BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2273
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2273 (Ridley-Thomas) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:7-0
(Consent)
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the state, rather than counties, to pay the
costs of all special elections held since January 1 2013 and to
be held to fill vacant seats in the Legislature or in Congress.
If a special election is consolidated with a statewide or local
election, the state would only pay for the additional expenses
attributable to the special election.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time cost . Since January 1, 2013 there have been 14
special elections to fill vacant Senate or Assembly seats, and
there is currently one vacancy in the Assembly. Los Angeles
County indicates it has incurred costs of $8.1 million for
nine of these special elections. (Some of these elections have
involved legislative districts that also encompass portions of
neighboring counties.) Based on LA's costs, the immediate
one-time General Fund cost to reimburse the counties for
special elections held from January 2013 to the effective date
of the bill is likely in the range of $20 million.
2)Ongoing General Fund costs will depend on the number and type
of special elections to fill vacancies that occur in 2015 and
beyond and the extent to which these elections are stand-alone
or consolidated. General Fund costs could easily be a few
million to several million dollars every one or two years.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . From 1993 through 2007, the state reimbursed counties
for the costs of special elections to fill vacancies in the
AB 2273
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Legislature or in Congress. The provision of state law that
required reimbursement expired January 1, 2008. According to
the Secretary of State's Office, since 2008 there have been 41
such special elections, and the associated costs have required
the redirection of county resources from other county-provided
services. This bill resumes the state's responsibility for
paying these costs, retroactive to January 1, 2013.
2)Related Legislation . SB 942 (Vidak) and SB 963 (Torres), both
pending in Senate Appropriations, would reimburse counties for
special election expenses incurred between January 1, 2008 and
December 31, 2014.
3)Prior Legislation . AB 2273 is the most recent of numerous
legislative efforts to reimburse a county or counties for
special elections costs. Generally these bills have all been
held on Suspense in either Senate or Assembly Appropriations.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081