BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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                                   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  








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          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. 








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          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:









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          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  








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            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,  








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            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:   (Verified4/8/16)


           American GI Forum of California
           Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles
           California League of United Latin American Citizens








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           Los Amigos of Orange County
           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:   (Verified4/8/16)


           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
          4/8/16 12:09:25










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