SB 1294: Elections: recall of local officers.

Existing law provides for the recall of local officers. Existing law requires a recall petition to contain, among other things, a copy of the notice of intention that includes the names of at least 10 recall proponents that appear on the notice and that are selected by the proponents. Existing law requires the elections official to verify the signatures on the recall petition and, if the elections official finds the signatures to be sufficient, to submit a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition to the governing body at its next regular meeting. Within 14 days after the meeting at which the governing body receives the certificate of sufficiency, existing law requires the governing body to issue an order stating that an election will be held to determine whether or not the officer named in the petition should be recalled.

This bill would authorize the proponents of a recall of a local officer to file with the elections official a notice withdrawing their petition at any time before the elections official submits the certificate of sufficiency to the governing body at its next regular meeting. The bill would require the elections official, upon receipt of the notice of withdrawal, to take no further action on the petition. The bill would provide that the withdrawal of a recall petition against a local officer does not bar the later filing of a new petition against that officer. The bill would define proponents, for its purposes, to mean the 10 recall proponents listed on the copy of the notice of intention that appears on the recall petition, as specified.

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.