Existing law establishes the Citizens Redistricting Commission in the County of Riverside. Existing law requires the commission to adjust the boundary lines of the districts of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside in accordance with specified criteria and by following specified procedures. Existing law establishes the qualifications for membership on the commission.

Existing law, the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, establishes specified criteria for certain local jurisdictions to follow when adopting district boundaries.

This bill would require the Citizens Redistricting Commission in the County of Riverside to adjust district boundaries in accordance with the criteria set forth in the FAIR Maps Act of 2023. The bill would require the commission to follow additional procedures relating to the translation of materials. The bill would prohibit members of the commission from communicating with an individual regarding redistricting matters outside of a public meeting, as specified, and would prohibit a member from engaging in certain activities while serving on the commission and for three years thereafter. By increasing the duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the unique circumstances facing the County of Riverside.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes the Citizens Redistricting Commission in the County of Riverside. Existing law requires the commission to adjust the boundary lines of the districts of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside in accordance with specified criteria and by following specified procedures. Existing law establishes the qualifications for membership on the commission.

Existing law, the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, establishes specified criteria for certain local jurisdictions to follow when adopting district boundaries.

This bill would require the Citizens Redistricting Commission in the County of Riverside to adjust district boundaries in accordance with the criteria set forth in the FAIR Maps Act of 2023. The bill would require the commission to follow additional procedures relating to the translation of materials. The bill would prohibit members of the commission from communicating with an individual regarding redistricting matters outside of a public meeting, as specified, and would prohibit a member from engaging in certain activities while serving on the commission and for three years thereafter. By increasing the duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the unique circumstances facing the County of Riverside.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law prohibits the use of a voting system in an election unless it has been certified by the Secretary of State and specifies requirements for elections using voting machines. In an election using an approved voting system, existing law requires the statement of the result of votes cast at a voting precinct to contain specified information.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision.

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1807

Author: Cervantes (D)

Amended: 3/11/24 in Assembly

Vote: 21

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 6-1, 6/18/24

AYES: Blakespear, Allen, Menjivar, Newman, Portantino, Umberg

NOES: Nguyen

SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/26/24

AYES: Durazo, Glazer, Skinner, Wahab, Wiener

NOES: Seyarto, Dahle

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/15/24

AYES: Caballero, Ashby, Becker, Bradford, Wahab

NOES: Jones, Seyarto

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 58-13, 5/21/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill makes various modifications to state law governing the conduct and activities of the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires each county board of supervisors, following each federal decennial census, to create supervisorial districts that are substantially equal in population.
2. Requires boundaries for all districts (e.g., board supervisors, city council, etc.) to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act and be developed using the following criteria in the following order of priority:
   1. Districts shall be geographically contiguous;
   2. The geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes divisions;
   3. The geographic integrity of a city or census designated place shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, though this provision does not apply when adopting district boundaries for a city;
   4. Districts shall be bounded by natural and artificial barriers, by streets, or by the boundaries of the local jurisdiction, and should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents; and
   5. Districts shall be drawn to encourage geographic compactness.
3. Prohibits districts from being drawn to favor or discriminate against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.
4. Establishes the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission), and charges it with adjusting the boundaries of Riverside County’s supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census.
5. Requires the Commission to arrange for the live translation of one of its hearings into an applicable language if a request for translation is made at least 24 hours before the hearing. An “applicable language” is any language for which the number of Riverside County residents who are members of a language minority is equal to or greater than 3% of the total voting age residents of the county.
6. Makes a member of the Commission ineligible for five years from the date of appointment to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level in California.
7. Makes a member of the Commission ineligible for three years from the date of appointment to hold appointive federal, state, or local public office, to serve as paid staffer or consultant to the Board of Equalization (BOE), Congress, the Legislature, or any individual legislator, or to register as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in California.

This bill:

1. Prohibits a member of the Commission from communicating with any person or group about redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. This prohibition does not apply to communications with the staff of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors regarding administrative matters, or to commissioners who want to communicate with other commissioners, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the Commission.
2. Repeals the specified criteria the Commission is required to use when establishing supervisorial districts, and instead requires it to use similar criteria found in the Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act of 2023 that generally applies to all local redistricting in the state.
3. Requires the Commission to ensure all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all languages which the Commission is required to translate its redistricting hearings into.
4. Broadens a provision of existing law that makes a commissioner ineligible for five years to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level by replacing “county or city” with “local.”
5. Makes a commissioner ineligible for three years after being appointed to the Commission from:
   1. Being employed as a staff member of, or a consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Riverside County; and
   2. Receiving a non-competitively bid contract with Riverside County.
6. Prohibits a commissioner from endorsing, working for, or making a campaign contribution to a candidate for elective office in Riverside County while serving on the Commission.

Background

Redistricting 101. Redistricting is the process by which the boundaries of districts of a governmental body are adjusted, generally at the beginning of each decade following the decennial federal census.

How redistricting is done varies by jurisdiction and while there are numerous requirements, at the core of each process is a requirement for the populations of each district of a governmental body to be made roughly equal.

California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Proposition 11, which was approved by California voters in 2008, created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), and made it responsible for establishing the lines for the Assembly, Senate, and BOE districts. Two years later, California voters approved Proposition 20, which gave the CCRC the responsibility for establishing lines for California's congressional districts, and made other changes to the procedures and criteria used by the CCRC.

The CCRC consists of 14 registered voters, including 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 4 others, all of whom are chosen according to procedures specified in Proposition 11.

Local Redistricting Commissions. Prior to 2017, state law generally permitted cities and counties to create an advisory redistricting commission, but did not expressly permit local jurisdictions to create commissions with the authority to establish district boundaries.

SB 1108 (Allen, Chapter, 784, Statutes of 2016) changed that by allowing cities and counties to establish their own redistricting commissions and SB 1018 (Allen, Chapter 462, Statutes of 2018) expanded that authority to all local governmental entities.

Separately, the Legislature has enacted a number of bills to require specific counties to establish redistricting commissions, including AB 1307 (Cervantes, Chapter 403, Statutes of 2022), which created the Riverside County Commission, which this bill seeks to amend. Other bills created commissions in:

• Fresno County
• Kern County
• Los Angeles County
• Orange County
• Sacramento County
• San Diego County

While the provisions of these bills creating county-level redistricting commissions are broadly similar, the laws do vary slightly.

Past bills that created county-level redistricting commissions for Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, and the other counties noted above generally specified the criteria the commissions were required to use when drawing districts, rather than simply referencing the criteria that applied under state law.

Comments

1. According to the Author: “Since the enactment of Assembly Bill 1307 (Cervantes, 2022,) several citizens independent redistricting commission bills that have been approved by the Legislature have provided new and constructive innovations to the county independent redistricting commission model. Assembly Bill 1807 would transpose many of those provisions to the County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission that is required by AB 1307 and is set to be constituted for the first time in 2030. These include imposing more robust language outreach requirements and additional prohibitions on commissioners, as well as incorporating updated criteria for local redistricting efforts enacted by the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, Assembly Bill 764 (Bryan & Cervantes).”
2. Criteria Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes. AB 764 (Bryan, Chapter 343, Statutes of 2023) made various changes to state laws governing local redistricting, one of which was to standardize the criteria used when drawing districts for local jurisdictions. This replaced the then-existing criteria that varied depending on the level of local government for which districts were being drawn (i.e., the criteria for drawing electoral districts in a special district was different than the criteria for drawing boundaries for city council districts).

