Bill Text: CA AB4 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Constitutional convention: delegates.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB4 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB4-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 4 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Blakeslee
DECEMBER 1, 2008
An act relating to the Constitutional Convention.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 4, as introduced, Blakeslee. Constitutional convention:
delegates.
The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature, by
rollcall vote entered in the journal, 2/3 of the membership of each
house concurring, to submit at a general election the question
whether to call a convention to revise the Constitution. If a
majority vote yes on that question, the Legislature is required,
within 6 months, to provide for the convention. Delegates to the
convention are required to be voters elected from districts as nearly
equal in population as may be practicable.
This bill would provide for the selection of 56 delegates to the
Constitutional Convention, with 14 delegates selected from each of
the State Board of Equalization districts, as specified. The bill
would prohibit a delegate to the Convention from holding a specified
office or position, including an elective or appointed federal,
state, county, or city office, for 4 years following the date of his
or her appointment as a delegate to the Convention. The term of each
delegate would expire at the time the Convention submits its proposal
to the Secretary of State to be voted on at the next statewide
election.
The bill would further prohibit a voter from being eligible to
serve as a delegate to the Convention if the voter or his or her
immediate family member held a specified office or position,
including an elective or appointed federal, state, county, or city
office, for the 10 years preceding the date of his or her
application.
The bill would require the Convention to convene in the Assembly
Chambers at the Capitol in the City of Sacramento and would specify
the rules for the Convention. The delegates to the Convention would
be paid $300 for each day he or she engaged in Convention business.
The bill would further provide for the removal of a delegate by the
Governor with the concurrence of 3/4 of the Members of the Senate
after the delegate has been served with written notice and provided
an opportunity for a response. Any vacancy of a delegate shall be
filled within 30 days from the date of the vacancy by an applicant
for the Convention who is of the same voter registration category and
the same State Board of Equalization district as the vacating
delegate.
The bill would provide that no employer shall discharge, threaten
to discharge, intimidate, coerce, or retaliate against any employee
by reason of the employee's scheduled attendance at any meeting of
the Constitutional Convention.
The bill would become operative only if ACR ____ is approved by
the voters at a statewide general election.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) Delegates to the Constitutional Convention shall be
elected as follows:
(1) There shall be a total of 56 delegates, with 14 delegates
selected from each of the four State Board of Equalization districts.
(2) Each delegate shall be a voter in the district in which he or
she resides and each delegate shall have had his or her residence in
that district for 10 or more years immediately preceding the date of
his or her appointment.
(3) Each delegate shall be continuously registered in California
with the same political party or unaffiliated with a political party
and may not have changed political party affiliation for five or more
years immediately preceding the date of his or her appointment. Each
delegate shall have voted in two of the last three statewide general
elections immediately preceding his or her application for
appointment.
(4) Each delegate shall submit an application for appointment to
the State Auditor and be subject to the application process described
in Section 2 of this act.
(5) Of the 14 delegates selected from each district, five shall be
registered with the largest qualified political party in California
based on registration, five shall be registered with the second
largest qualified political party in California based on
registration, and four may not be registered with either of the two
largest qualified political parties in California based on
registration.
(b) A voter selected as a delegate to the Constitutional
Convention shall be subject to both of the following:
(1) He or she shall be ineligible for a period of four years,
beginning from the date of his or her appointment, to do any of the
following:
(A) Hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or
city level in this state.
(B) Hold an appointed federal, state, or local public office.
(C) Serve as paid staff for the Legislature or any individual
legislator.
(D) Register as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in this state.
(2) The term of each delegate shall expire when the Constitutional
Convention submits to the Secretary of State its proposal to be
voted on at the next statewide election.
SEC. 2. (a) For purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "Day" means a calendar day, except that if the final day of a
period within which an act is to be performed is a Saturday, Sunday,
or holiday, the period is extended to the next day that is not a
Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.
(2) "Immediate family" means one with whom the person has a bona
fide relationship established through blood or legal relation,
including spouses, parents, children, siblings, and in-laws.
(3) "Panel" means the Constitutional Convention Applicant Review
Panel.
