Bill Text: CA SB654 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Ballot measure petitions: recall petitions: translations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2014-02-27 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [SB654 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB654-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 654 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 26, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senators Leno and Padilla
(Coauthors: Senators Hancock and Yee)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Sections 336, 9002, and 9004 of, and to add
Sections 9023 and 11042.5 to, the Elections Code, relating to
elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 654, Leno. Ballot measure petitions: recall petitions:
translations.
(1) Existing law, the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, requires
the state and certain counties to provide voting materials in
languages other than English, as specified.
Existing law requires the Attorney General, upon receipt of the
text of a proposed initiative measure, to prepare a circulating title
and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to provide a copy of the
circulating title and summary of a proposed initiative measure to the
proponents of the measure and the Secretary of State within 15 days,
as specified. Existing law specifies that the official summary date
of a proposed measure is the date a circulating title and summary is
delivered or mailed by the Attorney General to the proponents of the
proposed measure.
This bill would require the Attorney General to provide a notice
to the proponents stating that, if the proponents intend to circulate
the petition for the proposed initiative measure, the proponents
shall notify the Attorney General, in the manner prescribed by the
Attorney General, of their intention to circulate. Upon receipt of
the proponents' notice of intention to circulate, this bill would
require the Attorney General to prepare a translation of the
circulating title and summary of the proposed initiative measure in
each language in which the state or a county is required to provide
voting materials pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This bill would require the Attorney General to provide a copy of
each translation to the proponents and the Secretary of State, as
specified. This bill would provide that if the proponents of a
proposed initiative measure do not submit a notice of intention to
circulate, the proponents' request for a circulating title and
summary shall be deemed withdrawn and the petition shall not be
circulated for signature. This bill would specify that the official
summary date of a proposed initiative measure is the date a copy of
each translation of the circulating title and summary is delivered or
mailed to the proponents.
(2) Existing law permits any person who is a voter or who is
qualified to register to vote in the state to circulate an initiative
petition for signature and imposes certain requirements on these
circulators.
This bill would require a copy of the applicable translated
circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney General to be
attached to the petition and made available to each person whom the
circulator solicits in that language to sign the petition and to any
other person upon request.
(3) Existing provisions of the California Constitution and statute
authorize the recall of state officers. Existing law requires the
proponents of the recall to file 2 blank copies of the petition to
recall the officer with the Secretary of State, who is required to
ascertain if the proposed form and wording of the petition meet
specified requirements.
This bill would require the Secretary of State to prepare a
translation of the petition for the recall of a state officer in each
language in which the state or a county, as specified, is required
to provide voting materials pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act
of 1965. This bill would require the Secretary of State, within 10
days after ascertaining that the proposed form and wording of the
recall petition meet specified requirements, to provide a copy of
each translation to the proponents.
(4) Existing law requires a recall petition to use a specified
format and contain certain information. Under existing law, any
person who is a registered voter of the electoral jurisdiction of the
officer sought to be recalled may circulate the recall petition for
signatures.
If a recall petition is circulated in a specified county, this
bill would require a copy of the applicable translation of the
petition prepared by the Secretary of State to be attached to the
petition and made available to each person whom the circulator
solicits in that language to sign the petition and to any person upon
request.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California is a diverse state with a government selected by
the votes of its citizens. The state's robust initiative process is
designed to put lawmaking in the hands of the people, and continues
to play an important role in setting public policy with regard to
education, civil rights, fiscal policy, and other issues that affect
the lives of all Californians, including the state's 6.9 million
limited-English-proficient residents. The referendum and recall
processes also play an important role in developing public policy.
(b) The signature-gathering phase to qualify these proposed
measures for the ballot is an integral part of the state's electoral
system.
(c) The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 et
seq.) prohibits discriminatory voting practices and protects the
rights of voters with limited English proficiency by requiring
covered jurisdictions to provide voting materials in the languages of
specified minority groups. However, ballot measure petitions, which
are circulated for signature in hopes of qualifying a measure for the
ballot, are not provided in languages other than English. As a
result, millions of voters with limited English proficiency are
excluded from playing a role in determining which proposed measures
qualify for the ballot.
(d) The provision of translated versions of circulating titles and
summaries of initiative measures, and of translated versions of
recall petitions, will further the purpose of the federal Voting
Rights Act of 1965 and ensure that voters with limited English
proficiency have the ability to exercise their fundamental democratic
rights.