While AB 764 changed the criteria to be used for county redistricting generally, it did not update or alter the laws written specifically for individual county-level redistricting commissions created in state statute. This bill deletes the existing criteria the Commission is required to use when drawing district lines and instead requires it to use the AB 764 criteria by incorporating that criteria by reference.

1. We’ll Have What They’re Having. As noted above, there are slight variations in how individual county-level redistricting commissions have been set up. This measure incorporates several provisions found in the statutes governing Orange and Sacramento counties, both of which were established last year.

Specifically, this bill prohibits a member of the Commission from having an ex-parte communication about redistricting matters with anyone who isn’t a member of the Commission’s staff or a consultant to the Commission, and in certain cases, a staff member to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. This provision is identical to a provision found in the statute applying to the Sacramento County Redistricting Commission.

Similarly, the provisions prohibiting commissioners from engaging in certain activities during and for a period of time after their service, including restrictions on receiving non-competitively bid contracts and from making campaign contributions to or endorsing candidates for elective county office comes from the Orange County Redistricting Commission statute. Finally, this bill mirrors a provision found in the Orange County Redistricting Commission statute requiring it to translate various redistricting materials, including outreach materials and agendas, into any language into which the commission is required to arrange for a live translation of its hearings.

1. Translations of Redistricting Materials. The Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of its hearings upon request into “applicable languages,” which are any languages for which the number of residents in Riverside County who are members of a language minority is equal to or greater than 3% of the total voting age residents in the county.

This bill requires the Commission, in addition to providing live translations of hearings upon request, to ensure all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all applicable languages.

Based on the most recently available data from the US Census Bureau, it appears Spanish is likely the only language that currently would be considered an “applicable language” in Riverside County.

Related/Prior Legislation

SB 977 (Laird), would create a Citizens Redistricting Commission in San Luis Obispo County. SB 977 was approved by this committee on a 6-1 vote.

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

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,

By requiring RCCRC to adjust district boundaries in a certain manner and translate additional materials, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines that the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on local agencies, local agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs. The magnitude is unknown, but potentially in excess of $50,000 annually (General Fund).

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/15/24)

League of Women Voters of California

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/15/24)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 58-13, 5/21/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Vince Fong, Gallagher, Hoover, Lackey, Joe Patterson, Sanchez, Ta, Waldron, Wallis

NO VOTE RECORDED: Alanis, Cervantes, Chen, Megan Dahle, Friedman, Gabriel, Holden, Mathis, Luz Rivas

Prepared by: Evan Goldberg / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

8/18/24 8:50:55

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anna Caballero, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

AB 1807 (Cervantes) - County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission

Bill Summary:

AB 1807 would make various modifications to current law governing the conduct and activities of the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission (RCCRC).

Fiscal Impact:

By requiring RCCRC to adjust district boundaries in a certain manner and translate additional materials, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines that the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on local agencies, local agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs. The magnitude is unknown, but potentially in excess of $50,000 annually (General Fund).

Background:

Prior to 2017, state law generally permitted cities and counties to create an advisory redistricting commission, but did not expressly permit local jurisdictions to create commissions with the authority to establish district boundaries. SB 1108 (Allen, 2016) changed that by allowing cities and counties to establish their own redistricting commissions. SB 1018 (Allen) of 2018 expanded that authority to all local governmental entities.

Separately, the Legislature has enacted a number of bills to require specified counties to establish redistricting commissions, including AB 1307 (Cervantes, 2022), which created the RCCRC this bill seeks to amend. Other bills created commissions in the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento and San Diego. While the provisions of these bills creating county-level redistricting commissions are broadly similar, they do vary slightly.

Proposed Law:

This bill, among other things, would do the following:

• Prohibit a member of RCCRC from communicating with any person or group about redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. This prohibition does not apply to communications with the staff of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors regarding administrative matters, or to commissioners who want to communicate with other commissioners, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the Commission.
• Repeal the specified criteria RCCRC is required to use when establishing supervisorial districts, and instead require it to use similar criteria found in the Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act of 2023 that generally applies to all local redistricting in the State.
• Require RCCRC to ensure all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all applicable languages, as specified.
• Broaden a provision of existing law that makes a commissioner ineligible for five years to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level by replacing “county or city” with “local.”
• Make a commissioner ineligible for three years after being appointed to the Commission from (1) being employed as a staff member of, or a consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Riverside County, and (2) receiving a non-competitively bid contract with Riverside County.
• Prohibit a commissioner from endorsing, working for, or making a campaign contribution to a candidate for elective office in Riverside County while serving on the Commission.

Related Legislation:

SB 977 (Laird) would create a Citizens Redistricting Commission in San Luis Obispo County. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Senator María Elena Durazo, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission

Makes various modifications to how the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission can conduct its business.

Background

Redistricting 101. Redistricting is the process by which the boundaries of districts of a governmental body are adjusted, generally at the beginning of each decade following the decennial federal census.

How redistricting is done varies by jurisdiction and while there are numerous requirements, at the core of each process is a requirement for the populations of each district of a governmental body to be made roughly equal.

California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Proposition 11, which was approved by California voters in 2008, created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), and made it responsible for establishing the lines for the Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization (BOE) districts. Two years later, California voters approved Proposition 20, which gave the CCRC the responsibility for establishing lines for California's congressional districts, and made other changes to the procedures and criteria used by the CCRC.

The CCRC consists of 14 registered voters, including 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 4 others, all of whom are chosen according to procedures specified in Proposition 11.

Local redistricting commissions. Prior to 2017, state law generally permitted cities and counties to create an advisory redistricting commission, but did not expressly permit local jurisdictions to create commissions with the authority to establish district boundaries.

SB 1108 (Allen) of 2016 changed this by allowing cities and counties to establish their own redistricting commissions and SB 1018 (Allen) of 2018 expanded that authority to all local governmental entities.

Separately, the Legislature has enacted a number of bills to require specified counties to establish redistricting commissions, including AB 1307 (Cervantes) of 2022, which created the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission this bill seeks to amend. Other bills created commissions in:

• Fresno County;
• Kern County;
• Los Angeles County;
• Orange County;
• Sacramento County; and
• San Diego County.

While the provisions of these bills creating county-level redistricting commissions are broadly similar, the laws vary slightly.

When a county goes through the redistricting process following each federal decennial census, it must:

• Create supervisorial districts that are substantially equal in population;
• Comply with the federal Voting Rights Act and develop the district lines using the following criteria in the following order of priority:
• Districts must be geographically contiguous;
• The geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest must be respected in a manner that minimizes divisions;
• The geographic integrity of a city or census designated place must be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, though this provision does not apply when adopting district boundaries for a city;
• Districts must be bounded by natural and artificial barriers, by streets, or by the boundaries of the local jurisdiction, and should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents; and
• Districts must be drawn to encourage geographic compactness.
• Ensure districts are not drawn to favor or discriminate against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.

Local redistricting hearing requirements. AB 849 (Bonta, 2019) created the Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions Act, better known as the FAIR MAPS Act. It revised and standardized the criteria and processes to be used by counties and cities when adjusting the boundaries for district-based elections. The FAIR MAPS Act also required counties and cities to comply with substantial public hearing and outreach standards.

More specifically, cities, counties and all other political subdivsions moving from at-large to district-based elections are required to:

• Hold at least two public hearings over a period of no more than 30 days to get public input before drawing draft maps of the proposed boundaries of districts;
• After draft maps are drawn, publish and release at least one draft map and the potential sequence of elections in situations where elections to the governing body will be staggered; and
• After publishing a draft map or maps, hold at least two additional hearings over a period of no more than 45 days to get public input regarding the maps.

