Elections and Reapportionment

Political Reform
Elections
Reapportionment

Political Reform

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SB 25* (Ackerman-R) Political reform contributions
Requires candidates for elective state office who send written solicitations for contributions to identify the relevant controlled committee by name and the specific office for which the contributions are solicited. Any candidate who receives a contribution pursuant to such a solicitation and deposits the money into the account for which the contribution was solicited would have a "rebuttable presumption" that the contribution was made and deposited in accordance with the law. Repeals the requirement to file a campaign reporting statement in connection with March statewide primary elections.
(Died on Senate Inactive File)

SB 145* (Murray-D) Political reform: contributions
Permits an elected state officer to accept contributions after the date of the election for the purpose of paying expenses associated with holding the office, provided that the contributions are not expended for any contribution to a state or local committee. Requires such contributions to be deposited into a bank account established solely for the purpose of paying expenses associated with holding office.
Chapter 624, Statutes of 2006

SB 784* (Senate Elections, Reapportionment And Constitutional Amendments Committee) Campaign contributions
Increases the amount of time for an elected officer to report a payment made at the behest of that officer for legislative, governmental, or charitable purposes and increases the threshold at which such payments must be reported.
(Died on Assembly Inactive File)

SB 787 (McClintock-R) Elections officials: political activities
Prohibits local elections officials from participating in certain political activities.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting)

SB 929* (Kehoe-D) Political Reform Act: Coastal Commission: administrative
Provides that any person who communicates with the California Coastal Commission (CCC) members regarding an administrative action of the CCC and who qualifies as a lobbyist is required to comply with the requirements of the Political Reform Act of 1974. Defines administrative action for purposes of proceedings before the CCC. Exempts from this requirement an individual who either communicates with CCC members regarding no more than one action per calendar year, or is an employee of a local government agency working within the scope of his/her employment.
(Died on Senate Inactive File)

SB 1120 (Ortiz-D) Fair Political Practices Commission
Appropriates $9 million to the Fair Political Practices Commission and includes automatic cost-of-living adjustment and adjustments for workload changes, as specified.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

SB 1265 (Alquist-D) Political Reform Act: disclosure of income
Provides greater specificity in the amount of income to be disclosed by public officials and provides candidates and incumbents to file their statements of economic interest online or electronically according to procedures to be set by the Fair Political Practices Commission.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee

SB 1354 (Dunn-D) Political Reform Act: corporate contributions
Requires a corporation as defined, to prepare a report at the close of the fiscal year, detailing the contributions or expenditures made in support of political activities during the previous fiscal year, and provide a copy of the report to its shareholders.
(Failed passage in Assembly Banking and Finance Committee)

SB 1459 (Simitian-D) Insurance Commissioner
Amends the Political Reform Act of 1974 to provide for public financing for candidates for the office of Insurance Commissioner, and imposes a fee on insurers for that purpose.
(Died in Senate Banking, Finance, and Insurance Committee)

SB 1579 (Senate Elections, Reapportionment And Constitutional Amendments Committee) Political Reform Act
Deletes an obsolete cross-reference to a section repealed in 2000 of the Political Reform Act relating to use of funds by a candidate. Government Code Section 84211 was amended in 2000 to repeal what was then paragraph 7 of subdivision (j), which required detailed reporting of expenditures for travel of a candidate and members of the candidate's household. Section 89513 (a) (3) of the Government Code still refers to paragraph 7 of subdivision (j) for reporting travel payments. Deletes the reference to paragraph 7 of subdivision (j) of Section 84211 of the Government Code that currently exists in Section 89513 (a) (3) of the Government Code.
Chapter 155, Statutes of 2006

SB 1693 (Murray-D) Political Reform Act: donors
Increases, from $10,000 to $30,000, the amount of campaign contributions that a person or combination of persons must make in a calendar year in order to be considered a committee. Increases, from $5,000 to $15,000, the amount of campaign contributions that a candidate or committee must receive from a person before that candidate or committee is required to inform the person that he or she may be required to file campaign reports.
Vetoed by the Governor

SB 1757 (Ortiz-D) Fair Political Practices Commission: investigators
Appropriates $15,000 for the Fair Political Practices Commission to contract with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to perform a feasibility study regarding the appropriateness of granting peace officer statutes, without the use of firearms, to FPPC investigators.
(Died in Senate Public Safety Committee)

AB 16 (Huff-R) Campaign contributions
Prohibits contributions to members of the Legislature and the Governor between the time that the Governor presents the May revision to his/her budget proposal and time that a budget is enacted.
(Failed passage in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 40* (Wolk-D) Political Reform Act: conflict of interest
Prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from lobbying an elected state official, or his/her staff, if the lobbyist, firm, or employee of the firm has a contractual relationship with the official or the official's controlled campaign committee.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 281 (Liu-D) Political Reform Act
Provides that when a committee makes a transfer between campaign accounts controlled by a single candidate, it is to be subject to a higher contribution limit than the committee receiving the funds, and any remaining funds not eligible for transfer under the contribution limit to the committee receiving the funds shall be returned to the contributor or contributors.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

