BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2524
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 2524 (Evans) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUBJECT : Elections: initiative measures.
SUMMARY : Requires the Attorney General (AG) to submit a copy
of the text of a proposed initiative measure to the Secretary of
State (SOS) for posting on the SOS's Internet web site for 30
days to facilitate public comment on the measure. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires the AG to submit a copy of the text proposed for an
initiative measure to the SOS.
2)Requires the SOS to post the initiative on his or her Internet
web site for 30 days, along with the names of its proponents.
3)Allows any person to comment on the text of the proposed
initiative through the SOS's Internet web site, and requires
that all comments remain public and on the web site for at
least 90 days after the proposed initiative is posted.
4)Allows the proponents of an initiative measure, no earlier
than 30 days and no more than 120 days after the text of that
initiative has been posted on the SOS's web site, to do the
following:
a) Direct the AG, in writing, to prepare a circulating
title and summary of the proposed initiative as
originally presented;
b) Prepare a circulating title and summary of the
proposed revised initiative; or
c) Post the revised text of the proposed initiative on
the SOS's web site for another 30-day review period.
5)Provides that the provisions of this bill become operative on
July 1, 2011.
EXISTING LAW :
AB 2524
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1)Requires the proponents of a proposed initiative or referendum
measure to submit the text of the proposed measure to the AG
with a written request that a circulating title and summary of
the measure be prepared, prior to circulating the petition for
signatures.
2)Establishes a process for the AG to prepare a summary of the
chief purposes and points of a proposed measure. Requires the
AG to provide a copy of the circulating title and summary to
the 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).
3)Allows the proponents of an initiative to amend the proposed
measure prior to the preparation of a circulating title and
summary.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
In the legislative process, the language of a bill is made
public, there are public hearings, and a measure may be
amended. The legislative process can take upwards of six
months. In contrast, in the initiative process, the
language of a measure can be written, submitted, and
qualified without public input. A number of approved
initiatives have included language that was later found to
be unclear, with various possible interpretations, or
unconstitutional. In some cases, these problems have
resulted in substantial delays in implementing the will of
the voters, costs related to litigation, and the time and
expense for courts to resolve issues.
AB 2524 would establish a 30-day Internet-based public
comment period for a proposed statewide initiative, prior
to circulation for signatures. After the draft language of
an initiative is submitted to the Attorney General, the
Attorney General would deliver the language to the
Secretary of State, who would post the draft on his or her
AB 2524
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Internet Web site for 30 calendar days for the purpose of
permitting public comment on the draft. Any person would
be allowed to comment on the draft of the proposed
initiative. Comments would be public.
2)AG's Process for Preparing Ballot Summaries and Titles :
Before circulating a measure, initiative proponents must first
submit their proposal to the AG's office. The AG obtains a
fiscal analysis from the DOF and the JLBC and then provides
the proponent with a title and summary that must be placed at
the top of each petition. Current law states that proponents
must pay a $200 fee to the AG, a fee that is refunded if the
initiative qualifies for the ballot.
3)Will This Bill Promote Greater Public Comment ? In describing
the purpose of this bill, the author contends that a 30-day
public comment period will provide the opportunity for
proponents to amend an initiative text, which could result in
the less likelihood that an initiative measure would result in
unintended consequences. The bill does not prevent a
proponent from receiving public comment on the text of a "spot
initiative" and then after the 30-day posting period submit a
substantially revised initiative text to the AG for ballot
title and summary preparation.
The committee may wish to consider whether the bill will
increase public comment or as an unintended consequence, deter
public comment because the public may see one version of the
initiative during the 30-day public comment period and then an
entirely different initiative after the ballot title and
summary have been completed. Additionally, current law does
not prohibit proponents from posting the initiative text
online for public comment. Currently, proponents can solicit
public comments before they submit a measure to the AG for
title and summary preparation.
4)Should Proponents Be Allowed to Amend Their Initiative Before
It Goes on the Ballot ? According to a 2008 report released by
the Center for Governmental Studies, titled Democracy by
Initiative, one of the recommendations calls for the proponent
to be allowed to place either their original initiative or an
amended version of that initiative on the ballot after a
30-day public comment period. According to the report,
"[p]roponent amendability is important to any reform effort,
[in that it] will allow proponents to correct errors or
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omissions in the texts of their initiatives before they appear
on the ballot. . . . [and] it will allow proponents to remove
defects from initiatives that might otherwise become enshrined
into law."
5)Technical Issue : The changes that this bill would make to
Section 9002 of the Elections Code would duplicate language
that currently exists elsewhere in the code. To avoid adding
duplicative language to the code without changing the policy
that this bill proposes, committee staff recommends that
Sections 1 and 2 of this bill be deleted.
6)Previous Legislation : AB 1245 (Laird) of 2003 was a
substantially similar bill that would have required the AG to
forward a copy of a proposed initiative to the SOS who would
then post the draft his or her web site for 30 days to
facilitate public comment on the measure. AB 1245 was vetoed
by the Governor who expressed concern with the General Fund
cost associated with the bill as well as the notion that
because an initiative could receive either a negative or
positive public comment while displayed on the SOS web site,
the public may see one version of the initiative prior to the
election and an entirely different initiative during the
election.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094