City councils and boards of supervisors – but not other political subdivisions – must, when holding a public hearing to get input on the drawing of new district lines, begin that hearing at a set time, regardless of where the item is on the agenda of the meeting of the council or board.

Welcome to Riverside County. The Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) is charged with adjusting the boundaries of Riverside County’s supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census. Among the requirements that apply to the Commission:

• It must arrange for the live translation of one of its hearings into an applicable language if a request for translation is made at least 24 hours before the hearing. An “applicable language” is any language for which the number of Riverside County residents who are members of a language minority is equal to or greater than 3% of the total voting age residents of the county;
• Commission members are ineligible for five years from the date of appointment to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level in California; and
• Commission members are ineligible for three years from the date of appointment to hold appointive federal, state, or local public office, to serve as paid staffer or consultant to the BOE, Congress, the Legislature, or any individual legislator, or to register as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in California.

The author would like to import certain provisions used in the Orange and Sacramento County redistricting commissions and apply them to the Riverside County Redistricting Commission.

Proposed Law

Assembly Bill 1807 makes various changes to the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission. Specifically, AB 1807 changes Riverside County’s redistricting process by:

• Repealing the specified criteria the Commission is required to use when establishing supervisorial districts, and instead requiring it to use similar criteria found in the FAIR MAPS Act of 2023 that generally applies to all local redistricting in the state; and
• Requiring the Commission to ensure all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all languages which the Commission is required to translate its redistricting hearings into.

AB 1807 also changes the requirements for members of the Commission by:

• Prohibiting a member of the Commission from communicating with any person or group about redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. This prohibition does not apply to communications with the staff of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors regarding administrative matters, or to commissioners who want to communicate with other commissioners, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the Commission;
• Broadening a provision of existing law that makes a commissioner ineligible for five years to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level by replacing “county or city” with “local;”
• Making a commissioner ineligible for three years after being appointed to the Commission from: (1) being employed as a staff member of, or a consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Riverside County; and (2) receiving a non-competitively bid contract from Riverside County; and
• Prohibiting a commissioner from endorsing, working for, or making a campaign contribution to a candidate for elective office in Riverside County while serving on the Commission.

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, “Since the enactment of Assembly Bill 1307 (Cervantes) in 2022, several citizens independent redistricting commission bills that have been approved by the Legislature have provided new and constructive innovations to the county independent redistricting commission model. Assembly Bill 1807 would transpose many of those provisions to the County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission that is required by AB 1307 and is set to be constituted for the first time in 2030. These include imposing more robust language outreach requirements and additional prohibitions on commissioners, as well as incorporating updated criteria for local redistricting efforts enacted by the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, Assembly Bill 764 (Bryan & Cervantes).”

2. Criteria ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. AB 764 (Bryan) of 2023 made various changes to state laws governing local redistricting, one of which was to standardize the criteria used when drawing districts for local jurisdictions. This replaced the then-existing criteria that varied depending on the level of local government for which districts were being drawn (i.e., the criteria for drawing electoral districts in a special district was different than the criteria for drawing boundaries for city council districts).

While AB 764 changed the criteria to be used for county redistricting generally, it did not update or alter the laws written specifically for individual county-level redistricting commissions created in state statute. This bill deletes the existing criteria the Commission is required to use when drawing district lines and instead requires it to use the AB 764 criteria by incorporating that criteria by reference.

3. We’ll have what they’re having. As noted above, there are slight variations in how individual county-level redistricting commissions have been set up. This measure incorporates several provisions found in the statutes governing Orange and Sacramento counties, both of which were established last year.

Specifically, this bill prohibits a member of the Commission from having an ex-parte communication about redistricting matters with anyone who isn’t a member of the Commission’s staff or a consultant to the Commission, and in certain cases, a staff member to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. This provision is identical to a provision found in the statute applying to the Sacramento County Redistricting Commission.

Similarly, the provisions prohibiting commissioners from engaging in certain activities during and for a period of time after their service, including restrictions on receiving non-competitively bid contracts and from making campaign contributions to or endorsing candidates for elective county office comes from the Orange County Redistricting Commission statute. Finally, this bill mirrors a provision found in the Orange County Redistricting Commission statute requiring it to translate various redistricting materials, including outreach materials and agendas, into any language into which the commission is required to arrange for a live translation of its hearings.

4. Translations of redistricting materials. The Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of its hearings upon request into “applicable languages,” which are any languages for which the number of residents in Riverside County who are members of a language minority is equal to or greater than 3% of the total voting age residents in the county.

This bill requires the Commission, in addition to providing live translations of hearings upon request, to ensure all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all applicable languages.

Based on the most recently available data from the U.S. Census Bureau, it appears Spanish is likely the only language that currently would be considered an “applicable language” in Riverside County.

5. Second verse, similar to the first. The Senate Rules Committee double-referred this measure, first to the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee, where it was approved on June 18, 2024, on a 6-1 vote, and second to the Senate Local Government Committee.

Assembly Actions

Assembly Elections Committee: 6-2

Assembly Local Government Committee: 7-1

Assembly Appropriations Committee: 11-4

Assembly Floor: 58-13

Support and Opposition (6/21/24)

Support: League of Women Voters of California

Opposition: None submitted.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Senator Catherine Blakespear, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: 1807 Hearing Date: 6/18/24

Subject:

DIGEST

Makes various modifications to state law governing the conduct and activities of the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission.

ANALYSIS

Existing law:

1. Requires each county board of supervisors, following each federal decennial census, to create supervisorial districts that are substantially equal in population.
2. Requires boundaries for all districts (e.g., board supervisors, city council, etc.) to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act and be developed using the following criteria in the following order of priority:
   1. Districts shall be geographically contiguous;
   2. The geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes divisions;
   3. The geographic integrity of a city or census designated place shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, though this provision does not apply when adopting district boundaries for a city;
   4. Districts shall be bounded by natural and artificial barriers, by streets, or by the boundaries of the local jurisdiction, and should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents; and
   5. Districts shall be drawn to encourage geographic compactness.
3. Prohibits districts from being drawn to favor or discriminate against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.
4. Establishes the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission), and charges it with adjusting the boundaries of Riverside County’s supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census.
5. Requires the Commission to arrange for the live translation of one of its hearings into an applicable language if a request for translation is made at least 24 hours

before the hearing. An “applicable language” is any language for which the number of Riverside County residents who are members of a language minority is equal to or greater than 3% of the total voting age residents of the county.

1. Makes a member of the Commission ineligible for five years from the date of appointment to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level in California.
2. Makes a member of the Commission ineligible for three years from the date of appointment to hold appointive federal, state, or local public office, to serve as paid staffer or consultant to the Board of Equalization (BOE), Congress, the Legislature, or any individual legislator, or to register as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in California.

