BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1020


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB  
          1020 (Ridley-Thomas)


          As Amended  September 1, 2015


          Majority vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |74-0  |(May 22, 2015) |SENATE: |38-1  |(September 3,     |
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          |COMMITTEE      |    |(September 9,  |RECOMMENDATION:  |concur     |
          |VOTE:          |5-1 |2015)          |                 |           |
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          (E. & R.)




          Original Committee Reference:  E. & R.


          SUMMARY:  Updates key Elections Code statutes and deletes  
          obsolete provisions in anticipation of the deployment of the  
          federally mandated VoteCal statewide voter registration  
          database.


          The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,  
          and instead:









                                                                    AB 1020


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          1)Update numerous sections of the Elections Code and delete  
            numerous obsolete sections in anticipation of the deployment  
            of the federally mandated VoteCal statewide voter registration  
            database.


          2)Repeal references in law to deputy registrars of voters and  
            make conforming changes to related provisions of law.


          3)Delete various existing provisions of law regarding the timing  
            of acceptance of affidavits of registration and consolidate  
            these and other related code sections into a single section  
            that consolidates deadlines for voter registration,  
            re-registration, and updating of registrations that also  
            reflects anticipation of the start of conditional voter  
            registration.


          4)Make corresponding changes to the process whereby specified  
            voters may apply for and receive confidential voter status in  
            anticipation of VoteCal.


          5)Provide that a person who obtains signatures or other  
            information collected for a political party qualification  
            petition shall not send that information outside of the United  
            States or make it available in any way electronically to  
            persons outside the United States, including, but not limited  
            to, access over the Internet.


          6)Make conforming changes to state law relating to  
            preregistration, under which a person who is at least 16 years  
            of age can preregister to vote, with the registration becoming  
            effective once that person is 18 years of age.


          7)Correct incorrect cross-references and delete numerous  
            obsolete provisions of law.









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          8)Provide that this bill becomes operative only if the Secretary  
            of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter  
            registration database that complies with the federal Help  
            America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002.


          9)Add double-jointing language to avoid chaptering problems with  
            AB 477 (Mullin) and SB 589 (Block) of the current legislative  
            session.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.


          COMMENTS:  HAVA requires every state to implement a computerized  
          statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and  
          administered at the state level.  At the time HAVA was approved,  
          California was already using a statewide voter registration  
          system, known as Calvoter, which achieved some of the goals of  
          the voter registration list required by HAVA.  However, Calvoter  
          did not satisfy all of the requirements in that law, including  
          requirements that the database be fully interactive and have the  
          capability of storing a complete voter registration history for  
          every voter.  


          In order to meet the statewide voter registration requirements  
          outlined in HAVA, California made upgrades to the Calvoter  
          system to achieve interim compliance while the state developed a  
          new permanent statewide voter registration system.  The new  
          system, which is currently in development, is known as VoteCal.   
          The VoteCal system is currently on track for full implementation  
          in 2016.


          This bill prepares for the deployment of the federally mandated  
          VoteCal statewide voter registration database by updating key  
          Elections Code statutes and deleting obsolete provisions of  
          state law.









                                                                    AB 1020


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          This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the  
          Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted.  As a  
          result, this bill was re-referred to the Assembly Elections and  
          Redistricting Committee pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2, and the  
          committee subsequently recommended that the Assembly concur in  
          the Senate amendments to this bill.


          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094  FN:  
          0002322