AB 347 (Huff-R) Political Reform Act: enforcement
Makes a second and subsequent violation of the Political Reform Act subject to felony/misdemeanor prosecution.
(Failed passage in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 513 (Richman-R) Lobbyist registration: bond consultants
Includes an attempt to influence the selection of an underwriter for state bond business within the conduct that classifies someone as a lobbyist and thus makes that person subject to all rules and requirements of a lobbyist. Permits a lobbyist or lobbying firm to accept payment of an amount not exceeding 25 percent of non-contingent salaries or fees in a calendar year for conduct relating to the selection of bond underwriters.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 583 (Hancock-D) Political reform contributions
Enacts the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2005. Provides public funds to participating candidates for state office that collect a specified number of $5 contributions as the only funds those candidates may use on their campaigns for state office.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 709 (Wolk-D) Political reform: contributions
Prohibits a person from making, to any ballot measure committee controlled by a candidate for elective state office, any contribution totaling more than $5,600 during the entire period of time the candidate controls the committee, and prohibits any ballot measure committee controlled by a candidate for elective state office from accepting such a contribution. Provides that a ballot measure committee primarily formed to support or oppose a ballot measure(s) and controlled by a candidate for elective state office is subject to a provision of state law limiting the amount of post-election fundraising to the net debts outstanding to the committee. Does not apply to a general purpose ballot measure committee.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 891 (DeVore-R) Political reform: slate mailers
Requires a slate mailer organization to report the value of each candidate's and ballot measure's inclusion in a slate mailer.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 1391 (Leno-D) Campaign disclosure
Increases, with respect to income in excess of $100,000, the number of thresholds for reporting specified types of public officials income and provides for a prohibition on the use of campaign funds for the lease of real property wherein legal title to the property resides in an entity for which an interest of at least 10 percent is held by a candidate or other individual who approves the expenditure of the relevant campaign.
(Died on Senate Inactive File)

AB 1558 (Wolk-D) Conflicts of interest
Establishes a three year pilot program within the Fair Political Practices Commission for the purpose of issuing opinions that concern financial interests of public officials and employees in contracts.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 2112 (Karnette-D) Political Reform Act: civil actions
Limits the number of civil actions that an individual may file in a 12 month period to enforce certain provision of the Political Reform Act.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2219 (Torrico-D) Campaign bank accounts
Requires that any interest generated on campaign bank accounts be remitted to the state and appropriated to the Fair Political Practices Commission.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2275 (Umberg-D) Political Reform Act: telephone advocacy
Requires campaign phone calls to include a disclosure of the name of the organization that paid for or authorized the calls.
Chapter 439, Statutes of 2006

AB 2363 (Nation-D) Political Reform Act: campaign statements
Eliminates a requirement that statewide elected officers, members of the Legislature or Board of Equalization, court of appeals justices, superior court judges, candidates of any of these offices, supreme court justices, a and various campaign committees file a coy of all campaign reports with the Secretary of State.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 2574 (Nunez-D) Fair Political Practices Commission
Requires the Fair Political Practices Commission, on or before December 31, 2007, to prepare and provide to the standing committees in the Assembly and the Senate with jurisdiction over the Political Reform Act, a review and analysis of those provisions of the PRA that regulate lobbying and FPPC's recommendations as to whether changes should be made to those provisions in order that they may better serve the purposes of the PRA.
(Died on Senate Inactive File)

AB 2627 (Koretz-D) Political Reform Act: conflict-of-interest code
Transfers the responsibility, pursuant to the Political Reform Act, for reviewing the conflict-of-interest codes of specified non-county local governments with jurisdiction within a single county, from county boards of supervisors to other government entities.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2771 (Leno-D) Political Reform Act: electronic filing
Suspends the requirement that certain specified entities must file campaign reports online or electronically until January 1, 2010, or until the first filing due six months after the Secretary of State has developed a free online filing process, whichever is earlier.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2801 (Saldana-D) Political Reform Act: collection of fines
Creates an expedited procedure for the Fair Political Practices Commission to collect unpaid penalties in any situation where the time for judicial review of the FPPC's decision has lapsed, or where all means of judicial review of the FPPC's decision have been exhausted. Instead of bringing a civil action with the court to collect the unpaid penalties, the FPPC would be permitted to apply to the clerk of the court for a judgment enforcing the FPPC's decision.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 2932 (Chan-D) California Children and Families Program
Lists three existing statutes that must be covered by the policies adopted by a county children and families commission regarding the commission members' conflicts of interest, including the Political Reform Act.
Chapter 111, Statutes of 2006

AB 2964 (Levine-D) Political Reform Act: late independent expenditure
Requires that a late independent expenditure be reported within 12 hours of the time the expenditure is made.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2974 (Wolk-D) Political Reform Act: lobbying communications
Requires lobbyist employers to report payments to public relations firms and other persons made in connection with formulating strategies to influence legislative or administrative action.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 3060* (Bermudez-D) Political Reform Act: legal funds
Permits candidates to use legal defense funds to pay for expenses associated with pursuing either an election recount or an election contest.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