SEC. 2. Section 336 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
336. The "official summary date" is the date a copy of the
translations of a circulating title and summary of a proposed
initiative measure is delivered or mailed by the Attorney General to
the proponents of the proposed measure.
SEC. 3. Section 9002 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9002. (a) The Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title
and summary to the Secretary of State and the proponents within 15
days after receipt of the final version of a proposed initiative
measure, or, if a fiscal estimate or opinion is to be included,
within 15 days after receipt of the fiscal estimate or opinion
prepared by the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee pursuant to Section 9005. If during the 15-day
period the proponents of the proposed initiative measure submit
amendments, other than technical, nonsubstantive amendments, to the
final version of the measure, the Attorney General shall provide a
copy of the title and summary to the Secretary of State within 15
days after receipt of the amendments.
(b) The amendment shall be submitted with a signed request by all
the proponents to prepare a circulating title and summary using the
amended language.
(c) The amendment shall be submitted to the Attorney General's
Initiative Coordinator located in the Sacramento Attorney General's
Office via United States Postal Service, alternative mail service, or
personal delivery. Only printed documents will be accepted;
facsimile or email delivery will not be accepted.
SEC. 4. Section 9004 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
9004. (a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed initiative
measure, 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 a total of 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 hereby made
applicable to the circulating title and summary.
(b) The Attorney General shall provide a copy of the circulating
title and summary and its unique numeric identifier to the Secretary
of State and the proponents within 15 days, as specified in Section
9002. For each request for a circulating title and summary received
by the Attorney General on or after January 1, 2014, the Attorney
General shall include with the copy of the circulating title and
summary a notice stating that, if the proponents intend to circulate
the proposed initiative measure, the proponents shall, no later than
five business days after receipt of the copy of the circulating title
and summary, notify the Attorney General, in the manner prescribed
by the Attorney General, of their intention to circulate the
petition.
(c) If the proponents intend to circulate the initiative measure
petition, the proponents shall, no later than five business days
after receipt of the copy of the circulating title and summary,
notify the Attorney General, in the manner prescribed by the Attorney
General, of their intention to circulate the petition.
(d) (1) Upon receipt of the proponents' notice of intention to
circulate, the Attorney General shall prepare a translation of the
circulating title and summary of the proposed initiative measure in
each language in which the state or a county is required to provide
voting materials pursuant to Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a)
of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Attorney General shall
provide a copy of each translation to the proponents and the
Secretary of State no later than 10 days after receipt of the notice
of intention to circulate.
(2) Upon receipt of each translation of the circulating title and
summary from the Attorney General, the Secretary of State shall,
within one business day, notify the proponents and county elections
official of each county of the official summary date and provide a
copy of the circulating title and summary and each applicable
translation to each county elections official. The notification
provided pursuant to this paragraph shall also include a complete
schedule showing the maximum filing deadline, and the certification
deadline by the counties to the Secretary of State.
(e) If the proponents do not notify the Attorney General of their
intention to circulate the petition in accordance with subdivision
(c), the Attorney General shall notify the Secretary of State of that
fact, the proponents' request for a circulating title and summary
shall be deemed withdrawn, and the petition shall not be circulated
for signature.
SEC. 5. Section 9023 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
9023. In the event that the circulator of an initiative petition
circulates the petition in a county covered by Section 203 (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 1973aa-1a) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, a copy of
the applicable translated circulating title and summary prepared by
the Attorney General shall be attached to the petition and made
available to each person whom the circulator solicits in that
language to sign the petition and to any other person upon request.
SEC. 6. Section 11042.5 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
11042.5. (a) This section applies only to the recall of state
officers.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of
State shall prepare a translation of the petition in each language in
which the state or a county is required to provide voting materials
pursuant to Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) of the federal
Voting Rights Act of 1965.
(2) If the officer sought to be recalled is a State Senator,
Member of the Assembly, Member of the Board of Equalization, or
justice of a court of appeal, the Secretary of State shall prepare a
translation of the petition in each language in which the state or a
county included within the officer's electoral jurisdiction is
required to provide voting materials pursuant to Section 203 (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
(c) The Secretary of State shall provide a copy of each
translation to the proponents within 10 days after ascertaining that
the proposed form and wording of the petition meet the requirements
of this chapter.
(d) If a recall petition is circulated in a county covered by
Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) of the federal Voting Rights
Act of 1965, a copy of the applicable translation of the petition
prepared by the Secretary of State shall be attached to the petition
and made available to each person whom the circulator solicits in
that language to sign the petition and to any other person upon
request.
