BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1851 HEARING DATE: 7/03/12
AUTHOR: ALLEN ANALYSIS BY: DARREN CHESIN
AMENDED: 4/24/12
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
County, city, and district initiative petitions
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires proponents of a local initiative,
before circulating any initiative petition in a county,
city, or special district, to file with the elections
official a notice of intention to do so. The notice must
include the names and business or residence addresses of at
least one, but no more than five, proponents of the
petition, and be accompanied by the written text of the
initiative and request that a ballot title and summary be
prepared. The notice of intention may also include a
printed statement, not exceeding 500 words, stating the
reason for the proposed initiative.
This bill requires elections officials to allow for public
access to the local initiative measure materials noted
above that are filed with the elections officials.
Specifically, this bill requires county elections officials
to:
Keep on file these materials until the day after it is
determined the initiative petition does not qualify, the
day after the election, or the day after the proposed
ordinance is adopted by the appropriate governing board.
Furnish copies of the materials to any person upon
request. Elections officials may charge a fee not
exceeding the actual cost of providing the copies.
BACKGROUND
Access to State Initiative Materials . On the state level,
proponents of a proposed statewide initiative or referendum
measure submit a draft of the measure to the Attorney
General (AG) with a written request that a circulating
title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the
initiative measure be prepared and pay a $200 fee. Upon
receipt of the fee and request, the AG prepares a
circulating title and summary, assigns the proposed measure
a unique numeric identifier, and furnishes a copy of the
official title and summary to the proponents and the
Secretary of State (SOS). In practice, the AG posts on her
website a copy of the proponent's written request for the
circulating title and summary as well as the official title
and summary prepared.
Similarly, in practice the SOS maintains a list on her
website of the proposed initiative and referendum measures
that have qualified, initiative and referendum measures
cleared for circulation, initiative and referendum measures
pending signature verification, initiative and referendum
measures that failed to qualify, and initiative and
referendum measures pending at the AG's office.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author , current law for qualifying an
initiative for the ballot requires the proponent of a
measure to file an intent to file notification with the
local jurisdiction along with a $200 refundable fee and
the text of the measure. A title and summary is prepared
and furnished to the proponents of the measure and, after
providing proper notice, allows the circulation of the
petition for signature gathering. The proponent then has
180 days to obtain the requisite number of signatures;
otherwise the measure fails to qualify for the ballot.
Once the local elections jurisdiction furnishes the title
and summary to the proponents of a measure they are not
required to retain the materials on file as a matter of
public record. In a democracy, where decision making is
predicated on an informed electorate, it is
unconscionable to not provide voters with access to as
much information as possible. AB 1851 would require
local elections officials to make available the title and
summary, text of the language, and intent to file
AB 1851 (ALLEN)
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documentation for the duration of the circulation phase.
The individual requesting the materials may be charged a
fee not to exceed the cost of the production of these
materials.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 17-0
Assembly Floor: 73-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Oppose: None received
AB 1851 (ALLEN)
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