ACA 28 (Canciamilla-D) Citizens Assembly on Electoral Systems Act
Enacts the Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform Act of 2006, which establishes the Citizens Assembly to evaluate potential reforms of the laws governing the electoral and campaign process, including campaign finance reform, for the Legislature and statewide elected executive officers. Requires, among other things, that the Citizens Assembly provide the public with the opportunity to make recommendations. Authorizes the Citizens Assembly to make interim reports to a legislative committee, as specified, and requires the Citizens Assembly to make a final report of its recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2008. Requires that any proposals adopted by the Citizens Assembly to amend or revise the California Constitution, and makes related statutory changes to be placed on the ballot at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election. Provides that a proposal takes effect if approved by a majority of the voters voting on it.
(Died in Assembly; unassigned to a committee)

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Elections

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SB 11 (Bowen-D) Secretary of State
Prohibits the Secretary of State (SOS), or a candidate for SOS, from supporting or opposing a candidate for public office or from serving as an officer of a political party or partisan organization. Prohibits manufacturers and vendors of voting equipment from making campaign contributions to candidates for elective state office, county supervisor, city council member, mayor, or elections official.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Reapportionment Committee)

SB 117 (Murray-D) Absentee voters
Requires elections officials to provide absentee voters with a business reply envelope in which to return a completed ballot, thus covering the costs of postage for these ballots.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

SB 191 (Cedillo-D) Voter registration materials
Urges the University of California and requires the California State University and the California Community College districts to provide voter registration materials.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

SB 226 (Cox-R) Elections: voting identification
Requires a voter to present proof of his/her identity and residency to a member of the precinct board before receiving a ballot.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)
Similar bills were AB 934 (Wyland-R) and AB 1006 (Keene-R) which failed passage in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee.

SB 272 (Romero-D) Candidates: ballots
Changes the time frame in which a candidates' statement be available for public examination from 10 calendar days immediately after the filing deadline to 10 business days. Requires an election official to post all candidate statements for nonpartisan local elective office to the extent practicable, on their web site if they maintain such a site.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

SB 306* (Ackerman-R) Special statewide election expenses
Augments the 2005-06 Budget Act by appropriating $9.1 million to cover the Secretary of State's expenses related to the November 2005 statewide special election.
Chapter 17, Statutes of 2006

SB 506 (Poochigian-R) Voter registration information
Provides confidentiality of voter registration information to public safety officials, state and federal judges, and court commissioners.
Chapter 466, Statutes of 2006

SB 540 (Kehoe-D) Campaign signs: Tenancy
Provides that a landlord shall not prohibit a tenant from posting or displaying campaign signs relating to an election or legislative vote, including an election for a candidate for public office or the initiative, referendum, or recall process. Campaign signs may be posted or displayed in the window or on the door of the premises leased by the tenant in a multifamily dwelling, or from the yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of the premises leased by a tenant of a single family dwelling.
Vetoed by the Governor

SB 596 (Bowen-D) Municipal elections: voting methods
Permits any city, county, or district to conduct a local election using ranked voting to elect a single candidate to office or for an election to elect two or more candidates to office, as specified. A voting method authorized by this bill could be enacted either by a measure placed on the ballot by the governing body or through the initiative process.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 721 (Chesbro-D) Elections: ballot pamphlets
Codifies the requirements of existing law that, in ruling on a challenge to ballot pamphlet copy, a court indulge all legitimate presumptions in favor of the propriety of the copy, and find the copy sufficient in cases where reasonable minds could differ as to the sufficiency of the copy. States, with regard to a ruling on any challenge to ballot pamphlet copy as to the Legislative Analyst's analysis of a ballot measure, that the primary purposes of that analysis are specified criteria set forth in existing law.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 904 (Scott-D) Candidates: campaign practices
Requires the Secretary of State, on his/her Internet web site, to identify candidates for state or federal offices who have voluntarily subscribed to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices, and to post the text of the code on his/her Internet web site.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 1012 (Florez-D) Voter kiosks
Requires the Secretary of State to implement a pilot program to install voter kiosks in shopping malls in rural counties with the lowest voter turnout for a specified time period. Requires each kiosk to serve as a location for voter registration and, on election days, as a polling place.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 1047 (Bowen-D) Paid circulators: penalties
Prohibits payment on a per-piece or per-signature basis for individuals gathering signatures or registering voters.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

SB 1193 (Bowen-D) Pupil attendance: precinct board membership
Provides that the service of a pupil as a member of a precinct election board during an election is deemed to be participating in independent studies for the computation of state aid.
Vetoed by the Governor

SB 1235 (Bowen-D) Elections
Expands the provisions for conducting the one percent manual tally, as required by law, for elections conducted using voting systems. Requires elections officials to conduct a public manual tally of ballots cast in any election where any method other than a hand count is used to tabulate election results according to specified criteria.
Chapter 893, Statutes of 2006

