BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 673|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 673
Author: Cox (R)
Amended: 5/7/09
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 5/6/09
AYES: Wiggins, Cox, Kehoe, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad
SUBJECT : Public utility districts
SOURCE : Tahoe City Public Utility District
DIGEST : This bill allows the board of directors of a
public utility district to adopt an ordinance that provides
that a director at large may be elected by receiving the
greatest number of votes districtwide.
ANALYSIS : Locally elected boards of directors govern the
53 public utility districts. The state law that governs
public utility districts describes how the districts elect
their directors at-large. Candidates must identify
themselves as running for the office of "director at large"
number one, number two, and so on. At the election, the
candidates who declared for a seat with a designated number
run for just that seat. The candidate with the highest
vote total for a given seat prevails.
This bill allows the board of directors of a district to
adopt an ordinance that requires that candidates for
CONTINUED
SB 673
Page
2
directors at large need not designate a numbered office,
instead, the candidates receiving the greatest number of
votes districtwide as there are directors to be elected
shall be elected to the board of directors.
Comments
The Tahoe City Public Utility District serves portions of
Placer and El Dorado counties in the Lake Tahoe basin. The
District notes that the public utility district at-large
elections are not truly at large. The two or three
candidates who get the most votes throughout a public
utility district do not necessarily win election to the
board of directors because they must declare for a seat
with a designated number. The District wants the
Legislature to allow public utility districts to conduct
elections that are truly at large.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/7/09)
Tahoe City Public Utility District (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office indicates that
current law does not provide for true "at large elections"
and prospective district board members are not elected, in
total, by popular vote. Instead, candidates must first
declare which seat he or she intends to fill (Director at
large number one, number two) and the highest vote total
for a given seat prevail. There are no corresponding
geographic boundaries identified with the specific seats
and/or candidates do not necessarily need to reside within
a given ward boundary. Candidates wishing to file, need to
arbitrarily declare which 'director at large" seat he or
she intend to vie for, devaluing the notion of true "at
large" election outcomes. This bill provides public
utility districts with the option to hold at large
elections wherein those candidates receiving the highest
number of votes regardless of ward, seat or boundary will
fill open or contested seats.
SB 673
Page
3
AGB:mw 5/8/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****