This bill:

1. Prohibits a member of the Commission from communicating with any person or group about redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. This prohibition does not apply to communications with the staff of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors regarding administrative matters, or to commissioners who want to communicate with other commissioners, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the Commission.
2. Repeals the specified criteria the Commission is required to use when establishing supervisorial districts, and instead requires it to use similar criteria found in the Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act of 2023 that generally applies to all local redistricting in the state.
3. Requires the Commission to ensure all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all languages which the Commission is required to translate its redistricting hearings into.
4. Broadens a provision of existing law that makes a commissioner ineligible for five years to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level by replacing “county or city” with “local.”
5. Makes a commissioner ineligible for three years after being appointed to the Commission from:
   1. Being employed as a staff member of, or a consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Riverside County; and
   2. Receiving a non-competitively bid contract with Riverside County.
6. Prohibits a commissioner from endorsing, working for, or making a campaign contribution to a candidate for elective office in Riverside County while serving on the Commission.

BACKGROUND

Redistricting 101. Redistricting is the process by which the boundaries of districts of a governmental body are adjusted, generally at the beginning of each decade following the decennial federal census.

How redistricting is done varies by jurisdiction and while there are numerous requirements, at the core of each process is a requirement for the populations of each district of a governmental body to be made roughly equal.

California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Proposition 11, which was approved by California voters in 2008, created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), and gave made it responsible for establishing the lines for the Assembly, Senate, and BOE districts. Two years later, California voters approved Proposition 20, which gave the CCRC the responsibility for establishing lines for California's congressional districts, and made other changes to the procedures and criteria used by the CCRC.

The CCRC consists of 14 registered voters, including 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 4 others, all of whom are chosen according to procedures specified in Proposition 11.

Local Redistricting Commissions. Prior to 2017, state law generally permitted cities and counties to create an advisory redistricting commission, but did not expressly permit local jurisdictions to create commissions with the authority to establish district boundaries.

SB 1108 (Allen) of 2016 changed that by allowing cities and counties to establish their own redistricting commissions and SB 1018 (Allen) of 2018 expanded that authority to all local governmental entities.

Separately, the Legislature has enacted a number of bills to require specified counties to establish redistricting commissions, including AB 1307 (Cervantes) of 2022, which created the Riverside County Commission this bill seeks to amend. Other bills created commissions in:

• Fresno County
• Kern County
• Los Angeles County
• Orange County
• Sacramento County
• San Diego County

While the provisions of these bills creating county-level redistricting commissions are broadly similar, the laws do vary slightly.

Past bills that created county-level redistricting commissions for Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, and the other counties noted above generally specified the criteria the commissions were required to use when drawing districts, rather than simply referencing the criteria that applied under state law.

COMMENTS

1. According to the Author: “Since the enactment of Assembly Bill 1307 (Cervantes) in 2022, several citizens independent redistricting commission bills that have been approved by the Legislature have provided new and constructive innovations to the county independent redistricting commission model. Assembly Bill 1807 would transpose many of those provisions to the County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission that is required by AB 1307 and is set to be constituted for the first time in 2030. These include imposing more robust language outreach requirements and additional prohibitions on commissioners, as well as incorporating updated criteria for local redistricting efforts enacted by the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, Assembly Bill 764 (Bryan & Cervantes).”
2. Criteria Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes. AB 764 (Bryan) of 2023 made various changes to state laws governing local redistricting, one of which was to standardize the criteria used when drawing districts for local jurisdictions. This replaced the then-existing criteria that varied depending on the level of local government for which districts were being drawn (i.e., the criteria for drawing electoral districts in a special district was different than the criteria for drawing boundaries for city council districts).

While AB 764 changed the criteria to be used for county redistricting generally, it did not update or alter the laws written specifically for individual county-level redistricting commissions created in state statute. This bill deletes the existing criteria the Commission is required to use when drawing district lines and instead requires it to use the AB 764 criteria by incorporating that criteria by reference.

1. We’ll Have What They’re Having. As noted above, there are slight variations in how individual county-level redistricting commissions have been set up. This measure incorporates several provisions found in the statutes governing Orange and Sacramento counties, both of which were established last year.

Specifically, this bill prohibits a member of the Commission from having an ex-parte communication about redistricting matters with anyone who isn’t a member of the Commission’s staff or a consultant to the Commission, and in certain cases, a staff member to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. This provision is identical to a provision found in the statute applying to the Sacramento County Redistricting Commission.

Similarly, the provisions prohibiting commissioners from engaging in certain activities during and for a period of time after their service, including restrictions on receiving non-competitively bid contracts and from making campaign contributions to or endorsing candidates for elective county office comes from the Orange County Redistricting Commission statute. Finally, this bill mirrors a provision found in the Orange County Redistricting Commission statute requiring it to translate various redistricting materials, including outreach materials and agendas, into any language into which the commission is required to arrange for a live translation of its hearings.

1. Translations of Redistricting Materials. The Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of its hearings upon request into “applicable languages,” which are any languages for which the number of residents in Riverside County who are members of a language minority is equal to or greater than 3% of the total voting age residents in the county.

This bill requires the Commission, in addition to providing live translations of hearings upon request, to ensure all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all applicable languages.

Based on the most recently available data from the US Census Bureau, it appears Spanish is likely the only language that currently would be considered an “applicable language” in Riverside County.

1. Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street? Possibly, though not right away. The Committee on Rules double-referred AB 1807 to the Committee on Elections & Constitutional Amendments and the Committee on Local Government, which is where it will go next should it be approved today.

RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION

SB 977 (Laird), which is pending in the Assembly Committee on Local Government, creates a Citizens Redistricting Commission in San Luis Obispo County. SB 977 was approved by this committee on a 6-1 vote.

PRIOR ACTION

POSITIONS

Sponsor: Author

Support: League of Women Voters of California

Oppose: None received

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1807

Author:(Cervantes)

As Amended Ver:March 11, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Makes various modifications to state law governing the conduct and activities of the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission (Riverside Commission).

Major Provisions

1. Prohibits a member of the Riverside Commission from communicating with an individual or organization regarding redistricting matters outside of a public meeting, as specified.
2. Requires the Riverside Commission, when establishing supervisorial districts, to use criteria that apply generally to local redistricting in the state.
3. Requires the Riverside Commission to translate all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website into all languages into which the Riverside Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of hearings that it holds under existing law.
4. Makes a commissioner ineligible for a period of three years after being appointed to the Riverside Commission from doing either of the following:
   1. Accepting employment as a staff member of, or a consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Riverside County.
   2. Receiving a noncompetitively bid contract with Riverside County.
5. Prohibits a commissioner from endorsing, working for, or making a campaign contribution to a candidate for Riverside County elective office while serving on the Riverside Commission.

COMMENTS

"Redistricting" is the process by which the boundaries of districts of a governmental body are adjusted. Redistricting generally occurs at the beginning of each decade following the decennial federal census, when new district lines are adopted based on the census data so that the populations of each district of a governmental body are roughly equal. Over the course of the decade, districts can become significantly unequal in population due to differential growth rates in various locations of a jurisdiction. Redistricting is the way this inequality is corrected.

The Legislature has enacted a number of bills to require specified counties to establish redistricting commissions, including AB 1307 (Cervantes), Chapter 403, Statutes of 2022, which creates the Riverside Commission. The Legislature has also passed bills to create redistricting commissions in six other counties. While the provisions of these bills creating county-level redistricting commissions are broadly similar, there have been slight variations among those bills. In particular, two bills approved by the Legislature last year included new provisions that were not found in earlier redistricting commission bills. This bill incorporates some of those provisions into the state law governing the operations of the Riverside Commission.

