BILL ANALYSIS �
SCA 17
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SCA 17 (Steinberg)
As Amended May 15, 2014
2/3 vote
SENATE VOTE :31-3
RULES 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Gordon, Wilk, Brown, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Ch�vez, Dababneh, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Gonzalez, Hagman, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Nazarian, Quirk, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Ridley-Thomas, Waldron | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
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SUMMARY : Upon voter approval, amends the California
Constitution (Constitution) to allow each house of the
Legislature to suspend a Member and deem the salary and benefits
of that Member to be forfeited. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that each house may, by a vote of two-thirds of its
membership, suspend a Member and deem the salary and benefits
of the Member to be forfeited for all or part of the period of
the suspension. The motion or resolution must contain
findings and declarations setting forth the basis for the
suspension.
2)Prohibits a suspended Member from exercising any of the
rights, privileges, duties, or powers of his or her office, or
from utilizing any resources of the Legislature while the
suspension is in effect. If the motion or resolution imposing
the suspension does not specify the date upon which the
suspension ends, this bill requires a vote of two-thirds of
the membership of the house to remove the suspension.
EXISTING LAW : The California Constitution provides that each
house of the Legislature shall judge the qualifications and
elections of its Members and may expel a Member by a vote of
two-thirds of the membership of the house. The Constitution
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further charges the California Citizens Compensation Commission
(Commission) with the responsibility to establish the annual
salary and benefits of all state officers, and provides that the
salary of an elected state officer may not be reduced during
his/her term of office.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time ballot printing/mailing costs of approximately
$275,000 to $550,000 (General Fund).
2)Potential salary savings of tens of thousands of dollars
depending on suspensions (General Fund).
COMMENTS :
Author's statement. "Under current law, the Senate and Assembly
may suspend the authority of its respective Members to exercise
the privileges of the office for a fixed, limited period of time
that is reasonably necessary to preserve the honor, dignity, and
efficiency of the house. However, that power is limited in that
the body does not have the power to suspend its Members without
pay.
"As clearly laid out in an opinion of the Legislative Counsel, a
house of the Legislature may not suspend the salary or benefits
of the Senator for the duration of the suspension. The
Constitution vests the [?] Commission with the power to adjust
the salary and benefits of Members of the Legislature. In
addition, the Constitution provides that travel and living
expenses for Members must be prescribed by a statute passed by
two-thirds of the membership of each house. Finally, the
Constitution also provides that the salaries of elected state
officers may not be reduced during their term of office.
"When exercising its inherent and expressed authority to impose
a range of sanctions, each house of the Legislature should be
empowered to suspend its Members without pay should the
circumstances warrant such an action."
Background. California Constitution Article IV Section 5,
allows the Legislature "to judge the qualifications and
elections of its Members and, by rollcall vote entered in the
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journal, two thirds of the membership concurring, may expel a
Member." Further, Assembly Rule 119 dictates the application of
Article IV, Section 5, and Assembly Rule 120 provides procedures
for suspending a member convicted of a felony. Whereas, the
constitution provides for permanent expulsion, this bill
prescribes procedures for the suspension and removal of the
suspension (California Constitution Article IV Section 5).
Additionally, this bill addresses the issue of whether the
compensation and benefits of a member can be suspended.
Censure, expulsion, and other disciplinary actions in State
Legislatures. According to the National Association of State
Legislatures, the power to discipline and expel Members is
inherent to a legislative body. It originated with the English
Parliament in the 16th century, and it was exercised by colonial
legislatures prior to American independence.
The punishments that are usually within a legislature's
authority include withdrawal of privileges, fine, imprisonment,
reprimand, censure, suspension, and expulsion. Formal
disciplinary procedures generally are regarded as a drastic step
reserved for serious situations. Most often, every effort is
made to obtain a satisfactory, but informal, solution to the
matter.
Although the power to judge Members is available to all
legislative bodies, many chambers do not specify the procedures
to investigate charges of misconduct. In addition, the actual
reasons for which a lawmaker may be disciplined often are vague
or not specified at all. Disorderly behavior or conduct, listed
by 37 states, is the most common basis for disciplinary action.
State constitutions provide that each house, with the requisite
vote, may expel a Member; however, it is a very rare occurrence.
Only 17 chambers reported that they had ever taken this very
serious action.
Suspension of Senators Calderon, Wright, and Yee. On March 28,
2014, the Senate approved SR 38 (Steinberg) which suspended
Senator Ronald Calderon, Senator Roderick Wright, and Senator
Leland Yee until all criminal proceedings currently pending
against them have been dismissed.
Legislative Counsel opinion. The vote to suspend the three
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Senators followed a February 25, 2014 opinion by the Legislative
Counsel confirming the Senate may suspend the authority of a
Senator to exercise the privileges of the office so long as the
suspension is for a fixed, limited period of time and the Senate
reasonably determines the suspension to be necessary to preserve
the honor, dignity, and efficiency of the Senate. However, the
opinion further stated that the Senate may not suspend the
salary or benefits of the Senator for the duration of the
suspension given the Constitution authorizes the Commission with
the responsibility to establish the annual salary and benefits
of Members of the Legislature.
Analysis Prepared by : Mukhtar Ali / RLS. / (916) 319-2800
FN: 0004568