(4) "Qualified independent auditor" means an auditor who is
currently licensed by the California Board of Accountancy and has
been a practicing independent auditor for at least 10 years prior to
appointment to the Constitutional Convention Applicant Review Panel.
(b) (1) Within 90 days of the statewide election in which voters
call a Constitutional Convention, the State Auditor shall initiate
and open an application process, open to all registered California
voters in a manner that promotes a diverse and qualified applicant
pool.
(2) The State Auditor shall remove from the applicant pool
individuals with conflicts of interest, including all of the
following:
(A) Within the 10 years immediately preceding the date of
application, the applicant or a member of his or her immediate family
who has done any of the following:
(i) Been appointed to, elected to, or has been a candidate for
federal or state office.
(ii) Served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a
political party or of the campaign committee of a candidate for
elective federal or state office.
(iii) Served as an elected or appointed member of a political
party central committee.
(iv) Been a registered federal, state, or local lobbyist.
(v) Served as paid staff for a member of Congress, the
Legislature, or the State Board of Equalization.
(vi) Contributed two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more to any
congressional, state, or local candidate for elective public office
in any year, which shall be adjusted every 10 years by the cumulative
change in the California Consumer Price Index, or its successor.
(B) Staff and consultants to, persons under a contract with, and
any person with an immediate family relationship with the Governor, a
Member of the Legislature, a member of Congress, or a member of the
State Board of Equalization.
(3) All applications to be a delegate for the Constitutional
Convention shall be submitted to the State Auditor.
(c) The State Auditor shall establish an Applicant Review Panel,
consisting of three qualified independent auditors, to screen
applicants. The State Auditor shall randomly draw the names of three
qualified independent auditors from a pool consisting of all auditors
employed by the state and licensed by the California Board of
Accountancy at the time of the drawing. The State Auditor shall draw
until the names of three auditors have been drawn, including one who
is registered with the largest qualified political party in
California based on party registration, one who is registered with
the second largest qualified political party in California based on
party registration, and one who is not registered with either of the
two largest qualified political parties in California. After the
drawing, the State Auditor shall notify the three qualified
independent auditors whose names have been drawn that they have been
selected to serve on the panel. If any of the three qualified
independent auditors decline to serve on the panel, the State Auditor
shall resume the random drawing until three qualified independent
auditors who meet the requirements of this subdivision have agreed to
serve on the panel. A member of the panel may not be a person
described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(d) After removing the names of applicants described in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (b), the State Auditor shall publicize the names
in the applicant pool and provide copies of their applications to the
Applicant Review Panel.
(e) No later than 30 days from the date described in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (b), the panel shall do all of the following:
(1) Select 240 of the most qualified applicants, with 60
applicants selected from each of the four State Board of Equalization
districts. For the 60 applicants from each State Board of
Equalization district, 20 shall be registered with the largest
qualified political party in California based on registration, 20
shall be registered with the second largest qualified political party
in California based on registration, and 20 who are not registered
with either of the two largest qualified political parties in
California based on registration.
(2) Create a pool of applicants for each State Board of
Equalization district on the basis of relevant analytical skills and
the ability to be impartial.
(3) The panel shall present its list of recommended applicants to
the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly.
(f) The members of the panel shall not communicate with any State
Board of Equalization member, Senator, Assembly Member, member of
Congress, or any of their respective representatives about any matter
related to the nomination process or applicants prior to the
presentation by the panel of the pool of recommended applicants to
the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly.
(g) No later than 20 days from the date the panel presents its
list of recommended applicants to the Secretary of the Senate and the
Chief Clerk of the Assembly, the President pro Tempore of the
Senate, the Minority Floor Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the
Assembly, and the Minority Floor Leader of the Assembly may each
strike the names of up to two applicants from each pool of 20
applicants described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e). After each
legislative leader has exercised his or her strikes, the Secretary of
the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly shall jointly present
the pool of remaining names to the State Auditor.
(h) (1) No later than 5 days from the date the Secretary of the
Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly jointly present the pool
of remaining names to the State Auditor, the State Auditor shall
randomly draw eight names from that pool of remaining applicants for
each State Board of Equalization district, for a total of 32
applicants. Of the eight names drawn from the pool of remaining
applicants for each district, three applicants shall be registered
with the largest qualified political party in California based on
registration, three applicants shall be registered with the second
largest qualified political party in California based on
registration, and two applicant shall not be registered with either
of the two largest qualified political parties in California based on
registration.