SB 1243 (Battin-R) Initiative measures: informational public hearings
Moves the responsibility for conducting informational public hearings from the Legislature to the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy on initiative measures.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 1258 (Battin-R) Congressional candidates: extension of time
Extends by five days the deadline for a candidate for the United States House of Representatives or United States Senate to file nominations documents if the incumbent fails to file nomination documents for re-election to that office.
Chapter 152, Statutes of 2006

SB 1276 (Senate Elections, Reapportionment And Constitutional Amendments Committee) Omnibus elections bill
Extends the time interval for holding a special election to fill a vacancy, for an office in the House of Representatives or the State Legislature, to between 112 days and 126 days (instead of 119 days) after the governor issues a proclamation for the election. Clarifies that local elections officials may begin processing absentee ballots on the seventh business day before election day.
Chapter 372, Statutes of 2006

SB 1348 (Battin-R) Voter registration: paid circulators
Makes it a misdemeanor offense, with punishment by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment up to six months in the county jail, or both for any person to knowingly misrepresent himself or herself as having been the person who helped register another person to vote on a registration form and imposes a fine not exceeding $10,000, imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or both for a third or subsequent conviction.
Chapter 377, Statutes of 2006

SB 1519 (Bowen-D) Voting systems: recounts
Requires the Secretary of State, within the Secretary of State's existing budget, to adopt regulations no later than January 1, 2008, for each voting system approved for use in the state, and to specify procedures for recounting ballots, including absentee and provisional ballots, using those voting systems.
Chapter 664, Statutes of 2006

SB 1598 (Bowen-D) Petitions: initiative, referendum, recall
Adds state referendum and recall petitions to the law that requires initiative petitions to reflect whether it is being circulated by a paid circulator or by a volunteer and provides for donor disclosure.
Vetoed by the Governor

SB 1654 (Ortiz-D) Voting: absentee ballot
Expands the list of individuals who may pick-up a ballot for an absentee voter. Provides that the elections official may deliver an absentee ballot to the child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or a person residing in the same household as the absent voter if that recipient signs a statement attested to under the penalty of perjury that provides the name of the applicant, his or her relationship to the applicant, and affirms that he or she is 16 years of age or older and is authorized by the applicant to deliver the absentee ballot.
Chapter 156, Statutes of 2006

SB 1682 (Cox-R) Elections: voting identification
Requires a voter to present proof of his or her identity and residency to a member of the precinct board at each election before they can receive a ballot, as specified.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 1706 (Ortiz-D) Voter corruption: penalties
Makes it a crime for a person to knowingly and without authorization enter an election official's canvass operations area or any area where any voting system component is being operated or stored, as specified.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 1715 (Margett-R) Secretary of State: statewide initiative measures
Extends the circulation period for initiatives from 150 days from the official summary date to 365 days.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

SB 1725 (Bowen-D) Absentee ballots: online information
Requires elections officials, on or before March 1, 2008, to establish procedures to track and confirm the receipt of voted absentee ballots and to make this information available to the absentee voter by means of online access using the county's elections division web site, or if none is available, by means of a toll-free telephone number. Requires the elections official to establish procedures to ensure the security, confidentiality, and integrity of any personal information collected, stored, or otherwise used in tracking absentee ballots.
Chapter 687, Statutes of 2006

SB 1747 (Bowen-D) Elections: counting votes
Authorizes qualified individuals to review the preparation of tabulating devices at central counting places.
Chapter 690, Statutes of 2006

SB 1760 (Bowen-D) Voting systems
Prohibits the Secretary of State (SOS) from approving any voting system that uses paper ballots unless the paper is of sufficient quality to maintain its integrity and readability through the period of time that it is required to be retained. Prohibits the SOS from approving any direct recording electronic voting system unless the paper used for the voter verified paper audit trail is of sufficient quality to maintain its integrity and readability through the period of time that it is required to be retained.
Chapter 178, Statutes of 2006

SCA 4 (Denham-R) Office of the Secretary of State
Designates the Secretary of State as a non-partisan office.
(Failed passage in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)
Similar legislation was AB 5 (Canciamilla-D) which died in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee, and ACA 33 (Canciamilla-D) which died being unassigned to a committee.

