Bill Text: CA AB278 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Municipal elections.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 736, Statutes of 2016. [AB278 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB278-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 278 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 736
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 17, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 11, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 14, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 18, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Roger Hern�ndez
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)
(Coauthor: Senator Hueso)
FEBRUARY 11, 2015
An act to amend Sections 34872, 34877, 34884, and 34886 of, and to
add Sections 34876.5 and 34877.5 to, the Government Code, relating
to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 278, Roger Hern�ndez. Municipal elections.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city to submit
to voters at any municipal or special election an ordinance providing
for the election of members of the legislative body by districts,
from districts, by districts with an elective mayor, or from
districts with an elective mayor. Existing law also authorizes such
an ordinance to be submitted to the voters by means of an initiative
measure. Existing law requires that the ordinance 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, as described above.
This bill would delete the requirement that the ordinance describe
the boundaries, and number, of each legislative district and would
instead require 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. The bill
would require 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 or
adjustments, as specified. The bill would also make numerous
technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law applies certain procedures if a majority of votes on
the subject of incorporating a new city are in favor of incorporation
and in favor of a by district method of election, including, among
other things, requiring the boundaries of the districts of the
legislative body to be as nearly equal in population as possible.
This bill would also require the districts to comply with
applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city with a
population of fewer than 100,000 people to adopt an ordinance that
requires the members of the legislative body to be elected by
district or by district with an elective mayor without submitting the
ordinance for voter approval.
This bill would extend this authority to the legislative body of
any city, regardless of its population.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 34872 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
34872. An ordinance shall state the number of legislative
districts and whether members of the legislative body shall be
elected by districts, from districts, by districts with an elective
mayor, or from districts with an elective mayor.
SEC. 2. Section 34876.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
34876.5. (a) If an ordinance is submitted to the voters pursuant
to Section 34871, there shall be printed on the ballots substantially
as follows:
"Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
elected by (or from) districts?"
or, if applicable:
"Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
elected by (or from) districts, and the Mayor of the City of ____ be
elected on a citywide basis by the voters of the entire city?"
followed by the words "Yes" and "No," so printed that the voters may
express their choice.
(b) If a majority of the voters voting on the proposed ordinance
vote in its favor, members of the legislative body shall be elected
in the manner approved by the voters beginning at the first election
following approval of the district boundaries pursuant to Section
34877.5, and for which the election consolidation deadlines
established in the Elections Code have not passed.
SEC. 3. Section 34877 of the Government Code is amended to read:
34877. The proposition of altering legislative districts shall be
printed on the ballots substantially as follows:
"Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
elected by (or from) districts described in Ordinance No. ____?"
or, if applicable:
"Shall members of the legislative body of the City of ____ be
elected by (or from) districts described in Ordinance No. ____, and
the Mayor of the City of ____ be elected on a citywide basis by the
voters of the entire city?"
followed by the words "Yes" and "No," so printed that the voters may
express their choice.
SEC. 4. Section 34877.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
34877.5. (a) After an ordinance is passed by the voters pursuant
to Section 34876.5, or after an ordinance is enacted by the
legislative body pursuant to Section 34886, 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.
(b) If the legislative body is changing from an at-large method of
election to a district-based election, as those terms are defined in
Section 14026 of the Elections Code, the legislative body shall hold
public hearings pursuant to Section 10010 of the Elections Code. If
the legislative body is otherwise adjusting the district boundaries,
the legislative body shall hold public hearings on the proposed
district boundaries pursuant to Section 21607 of the Elections Code.
SEC. 5. Section 34884 of the Government Code is amended to read:
34884. (a) If, at the time a vote is held on the subject of
incorporation of a new city, a majority of the votes cast is for
incorporation and, if, in accordance with Section 57116, a majority
of the votes cast on the question of whether members of the city
council in future elections are to be elected by district or at large
is in favor of election by district, all of the following procedures
apply:
(1) Before the first day on which voters may nominate candidates
for election at the next regular municipal election, the legislative
body shall, by ordinance or resolution, establish the boundaries of
the districts of the legislative body. The districts shall be as
nearly equal in population as may be. The districts shall comply with
applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52
U.S.C. Sec. 10301 et seq.), as amended. In establishing the
boundaries of the districts, the legislative body may consider the
following factors:
(A) Topography.
(B) Geography.
(C) Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of
territory.
(D) Community of interests of the districts.
(2) The terms of office of the two members elected with the lowest
vote shall expire on the Tuesday succeeding the next regular
municipal election. At that election, members shall be elected by
district in the even-numbered districts and shall hold office for
four years.
(3) The terms of office of the three members elected with the
highest vote shall expire on the Tuesday succeeding the second
regular municipal election following the incorporation. At that
election, members shall be elected by district in the odd-numbered
districts and shall hold office for four years.
(b) The result of the vote cast on the question of whether members
of the city council in future elections are to be elected by
district or at large shall not preclude the submission to the voters
at any future election of a measure in accordance with Section 34871.
SEC. 6. Section 34886 of the Government Code is amended to read:
34886. Notwithstanding Section 34871 or any other law, the
legislative body of a city may adopt an ordinance that requires the
members of the legislative body to be elected by district or by
district with an elective mayor, as described in subdivisions (a) and
(c) of Section 34871, without being required to submit the ordinance
to the voters for approval. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this
section shall 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 (Chapter
1.5 (commencing with Section 14025) of Division 14 of the Elections
Code).
