BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCA 8| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SCA 8 Author: Mendoza (D), et al. Amended: 3/30/16 Vote: 27 SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 4-2, 7/1/15 AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara NOES: Nguyen, Moorlach NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 7/7/15 AYES: Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15 AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza NOES: Bates, Nielsen SENATE FLOOR: 24-15, 9/10/15 (FAIL) AYES: Beall, Block, Cannella, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Monning, Nielsen, Pan, Runner, Wieckowski, Wolk NOES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff, Leyva, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Pavley, Roth, Stone, Vidak NO VOTE RECORDED: Mitchell SUBJECT: Counties: board of supervisors: redistricting SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill, if approved by the voters, requires any county with a population greater than three million residents after the 2020 U.S. census to have a governing body comprised of SCA 8 Page 2 at least seven members. Senate Floor Amendments of 3/30/16 increase the population threshold in SCA 8 from two million residents to three million residents, making the bill's provisions applicable only to Los Angeles County, San Diego County, and Orange County, based on current population estimates. Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 (1) add co-authors, (2) clarify that once a county's population reaches two million, SCA 8 applies and cannot be reversed even if a subsequent Census shows a decline below two million, and (3) provide that a county board of supervisors budget can be increased from the base year annually to reflect the Consumer Price Index. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Requires, pursuant to the California Constitution, that if a county adopts its own voter-approved charter, it must have a directly elected board of supervisors with at least five members. The Constitution allows charter counties to elect their supervisors by districts, from districts, or at large. 2)Requires a general law county to have a board of supervisors consisting of five members, and requires, except under specified circumstances, each member to be elected by the district which the member represents. This bill: 1)Requires that a charter or general law county with a population of more than three million residents as of the 2020 U.S. census or thereafter must have a governing body (board of supervisors) of seven or more members. 2)Provides that the number of members on the governing body shall not thereafter be reduced to fewer than seven members even if, in a future decennial United States census, the county is not a county with a population of more than three million. SCA 8 Page 3 3)Provides that the expenditures for affected boards of supervisors and their staffs shall not exceed, for any subsequent fiscal year after the release of the census finding a population of more than three million, the amount that was allocated for the expenses of the governing body and its staff in the county's adopted budget for the fiscal year in which that same census was conducted as adjusted each fiscal year thereafter for changes in the California Consumer Price Index. This expenditure limitation shall continue to apply even if, in a future decennial United States census, the county is not a county with a population of more than three million. 4)Requires, on and after January 1, 2021, a county charter to provide for members of the board of supervisors to be elected by district with a requirement that the member reside in a district, and imposes that same requirement on all general law counties. Background Affected counties. Three counties have populations of more than three million residents: Los Angeles (10.1 million), San Diego (3.2 million), and Orange (3.1 million). Are some supervisorial districts too large? In large counties, some observers complain that the size of the supervisorial districts result in unrepresentative democracy. Each Los Angeles County Supervisor represents nearly two million constituents, which is larger than the countywide population in 53 of California's 58 counties. The extreme ratio between constituents and supervisors can lead to political alienation and a lack of political responsiveness. Some observers also suggest that five-member boards of supervisors provide few opportunities to increase the diversity of the members to better represent demographic changes in California's most populous counties. Although voters can amend their county's charter to expand the number of supervisors, there are no recent successes: SCA 8 Page 4 1)On November 6, 1962, Los Angeles County voters rejected Proposition D, which would have expanded the Board of Supervisors from five members to seven members. 2)At the November 2, 1976 General Election, Los Angeles County voters rejected Proposition B, which would have expanded the Board of Supervisors from five members to nine members. 