Bill Text: CA AB666 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 666 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Elections: voter information guides: candidate statements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-08-20 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 160, Statutes of 2018. [AB666 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB666-Chaptered.html

Assembly Bill No. 666

CHAPTER 160

An act to add Section 13307.7 to the Elections Code, relating to elections.

[ Approved by Governor August 20, 2018. Filed with Secretary of State August 20, 2018. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 666, Aguiar-Curry. Elections: voter information guides: candidate statements.

Under existing law, a candidate for State Senate or Assembly who accepts specified voluntary expenditure limits may purchase the space to place a statement in the voter information portion of the county voter information guide that does not exceed 250 words. Existing law requires that statement to be submitted in accordance with certain timeframes and procedures for the preparation of the voter information portion of the county voter information guide.

This bill would require an elections official who posts a form on his or her Internet Web site for a candidate for State Senate or Assembly to use to submit his or her statement, as described above, to accept that form by electronic submission if it is submitted in accordance with certain timeframes and procedures for the preparation of the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. The bill would also require the elections official of each county to accept the form from a candidate’s county of residence if the candidate is running in a multicounty district, and it would also prohibit an elections official from requiring a candidate to submit any additional forms as a means of correcting Internet Web site posting errors made by the elections official, except as provided.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 13307.7 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

13307.7.

(a) If the elections official posts the form to be used by a candidate to submit a candidate statement pursuant to Section 13307, Section 13307.5, or subdivision (c) of Section 85601 of the Government Code, on the elections official’s Internet Web site, the elections official shall accept the electronic submission of that form if it is submitted in accordance with the times and procedures set forth in this code for the preparation of the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. If the candidate is running in a multicounty district, the elections official of each county shall accept the form from the candidate’s county of residence; however, the candidate shall provide a hard copy of the candidate statement form and payment of the requisite fee to each county. The elections official shall not require the candidate to submit any additional forms as a means of correcting Internet Web site posting errors made by the elections official.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), an elections official may require a candidate to provide additional information that the official needs to comply with state law and county voter information guide requirements.