BILL NUMBER: SB 168	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  MAY 9, 2011
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  JULY 14, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Corbett

                        FEBRUARY 3, 2011

   An act to add Section 102.5 to the Elections Code, relating to
petitions.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 168, Corbett. Petitions: compensation for signatures.
   Under existing law, a person who is a voter or is qualified to
register to vote in this state may circulate an initiative or
referendum petition, and a person who is a voter may circulate a
recall petition.
   This bill would provide that it is a misdemeanor for a person to
pay or to receive money or any other thing of value based on the
number of signatures obtained on a state or local initiative,
referendum, or recall petition and would prescribe penalties for
doing so. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
   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.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 102.5 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
   102.5.  (a) It shall be unlawful for a person to pay or to receive
money or any other thing of value based on the number of signatures
obtained on a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall
petition.
   (b) Violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor, as follows:
   (1) A person or organization who pays a person based on the number
of signatures obtained on a state or local initiative, referendum,
or recall petition shall be punished by a fine not to exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by imprisonment in a
county jail not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
   (2) A person who is paid based on the number of signatures
obtained on a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall
petition shall be punished by a fine not to exceed one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed
six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   (c) Nothing in this section prohibits the payment for signature
gathering not based, either directly or indirectly, on the number of
signatures obtained on a state or local initiative, referendum, or
recall petition.
  SEC. 2.  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.