BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
                         Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

                              
          
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          |Bill No:  |AB 278                           |Hearing    |6/29/16  |
          |          |                                 |Date:      |         |
          |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------|
          |Author:   |Roger Hernández                  |Tax Levy:  |No       |
          |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------|
          |Version:  |6/20/16                          |Fiscal:    |No       |
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          |Consultant|Weinberger                                            |
          |:         |                                                      |
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                                  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  







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          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  








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          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









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           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  








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          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




















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          Support and  
          Opposition   (6/23/16)


           Support  :  American Civil Liberties Union.

           Opposition : League of California Cities - Riverside County  
          Division.



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