AB 278, as amended, Roger Hernández. Municipal elections.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city to submit to voters at any municipal or special election an ordinance providing for the election of members of the legislative body by districts, from districts, by districts with an elective mayor, or from districts with an elective mayor. Existing law also authorizes such an ordinance to be submitted to the voters by means of an initiative measure. Existing law requires that the ordinance state the number of legislative districts, describe the boundaries of each, number the districts, and state the method for electing the members of the legislative body, as described above.
This bill would delete the requirement that the ordinance describe the boundaries, and number, of each legislative district and would instead require the legislative body to prepare a proposed map describing the boundaries and numbers of the legislative districts after the ordinance is passed or enacted, as specified. The bill would require a legislative body changing from a from district method of election to a by district method of election, or adjusting the district boundaries, to hold public hearings on the change, as specified. The bill would also make numerous technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law applies certain procedures if a majority of votes on the subject of incorporating a new city are in favor of incorporation and in favor of a by district method of election, including, among other things, requiring the boundaries of the districts of the legislative body to be as nearly equal in population as possible.
This bill would also require the districts to comply with applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city with a population of fewer than 100,000 people to adopt an ordinance that requires the members of the legislative body to be elected by district or by district with an elective mayor without submitting the ordinance for voter approval.
This bill would extend this authority to the legislative body of any city, regardless of its population.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 34872 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:
An ordinance shall state the number of legislative
4districts and whether members of the legislative body shall be
P3 1elected by districts, from districts, by districts with an elective
2mayor, or from districts with an elective mayor.
Section 34876.5 is added to the Government Code, to
4read:
(a) If an ordinance is submitted to the voters pursuant
6to Section 34871, there shall be printed on the ballots substantially
7as follows:
8“Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
9elected by (or from) districts?”
10or, if applicable:
11“Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
12elected by (or from) districts, and the Mayor of the City of ____
13be elected on a citywide basis by the voters of the entire city?”
14followed by the words “Yes” and “No,” so printed that the voters
15may express their
choice.
16(b) If a majority of the voters voting on the proposed ordinance
17vote in its favor, members of the legislative body shall be elected
18in the manner approved by the voters beginning at the first election
19following approval of the district boundaries pursuant to Section
2034877.5, and for which the election consolidation deadlines
21established in the Elections Code have not passed.
Section 34877 of the Government Code is amended
23to read:
The proposition of altering legislative districts shall be
25printed on the ballots substantially as follows:
26“Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
27elected by (or from) districts described in Ordinance No. ____?”
28or, if applicable:
29“Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
30elected by (or from) districts described in Ordinance No. ____,
31and the Mayor of the City of ____ be elected on a citywide basis
32by the voters of the entire city?”
33followed by the words “Yes” and “No,” so printed that the voters
34may express their choice.
Section 34877.5 is added to the Government Code, to
36read:
(a) After an ordinance is passed by the voters
38pursuant to Section 34876.5, or after an ordinance is enacted by
39the legislative body pursuant to Section 34886, the legislative body
40shall prepare a proposed map that describes the boundaries and
P4 1numbers of the districts for the legislative body. In preparing the
2proposed map, the legislative body may seek public input,
3including accepting proposed maps submitted by the public.
4(b) If the legislative body is changing from an at-large method
5of election to a district-based election, as those terms are defined
6in Section 14026 of the Elections Code, the legislative body shall
7hold public hearings pursuant to Section 10010
of the Elections
8Code. If the legislative body is otherwise adjusting the district
9boundaries, the legislative body shall hold public hearings on the
10proposed district boundaries pursuant to Section 21607 of the
11Elections Code.
Section 34884 of the Government Code is amended
13to read:
(a) If, at the time a vote is held on the subject of
15incorporation of a new city, a majority of the votes cast is for
16incorporation and, if, in accordance with Section 57116, a majority
17of the votes cast on the question of whether members of the city
18council in future elections are to be elected by district or at large
19is in favor of election by district, all of the following procedures
20apply:
21(1) Before the first day on which voters may nominate
22candidates for election at the next regular municipal election, the
23legislative body shall, by ordinance or resolution, establish the
24boundaries of the districts of the legislative body. The districts
25
shall be as nearly equal in population as may be. The districts shall
26comply with applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights
27Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10301 et seq.), as amended. In
28establishing the boundaries of the districts, the legislative body
29may consider the following factors:
30(A) Topography.
31(B) Geography.
32(C) Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of
33territory.
34(D) Community of interests of the districts.
35(2) The terms of office of the two members elected with the
36lowest vote shall expire on the Tuesday succeeding the next regular
37municipal
election. At that election, members shall be elected by
38district in the even-numbered districts and shall hold office for
39four years.
P5 1(3) The terms of office of the three members elected with the
2highest vote shall expire on the Tuesday succeeding the second
3regular municipal election following the incorporation. At that
4election, members shall be elected by district in the odd-numbered
5districts and shall hold office for four years.
6(b) The result of the vote cast on the question of whether
7members of the city council in future elections are to be elected
8by district or at large shall not preclude the submission to the voters
9at any future election of a measure in accordance with Section
1034871.
Section 34886 of the Government Code is amended
12to read:
Notwithstanding Section 34871 or any other law, the
14legislative body of a city may adopt an ordinance that requires the
15members of the legislative body to be elected by district or by
16district with an elective mayor, as described in subdivisions (a)
17and (c) of Section 34871, without being required to submit the
18ordinance to the voters for approval. An ordinance adopted
19pursuant to thisbegin delete subdivisionend deletebegin insert sectionend insert shall include a declaration that
20the change in the method of electing members of the legislative
21body is being made in furtherance of the purposes of the California
22Voting Rights Act of 2001
(Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section
2314025) of Division 14 of the Elections Code).
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