BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 732
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 18, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 732 (Buchanan) - As Amended: May 10, 2011
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Attorney General's (AG's) summary
prepared in the state voter pamphlet for each state bond measure
to include an explanatory table summarizing the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO's) estimated fiscal impact of the bond
measure.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible fiscal impact. For every additional page required in
the state ballot pamphlet, the cost is $66,000. However, the
Secretary of State's (SOS's) office formats the Voter
Information Guide in 16-page increments, thus there is often
blank space available for additional information. Moreover,
additional pages would likely not be necessary solely to include
a table in the summary for each bond measure proposed for voter
approval.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The author states that AB 732 is an effort to
decrease California's future debt obligations by improving
voter clarity on bond measures and their future fiscal
implications. AB 732 stems from a recommendation from the
Little Hoover Commission's 2009 report, Bond Spending:
Expanding and Enhancing Oversight.
2)Related Legislation . AB 65 (Gatto), which passed the Assembly,
requires that the top five contributors of $50,000 or more to
each committee supporting or opposing a proposition be listed
in the state ballot pamphlet.
AB 732
Page 2
AB 1021 (Gordon), also on today's committee agenda, requires
that specific language be provided for the title and summary
of a state initiative petition and be included in the analysis
of a state proposition if the estimated fiscal impact of a
proposed initiative or proposition meets specified criteria.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081