SCA 27 (Hollingsworth-R) Initiatives and constitutional amendments
Provides that the Supreme Court would have exclusive original jurisdiction in any civil action in which the validity of any initiative or referendum measure, initiative amendment, general obligation bond act, other ballot measure, or constitutional amendment or revision approved by the voters at a statewide election is challenged.
(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 2 (Benoit-R) Presidential electors
Repeals existing procedures for selection of presidential electors, and instead requires that political parties nominate an elector in each congressional district and two electors on a statewide basis, in accordance with the rules of the political party with which the elector is affiliated. Requires that an elector be a member of the political party that nominates the elector at the time of the nomination and during the four years preceding the nomination, unless the political party was not registered as a party during that period. Requires each elector nominee to sign a pledge that he/she will cast his/her ballot for the candidates for President and Vice President of the United States who receive the plurality of votes in the congressional district in which the elector is nominated, or who receive the plurality of votes in the state in the case of the two electors selected on a statewide basis, unless those candidates are no longer alive at the time the elector's vote is cast, as specified.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 43 (Vargas-D) Write-in candidates
Provides that, in the event of a recount, provisions of law governing the counting of write-in votes shall be liberally construed to ensure that each ballot is counted if the intent of the voter can be determined, regardless of whether the voting instructions have been literally complied with. States that this bill does not constitute a change in the law, but rather, is declaratory of existing law.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 45 (Maze-R) Electoral college
Provides for California's electoral votes to be divided proportionately among presidential tickets based on each ticket's share of the popular vote in the state.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 369 (Benoit-R) Voting systems
Permits the Secretary of State to approve a direct recording electronic voting system (DREVS) that includes an independent electronic verification system or an accessible voter-verified paper audit trail. A city or county that is prohibited as of January 1, 2006, from contracting for or purchasing a DREVS without an accessible voter-verified paper audit trail will be permitted to contract for or purchase a system that includes an independent electronic verification system or an accessible voter-verified paper audit trail. Postpones from January 1, 2006, to January 1, 2008, the requirement that all DREVSs in use have federal qualification and include an accessible voter-verified paper audit trail and permits a system in use after that date to include an independent electronic verification system or an accessible voter-verified paper audit trail.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 432 (Oropeza-D) Elections: new citizens
Authorizes anyone who becomes a United States citizen in the final 14 days before Election Day to register until the close of the polls on Election Day and to vote in that same election.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 591 (Salinas-D) Elections: all-mailed ballot
Extends the sunset date on the all-mailed ballot elections process in Monterey County from December 31, 2005, to December 31, 2008.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 707* (Hancock-D) Voting by mail
Allows any county to conduct the 2006 primary election wholly by mailed ballots.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 821 (Ridley-Thomas-D) Voting rights
Requires county elections officials to provide voter registration forms and copies of the "Guide to Inmate Voting" to local detention facilities, and requires those facilities to make the registration forms and guides available to inmates, as specified.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 867 (Liu-D) All-mailed ballot
Authorizes the following counties to conduct all elections as vote-by-mail only elections until January 1, 2011: Calaveras, Mendocino, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sierra, and Ventura.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 868 (Liu-D) Absentee voting
Allows absentee ballots to be counted, regardless of when they are received by the elections official, provided that such ballots are returned by mail with a postmark on or before the date of the election.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 876 (Garcia-R) Absentee ballots: requirements
Requires a person who is returning an absentee ballot for another voter to sign a roster and to provide specified information when returning that ballot.
(Failed passage in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 1013 (Garcia-R) Local elected officials: vacancy
Provides that the city council shall fill the vacancy within 30 days by appointment of the person who received the third highest number of votes in the prior election for that office. If that person does not exist, cannot be appointed, or will not accept the appointment, the council shall then call a special election to be held within 114 days.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 1129* (Mountjoy-R) Judicial candidates
Allows candidates for judicial office to file their candidate statements by the 83rd day before the election instead of by the 88th day.
Chapter 6, Statutes of 2006

AB 1140 (Dymally-D) Landowner voting districts
Requires a person to be a resident of a water district in order to vote on elections in that district or serve on the board of that district.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 1207 (Yee-D) Code of Fair Campaign Practices
Revises the Code of Fair Campaign Practices, to which candidates may voluntarily subscribe, to specify that a candidate will not use or permit any appeal to negative prejudice bases on a candidate's actual or perceived race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, sexual orientation, or sex including gender identity.
Chapter 551, Statutes 2006

AB 1361* (Dymally-D) Elections: City of Vernon
Requires any election held in the City of Vernon during the 2006, 2007 and 2008 calendar years to be administered by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, subject to approval by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, as specified.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)
A similar bill was AB 2017 (Dymally-D) which died in Assembly Higher Education Committee.

AB 1530 (La Malfa-R) Elections: public employee membership dues
Prohibits the state or any political subdivision from paying membership dues to any organization, trade association, or other entity that expends money for any political campaign, including any election matter involving a candidate or ballot initiative.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 1540* (Bass-D) Elections: SCA 7
Provides the ballot title and summary for the November 7, 2006 ballot for Senate Constitutional Amendment 7.
Chapter 30, Statutes of 2006

AB 1634* (McCarthy-R) Special elections: reimbursement
Appropriates $38.8 million from the General Fund to reimburse counties for costs related to the November 2005 special statewide election.
Chapter 723, Statutes of 2006

AB 1759 (Umberg-D) Campaign expenditure: disclosure
Requires campaign committees that are required to file campaign reports electronically to file an electronic report within 10 business days of making contributions or independent expenditures of $5,000 or more to support or oppose the qualification or passage of a single state ballot measure.
Chapter 438, Statutes of 2006