Specifically, this bill prohibits a member of the Riverside Commission from having an ex parte communication (i.e., a communication that occurs outside of a public meeting) with an individual regarding redistricting matters, except as specified. Additionally, this bill prohibits commissioners from engaging in certain activities during and for a period of time after their service, including restrictions on receiving noncompetitively bid contracts and from making campaign contributions to or endorsing candidates for elective county office. Finally, this bill requires the commission to translate various redistricting materials, including outreach materials and agendas, into any language into which the commission is required to arrange for a live translation of commission hearings.

Last year, the Legislature approved and Governor Newsom signed AB 764 (Bryan), Chapter 343, Statutes of 2023, which made various changes to state laws governing local redistricting. One provision of AB 764 adopted standardized criteria to be used when drawing districts for local jurisdictions, which replaced the then-existing criteria that varied depending on the level of local government for which districts were being drawn (e.g., the criteria for drawing electoral districts in a special district was different than the criteria for drawing boundaries for city council districts). This bill deletes the existing criteria that state law requires the Riverside Commission to use when drawing district lines, and instead requires the Riverside Commission to use the criteria from AB 764 by incorporating that criteria by reference.

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

According to the Author

"Since the enactment of AB 1307 (Cervantes) in 2022, several citizens independent redistricting commission bills that have been approved by the Legislature have provided new and constructive innovations to the county independent redistricting commission model. AB 1807 would transpose many of those provisions to the County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission that is required by AB 1307 and is set to be constituted for the first time in 2030. These include imposing more robust language outreach requirements and additional prohibitions on commissioners, as well as incorporating updated criteria for local redistricting efforts enacted by the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, Assembly Bill 764 (Bryan & Cervantes)."

Arguments in Support

In support of this bill, the League of Women Voters of California writes, "The League strongly supports this bill to align Riverside County's redistricting with the criteria for establishing new districts established in the [Fair Maps Act], add prohibitions on ex parte communications, and strengthen post-service commissioner restrictions. Importantly, AB 1807 will also ensure that the Commission materials are translated into all applicable languages for the Riverside community."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, by requiring the Riverside Commission to adjust district boundaries in a certain manner and translate additional materials, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. If the Commission on State Mandates determines the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service for which the state must reimburse local costs, local agencies could claim reimbursement from the state (General Fund (GF)). The magnitude of costs stemming from the translation requirement is unknown, but potentially in excess of $150,000, given the scope of covered materials.

According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the GF faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years.

VOTES

ASM ELECTIONS: 6-2-0

YES: Pellerin, Bennett, Berman, Cervantes, Low, Weber

NO: Lackey, Essayli

ASM LOCAL GOVERNMENT: 7-1-1

YES: Juan Carrillo, Valencia, Kalra, Pacheco, Ramos, Ward, Wilson

NO: Waldron

ABS, ABST OR NV: Essayli

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-4-0

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Villapudua

NO: Sanchez, Dixon, Jim Patterson, Ta

UPDATED

VERSION: March 11, 2024

CONSULTANT: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0003037

Date of Hearing: May 8, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1807

Author:(Cervantes) – As Amended Ver:March 11, 2024

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

SUMMARY:

This bill revises operating procedures of the Citizens Redistricting Commission in the County of Riverside (Riverside Commission).

Specifically, this bill requires the Riverside Commission to adjust district boundaries in accordance with criteria set by the FAIR Maps Act of 2023 and translate all outreach, meeting, and website materials in applicable languages. This bill also prohibits a commission member from engaging in certain activities.

FISCAL EFFECT:

By requiring the Riverside Commission to adjust district boundaries in a certain manner and translate additional materials, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. If the Commission on State Mandates determines the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service for which the state must reimburse local costs, local agencies could claim reimbursement from the state (General Fund (GF)). The magnitude of costs stemming from the translation requirement is unknown, but potentially in excess of $150,000, given the scope of covered materials.

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the GF faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, “several citizens independent redistricting commission [(IRC)] bills that have been approved by the Legislature have provided new and constructive innovations to the county [IRC] model” since the enactment of the Riverside Commission. The author intends this bill to “transpose many of those provisions” to the Riverside Commission, which “is set to be constituted for the first time in 2030.” This bill is supported by the League of Women Voters of California.
2. Local Redistricting Commissions. SB 1108 (Allen), Chapter 784, Statutes of 2016, permitted a county or a general law city to establish an IRC, subject to certain conditions. Legislation has also been enacted to require specific counties to establish IRCs – the counties of Los Angeles and San Diego had commissions in place for redistricting following the 2020 decennial census and the counties of Riverside, Fresno, Kern, Orange, and Sacramento have commissions in place for redistricting following the 2030 decennial census. While the statutes creating county-specific IRCs are broadly similar, there are slight variations between certain provisions. Additionally, AB 764 (Bryan), Chapter 343, Statutes of 2023, the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, made various changes to existing law governing local redistricting generally, applicable to jurisdictions voluntarily establishing their own IRCs.

This bill applies requirements from the FAIR Maps Act of 2023 and recent statutes establishing the Orange County and Sacramento County IRCs to the Riverside Commission. For example, this bill mirrors a provision from the Orange County IRC to require the Riverside Commission to translate outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and website content, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, into an “applicable language,” generally meaning a primary language for 3% or more of the total voting residents of the county. Based on the most recently available data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only Spanish likely qualifies as an “applicable language” in Riverside County, but more languages may become applicable as population demographics change.

1. Related Legislation. AB 1248 (Bryan) requires a city or county with over 300,000 residents or a school district or community college district with over 500,000 residents to establish an IRC. AB 1248 was vetoed by Governor Newsom, who stated, “While I share the author’s goal of ensuring community control over the redistricting process, this bill creates a state-reimbursable mandate in the tens of millions and should therefore be considered in the annual budget process.”

SB 977 (Laird) creates a Citizens Redistricting Commission in San Luis Obispo County. SB 977 is pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Irene Ho / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 24, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Juan Carrillo, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1807 (

Author:Cervantes) – As Amended Ver:March 11, 2024

SUBJECT: County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission

SUMMARY: Makes various modifications to state law governing the conduct and activities of the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission (Riverside Commission). Specifically, this bill:

1. Prohibits a member of the Riverside Commission from communicating with an individual or organization regarding redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. Provides that this limitation does not restrict the Riverside Commission from communicating with staff of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors regarding administrative matters, or restrict a commissioner from directly communicating with another commissioner, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the Riverside Commission.
   
2. Repeals the specified criteria that the Riverside Commission is required to use when establishing supervisorial districts, and instead requires the Riverside Commission to use similar criteria that apply generally to local redistricting in the state.
3. Requires the Riverside Commission to ensure that all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all languages into which the Riverside Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of hearings that it holds under existing law.
4. Broadens a provision of existing law that makes a commissioner ineligible for a period of five years beginning from the date of appointment to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level such that it applies to elective public office at the federal, state, or local level.
5. Makes a commissioner ineligible for a period of three years after being appointed to the Riverside Commission from doing either of the following:
   1. Accepting employment as a staff member of, or a consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Riverside County.
      
