BILL NUMBER: AB 145	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 6, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 13, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 21, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 16, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly  Members  
Galgiani,     Bonnie Lowenthal,
    and Gordon  
Member   Pan 
    (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member
  Galgiani   ) 
    (   Principal coauthor:   Senator 
 Correa   ) 

                        JANUARY 13, 2011

    An act to amend Section 13975 of the Government Code, and
to repeal and add Division 19.5 (commencing with Section 185000) of
the Public Utilities Code, relating to high-speed rail. 
 An act to amend Sections 2159.5 and 18108.5 of, and to add
Section 18109.5 to, the Elections Code, relating to elections. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 145, as amended,  Galgiani   Pan  .
 High-speed rail.   Voter registration: paid
registration activities.  
   Existing law authorizes any person, company, or other organization
that complies with specified conditions to agree to pay money or
other valuable consideration, on a per-affidavit basis or otherwise,
to any person who assists another person to register to vote by
receiving the completed affidavit of registration.  
   This bill would prohibit any person, company, or other
organization from agreeing to pay money or other valuable
consideration on a per-affidavit basis to any person who assists
another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration, would prohibit the receipt of this
per-affidavit consideration, and would make conforming changes. A
violation of these prohibitions would be a misdemeanor.  
   Existing law requires an elections official to notify the payor of
a person who assists others to register to vote if 3 or more
affidavits submitted by the person assisting do not comply with
specified provisions.  
   This bill would provide that this notification is required when 3
or more affidavits submitted by the person assisting each reflects a
violation of one or more of those provisions.  
   By defining a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.  
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.  
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.  
   Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the
High-Speed Rail Authority with 9 members to develop and implement a
high-speed train system in the state, with specified powers and
duties. Existing law, pursuant to that act, specifies the powers and
duties of the authority, which include entering into contracts with
private and public entities for the design, construction, and
operation of high-speed trains, the acquisition of rights-of-way
through purchase or eminent domain, and the relocation of highways
and utilities, among other things. Existing law requires the
authority to adopt and submit to the Legislature, every 2 years, a
business plan. Existing law authorizes the authority to appoint an
executive director, and authorizes the Governor to appoint up to 6
additional persons exempt from civil service. Existing law provides
for the authority to establish an independent peer review group.
Existing law, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act
for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the
November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of
$9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and
related purposes.  
   This bill would repeal all of the provisions of the California
High-Speed Rail Act. The bill would enact a new California High-Speed
Rail Act. The bill would continue the High-Speed Rail Authority in
existence with limited responsibilities and would place the authority
within the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. The 5
members of the authority appointed by the Governor would be subject
to Senate confirmation, but existing members could continue to serve
the remainder of their terms. The bill would authorize the authority
to appoint an executive director, and would provide for the Governor
to appoint up to 6 additional individuals exempt from civil service
as authority staff. The bill would require the authority to adopt
policies directing the development and implementation of high-speed
rail, prepare and adopt a business plan and high-speed train capital
program, establish a peer review group, select alignments for the
routes of the high-speed train system established by law, adopt
criteria for the award of franchises, and set fares or establish
guidelines for the setting of fares. The bill would enact other
related provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  no   yes  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 2159.5 of the  
Elections Code   is amended to read: 
   2159.5.  Any person, company, or other organization that agrees to
pay money or other valuable consideration  , whether on a
per-affidavit basis or otherwise,  to any person who assists
another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration, shall do all of the following:
   (a) Maintain a list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers
of all individuals that the person, company, or other organization
has agreed to compensate for assisting others to register to vote,
and shall provide to each person receiving that consideration a
written statement of that person's personal responsibilities and
liabilities under Sections 2138, 2139, 2150, 2158, 2159, 18100,
18101, 18103, 18106, 18108, 18108.1, and 18108.5. Receipt of the
written statement shall be acknowledged, in writing, by the person
receiving the consideration, and the acknowledgment shall be kept by
the person, company, or organization that agrees to compensate that
person. All records required by this subdivision shall be maintained
for a minimum of three years, and shall be made available to the
elections official, the Secretary of State, or an appropriate
prosecuting agency, upon demand. As an alternate to maintaining the
records required by this subdivision, the records may be filed with
the county elections official, who shall retain those records for a
minimum of three years. The county elections official may charge a
fee, not to exceed actual costs, for storing records pursuant to this
subdivision.
   (b) Not render any payment or promised consideration unless the
information specified in Section 2159 has been affixed personally on
the affidavit in the handwriting of the person with whom the
agreement for payment was made.
   (c) At the time of submission of affidavits to elections
officials, identify and separate those affidavits into groups that do
and that do not comply with the requirements of Sections 2150 and
2159. A signed acknowledgment shall be attached to each group of
affidavits identifying a group as in compliance with Sections 2150
and 2159, and a group as not in compliance with either Section 2150
or 2159, or both.
   (d) Failure to comply with this section shall not cause the
invalidation of the registration of the voter    unless
the registration of the   voter is found to be invalid
pursuant to any other section of this division  .
   SEC. 2.    Section 18108.5 of the  
Elections Code   is amended to read: 
   18108.5.  (a) Any person, company, or other organization that
agrees to pay money or other valuable consideration  ,
whether on a per-affidavit basis or otherwise,  to any
person who assists another person to register to vote by receiving
the completed affidavit of registration who fails to comply with
Section 2159.5, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by
a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months or  ,
 when the failure to comply is found to be willful, not
exceeding one year, or  both   by both that fine
and imprisonment  .
   (b) Any person, company, or other organization that agrees to pay
money or other valuable consideration  , whether on a
per-affidavit basis or otherwise,  to any person who assists
another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration, upon a third or subsequent conviction, on
charges brought and separately tried, for failure to comply with
Section 2159.5 shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not to
exceed one year, or  both     by 
 both that fine and imprisonment  .
   (c) An elections official shall notify any person, company, or
other organization that agrees to pay money or other valuable
consideration  , whether on a per-affidavit basis or
otherwise,  to any person who assists another person to
register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration
 ,   that   when  three
or more affidavits of registration submitted by a person who assisted
 another   others  to register to vote
 do not comply with   each reflects a violation
of one or more of  Sections 18100, 18101, 18103,  or
  and  18106. The elections official may forward a
copy of each of the noncomplying affidavits of registration to the
district attorney, who may make a determination whether probable
cause exists to believe that a violation of  this division or any
other  law has occurred.
   (d) This section shall not apply to any public agency or its
employees that is designated as a voter registration agency pursuant
to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973gg), when an elector asks for assistance to register to vote
during the course and scope of the agency's normal business.
   SEC. 3.    Section 18109.5 is added to the  
Elections Code   , to read:  
   18109.5.  (a) Any person who offers to pay or pays money or other
valuable consideration to another person, either directly or
indirectly, on a per-affidavit basis to assist another person to
register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration
is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (b) Any person who receives money or other valuable consideration,
either directly or indirectly, on a per-affidavit basis to assist
another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit payment
for assisting another person to register to vote by receiving the
completed affidavit which is not, either directly or indirectly, on a
per-affidavit basis. 
   SEC. 4.    No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.  All matter omitted in this version of
the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Senate, July 13, 2011.
(JR11)