Existing law requires the Governor, within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, to issue a proclamation calling a special election in accordance with certain requirements. Existing law requires a special primary election in the district in which the vacancy occurred to be held on the 9th or 10th Tuesday preceding the day of the special general election at which the vacancy is to be filled. Existing law requires all candidates to be listed on one ballot and, if any candidate receives a majority of all votes cast at the special primary election, requires that the candidate receiving the majority of the votes cast be declared elected and cancels the special general election. Existing law also requires that a candidate be declared elected and cancels the special general election if only one candidate qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special general election ballot.

This bill would authorize the Governor to declare a candidate for a legislative office elected if only one candidate for the legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot, and would cancel the special primary election and special general election if the Governor declares such a candidate elected. The bill would also require the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling for the special election if a special primary election or a special general election is canceled because a candidate has been declared elected, as specified. The bill would clarify that a candidate is declared elected, for purposes of the existing provisions described above, by the Secretary of State.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the Governor, within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, to issue a proclamation calling a special election in accordance with certain requirements. Existing law requires a special primary election in the district in which the vacancy occurred to be held on the 9th or 10th Tuesday preceding the day of the special general election at which the vacancy is to be filled. Existing law requires all candidates to be listed on one ballot and, if any candidate receives a majority of all votes cast at the special primary election, requires that the candidate receiving the majority of the votes cast be declared elected and cancels the special general election. Existing law also requires that a candidate be declared elected and cancels the special general election if only one candidate qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special general election ballot.

This bill would authorize the Governor to declare a candidate for a legislative office elected if only one candidate for the legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot, and would cancel the special primary election and special general election if the Governor declares such a candidate elected. The bill would also require the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling for the special election if a special primary election or a special general election is canceled because a candidate has been declared elected, as specified. The bill would specify clarify that a candidate is declared elected, for purposes of the existing provisions described above, by the Governor. Secretary of State.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the Governor, within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, to issue a proclamation calling a special election in accordance with certain requirements. Existing law requires a special primary election in the district in which the vacancy occurred to be held on the 9th or 10th Tuesday preceding the day of the special general election at which the vacancy is to be filled. Existing law requires all candidates to be listed on one ballot and, if any candidate receives a majority of all votes cast at the special primary election, requires that the candidate receiving the majority of the votes cast be declared elected and cancels the special general election. Existing law also requires that a candidate be declared elected and cancels the special general election if only one candidate qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special general election ballot.

This bill would require the Secretary of State authorize the Governor to declare a candidate for a legislative office elected and would cancel the special primary election and special general election if only one candidate for the legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot and no person has qualified to be a write-in candidate at the special primary election. ballot, and would cancel the special primary election and special general election if the Governor declares such a candidate elected. The bill would also require the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling for the special election if a special primary election or a special general election is canceled because a candidate has been declared elected, as specified. The bill would clarify specify that a candidate is declared elected, for purposes of the existing provisions described above, by the Secretary of State. Governor.

Existing law, the California Finance Lenders Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders and brokers by the Commissioner of Business Oversight. Under existing law, on any loan made that is secured by real property, an appraisal fee not to exceed the actual cost of the appraisal is authorized to be charged by the licensee if a written appraisal is provided to the licensee by a qualified appraiser. Under existing law, only one fee for appraising the same real property is authorized to be collected unless the borrower has obtained a new or additional loan and more than one year has elapsed since the prior appraisal. Existing law specifies that this fee is not included in, among other things, charges, as defined for purposes of this law.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that definition.