   2. Receiving a noncompetitively bid contract with Riverside County.
      
6. Prohibits a commissioner from endorsing, working for, or making a campaign contribution to a candidate for an elective office of Riverside County while serving on the Riverside Commission.
7. Makes conforming changes.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the board of supervisors of each county, following each federal decennial census, to adopt boundaries for all of the supervisorial districts of the county so that the supervisorial districts are substantially equal in population as required by the United States (US) Constitution, as specified. (Elections Code §§21500 et seq.)
2. Requires the body with responsibility for adjusting the boundaries of election districts for a local jurisdiction following the federal decennial census, as specified, to adopt boundaries so that the election districts are substantially equal in population and that comply with the US and California Constitutions and the federal Voting Rights Act, as specified. Requires the district boundaries to be developed using the following criteria in the following order of priority:
   
   1. Districts shall be geographically contiguous, as specified;
      
   2. The geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, as specified;
      
   3. The geographic integrity of a city or census designated place shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, as specified, except that this provision does not apply when adopting district boundaries for a city;
   4. Districts shall be bounded by natural and artificial barriers, by streets, or by the boundaries of the local jurisdiction, and should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents; and,
   5. Districts shall be drawn to encourage geographical compactness, as specified. (Elections Code §21130(a), (b), and (c))
3. Prohibits the body with responsibility for adjusting the boundaries of election districts for a local jurisdiction following the federal decennial census from adopting district boundaries for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party. (Elections Code §21130(d))
4. Prohibits the body with responsibility for adjusting the boundaries of election districts for a local jurisdiction following the federal decennial census from adopting district boundaries using any criterion that is prioritized over the criteria specified above or that conflicts with those criteria, except as specified. (Elections Code §21130(e))
   
5. Establishes the Riverside Commission, and charges it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census, as specified. (Elections Code §§21540-21546)
   
   1. Requires the Riverside Commission to arrange for the live translation of one of its hearings into an applicable language if a request for translation is made at least 24 hours before the hearing. Provides that an “applicable language” is any language for which the

number of Riverside County residents who are members of a language minority is greater than or equal to 3% of the total voting age residents of the county. (Elections Code §21544(c)(5))

• 1. Makes a member of the Riverside Commission ineligible for a period of five years beginning from the date of appointment to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level in this state. Makes a member of the Riverside Commission ineligible for a period of three years beginning from the date of appointment to hold appointive federal, state, or local public office, to serve as paid staff for, or as a paid consultant to, the Board of Equalization (BOE), the Congress, the Legislature, or any individual legislator, or to register as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in this state. (Elections Code §21545)
     

1. Establishes a Citizens Redistricting Commission in Sacramento County (Sacramento Commission), and tasks it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts after each federal decennial census, as specified. (Elections Code §§21590-21595) Prohibits a member of the Sacramento Commission from communicating with any individual or organization regarding redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. Provides that this restriction does not do either of the following:
   1. Restrict the Sacramento Commission from communicating with the staff of the legislative body of the local jurisdiction regarding administrative matters of the commission.
   2. Restrict a commissioner from directly communicating with another commissioner, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the commission. (Elections Code §21593(f))
2. Establishes a Citizens Redistricting Commission in Orange County (Orange Commission), and tasks it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts after each federal decennial census, as specified. (Elections Code §§21580-21588)
   1. Requires the Orange Commission to ensure that all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its internet website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated in all languages for which the number of residents of Orange County who are members of a language minority is greater than or equal to 3% of the total voting age residents of the county. (Elections Code §21584(c))
   2. Prohibits a member of the Orange Commission, while serving on the commission, from endorsing, working for, volunteering for, or making a campaign contribution to, a candidate for an elective office of Orange County. (Elections Code §21585(a))
   3. Prohibits a member of the Orange Commission, for four years commencing with the date of the person’s appointment to the commission, from doing any of the following:
      1. Accepting employment as a staff member of, or consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Orange County.
      2. Receiving a noncompetitively bid contract with Orange County.
      3. Registering as a lobbyist for Orange County. (Elections Code §21585(c))

FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed fiscal and contains a state-mandated local program.

COMMENTS:

1. Bill Summary. This bill makes a number of changes to the Riverside Commission to bring it into alignment with subsequently enacted legislation governing independent redistricting commissions.

This bill prohibits a member of the Riverside Commission from having exparte communications with an individual regarding redistricting matters, except as specified. This bill prohibits commissioners from engaging in certain activities during and after their service, such as receiving noncompetitively bid contracts and making campaign contributions or endorsements for elective county office.

This bill requires the Riverside Commission to translate various redistricting materials, including outreach materials and agendas, into any language into which the commission is required to arrange for a live translation of commission hearings. This bill also updates the criteria the Riverside Commission must use when drawing district lines.

This bill is sponsored by the author.

1. Author’s Statement. According to the author, “Since the enactment of Assembly Bill 1307 (Cervantes) in 2022, several citizens independent redistricting commission bills that have been approved by the Legislature have provided new and constructive innovations to the county independent redistricting commission model. Assembly Bill 1807 would transpose many of those provisions to the County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission that is required by AB 1307 and is set to be constituted for the first time in 2030. These include imposing more robust language outreach requirements and additional prohibitions on commissioners, as well as incorporating updated criteria for local redistricting efforts enacted by the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, Assembly Bill 764 (Bryan & Cervantes).”
2. Background. Redistricting is the process by which the boundaries of districts of a governmental body are adjusted. Redistricting generally occurs at the beginning of each decade following the decennial federal census, when new district lines are adopted based on the census data so that the populations of each district of a governmental body are roughly equal. Over the course of the decade, districts can become significantly unequal in population due to differential growth rates in various locations of a jurisdiction. Redistricting is the way this inequality is corrected.
3. California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Proposition 11, which was approved by the voters at the 2008 statewide general election, created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), and gave it the responsibility for establishing district lines for the Assembly, Senate, and BOE. Proposition 11 also modified the criteria to be used when drawing district lines. Two years later, California voters approved Proposition 20, which gave the CCRC the responsibility for establishing lines for California's congressional districts, and made other changes to the procedures and criteria to be used by the CCRC. The CCRC consists of 14 registered voters, including five Democrats, five Republicans, and four others, all of whom are chosen according to procedures specified in Proposition 11. The CCRC adopted district lines for the Legislature, Congress, and the BOE in 2011 following the release of 2010 census data, and again in 2021 following the release of 2020 census data.
4. Local Redistricting Commissions and Previous Legislation. Prior to 2017, state law generally permitted a county or a city to create an advisory redistricting commission (described in state law at the time as a "committee" of residents of the jurisdiction), but did not expressly permit local jurisdictions to create commissions that had the authority to establish district boundaries. Instead, the authority to establish district boundaries for a local jurisdiction generally was held by the governing body. While charter cities could establish redistricting commissions that had the authority to establish district boundaries, charter counties did not have that authority in the absence of express statutory authorization.
   
   SB 1108 (Allen), Chapter 784, Statutes of 2016, allowed a county or a general law city to establish a redistricting commission, subject to certain conditions. SB 1018 (Allen), Chapter 462, Statutes of 2018, built upon SB 1108 by allowing all local governmental entities to establish redistricting commissions, and by modifying some of the rules governing local redistricting commissions.
   
   In addition, the Legislature enacted a number of bills to require specified counties to establish redistricting commissions, including AB 1307 (Cervantes), Chapter 403, Statutes of 2022, which created the Riverside Commission. The Legislature also passed bills to create redistricting commissions in Los Angeles County (SB 958 (Lara), Chapter 781, Statutes of 2016), San Diego County (SB 1331 (Kehoe), Chapter 508, Statutes of 2012, subsequently modified by AB 801 (Weber), Chapter 711, Statutes of 2017), Fresno County (AB 2030 (Arambula), Chapter 407, Statutes of 2022), Kern County (AB 2494 (Salas), Chapter 411, Statutes of 2022), Orange County (AB 34 (Valencia), Chapter 315, Statutes of 2023), and Sacramento County (SB 314 (Ashby), Chapter 389, Statutes of 2023).
   
