BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1862 HEARING: 6/25/14
AUTHOR: Melendez FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 6/15/14 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Weinberger
VACANCIES ON COUNTY BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS
Authorizes a county board of supervisors to fill a vacancy
on the board within 90 days after the date of the vacancy.
Background and Existing Law
A public office becomes vacant when an incumbent dies,
resigns, is removed from office, ceases to be an inhabitant
of the state, or is convicted of a felony, any offense
involving a violation of his or her duties, or other
specified crimes.
The California Constitution allows a county to adopt a
voter-approved charter that specifies the manner of filling
all vacancies in county offices.
When a county supervisor's office becomes vacant, state law
requires the Governor to appoint someone to fill the
vacancy until a successor is elected and qualified.
Since 2011, Governor Brown has appointed 7 people to fill
vacant county supervisors' offices. Three of those
offices, in Madera County, San Luis Obispo County, and
Tehama County, were vacant for more than 90 days.
Concerned about the effects of lengthy vacancies on county
governance, some county officials want to give allow a
board of supervisors to appoint an individual to fill a
board vacancy during the first 90 days after the seat
becomes vacant.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 1862 allows a quorum of a county board of
supervisors, within 90 days after the date of a vacancy on
the board, to appoint an individual to fill the vacancy.
AB 1862 -- 6/15/14 -- Page 2
AB 1862 requires the Governor to appoint an individual to
fill the vacancy if a quorum of the board of supervisors
does not appoint an individual within 90 days after the
date of the vacancy.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . A Governor's failure to act
quickly when filling a vacant county supervisor's seat can
impair the remaining supervisors' ability to conduct
business. Because every county, except for San Francisco,
has only five supervisors, a lengthy vacancy can make it
difficult to get quorums at board meetings and can result
in 2-2 tie votes on important county measures. Voters in a
supervisorial district that is represented by a vacant
supervisor's office are harmed when delays deny them a
voice in board decisions. The author notes that a local
board's understanding of the community it serves makes it
more qualified to appoint an individual to a vacant seat,
whereas the Governor might have a more limited knowledge of
the community and could make an appointment that is not in
its best interest. AB 1862 protects county government and
voters by giving a county the first chance to fill a vacant
supervisor's seat, allowing the Governor to appoint a
replacement only if a board of supervisors fails to fill a
vacancy within 90 days.
2. Home rule . Although AB 1862's proponents suggest that
the bill increases local control, state law already allows
each county, and the voters, complete control over the
manner in which board vacancies are filled. The California
Constitution (Article XI, Section 4) specifies that a
county charter may provide for "The powers and duties of
governing bodies ? and for the manner of filling all
vacancies occurring therein." By adopting a county charter,
voters can empower their county supervisors, or the voters
themselves, to fill supervisorial vacancies. They don't
need to wait for a Governor to act. Most of the fourteen
county charters take advantage of this constitutional
AB 1862 -- 6/15/14 -- Page 3
opportunity. For example a board of supervisors seat in
Tehama County remained vacant for approximately 8 months
before Governor Brown appointed a new county supervisor in
April, 2013. Two weeks ago, at the June 3 primary
election, Tehama County voters approved Measure C, which
amended the county charter to allow county supervisors to
fill a vacancy on their board. It is unclear why it is
necessary to change state law when voters can already
decide for themselves how to fill a vacancy on a county's
board of supervisors.
3. Problem solved ? While AB 1862 may allow some vacancies
to be filled more quickly, under some circumstances, AB
1862 may actually lengthen the amount of time it takes to
fill vacant seats on county boards of supervisors. A
vacancy on a five-member board can sometimes leave a 2-2
split among the remaining county supervisors representing
different local political coalitions. In circumstances
where rival political factions see the vacant board seat as
representing a "swing vote" on the board, it is unlikely
that the board of supervisors will be able to fill the
vacancy by appointment. As a result, under AB 1862's
provisions, the gubernatorial appointment process to fill
the seat would merely be delayed by 90 days, potentially
leading to longer vacancies.
4. Gut and amend . As introduced and passed by the
Assembly, AB 1862 contained provisions relating to the
California National Guard Education Assistance Award
Program. The Senate Governance & Finance Committee never
heard that version of the bill. The June 15 amendments
deleted AB 1862's contents and inserted the current
language relating to vacancies on county boards of
supervisors.
5. Previous legislation . Assembly Bill 1671 (Jeffries,
2010) would have required a board of supervisors to act on
a board vacancy after a Governor failed to fill a vacancy
within 90 days. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 1671.
His veto message noted that, "Current law already allows
counties the ability to adopt a charter by a countywide
vote that provides alternative procedures for filling a
vacancy on the board of supervisors. If a county wishes to
change the manner in which a vacancy is filled, that is the
more appropriate manner in which to accomplish such a
change." Assembly Bill 33 (Jeffries, 2011), which was
AB 1862 -- 6/15/14 -- Page 4
similar to AB 1671, died in the Assembly Local Government
Committee.
Assembly Actions
Not relevant to the June 15, 2014 version of the bill.
Support and Opposition (6/19/14)
Support : Unknown.
Opposition : Unknown.