BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 448 HEARING DATE:4/5/11
AUTHOR: DeSAULNIER ANALYSIS BY:Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Elections: paid signature gatherers
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires that any state or local initiative
petition contain a statement, notifying the public that the
petition may be circulated by either a paid or a volunteer
signature gatherer, and that the public has the right to
ask.
Existing law establishes a process for proposing initiative
measures submitted to voters in California and sets forth
qualifications for persons who circulate initiative
petitions.
Existing law provides that a person who is a voter or who
is qualified to register to vote in this state may
circulate a state initiative or referendum petition
anywhere within the state.
This bill would require an individual who receives
compensation to circulate an initiative, referendum, or
recall petition to identify him or herself as a paid
signature gatherer by wearing a badge stating "PAID
SIGNATURE GATHERER."
This bill would require an individual circulating an
initiative, referendum, or recall petition to identify the
jurisdiction in which he or she is registered to vote by
placing on the badge the name of the California county in
which he or she is registered to vote. If he or she is not
registered to vote, the badge shall state "NOT REGISTERED
TO VOTE."
This bill further requires individuals circulating an
initiative, referendum, or recall petition to wear the
badge on his or her chest in clear view of all individuals
signing or asked to sign the petition, and that the print
on the badge be no smaller than a 30-point font.
BACKGROUND
Until the 1980s, courts upheld bans on paid signature
gatherers. That changed in 1988, when the U.S. Supreme
Court invalidated Colorado's ban in the
Meyer v. Grant decision as a violation of the First
Amendment's guarantee of free speech.
In Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation
(1999), the U.S. Supreme Court examined a Colorado law that
provided a number of other restrictions on the signature
collection process for ballot initiatives. In Buckley , the
court invalidated Colorado's requirement that paid petition
circulators wear a badge identifying themselves and
identifying that they are paid circulators. The court
stated the requirement to wear badges inhibits
participation in the petitioning process, "because the
badge requirement compels personal name identification at
the precise moment when the circulator's interest in
anonymity is greatest, it does not qualify for inclusion
among 'the more limited �election process] identification
requirement�s].'" However, the Buckley decision did not
rule on the validity of the requirement that a circulator
wear a badge stating whether a petition circulator was paid
or a volunteer.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , most proponents of ballot
initiatives pay signature gatherers on a "per
signature" basis, which some critics point to as a
financial incentive to commit fraud. While efforts to
ban paid signature gatherers have foundered in the
courts, states have passed disclosure requirements for
paid signature gatherers. In fact, at least 10 states
require circulators to disclose whether they are paid
or volunteer, most often on the petition itself.
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2. Nobody likes feeling left out . Although current law
gives a person the right to inquire as to whether the
person circulating the petition is being paid or is a
volunteer, not all people are aware of this right, let
alone exercise it. It might therefore be useful if a
person who is a volunteer collecting petition
signatures also be required to wear a badge, similar to
the badge that a paid signature gatherer would be
required to wear, indicating that he or she is a
volunteer.
3. Legislative Counsel Opinion : In an April 17, 2001,
opinion, Legislative Counsel opined that a statute to
require an individual circulating a petition to
disclose (verbally or by a sign, pin, badge, hat, or
other indication) whether the individual is paid to
circulate the petition is valid under the California
and United States Constitutions. In its analysis,
Legislative Counsel wrote "in our view the disclosure
of the paid or unpaid status of the petition circulator
at the time of circulation properly may be
characterized as the least drastic means to accomplish
the substantial state interest of enabling potential
petition signers to assess the sincerity of
circulators."
4. Prior and related legislation . SB 1203 (DeSaulnier)
of 2010, was nearly identical to this bill. SB 1203
was approved by this committee, but subsequently was
gutted and amended for an unrelated purpose.
SB 168 (Corbett), makes it a misdemeanor for a person
to pay or to receive money or any other thing of value
based on the number of signatures collected on a state
or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition.
SB 168 passed out of this committee and is scheduled
for hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
AB 481 (Gordon), requires a person who is paid for
collecting petition signatures to wear a badge
indicating that he or she is a paid signature gatherer,
and requires similar information be disclosed on any
state or local initiative, referendum, or recall
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petition. AB 481 is scheduled for hearing in the
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee.
AB 651 (Hueso), requires paid signature gatherers to wear
a badge identifying their employer, and requires firms
that pay individuals to circulate petitions and gather
signatures to register with the SOS. AB 651 is pending
hearing in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: None received
Oppose: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
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