AB 1799* (McCarthy-R) Elections: payment of expenses
Restores a provision of law that provides that the state shall pay the costs of a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of the California State Senate or Assembly, or to fill a vacancy in the office of the United States Senate or House of Representatives. Only those additional expenses directly related to the election shall be paid for by the state when consolidated with any other local election. Applies to any special election held on or after January 1, 2006.
Chapter 727, Statutes of 2006

AB 1855 (Walters-R) Elections: voter identification
Requires a voter to present photo identification before receiving a ballot at a polling place.
(Failed passage in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 1921* (Chu-D) Special Elections
Provides $1,841,000 from the General Fund to pay county special election costs incurred in 2005 for replacement elections for Congressmen Matsui and Cox, and Assembly Member Gordon.
Chapter 46, Statutes of 2006

AB 2097 (Goldberg-D) Voting systems
Prohibits the use of voting systems that do not include public disclosure of the details of their operating systems.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2191 (Wolk-D) Voter registration: Yolo County
Authorizes Yolo County to conduct a pilot program for the re-registration of voters who move within the county for the November 6, 2007, local election.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 2200 (Mullin-D) Elections: ballot recounts
Requires the elections official to order a recount of the ballots voted in any election in which the difference in the result of the election for a candidate or measure is less than one percent of the total number of votes cast.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2238 (La Malfa-R) Elections: permanent absentee voters
Requires all registered sex offenders who register to vote to be permanent absentee voters.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2269 (Hancock-D) Statewide initiative measures
Makes various substantial changes in the law concerning procedures relative to statewide initiative measures.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2358 (Saldana-D) Absentee ballots
Prohibits an absentee voters party affiliations from being stamped or printed on the absentee ballot identification envelope, except at a partisan primary election.
Chapter 191, Statutes of 2006

AB 2386 (Oropeza-D) Code of Fair Campaign Practices
Requires the state ballot pamphlet to include the Code of Fair Campaign Practices and an indication that a list of those candidates for state or federal office that have subscribed to the Code is available on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2412 (Hancock-D) Advisory elections: casinos
Requires each county to hold an advisory election on any proposal to establish an urban casino within that county.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2430 (Umberg-D) Ballot materials
Requires a local elections official that is required to provide ballot materials in a language other than English to use the translations of state measures provided by the Secretary of State.
Chapter 378, Statutes of 2006

AB 2459 (Oropeza-D) Initiative and referendum petitions
Provides that a person may not circulate an initiative or referendum petition unless that person is registered to vote or was eligible to register to vote in the relevant jurisdiction at the time of the most recent established election date. Requires the declaration on an initiative or referendum petition that is completed by the circulator of the petition to contain the length or period of time that the circulator's residence address has been used as a residence.
(Died in Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee)

AB 2460 (Evans-D) Initiative petitions
Requires the Secretary of State to approve an initiative petition before that petition can be circulated, and establishes procedures to address petitions that are noncompliant.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2504 (Umberg-D) Elections: voters
Makes various changes to provisions governing voters who decline to state a partisan affiliation and independent candidates for office.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2669 (Mountjoy-R) Candidates: nomination papers: filing fee
Exempts a candidate for statewide and local office, whose nomination papers contain at least 500 valid signatures of registered voters in this state or the applicable local jurisdiction, from the payment of any filing fee.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2671 (Salinas-D) Precinct board membership
Deletes the requirement that a student must, in addition to meeting other criteria, be a senior to be eligible to serve as a member of a precinct board.
Chapter 576, Statutes of 2006

AB 2686 (De La Torre-D) Special elections
Requires that state initiatives and referenda that have qualified for placement on the ballot for a vote in either a primary or regularly scheduled statewide general election may not be consolidated in a special statewide election.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2753 (De La Torre-D) Recalls: local offices
Prohibits any elective officer of a city who is subject to a recall election from spending city funds, or participating in any action that will commit to expend city funds, from the day of the recall election until the election is certified. When a majority of voters supports an elective city official's recall, the prohibition on that official's expenditure of city funds continues until the qualification of a successor.
Chapter 193, Statutes of 2006

AB 2769 (Benoit-R) Elections: manual tally
Expands the provisions for conducting the one percent manual tally, as required by law, for elections conducted using voting systems. Requires elections officials to conduct a public manual tally of ballots cast in any election where any method other than a hand count is used to tabulate election results, as specified.
Chapter 894, Statutes of 2006

AB 2770 (Wyland-R) Precinct vote results
Requires votes cast by absentee ballot and votes cast at a polling place to be tabulated by precinct for any statewide election or special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office.
Chapter 424, Statutes of 2006

AB 2772 (Nation-D) Same day voting
Permits a qualified elector to register to vote and vote at the polling place on election day.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2866 (Villines-R) Voting systems
Provides that any person or corporation owning or being interested in any voting system or part of a voting system may request that the Secretary of State examine that system and report on its accuracy and efficiency to fulfill its purpose.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2872 (Huff-R) School districts: registered voters
Increases, for most school and community college districts, the number of qualified registered voters whose signatures are required in order to submit a petition to a county committee on school district organization.
Chapter 126, Statutes of 2006