 VETO 

Bill No: SB 49

Author: Runner (R)

Amended: 6/23/15

Vote: 27 - Urgency

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/16/15

AYES: Allen, Anderson, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 7/9/15

AYES: Allen, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson, Galgiani

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 70-4, 6/27/16 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Elections: special elections

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill provides that when only one candidate for a legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, the Governor may cancel the election and that candidate will be declared elected.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires the Governor to issue a proclamation calling a special election within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office. If that vacancy occurs after the close of the nomination period in the final year of the term of office, the Governor may decline to call a special congressional election and he is prohibited from calling a special legislative election.
2. Requires a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly shall be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor, except that any special election may be conducted within 180 days following the proclamation in order that the election or the primary election may be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election or local election occurring wholly or partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists, provided that the voters eligible to vote in the local election comprise at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote on the vacancy.
3. Requires that a special primary election to fill a legislative or congressional vacancy occur on the ninth or tenth Tuesday prior to the special general election.
4. Requires that nomination papers for one of these special vacancy elections must be submitted to the appropriate county elections official no later than 53 days prior to the special primary election.
5. Requires every person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have his or her name as written on the ballot of an election counted for a particular office to file with the appropriate elections official a statement of write-in candidacy no later than 14 days prior to the election.
6. Provides that if any candidate receives a majority of all votes cast, he or she shall be declared elected, and no special general election shall be held.
   
7. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a municipal office the governing body of the city may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election.
8. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a district office the supervising authority of the district may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election unless a petition signed by 10 percent of the voters or 50 voters, whichever is the smaller number, in the district or division if elected by division, requesting that the general district election be held.
9. Provides that if only the incumbent has filed nomination papers for the office of superior court judge, his or her name will not appear on the ballot unless within 10 days after the filing deadline a petition is filed indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office which is signed by one-tenth of one percent of the registered voters qualified to vote for that office, except that the petition must have no fewer than 100 and does not need more than 600 signatures.

This bill:

1. Provides that when only one candidate for a legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, the Governor may cancel the election and that candidate will be declared elected.
2. Requires the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling for the special election if a special primary election is canceled because a candidate has been declared elected in this manner.
3. Contains an urgency clause thereby providing that it takes effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Background

Recent Proliferation of Special Vacancy Elections. Since 2009 there have been a total of 39 special elections to fill legislative vacancies in California, the majority of which were not consolidated with statewide elections. Special vacancy elections are generally unexpected; therefore, counties cannot forecast the cost in their budgets. According to county elections officials affected by special elections, costs associated with conducting special elections result in an average of $1 million, depending on the size of the county or counties affected. Costs are much lower if the vacancy election is consolidated with another election. The price tag of special elections is more concerning when factored with the typical low voter turnout associated with them.

State Funding of Vacancy Elections. From 1993 through 2007, the state reimbursed California counties for the costs of special elections held to fill legislative and congressional vacancies. However, the provision of state law that required the state to reimburse counties for these costs expired January 1, 2008. Since 2008, numerous bills to continue state reimbursement have all failed passage in the Legislature.

Filling Legislative Vacancies in Other States. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, when a vacancy occurs in the legislature, 23 states hold a special election to fill the vacancy, 26 states fill vacancies by appointment and one state allows party committees to choose to hold a special primary election or to hold a party convention. There is considerable variation among the states in terms of who makes the appointment, and whether the appointee must be of the same political party as the person vacating the seat.

Elected State Offices that the Governor May Fill by Appointment. Existing law vests the Governor with specific appointing authority. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, or Attorney General, or on the State Board of Equalization, the Governor shall nominate a person to fill the vacancy who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate and a majority of the membership of the Assembly.

While this bill does not grant the Governor the ability to fill legislative vacancies by appointment, it does permit the Governor to declare a candidate for a legislative office elected at a special primary election to fill a legislative vacancy if only one candidate for the legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot.

Comments

1. According to the author, earlier this year a special election was conducted to fill a vacancy in Senate District 21. Senator Runner was the only candidate who qualified to appear on the ballot. A similar circumstance prevailed during the election of Assemblymember Carol Migden in 1996.
   
