BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 193|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 193
Author: Knight (R)
Amended: 4/26/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMENDMENTS COMM. : 5-0, 6/8/11
AYES: Correa, La Malfa, De Le�n, Gaines, Lieu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-1, 5/2/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Polling place designation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill prohibits a single family home from
being designated as a polling place if it is the residence
of a registered sex offender. Specifically, this bill (1)
prohibits a single family home from being designated as a
polling place if it is the residence of a person who is
required to register pursuant to the Sex Offender
Registration Act, and (2) requires elections officials, at
a minimum, to consult the Megan's Law Web site that is
maintained by the Department of Justice prior to
designating a location as a polling place.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Generally requires persons convicted of enumerated sex
offenses pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act
(SORA) to register within five working days of coming
into a city or county, with specified law enforcement
officials in the city, county, or city and county where
he/she is domiciled.
2. Requires the elections official to designate a polling
place for each precinct at least 29 days prior to the
election.
Comments
According to the author, "Several articles were published
this past summer outlining the discovery of polling
locations being at the residences of registered sex
offenders. When the news station decided to investigate
further, the results were astonishing. It was discovered
in a rough search that there were 19 polling places in 5
bay area counties that were listed on Megan's Law website
as the residences of sex offenders. Often, at polling
locations, high school students volunteer, parents bring
their children and there is an expectation of security.
When there are so many options available for locations, why
would a polling location be placed at the residence of a
sex offender? When information regarding sex offender
locations is available on a comprehensive public database,
the Counties and State should consult it prior to
designating a polling place."
According to information from the United States Election
Assistance Commission, there were more than 15,000 polling
places open in California on Election Day for the 2008
Presidential General Election. Under the provisions of
this bill, elections officials will be required to look up
every single family home that potentially will be used as a
polling place on the state's sex offender registry before
designating any of those residences as a polling place.
The exact number of polling places that are located at
single family residences in a typical election is unknown,
and the percentage of polling places located at single
family residences varies significantly from county to
county. However, based on a review of polling locations in
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selected counties for the November 2010 General Election,
it appears likely that not more than 10 percent of polling
places statewide are located at single family residences.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/27/11)
California Police Chiefs Association
Crime Victims United of California
Klaas Kids Foundation
San Diego County Board of Supervisors
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mansoor, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Ammiano
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Gorell, Hueso,
Mendoza, Skinner, Vacancy
DLW:mw 6/28/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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