this bill
establishes the following fee schedule:
$500 beginning in 2011
$1,000 beginning in 2013
$1,500 beginning in 2015
$2,000 beginning in 2017
BACKGROUND
Increasing Number of Initiatives and Ballot Summaries :
According to the AG's office, there has been a steady
increase in the number of statewide initiative proposals
submitted in the last few decades. The following
illustrates the increased number of filed initiative
proposals:
47 from 1960 to 1969
180 from 1970 to 1979
282 from 1980 to 1989
391 from 1990 to 1998
647 from 2000 to 2009
Although reports show that there has been a recent decline
in the number of voter approved initiatives, the AG is
still required to develop a title and summary for each
initiative, regardless of whether the initiative qualifies
for the ballot.
In California, proponents of an initiative measure must
submit the text of a measure to the AG's office for
preparation of a title and summary and pay a $200 filing
fee before they can circulate petitions for signatures.
Originally set in 1943, the filing fee was intended to
cover the administrative costs of the initiative process to
the state and to discourage frivolous proposals.
Over the course of the sixty-six years since the initiative
filing fee was designated, the nature of the initiative
process has changed dramatically. Data provided by the
AG's office shows the median cost in 2007-2008 to title and
summarize each of the 126 initiatives for that cycle was
$3,157. In total, the state received $22,800 in filing
fees but it spent $418,459 of taxpayer money (General Fund)
and 2933.75 hours of paid state attorney time to title and
summarize all 126 measures. One measure from the November
2008 General Election cost nearly $20,000 to title and
summarize; since the fee was refunded, the entire cost was
paid through the General Fund.
AB 1832 (SALDANA) Page
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COMMENTS
1.According to the author : AB 1832 would raise the
initiative measure filing fee from $200 to $2000 over a
period of six years. In 2011, the fee would initially
increase to $500 and continue to do so by $500 every two
years until 2017. This bill will generate additional
revenue to offset the administrative costs of the
initiative process as well as reduce costs by deterring
frivolous proposals. Originally set in 1943, the fee was
intended to cover the administrative costs of the
initiative process to the state and to discourage
frivolous proposals. According to the Consumer Price
Index, the value of the $200 in 1943 corresponds to
approximately $2,480 today.
2.How Do Other States Administer Filing Fees for Initiative
Petitions : According to the National Conference of State
Legislatures, there are a number of ways in which states
have addressed the issue of filing fees for initiative
petitions. States like Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and
Ohio do not require an initiative filing fee, while
others like Alaska, Mississippi, Washington and Wyoming
require anywhere from $5 to $500 for filing fees.
Currently only Alaska, California, and Washington allow
for refunds if petitions are properly filed or if
initiatives qualify for the ballot.
3.Previous Legislation : AB 436 (Saldana) of 2009 was
substantially similar to this bill, except that it would
have begun to increase the initiative filing fee in 2010
and every two years thereafter until 2018, at which time
the AG would have been required to adjust the fee for
inflation. AB 436 was vetoed by the Governor. In his
veto message, Governor Schwarzenegger argues that "the
original fee was established to deter frivolous filings
and that this bill would fundamentally alter the purpose
of the fees to instead be used to pay the administrative
costs borne by the AG. Using the fees to reimburse the
AG for actual costs sets a precedent of allowing the fees
to increase to the point that it would significantly
deter grassroots and volunteer efforts to qualify a
measure."
AB 1832 (SALDANA) Page
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PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 5-1
Assembly Floor: 48-29
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Common Cause
League of Women Voters of California
Oppose: Governor's office of Planning and Research
AB 1832 (SALDANA) Page
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