   These single candidate special elections cost counties millions of taxpayer dollars. Current law does not provide any alternative to actually conducting the special election once the Governor has set the date. Los Angeles County spent $1.4 million on the special election earlier this year while San Bernardino County spent $221,000.00
2. No Write-In Candidates Allowed. Under this bill, a special election to fill a legislative vacancy could be canceled if only one candidate files nomination papers by the deadline to appear on the special primary ballot. This would effectively preclude any potential write-in candidates from being able to seek the office. As stated in the “Existing law” section, above, such a precedent exists for some local offices although a specified petition can force the election to proceed for district and judicial elections.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 7/8/15)

California State Association of Counties

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors

San Bernardino County

OPPOSITION: (Verified 7/8/15)

None received

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 49 without my signature.

When only one candidate qualifies for a special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, this bill permits a Governor to cancel the election and declare the candidate elected.

In the situation envisioned by this bill, potential write-in candidates would be excluded from participating in the election. This doesn't seem consistent with democratic principles that call for choice and robust debate.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 70-4, 6/27/16

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Arambula, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood

NOES: Travis Allen, Gordon, Levine, Ting

NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Brough, Gray, Medina, Thurmond, Rendon

Prepared by: Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

7/29/16 10:51:49

**** END ****

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 49

Author:(Runner)

As Amended Ver:June 23, 2015

2/3 vote. Urgency

SENATE VOTE: 38-0

SUMMARY: Permits the Governor to declare a candidate for legislative office elected at a special primary election to fill a legislative vacancy, as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1. Authorizes the Governor, if only one candidate for a legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on a special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, to declare the candidate elected.
2. Provides that the special primary election and special general election will not be held if the Governor declares a candidate elected pursuant to the provisions of this bill and requires the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling the special election.
3. Contains an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect immediately upon enactment.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the Governor, within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, to issue a proclamation calling a special election, as specified.
2. Provides that if only one candidate qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special general election ballot, that candidate shall be declared elected, and no special general election shall be held.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, significant savings to counties from not having to conduct special elections when a candidate is declared elected pursuant to this bill. Such special elections, if not consolidated with another election, typically cost in excess of $1 million.

From 1993 through 2007, the state reimbursed California counties for the costs of special elections held to fill legislative and congressional vacancies. Provisions requiring the state to reimburse counties for these costs expired January 1, 2008, however. Since that time, numerous bills to continue state reimbursement have all failed passage.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "[Last] year a special election was conducted to fill a vacancy in Senate District 21. Senator Runner was the only candidate who qualified to appear on the ballot. A similar circumstance prevailed during the election of Senator Carol Migden in 1996. In fact, since 1979 there has only been 3 instances where this was the case. While most candidates may desire an election where they are the only qualified candidate on the ballot, I was troubled by the enormous cost to our counties and ultimately to taxpayers to conduct such an election. In the Senate District election to fill the vacancy, Los Angeles County spent $1.4 million while San Bernardino incurred costs of $221,000."

California Constitution Article V, Section 5 vests the Governor with appointing authority to fill vacancies in specified offices. Specifically, Section 5 requires the Governor, whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State (SOS), Controller, Treasurer, or Attorney General, or on the State Board of Equalization, to nominate a person to fill the vacancy who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate and a majority of the membership of the Assembly. However, if there is a congressional or legislative vacancy, state law requires a special election to be held to fill that vacancy, as specified. This bill provides the Governor with new authority to declare a candidate for legislative office elected to fill a legislative vacancy.

Since 2009, there have been a total of 38 special elections to fill legislative vacancies in California, the majority of which were not consolidated with statewide elections. Special vacancy elections are generally unexpected; therefore, counties cannot forecast the cost in their budgets. According to county elections officials affected by special elections, costs associated with conducting special elections average $1 million, depending on the size of the county or counties affected.

While current law prohibits a person from being a write-in candidate at a general election for a voter-nominated office, it permits write-in candidates at primary elections. Existing law requires a candidate's nomination papers for a special primary election to be submitted to the appropriate elections officials for examination and filed with the SOS not less than 53 days prior to the primary election. A write-in candidate, however, is required to have his or her nomination papers filed 14 days prior to the election. This bill permits the Governor to cancel a special primary election and a special general election for a legislative vacancy if only one candidate files his or her nomination papers by the deadline and qualifies to have his or her name appear on the special primary ballot. In other words, if only one candidate submits his or her nomination papers by the 53-day deadline and qualifies to have his or her name on the special primary election ballot, the provisions of this bill authorize the Governor to declare that candidate for legislative office elected. As a result this would preclude potential write-in candidates from being able to seek the office as the deadline to file nominations papers for a write-in candidate is 14 days prior to the election. Such a precedent exists for some local offices although in some cases, voters can force the election to be held by filing a petition containing a specified number of signatures.

Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.

Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0002935

Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Jimmy Gomez, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 49

Author:(Runner) – As Amended Ver:June 23, 2015

Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill authorizes the Governor, if only one candidate for an Assembly or Senate office qualifies for inclusion on a special election primary ballot, to declare that candidate elected, thus cancelling the special primary and special general elections.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Significant savings to counties from not having to conduct special elections when a candidate is declared elected pursuant to this bill. Such special elections, if not consolidated with another election, typically cost in excess of $1 million.

From 1993 through 2007, the state reimbursed California counties for the costs of special elections held to fill legislative and congressional vacancies. Provisions requiring the state to reimburse counties for these costs expired January 1, 2008, however. Since that time, numerous bills to continue state reimbursement have all failed passage.

COMMENTS:

Purpose. The author was elected last year in a special election for the Senate in which she was the only candidate. The estimated cost of that election was $1.6 million. The author seeks to save such costs when similar circumstances occur in the future.

Analysis Prepared by: Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: August 24, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 49

Author:(Runner) – As Amended Ver:June 23, 2015

SENATE VOTE: 38-0

SUBJECT: Elections: special elections.

SUMMARY: Permits the Governor to declare a candidate for legislative office elected at a special primary election to fill a legislative vacancy, as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1. Authorizes the Governor, if only one candidate for a legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on a special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, to declare the candidate elected.

2. Provides that the special primary election and special general election will not be held if the Governor declares a candidate elected pursuant to the provisions of this bill and requires the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling the special election.

3. Contains an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect immediately upon enactment.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the Governor, whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State (SOS), Controller, Treasurer, or Attorney General, or on the State Board of Equalization, to nominate a person to fill the vacancy who shall take office and hold the office for the balance of the unexpired term upon confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate and a majority of the membership of the Assembly, as specified.

2. Requries the Governor, within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, to issue a proclamation calling a special election, as specified.

3. Provides that no special election shall be held if a vacancy occurs in a legislative office after the close of the nomination period in the final year of the term of office.

4. Requires a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly to be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor, except that the special election may be conducted within 180 days following the proclamation in order for the election or the primary to be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election or local election occurring wholly or partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists, provided that the voters eligible to vote in the local election comprise at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote on the vacancy.

5. Requires a special primary election to be held in the district in which the vacancy occurred on the 9th or 10th Tuesday preceding the day of the special general election at which the vacancy is to be filled, as specified.

6. Requires the nomination papers for the special vacancy elections described above to be submitted to the appropriate county elections official for examination not less than 53 days before the primary election.

7. Requires every person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have his or her name written on the ballot of an election counted for a particular office to file with the appropriate elections official a statement of write-in candidacy no later than 14 days prior to the election.
   
   

8. Prohibits a person from being a write-in candidate at the general election for a voter-nominated office.
   
   

9. Provides that if any candidate receives a majority of all votes cast at a special primary election, he or she shall be declared elected, and no special general election shall be held.
   
   

10. Provides that if only one candidate qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special general election ballot, that candidate shall be declared elected, and no special general election shall be held.
    
    

11. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a municipal office, the governing body of the city may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election.

12. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a district office, the supervising authority of the district may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election unless a petition is filed that is signed by 10 percent of the voters or 50 voters, whichever is the smaller number, in the district or division if elected by division, requesting that the general district election be held.

13. Provides that if only the incumbent has filed nomination papers for the office of superior court judge, his or her name will not appear on the ballot unless within 10 days after the filing deadline a petition is filed indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office which is signed by one-tenth of one percent of the registered voters qualified to vote for that office, except that the petition must have no fewer than 100 and does not need more than 600 signatures.
    