3)Proposition C on the November 3, 1992 ballot, would have increased the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to nine members, failed by a margin of about two-to-one. 4)On the March 26, 1996 primary ballot, voters in Orange County rejected Measure U, a charter proposal to expand the Board of Supervisors from five members to nine members. On November 7, 2000, more than 64% of Los Angeles County voters rejected Measure A, which would have increased the number of county supervisors from five to nine. Comments 1)According to the author, SCA 8 is a bipartisan measure that will require that any county that has three million or more residents based upon the 2020 Census, to add two seats to their board of supervisors. While counties have the ability to address the issue of adequate representation on county boards, only a few such ballot attempts have been made in the last 150 years - all unsuccessfully. Since the 1950s, four of them have taken place in Los Angeles and once in Orange County and rejected each time for inadequate cost controls. SCA 8 has strong and effective cost control by requiring funding of the expanded board at the 2020-21, pre-expansion levels. As a statewide measure, SCA 8 reduces the historic ability of individual incumbents or groups of incumbents to kill local measures to expand a board, as in 2000 when Los Angeles County Supervisors responded to SCA 7 (Polanco) that sought to expand the Los Angeles County Board. They instead placed County Measure A on the ballot to expand to nine members and insisted on a vacuous cost control mechanism. Once on the ballot, the majority of the five board incumbents raised funds and SCA 8 Page 5 campaigned against Measure A - using the lack of effective cost control and the near doubling of the members as a platform - to ensure its defeat. SCA 8 is designed to have the most minimal impact on a county's authority to manage itself as it restricts itself to expanding the board by two members if the population of the county exceeds three million people. The affected county retains all of its existing powers. Expanding the number of supervisorial seats for the state's largest counties will provide the opportunity for these bodies to be more responsive and reflective of the needs of the people they represent and serve. This constitutional amendment is about increasing representation and accountability in the county governments by bringing them a little closer to home and to the people they represent. County boards of supervisor members carry out legislative and executive branch responsibilities for their constituents. They oversee a majority of vital services to our residents including healthcare, public safety, traffic, social services, public works, parks, and libraries among others. However, although elected, the number of members on county board of supervisors has not changed since their creation more than 150 years ago, despite dramatic changes in the state's population, demographics and their increased responsibilities for the services they oversee for their constituents. These types of services require constant attention to the concerns of their constituents in the delivery of these services. SCA 8 will bring about better delivery of services for residents and accountability to make sure the services are fairly and efficiently provided. SCA 8 currently covers three counties, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego. 2)Is this the best approach? Some observers note that increasing the size of a county governing board addresses only part of the problem when discussing the ability of county governments to properly function. As the author notes, SCA 8 Page 6 members of county boards of supervisors carry out legislative and executive branch responsibilities for their constituents. Since San Francisco is both a city and county, it is the only county in California with an elected mayor or county executive. However, some or all of the counties in 25 other states also have elected county executives or mayors. An elected county executive relieves the governing board from the responsibility of overseeing the day-to-day operations of administrative agencies and allows them to function more like a traditional legislative body. Furthermore, an elected county executive is accountable to the voters in the entire county rather than just those within a supervisorial district. Related/Prior Legislation SCA 7 (Polanco, 1999), which was held in the Assembly Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee, would have expanded the minimum number of supervisors for Los Angeles County from five to nine. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: One-time costs in the range of $275,000 to $330,000 to the Secretary of State in 2015-16 for printing and mailing costs to place the measure on the ballot in the next statewide election. (General Fund) Unknown, likely significant local costs and cost pressures to establish additional district boundaries, perform election related duties, and make necessary office and facility improvements, beginning in 2021. (local funds) SUPPORT: (Verified3/31/16) American GI Forum of California California League of United Latin American Citizens Los Amigos of Orange County SCA 8 Page 7 Los Angeles City Employees Chicano Association Los Angeles County Chicano Employees Association Los Angeles County Hispanic Managers Association Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles County National Association of Latino Elected Officials Orange County Employees Association UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 OPPOSITION: (Verified3/31/16) California State Association of Counties County of San Bernardino Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Orange County Board of Supervisors Urban Counties Caucus ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Los Angeles County Chicano Employees Association, SCA 8 is about increasing representation and accountability in the county governments by bringing them a little closer to home, protecting the integrity of the board by keeping its core functions intact, without increasing costs for the operations of board member offices. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the California State Association of Counties, current law already provides citizens of a charter county with the tools needed to expand their county board of supervisors if they so choose. This can be done through either a local ballot initiative or through a charter proceeding. Each time that this change has been sought by ballot initiatives in Los Angeles and Orange County the voters rejected the expansion. Prepared by:Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106 3/31/16 15:46:05 **** END **** SCA 8 Page 8