AB 2879 (Niello-R) Elections: unlawful expenditures
Prohibits the use of local agency funds, services, personnel time, property, supplies, or equipment to advocate the approval or rejection of a ballot measure or to advocate the election or defeat of a candidate by the voters. Clarifies the definitions of "ballot measure," "candidate," "expenditure," and "local agency." Defines "advocate" to include express and implied advocacy, and "voters" as persons who own property in the case where an election or mailed ballot proceeding is limited to property owners.
(Died in Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee)

AB 2946 (Leno-D) Initiative, referendum, and recall petitions
Prohibits the payment of an individual to collect signatures on an initiative, referendum, or recall petition or to register voters if that payment is on a per-signature or per-registration basis.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2948 (Umberg-D) Electoral college votes
Ratifies an interstate compact whereby the state agrees to award its electoral votes to the Presidential ticket that received the most popular votes nationwide if the states who are parties to the compact cumulatively possess a majority of the electoral votes.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2949 (Umberg-D) Elections: presidential primaries
Requires the Secretary of State to schedule California's presidential primary election so that it is held before, or on the same day as, the presidential primary election held in any other state. Requires the presidential primary to be conducted entirely by mail (with return postage paid by the state), and that no candidates for other office or other measure appear on the ballot. Requires the costs of the primary to be paid from the General Fund.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 3024 (Wolk-D) Vote centers: Solano County
Authorizes Solano County to conduct a pilot project whereby the County elections official would establish vote centers in lieu of polling places in each precinct.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 3059 (Assembly Elections And Redistricting Committee) Omnibus election bill
Corrects various erroneous references to the Elections Code. Conforms language in the Education Code with terminology used in the Elections Code. This is one of the Assembly Elections & Redistricting Committee's annual omnibus bills, containing technical and clarifying changes to elections law. When the Elections Code was reorganized in 1994, most, but not all cross-references to the Elections Code were amended to reflect the new code section numbers. In addition, since 1994, various provisions of the Elections Code have been moved, amended, or repealed, but corresponding cross references to those code sections were not corrected. Corrects 23 cross-references to the Elections Code in various other codes. In addition, there is a section of the Education Code that refers to a "regular election date," terminology that has since been replaced by the term "established election date." Corrects two occurrences of "regular election date" that appear in the Education Code.
Chapter 588, Statutes of 2006

AB 3061* (Assembly Elections And Redistricting Committee) Voter registration index
Requires the county elections official to provide a copy of the index of registration to the chair or vice chair of a party state central committee or to the chair of a party county central committee free of charge for any statewide special election.
Chapter 379, Statutes of 2006

AB 3062 (Assembly Elections And Redistricting Committee) Elections omnibus bill
Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to annually provide every high school, community college, and California State University and University of California campus with a number of forms that is consistent with the number of students enrolled at each school who are of voting age or who will be of voting age by the end of the year. Requires the SOS to provide additional forms to any school, free of charge, if so requested by the school. Consolidates two substantially similar code sections governing arguments for municipal ballot measures. Consolidates two substantially similar code sections governing rebuttal arguments for municipal ballot measures. Prohibits a person from filing to run for more than one municipal office or term of office for the same municipality at the same election. Requires the SOS to conduct a random alphabet drawing on the 82nd day before the March general law city elections of each odd-numbered year. Provides that when the SOS is required to conduct a randomized alphabet drawing for a special district, school district, charter city, or other local government body, that drawing shall be conducted on the first weekday following the last possible day of filing in the event there is an extension of the filing period.
Chapter 508, Statutes of 2006

AB 3063 (Assembly Elections And Redistricting Committee) Elections
Clarifies that a school bond election can be held on an established mailed ballot election date if the school district is otherwise permitted to conduct that election by mailed ballot. Clarifies that if a 55 percent school bond issue is to be submitted to the voters at a regularly scheduled local election, it must be an election at which all of the electors of the school district are entitled to vote. Provides that the county elections official does not need to print a partisan ballot for any party that fails to field a candidate for every office in an election, unless the party notifies the elections official within 10 days of the close of filing that a write-in campaign will be conducted. Repeals obsolete language that refers to the requirement to publish or post a formal notice for school bond elections.
Chapter 289, Statutes of 2006

ACA 17 (Mullin-D) Elections: voting age
Allows a person who is at least 17 years of age and will be 18 years of age at the time of the next general election to register and vote at that general election and at any intervening primary or special election that occurs after the person is eligible to register to vote.
(Died on Assembly Inactive File)

ACA 18 (Nation-D) Initiatives
Creates a procedure for legislative review of initiative measures.
(Died on Assembly Third Reading File)

ACA 25 (Frommer-D) Special statewide elections
Amends the California Constitution to revoke the authority of the Governor to call a special statewide election for an initiative measure. Provides that if a state of emergency, including a fiscal emergency, has been called by the Governor and is in effect, the Governor may call a special statewide election and would provide that any measure proposed by the Legislature to the electors that directly relates to the state of emergency, including a constitutional amendment or revision or a general obligation bond act, may be submitted to the voters at that special statewide election.
(Died in Assembly; unassigned to a committee)