    

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:

Earlier this year a special election was conducted to fill a vacancy in Senate District 21. Senator Runner was the only candidate who qualified to appear on the ballot. A similar circumstance prevailed during the election of Senator Carol Migden in 1996. In fact, since 1979 there has only been 3 instances where this was the case. While most candidates may desire an election where they are the only qualified candidate on the ballot, I was troubled by the enormous cost to our counties and ultimately to taxpayers to conduct such an election. In the Senate District election to fill the vacancy, Los Angeles County spent $1.4 million while San Bernardino incurred costs of $221,000.

2. New Authority for the Governor: Article 5, Section 5 of the California Constitution vests the Governor with appointing authority to fill vacancies in specified offices. Specifically, Section 5 requires the Governor, whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lieutenant Governor, SOS, Controller, Treasurer, or Attorney General, or on the State Board of Equalization, to nominate a person to fill the vacancy who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate and a majority of the membership of the Assembly. However, if there is a congressional or legislative vacancy, state law requires a special election to be held to fill that vacancy, as specified. This bill provides the Governor with new authority to declare a candidate for legislative office elected to fill a legislative vacancy. Specifically, this bill authorizes the Governor to declare a candidate elected to fill a legislative vacancy if only one candidate qualifies to have his or her name appear on the special primary election ballot. In addition, this bill provides that the special primary election and special general election will not be held if the Governor declares a candidate for legislative office elected pursuant to the provisions of this bill and requires the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling the special elections.

3. Recent Proliferation of Special Vacancy Elections: Since 2009, there have been a total of 37 special elections to fill legislative vacancies in California, the majority of which were not consolidated with statewide elections. Special vacancy elections are generally unexpected; therefore, counties cannot forecast the cost in their budgets. According to county elections officials affected by special elections, costs associated with conducting special elections result in an average of $1 million, depending on the size of the county or counties affected. Costs are much lower if the vacancy election is consolidated with another election.

4. State Funding of Vacancy Elections: From 1993 through 2007, the state reimbursed California counties for the costs of special elections held to fill legislative and congressional vacancies. However, the provision of state law that required the state to reimburse counties for these costs expired January 1, 2008. Since 2008, numerous bills to continue state reimbursement have all failed passage in the Legislature.
   
   

Following the expiration of reimbursement provisions, counties have been forced to redirect important resources budgeted for critical community services to cover the unanticipated costs of conducting mandated special elections.

5. Filling Legislative Vacancies in Other States: According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), states vary widely on how they fill a legislative vacancy. In general, a vacancy is filled either through a special election or by appointment. According to NCSL, 25 states hold a special election to fill a vacancy. These elections may be ordered by the governor or other official after being notified of the vacancy. The other 25 states fill a vacancy through some form of appointment process. Again, there is considerable variation among the states in terms of who makes the appointment, and whether the appointee must be of the same political party as the person vacating the seat.

6. No Write-In Candidates Allowed: While current law prohibits a person from being a write-in candidate at a general election for a voter-nominated office, it permits write-in candidates at primary elections. Existing law requires a candidate's nomination papers for a special primary election to be submitted to the appropriate elections officials for examination and filed with the SOS not less than 53 days prior to the primary election. A write-in candidate, however, is required to have his or her nomination papers filed 14 days prior to the election. This bill permits the Governor to cancel a special primary election and a special general election for a legislative vacancy if only one candidate files his or her nomination papers by the deadline and qualifies to have his or her name appear on the special primary ballot. In order words, if only one candidate submits his or her nomination papers by the 53-day deadline and qualifies to have his or her name on the special primary election ballot, the provisions of this bill authorize the Governor to declare that candidate for legislative office elected. As a result this would preclude potential write-in candidates from being able to seek the office as the deadline to file nominations papers for a write-in candidate is 14 days prior to the election. As mentioned above, such a precedent exists for some local offices although in some cases, voters can force the election to be held by filing a petition containing a specified number of signatures. According to the SOS's certified list of write-in candidates for this year's special primary election for Senate District 21, six write-in candidates qualified to have votes counted for their candidacies at the special primary election.

