BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 199
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 17, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     SB 199 (Correa) - As Amended:  May 24, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:5-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Allows vote-by-mail (VBM) voters to return their ballots to 
            any polling place within the state-not just one within the 
            jurisdiction of the elections official who issued the ballot.

          2)Provides that, if a VBM ballot is returned to a polling place 
            in a county other than the county where the ballot was issued, 
            the elections official responsible for that polling place must 
            deliver the ballot to the elections official who issued the 
            ballot.

           FISCAL EFFECT 

          Minor annual reimburseable costs for each county to collect and 
          return other (probably mostly neighboring) counties' ballots. 
          Assuming $1,000 per county, total costs would be $58,000.

          (Elections officials indicate that the time necessary to comply 
          with the bill's procedures could delay completion of the 
          official canvas after each election.)

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author, "In today's highly mobile 
            society, people often travel great distances for work, school, 
            or other reasons. This bill would allow a professional who 
            lives in Placer County to return their absentee ballot on a 
            lunch break in downtown Sacramento - or a college student from 
            Orange County attending Stanford to return their ballot at a 
            polling place near that campus."








                                                                  SB 199
                                                                  Page  2


           2)Prior Legislation  . In 2007, AB 773 (Blakeslee), which was 
            essentially identical to this bill, was vetoed by Governor 
            Schwarzenegger, who argued that the added convenience that the 
            bill provided for a small number of voters did not justify the 
            additional mandated costs to counties.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081