Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments

Constitutional Amendments Committee will come to order. Good evening to everyone. The Senate continues to welcome the public in person and via the teleconference service for individuals wishing to provide public comment today, the participant number is 877-226-8143 and the access code is 988-4359. We're holding our Committee hearing in the state Capitol. I would ask all Members of the Committee to be present in room 113 so we can establish a quorum and begin our hearing.

We have one Bill on our agenda today, SB 485 by Senator Becker. Before we hear that presentation, let's establish a quorum to our great Assistant Clerk here. Would you please call the role.

Senators? Glazer, here. Nguyen, absent. Allen, here. McGuire, absent. Menjivar, here. Newman, absent. Umberg, here.

We have a quorum present, so we'll begin. We're going to start with SB 485 by Senator Becker. Senator Becker. Welcome. Please come join us here at the table, and we welcome your testimony.

Good evening, Mr. Chair, Members. SB 485 clarifies the definition of an election worker and a voter in existing code to better protect those facilitating and participating in election from intimidation. There's been an unprecedented increase in attention to elections over the last several years. Election officials must contend with an overwhelming amount of misinformation made possible due to the increased use of social media, in part for spreading unvetted information. For example, in Shasta County, election deniers harassed the registered voters. In multiple instances.

In Nevada County, voters and poll workers were accosted, threatened, and subjected to racial slurs. For election workers, concerns for personal safety and the well being of their families prompt some individuals to leave the election profession now altogether. This Bill clarified that the protections under this law apply to other groups that are at risk for harassment, namely temporary election workers and remote voters. With me. I have Eric Garris, Deputy Secretary of Legislative and Constituent Affairs, with the Secretary of State as my witness.

Mr. Garris, welcome. We have a Committee rule of two minutes. We have a Committee process of two minutes for two witnesses. If you're the only witness, you get four minutes. You're welcome to begin. Can you get the microphone, please? Can we get a microphone over there?

Chair Glazer. Senators, appreciate the time. Eric Harris, on behalf of Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber. And just like to say 485 is necessary to provide for the safety of election workers and their staff. We appreciate your time and urge your aye vote.

Terrific. We'd like to invite other people that are here in the hearing room to give their name in the record in support, please.

Ethan Nagle. I'm at the City Clerks Association of California in strong support.

Thank you, sir. Anybody else here in the hearing room wish to register their support? All right. Seeing none, we're going to go to opposition. Is there anyone here in the hearing room that would speak in opposition? Seeing no one rushing to the front. Do we have a teleconference line? Okay. Moderator can you ask if there's anybody that's queued up to testify in support or opposition to SB 485. And this is the opportunity just to put your name and affiliation, if any, on the record?

Of course. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to speak in support or opposition, please press one, then zero at this time. And there's currently no one queuing up Mr. Chair.

All right, we're going to give the operator one more time just to check and make sure no one's on the line. Moderator can you ask one last time if anyone wants to provide testimony?

Of course. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, if you wish to speak in support or opposition, please press one, then zero. Currently, no one queuing up at this time.

Thank you. Moderator thanks for your help tonight. We'll bring the matter back to the Committee for questions or comments. I see. Senator Allen, do you have a question or comment? He's a comb. Well, I have a question or know. The rules of the Committee are once you recognize a motion, then you have to take a vote on a motion if you want to defer to allow the Chair to ask a question. I'm not going to recognize your motion, sir, so I see.

That deference, which is very kind of you. Senator Becker, do you want to speak to why this Bill was put together in the Assembly? It didn't go through the normal Senate process. I just want you to put on the record why you felt the urgency of the matter was such that you wanted to change it in the Assembly and have it come back this way.

Thank you, Chair. In our conversations with the Secretary of State's office, I've tackled various election issues before. In fact, my very first Bill I'm recollecting now, was in front of the Elections Committee. But in our conversations, this came up as an issue of importance and one that we thought in front of the 2024 important elections coming up, we wanted to address it soon. So that's why.

Junior Senator. Move the Bill.

Anybody else have any comments or questions before we take a motion? Seeing none, I'm going to recognize the esteemed Senator from where are you from? Orange County?

Very much so, yes.

That wasn't you, Josh? I'm sorry. It was Senator, Umberg for purposes of making a motion.

That's exactly what I meant.

All right. I'm going to interpret that as a motion from Senator Umberg that the Assembly amendments be concurred in.

So if we could ask our assistant to please call the role.

Senators? Glazer, aye. Nguyen, absent. Allen, aye. McGuire, absent. Menjivar, aye. Newman, aye. Umberg, aye.

So we're going to keep the roll open for absent Members, but, Senator Becker, it looks like you have the votes to move this Bill. I want to thank all the individuals who participated in public testimony today. If you are not able to testify, please submit your comments or suggestions in writing to the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments or visit our website. Your comments and suggestions are important to us, and we want to include your testimony in the official hearing record.

Thank you, and we appreciate your participation. With that, I want to thank our staff of the Committee for all your good work. And we've concluded our agenda. And the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments is adjourned.

Excuse me. Not adjourned in recess as we wait for an additional Member to come and join our Committee vote.

Committee on Elections and Constitutional amendments. Back from our short recess. Ask the Secretary to open the roll on our one measure today, which is SB 485.

The motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in, with the Chair voting aye. Senator Nguyen, not. Maguire, absent.

That Bill is out five to one. And with that, the Committee is adjourned.