7. Related Legislation: AB 971 (Chang), requires the state to pay for all expenses authorized and incurred in the preparation for and conduct of a special election proclaimed by the Governor to fill a legislative or congressional vacancy, as specified. This bill was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
   
   

8. Previous Legislation: SCA 16 (Steinberg) of 2014, would have required the Governor to fill a vacancy in either house of the Legislature by appointment within 21 days of the date of the vacancy, as specified. SCA 16 was never heard in this committee.
   
   

9. Arguments in Support: In support, the California State Association of Counties writes:

While this circumstance does not frequently occur, this measure is still important for two reasons. First, it could provide significant cost savings for the counties where a special election must be held to fill a vacancy. It is estimated that the four special elections scheduled for 2015 alone could total as much as $6 million dollars. As you may know, the cost burden for elections to fill state legislative… seats falls to the county. There is currently no reimbursement for this type of contest. Second, following action by the Secretary of State, legislative… vacancies could be filled more quickly and reduce the gap in representation for local communities.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support Opposition

California Association of Clerks and Election Officials None on file.

California State Association of Counties

County of San Bernardino

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors

Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 49

Author: Runner (R)

Amended: 6/23/15

Vote: 27 - Urgency

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/16/15

AYES: Allen, Anderson, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SUBJECT: Elections: special elections

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill provides that when only one candidate for a legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, the Governor may cancel the election and that candidate will be declared elected.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires the Governor to issue a proclamation calling a special election within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office. If that vacancy occurs after the close of the nomination period in the final year of the term of office, the Governor may decline to call a special congressional election and he is prohibited from calling a special legislative election.

2. Requires a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly shall be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor, except that any special election may be conducted within 180 days following the proclamation in order that the election or the primary election may be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election or local election occurring wholly or partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists, provided that the voters eligible to vote in the local election comprise at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote on the vacancy.

3. Requires that a special primary election to fill a legislative or congressional vacancy occur on the ninth or tenth Tuesday prior to the special general election.

4. Requires that nomination papers for one of these special vacancy elections must be submitted to the appropriate county elections official no later than 53 days prior to the special primary election.

5. Requires every person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have his or her name as written on the ballot of an election counted for a particular office to file with the appropriate elections official a statement of write-in candidacy no later than 14 days prior to the election.

6. Provides that if any candidate receives a majority of all votes cast, he or she shall be declared elected, and no special general election shall be held.
   
   

7. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a municipal office the governing body of the city may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election.

8. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a district office the supervising authority of the district may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election unless a petition signed by 10 percent of the voters or 50 voters, whichever is the smaller number, in the district or division if elected by division, requesting that the general district election be held.

9. Provides that if only the incumbent has filed nomination papers for the office of superior court judge, his or her name will not appear on the ballot unless within 10 days after the filing deadline a petition is filed indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office which is signed by one-tenth of one percent of the registered voters qualified to vote for that office, except that the petition must have no fewer than 100 and does not need more than 600 signatures.

This bill:

1. Provides that when only one candidate for a legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, the Governor may cancel the election and that candidate will be declared elected.

2. Requires the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling for the special election if a special primary election is canceled because a candidate has been declared elected in this manner.

3. Contains an urgency clause thereby providing that it takes effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Background

Recent Proliferation of Special Vacancy Elections. Since 2009 there have been a total of 39 special elections to fill legislative vacancies in California, the majority of which were not consolidated with statewide elections. Special vacancy elections are generally unexpected; therefore, counties cannot forecast the cost in their budgets. According to county elections officials affected by special elections, costs associated with conducting special elections result in an average of $1 million, depending on the size of the county or counties affected. Costs are much lower if the vacancy election is consolidated with another election. The price tag of special elections is more concerning when factored with the typical low voter turnout associated with them.