   While the provisions of these bills creating county-level redistricting commissions are similar, there have been slight variations among those bills. In particular, the two bills approved by the Legislature last year to create redistricting commissions in Orange and Sacramento counties included new provisions that were not found in earlier redistricting commission bills. This bill incorporates some of those provisions into the state law governing the operations of the Riverside Commission.
5. Criteria Changes. Last year, the Legislature approved and Governor Newsom signed AB 764 (Bryan), Chapter 343, Statutes of 2023, which made various changes to state laws governing local redistricting. Among other things, AB 764 adopted standardized criteria to be used when drawing districts for local jurisdictions. This bill deletes the existing criteria that state law requires the Riverside Commission to use when drawing district lines, and instead requires the Riverside Commission to use the criteria from AB 764 by incorporating that criteria by reference.
6. Translations of Redistricting Materials. The Riverside Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of its hearings upon request into “applicable languages,” defined to mean any language for which the number of residents in Riverside County who are members of a language minority is greater than or equal to 3% of the total voting age residents in the county. This bill requires the Riverside Commission, in addition to providing live translations of hearings upon request, to ensure that all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all applicable languages. Based on the most recently available data from the US Census Bureau, it appears that Spanish is likely the only language that currently would be considered an “applicable language” in Riverside County. Requiring these materials to be translated may make the redistricting process in Riverside County more accessible to voters who are members of language minority groups.
7. Arguments in Support. The League of Women Voters of California states, “The League of Women Voters of California writes in strong support of AB 1807, which would align the requirements for the Riverside County Redistricting Commission with elements of California’s local redistricting law, the Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions Act (“FAIR MAPS Act (FMA)”).

“The League of Women Voters of California supports a state redistricting process and standards that promote fair and effective representation with maximum opportunity for public scrutiny and engagement. We believe responsibility for redistricting should be vested in an independent commission with diverse membership that is representative of the public at large and protective of minority group interests…

“The League strongly supports this bill to align Riverside County’s redistricting with the criteria for establishing new districts established in the FMA, add prohibitions on ex parte communications, and strengthen post-service commissioner restrictions. Importantly, AB 1807 will also ensure that the Commission materials are translated into all applicable languages for the Riverside community. For these reasons, the League of Women Voters of California strongly supports AB 1807.”

1. Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
2. Double-Referral. This bill was double-referred to the Assembly Elections Committee, where it passed on a 6-2 vote on April 10, 2024.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

League of Women Voters of California

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958

Date of Hearing: April 10, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS

Gail Pellerin, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1807 (

Author:Cervantes) – As Amended Ver:March 11, 2024

SUBJECT: County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission.

SUMMARY: Makes various modifications to state law governing the conduct and activities of the Riverside County Citizens Redistricting Commission (Riverside Commission). Specifically, this bill:

1. Prohibits a member of the Riverside Commission from communicating with an individual or organization regarding redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. Provides that this limitation does not restrict the Riverside Commission from communicating with staff of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors regarding administrative matters, or restrict a commissioner from directly communicating with another commissioner, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the Riverside Commission.
   
2. Repeals the specified criteria that the Riverside Commission is required to use when establishing supervisorial districts, and instead requires the Riverside Commission to use similar criteria that apply generally to local redistricting in the state.
3. Requires the Riverside Commission to ensure that all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all languages into which the Riverside Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of hearings that it holds under existing law.
4. Broadens a provision of existing law that makes a commissioner ineligible for a period of five years beginning from the date of appointment to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level such that it applies to elective public office at the federal, state, or local level.
5. Makes a commissioner ineligible for a period of three years after being appointed to the Riverside Commission from doing either of the following:
   1. Accepting employment as a staff member of, or a consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Riverside County.
      
   2. Receiving a noncompetitively bid contract with Riverside County.
      
6. Prohibits a commissioner from endorsing, working for, or making a campaign contribution to a candidate for an elective office of Riverside County while serving on the Riverside Commission.
7. Makes conforming changes.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the board of supervisors of each county, following each federal decennial census, to adopt boundaries for all of the supervisorial districts of the county so that the supervisorial districts are substantially equal in population as required by the United States (US) Constitution, as specified. (Elections Code §§21500 et seq.)
2. Requires the body with responsibility for adjusting the boundaries of election districts for a local jurisdiction following the federal decennial census, as specified, to adopt boundaries so that the election districts are substantially equal in population and that comply with the US and California Constitutions and the federal Voting Rights Act, as specified. Requires the district boundaries to be developed using the following criteria in the following order of priority:
   
   1. Districts shall be geographically contiguous, as specified;
      
   2. The geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, as specified;
      
   3. The geographic integrity of a city or census designated place shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, as specified, except that this provision does not apply when adopting district boundaries for a city;
   4. Districts shall be bounded by natural and artificial barriers, by streets, or by the boundaries of the local jurisdiction, and should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents; and,
   5. Districts shall be drawn to encourage geographical compactness, as specified. (Elections Code §21130(a), (b), and (c))
3. Prohibits the body with responsibility for adjusting the boundaries of election districts for a local jurisdiction following the federal decennial census from adopting district boundaries for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party. (Elections Code §21130(d))
4. Prohibits the body with responsibility for adjusting the boundaries of election districts for a local jurisdiction following the federal decennial census from adopting district boundaries using any criterion that is prioritized over the criteria specified above or that conflicts with those criteria, except as specified. (Elections Code §21130(e))
   
5. Establishes the Riverside Commission, and charges it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts after each decennial federal census, as specified. (Elections Code §§21540-21546)
   
   1. Requires the Riverside Commission to arrange for the live translation of one of its hearings into an applicable language if a request for translation is made at least 24 hours before the hearing. Provides that an “applicable language” is any language for which the number of Riverside County residents who are members of a language minority is greater than or equal to 3% of the total voting age residents of the county. (Elections Code §21544(c)(5))
      
   2. Makes a member of the Riverside Commission ineligible for a period of five years beginning from the date of appointment to hold elective public office at the federal, state, county, or city level in this state. Makes a member of the Riverside Commission ineligible for a period of three years beginning from the date of appointment to hold appointive federal, state, or local public office, to serve as paid staff for, or as a paid consultant to, the Board of Equalization (BOE), the Congress, the Legislature, or any individual legislator, or to register as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in this state. (Elections Code §21545)
      
6. Establishes a Citizens Redistricting Commission in Sacramento County (Sacramento Commission), and tasks it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts after each federal decennial census, as specified. (Elections Code §§21590-21595) Prohibits a member of the Sacramento Commission from communicating with any individual or organization regarding redistricting matters outside of a public meeting. Provides that this restriction does not do either of the following:
   1. Restrict the Sacramento Commission from communicating with the staff of the legislative body of the local jurisdiction regarding administrative matters of the commission.
   2. Restrict a commissioner from directly communicating with another commissioner, commission staff, legal counsel, or consultants retained by the commission. (Elections Code §21593(f))
7. Establishes a Citizens Redistricting Commission in Orange County (Orange Commission), and tasks it with adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts after each federal decennial census, as specified. (Elections Code §§21580-21588)
   1. Requires the Orange Commission to ensure that all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its internet website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated in all languages for which the number of residents of Orange County who are members of a language minority is greater than or equal to 3% of the total voting age residents of the county. (Elections Code §21584(c))
   2. Prohibits a member of the Orange Commission, while serving on the commission, from endorsing, working for, volunteering for, or making a campaign contribution to, a candidate for an elective office of Orange County. (Elections Code §21585(a))
   3. Prohibits a member of the Orange Commission, for four years commencing with the date of the person’s appointment to the commission, from doing any of the following:
      1. Accepting employment as a staff member of, or consultant to, an elected official or candidate for elective office of Orange County.
      2. Receiving a noncompetitively bid contract with Orange County.
      3. Registering as a lobbyist for Orange County. (Elections Code §21585(c))

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains reimbursement direction.

