BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 93
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 21, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 93 (Lara) - As Amended: March 14, 2011
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(February 22, |SENATE: |35-0 |(March 17, 2011) |
| | |2011) | | | |
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(vote not relevant)
SUBJECT : Elections: City of Bell.
SUMMARY : Establishes an alternate procedure for the declaration
of election results for, and the installation of officers
elected at, the March 8, 2011, municipal election in the City of
Bell.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Allow the City of Bell, in lieu of complying with specified
provisions of the Elections Code, to comply with the following
procedure with respect to its March 8, 2011, municipal
election, subject to the approval of the Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors:
a) Requires the Bell City Clerk to certify the results of
the election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
upon completion of the canvass of the votes by the Los
Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk;
b) Requires the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to
adopt a resolution reciting the fact of the election and
declaring the results of the election within seven days of
the Bell City Clerk's certification of the election
results; and,
c) Requires the Bell City Clerk to install the newly
elected officers at Bell City Hall within 48 hours of the
time that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
AB 93
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adopts the resolution declaring the results of the
election.
2)Add an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the elections official who conducts a municipal
election to conduct the canvass of that election and to
certify the results of the election to the governing body upon
completion of the canvass.
2)Requires the city council, upon receipt from the city
elections official of a certification of election results for
a municipal election and before installing the new officers,
to adopt a resolution reciting the fact of the election.
Requires the governing body to declare elected the persons for
whom the highest number of votes was cast for each office, and
to install the newly elected officers.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill expressed the intent of the
Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget
Act of 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Last fall, eight current and former 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.
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On March 8, 2011, the City 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 it is necessary for the legislature to
provide an alternative procedure for the certification,
declaration, and installation of the new city council.
Urgent action is needed to ensure that the election is
certified, the results are declared, and that the newly
elected City Council Members are installed. Given the
recent events in the City, and in an effort to restore the
public's confidence in its government and the election
process, it is necessary to install the newly elected
officers in an expeditious manner.
2)Bell General Municipal and Recall Election : As noted by the
author above, last September, eight current and former Bell
city officials were arrested, including four of the five
sitting city council members at the time. At the time of the
arrests, a recall effort was underway against those four
council members. The recall against all four council members
qualified for the ballot, and the recall election was
scheduled for March 8, 2011, to coincide with the city's
general municipal election. Although one of the council
members who was the subject of the recall subsequently
resigned, the recall election nonetheless proceeded against
that official because he resigned after recall petitions had
been submitted for signature verification.
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At the request of the City of Bell, the recall and general
municipal election was conducted by the Los Angeles County
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Based on the semi-final
official election returns, each of the four council members
was successfully recalled, with over 95 percent of the vote
cast in favor of each of the four recalls.
Based on the election calendar published by the Los Angeles
County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, the election results
tentatively were scheduled to be certified by the
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk on March 18, 2011, and the Los
Angeles County Board of Supervisors tentatively is scheduled
to declare the election results official on March 22, 2011.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pedro Carrillo, City of Bell Interim Chief Administrative
Officer (sponsor)
James Casso, City of Bell Interim City Attorney (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094