Bill Text: CA AB421 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Elections: referendum measures.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 33-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-09-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 162, Statutes of 2023. [AB421 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB421-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 12, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 23, 2023 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan (Coauthors: Assembly Members Addis, Bennett, Berman, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Connolly, Mike Fong, Gabriel, Haney, Hart, Kalra, Lee, McKinnor, Ortega, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, and Ward) (Coauthors: Senators Blakespear, Gonzalez, Portantino, and Wiener) |
February 02, 2023 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may beSEC. 2.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:SEC. 2.SEC. 3.
Section 101 of the Elections Code is amended to read:101.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, except as provided in subdivision (b), a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition required to be signed by voters shall contain in 11-point type, before that portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, the following language, in order:SEC. 3.SEC. 4.
Section 104 of the Elections Code is amended to read:104.
(a) Wherever any petition or paper is submitted to the elections official, each section of the petition or paper shall have attached to it a declaration signed by the circulator of the petition or paper, setting forth, in the circulator’s own hand, the following:SEC. 4.SEC. 5.
Section 107 of the Elections Code is amended to read:107.
(a) (1) A committee formed pursuant to Section 82013 of the Government Code that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition shall create an Official Top Funders sheet as follows, with all text in a black roman type with a type size of 14 point on a plain, contrasting background, and centered horizontally, except as described below. None of the text shall have its type condensed or have the spacing between characters reduced to be narrower than a normal roman type. Unless otherwise specified, the text shall not be boldface type.SEC. 6.
Section 303 of the Elections Code is amended to read:303.
(a) “Ballot label” means that portion of the ballot containing the names of the candidates or a statement of a measure. For statewide measures, except as provided in subdivision (b), the ballot label shall contain a condensed version of the ballot title and summary, including the fiscal impact summary prepared pursuant to Section 9087 of this code and Section 88003 of the Government Code, that is no more than 75 words, followed by a listing of the names of supporters and opponents in the ballot arguments printed in the state voter information guide as described in subdivision (c) of Section 9051.SEC. 7.
Section 303.5 of the Elections Code is amended to read:303.5.
(a) “Ballot title” is the name of a statewideSEC. 8.
Section 9003 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9003.
SEC. 5.SEC. 9.
Section 9004 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9004.
(a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed initiative measure, and after the public review period provided for in Section 9002, the Attorney General shall prepare a circulating title and summary of the chief purposes and points of the proposed measure. The circulating title and summary shall not exceed 100 words. The Attorney General shall also provide a unique numeric identifier for each proposed initiative measure. The circulating title and summary shall be prepared in the manner provided for the preparation of ballot titles and summaries in Article 5 (commencing with Section 9050), the provisions of which, in regard to the preparation, filing, and settlement of ballot titles and summaries, are applicable to the circulating title and summary.SEC. 10.
Section 9006 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9006.
(a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed referendum, the Attorney General shall prepare a circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed statute atSEC. 6.SEC. 11.
Section 9007 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9007.
Immediately upon the preparation of the circulating title and summary of a proposed initiative or referendum measure, the Attorney General shall forthwith transmit copies of the text of the measure, the circulating title and summary, and the determination made pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 9004 to the Senate and the Assembly. The appropriate committees of each house may hold public hearings on the subject of the measure. However, nothing in this section shall be construed as authority for the Legislature to alter the measure or prevent it from appearing on the ballot.SEC. 7.SEC. 12.
Section 9009.5 is added to the Elections Code, to read:9009.5.
(a) For a proposed statewide initiative measure described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 9014, the first page of the petition shall be in substantially the following form and in sans serif type unless otherwise specified:SEC. 8.SEC. 13.
Section 9010 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9010.
(a)For a proposed statewide referendum measure, the first page of the petition shall be in substantially the following form and in sans serif type unless otherwise specified:SEC. 9.SEC. 14.
Section 9012 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9012.
(a) Any petition for a proposed initiative measure or referendum may be presented in sections, but each section shall contain a full and correct copy of the circulating title and summary and text of the proposed measure. The text of the proposed measure shall be printed in type not smaller than 8 point.SEC. 10.SEC. 15.
Section 9014 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9014.
(a) A petition for a proposed initiative or referendum measure shall not be circulated for signatures prior to the official summary date.(3)
SEC. 11.SEC. 16.
Section 9020 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9020.
(a) The petition sections shall be designed so that each signer shall personally affix all of the following:SEC. 12.SEC. 17.
Section 9023 is added to the Elections Code, to read:9023.
In addition to the information required by Sections 104 and 9022, the declaration of a person who solicits signatures for a proposed statewide referendum measure or a statewide initiative measure described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 9014 and does not receive money or other valuable consideration for the specific purpose of soliciting signatures of electors on the petition, for purposes of the requirement of subdivision (a) of Section 9036, shall declare all of the following:SEC. 13.SEC. 18.
Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 9025) is added to Chapter 1 of Division 9 of the Elections Code, to read:Article 2.5. Petition Circulator Accountability
9025.
(a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the California Petition Circulator Accountability Act of 2023.9026.
The Secretary of State shall design and administer a training program for petition circulators that includes training regarding the petition circulator registration requirements described in Section 9027 and the laws that govern petition circulation, including acts that constitute prohibited conduct for circulators during the signature collection and petition filing process.9027.
(a) A petition circulator shall not receive payments of money or other valuable consideration to obtain signatures on a petition unless the circulator registers with the Secretary of State in the manner prescribed by this section.9028.
(a) The Secretary of State shall prescribe a system for numbering the sections of a petition circulated by a paid circulator for a measure described in subdivision (b) of Section 9025.(3)The circulator’s registration number.
(4)
(5)
SEC. 14.SEC. 19.
Section 9030 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9030.
(a) Each section of the petition shall be filed with the elections official of the county or city and county for which it was circulated, but all sections circulated in any county or city and county shall be filed at the same time. Once filed, no petition section shall be amended except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.SEC. 15.SEC. 20.
Section 9031 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9031.
(a) (1) If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures on all petition sections, including those submitted to satisfy the requirement of subdivision (a) of Section 9036, is within 95 to 110 percent of the number of signatures of qualified voters needed to declare the petition sufficient, the Secretary of State shall order the examination and verification of each signature filed, and shall so notify the elections officials.SEC. 16.SEC. 21.
Section 9034 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9034.
(a) The proponents of a proposed initiative measure shall submit a certification, signed under penalty of perjury, to the Secretary of State immediately upon the collection of 25 percent of the number of signatures needed to qualify the initiative measure for the ballot.SEC. 17.SEC. 22.
Section 9036 is added to the Elections Code, to read:9036.
(a) For a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure or a statewide initiative measure described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 9014, at least 10 percent of the signatures required under Section 9035 shall be presented on a petition or section of a petition that was circulated by a person who does not receive money or other valuable consideration(3)For purposes of this subdivision, an individual member of a local union is a member of any national or international union of which the local union is a part and of any federation with which the local, national, or international union is affiliated. An individual member or employee of a national or international union, of which a local union is a part, is a member or employee of all affiliated unions of the local, national, or international union.
(4)
(5)An employee or individual member of a labor organization who is on a full-time, part-time, permanent, or temporary leave of absence or is otherwise relieved of the responsibilities of their regular employment and who is employed or paid by a labor organization or a committee sponsored by a labor organization for purposes of soliciting signatures of electors shall not be deemed a person who has an exclusive or primary purpose of soliciting signatures on a ballot measure petition.
(6)
(c)Signatures that are solicited by a person who is a registered voter of a political party, a member of a political party committee as defined in Section 85205 of the Government Code, or an employee of a political party or a political party committee and who receives money or other valuable consideration for soliciting signatures on a ballot measure petition from the political party or political party committee do not count towards the number of signatures needed to satisfy the requirement of subdivision (a).
(d)
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to preclude a nonprofit organization other than a political party committee that has a primary purpose other than soliciting signatures on ballot measure petitions from soliciting signatures from the nonprofit organization’s members through direct mail and relying on those signatures for purposes of satisfying the requirement set forth in subdivision (a).
(e)
(f)
(g)For purposes of verifying signatures under Sections 9030 and 9031 and the procedures set forth by
the Secretary of State, if the signature of a qualified voter appears once on a petition or section of a petition submitted to satisfy subdivision (a) of this section, and the same voter’s signature appears on a petition or section of a petition that does not satisfy subdivision (a), the voter’s signature shall be counted as a duplicate signature and shall not count towards satisfying subdivision (a).
SEC. 23.
Section 9037 is added to the Elections Code, to read:9037.
(a) The signatures on a petition for a statewide referendum measure or a statewide initiative measure described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 9014 shall be deemed invalid and shall not be used for the purpose of determining whether the measure qualifies for the ballot if any of the signatures thereon were solicited by a person who, in connection with the circulation of the petition, intentionally engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, or any conduct described in Sections 18600, 18601, 18602, or 18603, or by a person who falsely claimed to have not received money or other valuable consideration for the specific purpose of soliciting signatures of electors pursuant to Section 9036.SEC. 24.
Section 9050 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9050.
(a) After the Secretary of State determines that a measure will appear on the ballot at the next statewide election, the Secretary of State shall promptly transmit a copy of the measure to the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall provide and return to the Secretary of State a ballot title and summary and the condensed ballot title and summary prepared pursuant to Section 303 for each measure submitted to the voters of the whole state by a date sufficient to meet the state voter information guide public display deadlines.SEC. 25.
Section 9051 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9051.
(a) (1) The ballot title and summary may differ from the legislative, circulating, or other title and summary of the measure and shall not exceed 100 words, not including the fiscal impact statement.(d)
(e)