BILL NUMBER: SB 1047 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 8, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 12, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Bowen
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to amend Section 7711 of the Public Utilities
Code, relating to railroad corporations. An act to
amend Sections 2159.5 and 18108.5 of, and to a dd Sections
18111 and 18604 to, the Elections Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1047, as amended, Bowen Railroad corporations:
safety. Paid circulators: penalties.
(1) Existing law authorizes any person, company, or other
organization that complies with specified conditions to agree to pay
money or other valuable consideration on a per-affidavit basis or
otherwise, to any person who assists another person to register to
vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration.
This bill would prohibit any person, company, or other
organization from agreeing to pay money or other valuable
consideration on a per-affidavit basis to any person who assists
another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration. A violation of this provision would be
punishable as a misdemeanor.
The bill would also make conforming changes to these provisions.
(2) Existing law provides that any person who gathers signatures
for any state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition may
be paid by the person or persons having charge or control of the
circulation of the petition based on the number of signatures
gathered.
This bill would prohibit a person from offering to pay or from
paying money or other valuable consideration to another person based
on the number of signatures obtained on a state, county, municipal,
or district initiative, referendum or recall petition. The bill would
also prohibit a person from receiving money or other valuable
consideration under these circumstances. A violation of this
provision would be punishable as a misdemeanor.
By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission is required to
annually report to the Legislature on sites on railroad lines in the
state that it finds to be hazardous, including a list of all
railroad derailment accident sites in the state on which accidents
have occurred within at least the previous 5 years.
This bill would require that the report include a list of all
railroad derailment accident sites in the state on which accidents
have occurred within at least the previous 10 years.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2159.5 of the
Elections Code is amended to read:
2159.5. Any person, company, or other organization that agrees to
pay money or other valuable consideration , whether on a
per-affidavit basis or otherwise, to any person who assists
another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration, shall do all of the following:
(a) Maintain a list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers
of all individuals that the person, company, or other organization
has agreed to compensate for assisting others to register to vote,
and shall provide to each person receiving that consideration a
written statement of that person's personal responsibilities and
liabilities under Sections 2138, 2139, 2150, 2158, 2159, 18100,
18101, 18103, 18106, 18108, and 18108.5. Receipt of the written
statement shall be acknowledged, in writing, by the person receiving
the consideration, and the acknowledgment shall be kept by the
person, company, or organization that agrees to compensate that
person. All records required by this subdivision shall be maintained
for a minimum of three years, and shall be made available to the
elections official, the Secretary of State, or an appropriate
prosecuting agency, upon demand. As an alternate to maintaining the
records required by this subdivision, the records may be filed with
the county elections official, who shall retain those records for a
minimum of three years. The county elections official may charge a
fee, not to exceed actual costs, for storing records pursuant to this
subdivision.
(b) Not render any payment or promised consideration unless the
information specified in Section 2159 has been affixed personally on
the affidavit in the handwriting of the person with whom the
agreement for payment was made.
(c) At the time of submission of affidavits to elections
officials, identify and separate those affidavits into groups that do
and that do not comply with the requirements of Sections 2150 and
2159. A signed acknowledgment shall be attached to each group of
affidavits identifying a group as in compliance with Sections 2150
and 2159, and a group as not in compliance with either Section 2150
or 2159, or both.
(d) Failure to comply with this section shall not cause the
invalidation of the registration of the voter.
SEC. 2. Section 18108.5 of the
Elections Code is amended to read:
18108.5. (a) Any person, company, or other organization that
agrees to pay money or other valuable consideration ,
whether on a per-affidavit basis or otherwise, to any person
who assists another person to register to vote by receiving the
completed affidavit of registration who fails to comply with Section
2159.5, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in
the county jail not exceeding six months or when the failure to
comply is found to be willful, not exceeding one year, or both.