ACA 28 (Canciamilla-D) Citizens Assembly on Electoral Systems Act
Enacts the Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform Act of 2006, which establishes the Citizens Assembly to evaluate potential reforms of the laws governing the electoral and campaign process, including campaign finance reform, for the Legislature and statewide elected executive officers.
(Died in Assembly; unassigned to a committee)

ACA 31 (Canciamilla-D) Term limits
Removes existing term limits for legislative members and instead allows a person, during his or her lifetime, to serve not more than 16 years in the Senate, the Assembly, or both, in any combination of terms. Makes a person ineligible to be elected or appointed to any term as a Member of the Legislature if service of the full term of office would exceed the maximum years of service allowed.
(Died in Assembly; unassigned to a committee)

ACA 34 (Umberg-D) Ballot Measure
Prohibits the submission of an initiative or referendum measure at a presidential primary election.
(Died in Assembly; unassigned to a committee)

ACR 72 (Wyland-R) Voter Awareness Week
Proclaims the week of October 16 to 20, 2006, as Voter Awareness Week.
Resolution Chapter 20, Statutes of 2006

ACR 133 (Ridley-Thomas-D) Voter Education and Participation Month
Proclaims the month of April 2006, as "California Voter Education and Participation Month" and would urge all eligible Californians to register to vote, make sure that their family and friends are also registered to vote, and to inform themselves about candidates and measures on the ballot and vote in the June 6, 2006, statewide primary election.
Resolution Chapter 36, Statutes of 2006

AJR 37 (Ridley-Thomas-D) Voting Rights Act of 1965
Memorializes the Congress and the President of the United States to extend the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that are set to expire in the year 2007.
Resolution Chapter 59, Statutes of 2006

HR 31 (Jerome Horton-D) Youth civic participation
Declares that young voters between the ages of 18 and 35 years deserve the attention of political stakeholders on all levels of government, political parties, the media, and the general public to encourage their civic participation.
Adopted by the Assembly

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Reapportionment

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The subject of reapportionment does not become an issue for the Legislature until 2011 when legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization districts are to be redrawn by the Legislature. However, Governor Schwarzenegger was successful in putting on the ballot, for the November 2006 special election, Proposition 77 which revises the reapportionment process. Proposition 77 was defeated by the voters.

SCA 3 (Lowenthal-D) Citizen's Commission on Boundaries and Accountability
Deletes current constitutional provisions and creates a procedure for the appointment of an independent redistricting commission, composed of 11 members, that would be charged with establishing Senate, Assembly, congressional, and Board of Equalization districts of equal population across the state, adjusted as necessary to accommodate various achieve designated goals. Provides that certain records of the redistricting commission are public records and would require the commission to hold public hearings. Grants the California Supreme Court original and exclusive jurisdiction over all challenges to a redistricting plan adopted by the commission, and authorizes an affected elector to file a petition for a writ of mandate or prohibition within 45 days after the commission certified the plan to the Secretary of State. Requires the California Supreme Court to act expeditiously on the petition. If the plan is held to be unconstitutional, requires the court to provide relief as it deems appropriate to remedy any such violation requirements and to otherwise accomplish the purposes of this measure. Requires the establishment of a pool of 55 candidates for appointment to the commission, as nominated by a panel of 10 retired superior court judges or judges of the Court of Appeal appointed by the Judicial Council, requires the selection and appointment of the 11 commission members from this pool according to a specified procedure, by officers of the Senate and Assembly, and by the Fair Political Practices Commission, and provides for the filling of vacancies on the commission.
(Died at Assembly Desk)

ACA 8 (Maze-R) Reapportionment
Provides for a panel of five special masters to be selected at random by the Judicial Council. The panel is to be made up of retired judges, as specified.
(Died in the Assembly being unassigned to a committee)
A similar bill was ACA 3X (McCarthy-R) which died in Assembly District Representation Committee.

AB 7X (Umberg-D) Redistricting: boundaries
Requires that the boundary lines of the Senate, Assembly, Congressional, and Board of Equalization districts be based on census data from a census, as defined, of the population of California that occurred within two years before the boundary lines are adopted. Requires that a census conducted by the state gather all categories of population data necessary to comply with federal and state standards for redistricting, and the actual enumeration shall be supplemented and adjusted using reliable statistical techniques, including sampling, to achieve the most accurate population county possible. Requires that the date on which the census occurs is census day, the day on which the United States Census Bureau or the state bases the population county.
(Died in the Assembly being unassigned to a committee)

ACA 5X (Canciamilla-D) Redistricting
Creates an independent redistricting commission of five members. A panel of 10 retired judges of the Court of Appeals, appointed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments are to nominate 25 persons from a pool of candidates. The Speaker of the Assembly, President pro Tempore of the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader and Assembly Minority Leader will each pick a member from the pool of candidates and the five members will be chosen by the four commission members.
(Died in the Assembly being unassigned to a committee)

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