BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 684
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 684 (Block)
As Amended April 25, 2011
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 15-1
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|Ayes:|Fong, Logue, Bonilla, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Gatto, Swanson, Valadao | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| | | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Gatto, Hall, Hill, |
| | | |Lara, Mitchell, Nielsen, |
| | | |Norby, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes a procedure for the governing board of a
community college district (CCD) to change election systems,
including moving from at-large elections to elections by trustee
area, without voter approval, subject to certain conditions.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits a CCD, in accordance with the California Voting Rights
Act (CVRA), and upon adoption by the governing board of a
resolution in support and the approval of the Board of
Governors (BOG) of the California Community Colleges, to
change elections systems as follows:
a) Permits a CCD to change from electing board members
at-large to electing members by trustee-areas. Requires
one member to be elected from each trustee area. Requires
the governing board to set the boundaries of each trustee
area to reflect substantially equal population in each
district;
b) Permits a CCD to establish a top-two primary election
system, with elections held on the same date as statewide
elections; and,
AB 684
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c) Permits the governing board of a CCD to divide the
territory of the CCD into not fewer than five and not more
than nine trustee areas.
2)Provides that this bill does not apply to a CCD that has been
authorized by statute to provide for its own trustee
elections.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits the county committee on school district organization,
upon petition of the governing board of any CCD, to provide
for the establishment, rearrangement, or abolishment of
trustee areas. Requires the resolution of the county
committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish trustee
areas to be submitted to the voters.
2)Prohibits, pursuant to the CVRA, an at-large method of
election from being imposed or applied in a political
subdivision in a manner that impairs the ability of a
protected class of voters to elect the candidate of its choice
or to influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the
dilution or the abridgement of the rights of voters who are
members of a protected class.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minor absorbable costs to the BOG to consider requests from
CCDs pursuant to the bill's provisions.
2)Potential significant savings to individual districts and to
counties in avoiding the costs of elections seeking approval
to change from at-large to trustee-area representation.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Last year, the U.S.
Department of Commerce's Census Bureau conducted the decennial
census of the country's population. In addition to
congressional and state legislative redistricting, the census
marks the time for certain local government entities to
redistrict, including community college districts. Since the
last redistricting in 2001, there have been significant changes
to the law governing elections. The purpose of AB 684 is to
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bring community college districts into conformity with the new
requirements."
Under existing law, a CCD board can be organized so that members
are elected at-large or by trustee areas. For any CCD that
wishes to move from at-large elections to a trustee area method
of election, existing law requires the voters of the CCD to
approve the change. If the voters reject the proposed change,
the district must continue holding elections using an at-large
method of election.
SB 976 (Polanco), Chapter 129, Statutes of 2002, enacts the CVRA
to address racial block voting in at-large elections for local
office in California. Since the enactment of the CVRA, a number
of local jurisdictions have converted or are in the process of
converting from an at-large method of election to district-based
elections.
Existing law permits the State Board of Education (SBE) to waive
all or part of any section of the Education Code, with certain
identified exceptions, upon request by the governing board of a
school district or county board of education. Some school
districts that have sought to move from at-large elections to
district-based elections since the enactment of the CVRA have
applied to the SBE for a waiver, and have received such a
waiver, from the requirement that the change from at-large to
district elections be approved by the voters of the district.
This bill enacts a similar waiver process for CCDs through the
BOG.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0000594