State Funding of Vacancy Elections. From 1993 through 2007, the state reimbursed California counties for the costs of special elections held to fill legislative and congressional vacancies. However, the provision of state law that required the state to reimburse counties for these costs expired January 1, 2008. Since 2008, numerous bills to continue state reimbursement have all failed passage in the Legislature.

Filling Legislative Vacancies in Other States. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, when a vacancy occurs in the legislature, 23 states hold a special election to fill the vacancy, 26 states fill vacancies by appointment and one state allows party committees to choose to hold a special primary election or to hold a party convention. There is considerable variation among the states in terms of who makes the appointment, and whether the appointee must be of the same political party as the person vacating the seat.

Elected State Offices that the Governor May Fill by Appointment. Existing law vests the Governor with specific appointing authority. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, or Attorney General, or on the State Board of Equalization, the Governor shall nominate a person to fill the vacancy who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate and a majority of the membership of the Assembly.

While this bill does not grant the Governor the ability to fill legislative vacancies by appointment, it does permit the Governor to declare a candidate for a legislative office elected at a special primary election to fill a legislative vacancy if only one candidate for the legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot.

Comments

1. According to the author, earlier this year a special election was conducted to fill a vacancy in Senate District 21. Senator Runner was the only candidate who qualified to appear on the ballot. A similar circumstance prevailed during the election of Assemblymember Carol Migden in 1996.
   
   These single candidate special elections cost counties millions of taxpayer dollars. Current law does not provide any alternative to actually conducting the special election once the Governor has set the date. Los Angeles County spent $1.4 million on the special election earlier this year while San Bernardino County spent $221,000.00

2. No Write-In Candidates Allowed. Under this bill, a special election to fill a legislative vacancy could be canceled if only one candidate files nomination papers by the deadline to appear on the special primary ballot. This would effectively preclude any potential write-in candidates from being able to seek the office. As stated in the “Existing law” section, above, such a precedent exists for some local offices although a specified petition can force the election to proceed for district and judicial elections.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 7/8/15)

California State Association of Counties

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors

San Bernardino County

OPPOSITION: (Verified 7/8/15)

None received

Prepared by: Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

7/8/15 13:15:42

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Senator Ben Allen, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: SB 49 Hearing Date: 6/16/15

Subject: Elections: special elections

DIGEST

This bill provides that when only one candidate for a legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot to fill a legislative vacancy, the Governor may cancel the election and declare that candidate elected.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires the Governor to issue a proclamation calling a special election within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office. If that vacancy occurs after the close of the nomination period in the final year of the term of office, the Governor may decline to call a special congressional election and he is prohibited from calling a special legislative election.

2. Requires a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly shall be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor, except that any special election may be conducted within 180 days following the proclamation in order that the election or the primary election may be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election or local election occurring wholly or partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists, provided that the voters eligible to vote in the local election comprise at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote on the vacancy.

3. Requires that a special primary election to fill a legislative or congressional vacancy occur on the ninth or tenth Tuesday prior to the special general election.

4. Requires that nomination papers for one of these special vacancy elections must be submitted to the appropriate county elections official no later than 53 days prior to the special primary election.

5. Requires every person who desires to be a write-in candidate and have his or her name as written on the ballot of an election counted for a particular office to file with the appropriate elections official a statement of write-in candidacy no later than 14 days prior to the election.

6. Provides that if any candidate receives a majority of all votes cast, he or she shall be declared elected, and no special general election shall be held.
   
   

7. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a municipal office the governing body of the city may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election.

8. Provides that if only one person has filed nomination papers for a district office the supervising authority of the district may appoint that person to the office instead of holding the election unless a petition signed by 10 percent of the voters or 50 voters, whichever is the smaller number, in the district or division if elected by division, requesting that the general district election be held.
   
   

9. Provides that if only the incumbent has filed nomination papers for the office of superior court judge, his or her name will not appear on the ballot unless within 10 days after the filing deadline a petition is filed indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office which is signed by one-tenth of one percent of the registered voters qualified to vote for that office, except that the petition must have no fewer than 100 and does not need more than 600 signatures.

