BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 106 HEARING DATE:3/15/11
AUTHOR: BLAKESLEE ANALYSIS BY:Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Special elections
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires any vacancy in a state legislative or
congressional office to be filled by a special primary and,
if needed, a special run-off election.
From 1993 through 2007, the state has reimbursed counties
for the costs of special elections held to fill vacancies
in the Assembly, Senate and Congress. However, the
provision of state law that requires the state to reimburse
counties for the costs of special vacancy elections expired
January 1, 2008.
Existing law requires all expenses authorized and
necessarily incurred in the preparation for, and conduct
of, elections to be paid from the county treasuries, except
that when an election is called by the governing body of a
city the expenses shall be paid from the treasury of the
city.
This bill requires that all expenses authorized and
necessarily incurred on or after January 1, 2009, and
before April 19, 2011 in the preparation for, and conduct
of, elections proclaimed by the Governor to fill a vacancy
in the office of Senator, or Member of the Assembly, or to
fill a vacancy in the office of United States Senator or
member of the United States House of Representatives in
Congress, be paid by the state.
BACKGROUND
A Little Special Election History . According to the
Secretary of State, in the last 20 years, there have been
111 special primary and general elections to fill vacant
seats in the Assembly, Senate and Congress in California,
an average of 4.8 per year. The highest voter turnout for
a special election that did not coincide with an already
scheduled statewide election was 52.6 percent in 1998 when
Lois Capps was elected to fill a vacancy in the 22nd
Congressional District.
In 2009, the voter turnout in the special elections to fill
the vacancies in Senate District 26 and Assembly District
51 garnered the lowest voter turnout in the last 20 years,
when 7.9 percent of the electorate turned out to vote in
each election.
In the January 12, 2010 Special General Election in the
72nd Assembly District, 15.6 percent of voters turned out
to vote, and 81 percent of voters voted by mail.
The average voter turnout in special elections since 1990
is 24.7 percent.
The most special legislative and congressional elections in
a single year since 1990: 18 in 1993. The combined average
voter turnout for those elections was 27 percent. Since
1990, there has been at least one special election every
year, except in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
The cost of a special election can vary widely and differs
from county to county.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , California's 58 counties are
tasked with conducting local, state and federal
elections for the State. The multitude of special
elections has stretched local resources thin. In the
current economic climate in which counties are
struggling to cover basic services, the State of
California has the responsibility to repay counties for
conducting special elections called by the Governor.
County elections officials are charged with conducting
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free and accurate elections on both the local and
statewide level, and have worked diligently to fulfill
their duties. Counties have been forced to redirect
important funds which should be used for critical
services to the community, to pay for costly elections.
It should be incumbent upon the State to fully
reimburse counties for the costs associated with
conducting special elections.
2. Related Legislation : SB 141 (Price) requires that
all expenses authorized and necessarily incurred in the
preparation and conduct of vacancy elections proclaimed
by the Governor be paid by the State. SB 141 is also
on today's agenda.
Prior Legislation : SB 994 (Price) of 2010 required all
expenses authorized and necessarily incurred in the
preparation and conduct of vacancy elections proclaimed
by the Governor be paid by the State. The bill was
held on the Senate Appropriations Suspense file. AB
496 (Davis) of 2010 mirrored language in SB 994, and
met a similar fate on the Senate Appropriations
Suspense File. AB 1769 (Tran) of 2010, would have
required the state to pay the costs of any special
elections to fill a vacancy in the office of State
Senate, Assembly, or to fill a vacancy in the office of
the United States Senate or House of Representative,
held on or after January 1, 2009 and before December
31, 2010. The bill was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Suspense File.
AB 37 (Johnson), Chapter 39, Statutes of 1993
originally enacted the special election reimbursement
provision, and contained a sunset date of January 1,
1996. Legislation extending the sunset dates have
since been introduced and passed as follows:
AB 1709 (McPherson), Chapter 1102, Statutes of 1996
extended the sunset date for the reimbursement to
January 1, 2000.
AB 547 (Longville), Chapter 790, Statutes of 1999
further extended the sunset date to January 1, 2005.
AB 183 (Longville) of 2001 would have removed the
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sunset altogether had it not been vetoed by then
Governor Davis, who in his veto stated: "Given the
decline of the state economy, there is ample time to
make this decision before the 2005 sunset."
AB 783 (Jones), Chapter 714, Statutes of 2005
reinstated the reimbursement provision enacted by AB 37
and extended the sunset date from January 1, 2005 to
January 1, 2006.
AB 1799, (McCarthy), Chapter 727 Statutes of 2006,
extended the sunset date from January 1, 2006 until
January 1, 2007.
AB 119 (Price), Chapter 487, Statutes of 2007, extended
the sunset date from January 1, 2007 to January 1,
2008.
3. Special Vacancy Elections Queued Up : A May 3, 2011
special run-off election is scheduled to determine who
will replace former Assemblymember Ted Gaines in the
4th Assembly District. In addition, Congresswoman Jane
Harman resigned from her 36th Congressional District
seat effective February 28, 2011. As of this writing,
the Governor has until March 14, 2011, to call the
special general election for this vacancy. The special
primary election will be held eight weeks prior to the
date of the special general election (if necessary).
4. Chaptering Out . This bill contains language in
conflict with SB 141 (Price). As both bills progress
through the legislative process, it is suggested that
double-jointing amendment language be added to avoid
chaptering out problems.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
County of San Bernardino
County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors
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Julie L. Rodewald, San Luis Obispo County
Clerk-Recorder
Kammie Foote, Inyo County Clerk-Recorder
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Orange County Board of Supervisors
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors
Secretary of State
Urban Counties Caucus
Oppose: None received
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