BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2524
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Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2524 (Evans) - As Amended: April 27, 2010
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:6-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Attorney General (AG), effective July 1,
2011, to submit a copy of the text of a proposed initiative to
the Secretary of State (SOS) for posting on the SOS website,
along with the name of the initiative proponents, for 30 days to
facilitate public comment on the measure. This bill also:
1)Allows any person to comment on the text of the proposed
initiative through the SOS's website, and requires all
comments to remain public for at least 90 days after the
proposed initiative is posted.
2)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:
a) Direct the AG 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.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown, but potential ongoing General Fund costs of up to
$90,000 for up to one full-time position at the SOS to monitor
public comments and remove inappropriate comments. (The SOS
website currently lists 80 initiatives cleared for circulation.)
COMMENTS
AB 2524
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1)Purpose . The author indicates that several approved
initiatives have contained language that was later found to be
unclear, subject to various interpretations, or
unconstitutional. The author contents that such 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 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."
A recommendation in 2008 report (Democracy by Initiative)
released by the Center for Governmental Studies calls for an
initiative 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 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."
2)Prior Legislation . AB 1245 (Laird) of 2003, which was a
substantially similar bill, was vetoed. The governor
expressed concern with the General Fund cost impact as well as
the notion that because an initiative could receive either a
negative or positive public comment while displayed on the SOS
website, the public may see one version of the initiative
prior to the election and an entirely different initiative
during the election.
3)Related Legislation . AB 1968 (Niello), also on today's
committee agenda, provides the Legislative Analyst's Office
with exclusive responsibilities with regard to state
initiatives and referenda, and modifies the time allowed for
preparing the title and summary and fiscal estimate for
proposed initiative measures. Implementation of AB 1968 is
AB 2524
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contingent on enactment of ACA 20, which failed in the
Assembly Elections Committee last year.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081