(b) Any person, company, or other organization that agrees to pay
money or other valuable consideration , whether on a
per-affidavit basis or otherwise, to any person who assists
another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration, upon a third or subsequent conviction, on
charges brought and separately tried, for failure to comply with
Section 2159.5 shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not to
exceed one year, or both.
(c) An elections official shall notify any person, company, or
other organization that agrees to pay money or other valuable
consideration , whether on a per-affidavit basis or
otherwise, to any person who assists another person to
register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of
registration, that three or more affidavits of registration submitted
by a person who assisted another to register to vote do not comply
with Sections 18100, 18101, 18103, or 18106. The elections official
may forward a copy of each of the noncomplying affidavits of
registration to the district attorney, who may make a determination
whether probable cause exists to believe that a violation of law has
occurred.
(d) This section shall not apply to any public agency or its
employees that is designated as a voter registration agency pursuant
to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973gg), when an elector asks for assistance to register to vote
during the course and scope of the agency's normal business.
SEC. 3. Section 18111 is added to the
Elections Code , to read:
18111. (a) Any person who offers to pay or pays money or other
valuable consideration to another person, either directly or
indirectly, on a per-affidavit basis to assist another person to
register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration
is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Any person who receives money or other valuable consideration
based, either directly or indirectly, on a per-affidavit basis to
assist another person to register to vote by receiving the completed
affidavit of registration is guilty of misdemeanor.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit payment
for assisting another person to register to vote by receiving the
completed affidavit which is not, either directly or indirectly, on a
per-affidavit basis.
SEC. 4. Section 18604 is added to the
Elections Code , to read:
18604. (a) Any person who offers to pay or pays money or other
valuable consideration to another person based, either directly or
indirectly, on the number of signatures obtained on a state, county,
municipal, or district initiative, referendum, or recall petition is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Any person who receives money or other valuable consideration
based, either directly or indirectly, on the number of signatures
obtained on a state, county, municipal, or district initiative,
referendum, or recall petition is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit payment
for petition circulation which is not based, either directly or
indirectly, on the number of signatures obtained.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 7711 of the Public Utilities
Code is amended to read:
7711. On or before July 1, 1992, and on or before July 1 annually
thereafter, the commission shall report to the Legislature on sites
on railroad lines in the state it finds to be hazardous. The report
shall include, but not be limited to, information on all of the
following:
(a) A list of all railroad derailment accident sites in the state
on which accidents have occurred within at least the previous 10
years. The list shall describe the nature and probable causes of the
accidents, if known, and shall indicate whether the accidents
occurred at or near sites that the commission, pursuant to
subdivision (b), has determined pose a local safety hazard.
(b) A list of all railroad sites in the state that the commission,
pursuant to Section 20106 of Title 49 of the United States Code,
determines pose a local safety hazard. The commission may submit in
the annual report the list of railroad sites submitted in the
immediate prior year annual report, and may amend or revise that list
from the immediate prior year as necessary. Factors that the
commission shall consider in determining a local safety hazard may
include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The severity of grade and curve of track.
(2) The value of special skills of train operators in negotiating
the particular segment of railroad line.
(3) The value of special railroad equipment in negotiating the
particular segment of railroad line.
(4) The types of commodities transported on or near the particular
segment of railroad line.
(5) The hazard posed by the release of the commodity into the
environment.
(6) The value of special railroad equipment in the process of
safely loading, transporting, storing, or unloading potentially
hazardous commodities.
(7) The proximity of railroad activity to human activity or
sensitive environmental areas.
(c) In determining which railroad sites pose a local safety hazard
pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission shall consider the
history of accidents at or near the sites. The commission shall not
limit its determination to sites at which accidents have already
occurred, but shall identify potentially hazardous sites based on the
criteria enumerated in subdivision (b) and all other criteria that
the commission determines influence railroad safety. The commission
shall also consider whether any local safety hazards at railroad
sites have been eliminated or sufficiently remediated to warrant
removal of the site from the list required under subdivision (b).