This bill:

1. Authorizes the Governor to declare a candidate for a legislative office elected if only one candidate for the legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot, and would cancel the special primary election and special general election if the Governor declares such a candidate elected. This bill would not affect congressional vacancies.

2. Requires the Governor to rescind the proclamation calling for the special election if a special primary election is canceled because a candidate has been declared elected in this manner.

3. Specifies that a candidate is declared elected by the Governor, instead of the Secretary of State, for purposes of the existing provisions described above.

4. Contains an urgency clause thereby providing that it would take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

BACKGROUND

Recent Proliferation of Special Vacancy Elections. Since 2009 there have been a total of 39 special elections to fill legislative vacancies in California, the majority of which were not consolidated with statewide elections. Special vacancy elections are generally unexpected; therefore, counties cannot forecast the cost in their budgets. According to county elections officials affected by special elections, costs associated with conducting special elections result in an average of $1 million, depending on the size of the county or counties affected. Costs are much lower if the vacancy election is consolidated with another election. The price tag of special elections is more concerning when factored with the typical low voter turnout associated with them.

State Funding of Vacancy Elections. From 1993 through 2007, the state reimbursed California counties for the costs of special elections held to fill legislative and congressional vacancies. However, the provision of state law that required the state to reimburse counties for these costs expired January 1, 2008. Since 2008, numerous bills to continue state reimbursement have all failed passage in the Legislature.

Filling Legislative Vacancies in Other States. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, when a vacancy occurs in the legislature, 23 states hold a special election to fill the vacancy, 26 states fill vacancies by appointment and one state allows party committees to choose to hold a special primary election or to hold a party convention. There is considerable variation among the states in terms of who makes the appointment, and whether the appointee must be of the same political party as the person vacating the seat.

Elected State Offices that the Governor May Fill by Appointment. Existing law vests the Governor with specific appointing authority. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, or Attorney General, or on the State Board of Equalization, the Governor shall nominate a person to fill the vacancy who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate and a majority of the membership of the Assembly.

While this bill does not grant the Governor the ability to fill legislative vacancies by appointment, it does permit the Governor to declare a candidate for a legislative office elected at a special primary election to fill a legislative vacancy if only one candidate for the legislative office qualifies to have his or her name printed on the special primary election ballot.

COMMENTS

1. According to the Author: Earlier this year a special election was conducted to fill a vacancy in Senate District 21. Senator Runner was the only candidate who qualified to appear on the ballot. A similar circumstance prevailed during the election of Assemblymember Carol Migden in 1996.
   
   These single candidate special elections cost counties millions of taxpayer dollars. Current law does not provide any alternative to actually conducting the special election once the Governor has set the date. Los Angeles County spent $1.4 million on the special election earlier this year while San Bernardino County spent $221,000.00

2. No Write-In Candidates Allowed. Under this bill, a special election to fill a legislative vacancy could be canceled if only one candidate files nomination papers by the deadline to appear on the special primary ballot. This would effectively preclude any potential write-in candidates from being able to seek the office. As stated in the “Existing law” section, above, such a precedent exists for some local offices although a specified petition can force the election to proceed for district and judicial elections.

3. Suggested Amendment. The references to "Governor" on page 2, lines 6 and 10 should be deleted and replaced with the existing reference to "Secretary of State" since those duties are unaffected by the purpose of this bill.

RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION

SCA 16 (Steinberg of 2014) required the Governor to fill a vacancy in either house of the Legislature by appointment within 21 days of the date of the vacancy. The appointee, at the time of the appointment and during the 12-month period immediately preceding the appointment, must have shared the same political party preference as the vacating Member had when he or she was last elected to the Legislature. The measure would have allowed the house to which the appointment is made to reject the appointment, by a majority vote, within 21 days of the appointment, in which case the Governor would be required to make another appointment.

SCA 16 was approved by this committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee but was subsequently re-referred to the Rules Committee and never taken up on the Senate floor.

POSITIONS

Sponsor: Author

Support: California State Association of Counties

Oppose: None received

-- END --