BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Bill No: |AB 278 |Hearing |6/29/16 | | | |Date: | | |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------| |Author: |Roger Hernández |Tax Levy: |No | |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------| |Version: |6/20/16 |Fiscal: |No | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Weinberger | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Municipal elections Allows any city that elects its city council at-large to enact an ordinance switching its election method to by-district without obtaining voter approval. Background Existing law permits a general law city that elects its councilmembers through at-large elections to provide for city council members to be elected by district. A city may only change its election method after the city's voters approve a measure proposing a switch. The measure can either be submitted to the voters by the city council or placed on the ballot through the initiative process. The ordinance changing the method of election must 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, The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) prohibits an at-large method of election from being imposed or applied in a political subdivision (including a special district) in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class of voters to elect the candidate of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgement of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class (SB AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16 Page 2 of ? 976, Polanco, 2002). The CVRA was enacted to address racial block voting in at-large elections for local office in California. In areas where racial block voting occurs, an at-large method of election can dilute the voting rights of a protected class of voters if a majority usually votes for candidates who differ from candidates who are preferred by the protected class of voters. In such situations, breaking up a jurisdiction into districts can result in districts in which a protected class of voters can elect the candidate of its choice or otherwise have the power to influence the outcome of an election. If a judge finds that a city's at-large election method violates the CVRA, state law requires the court to implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of district-based elections. At least 160 local governments have switched from at-large to district-based elections since the enactment of the CVRA in 2002. While some jurisdictions did so in response to litigation, other jurisdictions proactively changed election methods because they believed they could be susceptible to a legal challenge under the CVRA, and they wished to avoid the potential expense of litigation. However, submitting an ordinance to voters via the ballot initiative process can be cumbersome and costly. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a city's voters will approve a proposed change, no matter how proactive the city council. Last year, the Legislature responded by allowing cities with populations of less than 100,000 people to change to a district-based electoral system without having to obtain voter approval (SB 493, Cannella, 2015). Some city officials now want the Legislature to extend that authority to all cities, regardless of their populations, and provide city officials with more a more flexible process for adopting electoral district maps when a city switches to a by-district election method. Proposed Law Assembly Bill 278 allows the legislative body of any city, regardless of its population, to adopt an ordinance that requires members of the city's legislative body to be elected by district or by district with an elective mayor, without having to submit the ordinance to the city's voters for approval. The AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16 Page 3 of ? adopted ordinance must include a declaration that the change in the method of electing members of the legislative body is being made in furtherance of the purposes of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. AB 278 deletes a statutory requirement that the ordinance must describe the boundaries, and number, of each legislative district and, instead, requires 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. AB 278 requires 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. AB 278 provides that after an ordinance is passed by the voters or after an ordinance is enacted by the legislative body to change from an at-large method of election to a district-based election, the legislative body shall prepare a proposed map that describes the boundaries and numbers of the districts for the legislative body. In preparing the proposed map, the legislative body may seek public input, including accepting proposed maps submitted by the public. AB 278 provides that if the legislative body is changing from an at-large method of election to a district-based election, the legislative body shall, pursuant to existing provisions of the Elections Code, hold at least two public hearings on the proposed district boundaries. If the legislative body is otherwise adjusting the district boundaries, the legislative body shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposed district boundaries pursuant to other existing provisions of the Elections Code. AB 278 requires the districts to comply with applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The bill makes numerous technical, nonsubstantive, and conforming changes to state law. State Revenue Impact AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16 Page 4 of ? No estimate. Comments 1. Purpose of the bill . Since the passage of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001, an increasing number of cities are opting to switch to by-district elections. Numerous cities that use at-large election methods have been sued under the CVRA by groups arguing that at-large elections prevent minority groups from electing candidates that represent their community or their interests. In all such cases, citizens alleging that at-large elections violated the CVRA prevailed. Reading the proverbial writing on the wall, cities with at-large election methods want to avoid inevitable CVRA lawsuits, but are also weary of the costly process of submitting an ordinance to the voters for approval to switch to by-district voting-which, ultimately, the voters might reject. Last year, the Legislature allow cities with fewer than 100,000 residents to switch to by-district elections, as recommended by many judges in CVRA lawsuits, without having to first go through the costly and uncertain process of voter approval. AB 278 builds upon last year's bill by extending the same authority to all cities. AB 278 also provides local officials more flexibility in developing electoral district maps by establishing an alternative process for adopting district maps after local officials, or voters, have approved a switch to district-based elections. 2. Finding a balance . The CVRA was enacted to protect democratic principles of fairness and equal access to representation in government. Democratic principles also suggest that local voters should be allowed to make fundamental decisions about the methods by which their communities' local officials are elected. Sometimes, these principles conflict, as is the case when at-large elections for a local governing board are supported by a majority of a community's voters but impair a protected class of voters' ability to influence elections. AB 278 attempts to strike a balance between making it easier for local governments to modify their elections to comply with the CVRA while still leaving some local discretion over the method by which governing boards are elected. 3. Related Legislation . AB 2220 (Cooper), which will be heard by the Senate Governance & Finance Committee at its June 29 AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16 Page 5 of ? hearing, also would allow all cities, regardless of population size, to change the method of electing council members to a by-district method of election without receiving voter approval. AB 2389 (Ridley-Thomas), which will be heard by the Senate Governance & Finance Committee at its June 29 hearing, would allow special districts' governing boards, without having to seek voter approval, to change from an at-large to a by-district method of electing the district's governing board members. SB 927 (Anderson), which is pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee, permits directors of any public utility district that is wholly or partially within the County of San Diego to be elected at large or by subdistrict. The Senate Governance & Finance Committee approved SB 927 at its March 30 hearing on a 7-0 vote. 4. Double Referred . The Senate Rules Committee has ordered a double-referral of AB 278, first to the Senate Committee on Elections & Constitutional Amendments, which has jurisdiction over bills relating to local elections and the CVRA, and then to the Senate Governance & Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over bills relating to special districts' governing boards. The Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee passed AB 278 at its June 8, 2016 hearing on a 5-0 vote. Assembly Actions Assembly Elections & Redistricting Committee: 4-1 Assembly Local Government Committee: 5-1 Assembly Appropriations Committee: 12-0 Assembly Floor: 43-32 AB 278 (Roger Hernández) 6/20/16 Page 6 of ? Support and Opposition (6/23/16) Support : American Civil Liberties Union. Opposition : League of California Cities - Riverside County Division. -- END --