(2) These 32 applicants shall be named as delegates to the
Constitutional Convention.
(i) No later than 20 days from the date the State Auditor randomly
draws the names of the 32 individuals named as delegates to the
Constitutional Convention, those delegates shall review the remaining
names of applicants described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (h)
and name, by majority vote, six additional delegates from each State
Board of Equalization district for a total of 24 delegates. Of these
six delegates, two delegates shall be registered with the largest
qualified political party in California based on registration, two
delegates shall be registered with the second largest qualified
political party in California based on registration, and two
delegates shall not be registered with either of the two largest
qualified political parties in California based on registration. The
selection of these additional delegates shall be based on relevant
analytical skills and ability to be impartial.
(j) The delegates shall convene the Constitutional Convention no
later than 6 months from the date described in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b).
SEC. 3. (a) The delegates selected pursuant to Section 2 of this
act shall meet in Convention in the Assembly Chambers in the State
Capitol Building in the City of Sacramento. After the Convention
meets and is organized, the Convention shall have the power to
adjourn and to hold its meetings, subject to the approval of the
Committee on Rules for each house, in the respective committee rooms
of the Capitol.
(b) (1) The Governor shall attend the opening of the Convention
and administer the constitutional oath of office to the delegates and
shall preside at all meetings of the Convention until a president
and vice president of the Convention have been selected. The Governor
may not cast a vote on any matter presented to Convention.
(2) The Convention shall select a president and a vice president
of the Convention. The president and vice president shall not be
registered with the same political party or both shall not be
registered as declined to state voters.
(3) All votes of the Convention shall be by majority vote,
regardless of which State Board of Equalization district a delegate
resides.
(c) The Convention may adopt its own rules if those rules are
consistent with this act.
(d) The Convention shall comply with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The Convention
shall provide not less than 14 days' public notice for each meeting.
(e) The records of the Convention pertaining to amendments of and
revisions to the California Constitution are public records and shall
be posted in a manner that ensures immediate and widespread public
access.
(f) The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly and the Sergeant-at-Arms
of the Senate shall maintain order and assist the Convention.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Convention has
the authority to incur costs to be paid by the Treasurer upon a
warrant of the Controller. The Convention shall not incur any costs,
in the aggregate, that equal or exceed three million dollars
($3,000,000) without the prior written approval of the Director of
Finance. Any expenditure over this limit by the Convention shall be
reasonable and consistent with the purpose of the Constitutional
Convention, as determined by the Director of Finance.
(h) The Convention shall keep a journal of its proceedings to be
filed, at the final adjournment of the Convention, with the Secretary
of State.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a delegate to the
Convention is not subject to civil process during the session of the
Convention or for five days before and after the session of the
Convention.
(j) Delegates to the Convention shall not be questioned in any
other place for any speech or debate in the Convention.
(k) Each delegate shall be paid three hundred dollars ($300) for
each day the delegate is engaged in Convention business.
(l) All printing for the Convention shall be done by the State
Printing Office.
SEC. 4. (a) In the event of substantial neglect of duty, gross
misconduct in office, or the inability to discharge the duties of
office, a delegate to the Convention may be removed by the Governor
with the concurrence of three-fourths of the Members of the Senate
after the delegate has been served with written notice and provided
an opportunity for a response. A finding of substantial neglect of
duty or gross misconduct in office may result in referring the matter
to the Attorney General for criminal prosecution or to the
appropriate administrative agency for investigation.
(b) Any vacancy, whether created by the removal, resignation, or
absence of a delegate, shall be filled within 30 days after the
vacancy occurs from the pool of applicants described in subdivision
(i) of Section 2 of this act and be of the same voter registration
category and in the same State Board of Equalization district as the
vacating delegate.
SEC. 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no employer
shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, coerce, or
retaliate against any employee by reason of the employee's scheduled
attendance at any meeting of the Constitutional Convention.
SEC. 6. This bill shall become operative only upon the approval of
Assembly Concurrent Resolution ____ of the 2009-10 Regular Session
by the voters at a statewide general election.