COMMENTS:

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

Since the enactment of Assembly Bill 1307 (Cervantes) in 2022, several citizens independent redistricting commission bills that have been approved by the Legislature have provided new and constructive innovations to the county independent redistricting commission model. Assembly Bill 1807 would transpose many of those provisions to the County of Riverside Citizens Redistricting Commission that is required by AB 1307 and is set to be constituted for the first time in 2030. These include imposing more robust language outreach requirements and additional prohibitions on commissioners, as well as incorporating updated criteria for local redistricting efforts enacted by the FAIR Maps Act of 2023, Assembly Bill 764 (Bryan & Cervantes).

1. Redistricting Overview: “Redistricting” is the process by which the boundaries of districts of a governmental body are adjusted. Redistricting generally occurs at the beginning of each decade following the decennial federal census, when new district lines are adopted based on the census data so that the populations of each district of a governmental body are roughly equal. Over the course of the decade, districts can become significantly unequal in population due to differential growth rates in various locations of a jurisdiction. Redistricting is the way this inequality is corrected.
2. California Citizens Redistricting Commission: Proposition 11, which was approved by the voters at the 2008 statewide general election, created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), and gave it the responsibility for establishing district lines for Assembly, Senate, and BOE. Proposition 11 also modified the criteria to be used when drawing district lines. Two years later, California voters approved Proposition 20, which gave the CCRC the responsibility for establishing lines for California's congressional districts, and made other changes to the procedures and criteria to be used by the CCRC. The CCRC consists of 14 registered voters, including five Democrats, five Republicans, and four others, all of whom are chosen according to procedures specified in Proposition 11. The CCRC adopted district lines for the Legislature, Congress, and the BOE in the 2011 following the release of 2010 census data, and again in 2021 following the release of 2020 census data.
3. Local Redistricting Commissions and Previous Legislation: Prior to 2017, state law generally permitted a county or a city to create an advisory redistricting commission (described in state law at the time as a "committee" of residents of the jurisdiction), but did not expressly permit local jurisdictions to create commissions that had the authority to establish district boundaries. Instead, the authority to establish district boundaries for a local jurisdiction generally was held by the governing body. While charter cities could establish redistricting commissions that had the authority to establish district boundaries, charter counties did not have that authority in the absence of express statutory authorization.
   
   In 2016, however, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1108 (Allen), Chapter 784, Statutes of 2016, which permits a county or a general law city to establish a redistricting commission, subject to certain conditions. SB 1018 (Allen), Chapter 462, Statutes of 2018, built upon SB 1108 by allowing all local governmental entities to establish redistricting commissions, and by modifying some of the rules governing local redistricting commissions.
   
   Separately, the Legislature has enacted a number of bills to require specified counties to establish redistricting commissions, including AB 1307 (Cervantes), Chapter 403, Statutes of 2022, which creates the Riverside Commission. The Legislature has also passed bills to create redistricting commissions in Los Angeles County (SB 958 (Lara), Chapter 781, Statutes of 2016), San Diego County (SB 1331 (Kehoe), Chapter 508, Statutes of 2012, subsequently modified by AB 801 (Weber), Chapter 711, Statutes of 2017), Fresno County (AB 2030 (Arambula), Chapter 407, Statutes of 2022), Kern County (AB 2494 (Salas), Chapter 411, Statutes of 2022), Orange County (AB 34 (Valencia), Chapter 315, Statutes of 2023), and Sacramento County (SB 314 (Ashby), Chapter 389, Statutes of 2023).
   
   While the provisions of these bills creating county-level redistricting commissions are broadly similar, there have been slight variations among those bills. In particular, the two bills approved by the Legislature last year to create redistricting commissions in Orange and Sacramento counties included new provisions that were not found in earlier redistricting commission bills. This bill incorporates some of those provisions into the state law governing the operations of the Riverside Commission.
   
   Specifically, this bill prohibits a member of the Riverside Commission from having an ex parte communication (i.e., a communication that occurs outside of a public meeting) with an individual regarding redistricting matters, except as specified. This is identical to a provision that was included in SB 314. Similarly, this bill adopts restrictions similar to ones from AB 34 that prohibit commissioners from engaging in certain activities during and for a period of time after their service, including restrictions on receiving noncompetitively bid contracts and from making campaign contributions to or endorsing candidates for elective county office. Finally, this bill mirrors a provision that was found in AB 34 that requires the commission to translate various redistricting materials, including outreach materials and agendas, into any language into which the commission is required to arrange for a live translation of commission hearings.
4. Criteria Changes: Last year, the Legislature approved and Governor Newsom signed AB 764 (Bryan), Chapter 343, Statutes of 2023, which made various changes to state laws governing local redistricting. One provision of AB 764 adopted standardized criteria to be used when drawing districts for local jurisdictions, which replaced the then-existing criteria that varied depending on the level of local government for which districts were being drawn (e.g., the criteria for drawing electoral districts in a special district was different than the criteria for drawing boundaries for city council districts). Past bills that created county-level redistricting commissions, as described in more detail above, generally expressly specified the criteria that the commissions were required to use when drawing districts, rather than simply referencing the criteria that applied under state law when adopting county district lines, even though the criteria that the bills required the commissions to use was similar to the criteria found in state law for county redistricting generally. While AB 764 changed the criteria to be used for county redistricting generally, it did not update the criteria in the relevant provisions of law governing the operation of the county-level redistricting commissions provided for in state statute.
   
   This bill deletes the existing criteria that state law requires the Riverside Commission to use when drawing district lines, and instead requires the Riverside Commission to use the criteria from AB 764 by incorporating that criteria by reference.
5. Translations of Redistricting Materials: As detailed above under existing law, the Riverside Commission is required to arrange for the live translation of its hearings upon request into “applicable languages,” defined to mean any language for which the number of residents in Riverside County who are members of a language minority is greater than or equal to 3% of the total voting age residents in the county. This bill requires the Riverside Commission, in addition to providing live translations of hearings upon request, to ensure that all outreach materials, public notifications, agendas, and content on its website, including instructions for testifying and submitting written public testimony, are translated into all applicable languages. Based on the most recently available data from the US Census Bureau, it appears that Spanish is likely the only language that currently would be considered an “applicable language” in Riverside County. Requiring these materials to be translated may make the redistricting process in Riverside County more accessible to voters who are members of language minority groups.
6. Arguments in Support: In support of this bill, the League of Women Voters of California writes, “The League strongly supports this bill to align Riverside County’s redistricting with the criteria for establishing new districts established in the [Fair Maps Act], add prohibitions on ex parte communications, and strengthen post-service commissioner restrictions. Importantly, AB 1807 will also ensure that the Commission materials are translated into all applicable languages for the Riverside community.”
7. Related Legislation: SB 977 (Laird), which is pending in the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee, creates a Citizens Redistricting Commission in San Luis Obispo County.
8. Double-Referral: This bill has been double referred to the Assembly Local Government Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

League of Women Voters of California

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094