BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 93 HEARING DATE:
3/17/11
AUTHOR: LARA ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 3/14/11
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Elections: City of Bell
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides, that upon completion of the canvass
of a local election the elections official shall certify
the results to the relevant governing body who, by
resolution, shall declare the persons receiving the highest
number of votes elected. These and other related steps
must be completed according to specified timelines.
This bill would instead provide that for the March 8, 2011
City of Bell election, upon completion of the canvass by
the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, the
City of Bell City Clerk shall certify the results to the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who shall declare
the results of the election.
BACKGROUND
Last fall, eight current and former City of Bell officials
were arrested and charged with various crimes, including
misappropriation of public funds and defrauding taxpayers
of roughly $5.5 million. Among those arrested were three
of four sitting City Council Members who, since the arrest,
have been charged in the corruption scandal.
In February, at the conclusion of the preliminary hearings,
a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the three City
Council Members to stay 100 yards from City Hall and
prohibited them from engaging in any city business. As a
result of the court's order the city is currently without a
functioning city council.
On March 8, 2011, the City of Bell held a General Municipal
Election, Special Recall Election and Special Election to
Fill a Vacancy. Under the provisions of the city's
charter, the City Clerk is required to certify the canvass
of the vote in any general or special election. The city's
charter further requires that all municipal elections are
to be held, canvassed, and conducted, as set forth in state
law. In accordance with Sections 10262 and 10263 of the
Elections Code, the City Clerk is required to certify the
results to the city council, and once the canvass is
complete, the city council is required to declare the
results of the election and install the newly elected
council members.
The court's order directly impacts the city's ability to
certify, declare the results and install the new city
council, following the March 8, 2011 elections. Given the
absence of a functioning city council and the statutory
requirement that the city council declare the election
results the Legislature is being asked in this bill to
provide an alternative procedure for the certification,
declaration, and installation of the new city council.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , AB 93 will serve to ensure
that the City of Bell has a sound mechanism for the
certification, declaration of results and installation
of officers following the City's March 8, 2011
elections.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: City of Bell
Support: None received
Oppose: None received
AB 93 (LARA) Page
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AB 93 (LARA) Page
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