Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments

The Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments will come to order. Good afternoon, and welcome to the first bill hearing of 2024. For today's hearing, we received a letter indicating that Senator Durazo will replace Senator McGuire on our panel today. Welcome, Senator Durazo. I would also like to welcome Rida, is it Shaikh, to the committee. Rida will be serving as the committee assistant this year. Welcome to the committee. We have two bills on our agenda today, SB 251 by Senator Newman and SB 863 by Senator Allen. Before we hear a presentation on the bill, let's establish a quorum and ask our committee assistant to please call the roll.

Senators Glazer. Here. Glazer, here. Nguyen. Allen. Allen, here. Durazo. Here. Durazo, here. Menjivar. Menjivar, here. Newman. Umberg.

Okay, we do have a quorum. Okay. Just want to check on that. Okay. Members, we do have one item proposed for the consent calendar. That's SB 251. Let's think of the consent calendar first. Is there a motion on the consent calendar, Senator Menjivar? Senator Menjivar has moved the consent calendar. Would the secretary please call the roll?

Senators Glazer. Aye. Glazer, aye. Nguyen. Allen. Aye. Allen, aye. Durazo. Aye. Durazo, aye. Menjivar. Aye. Menjivar, aye. Newman. Umberg.

Okay, so that has four votes, and we'll place it on call. Our next item is SB 863 by Senator Allen. I don't see an author here. zero, there he is. Okay, Senator Allen, we like to invite you to the Committee, and we're prepared to hear your Bill whenever you're ready.

Pleased to be here at this Committee for quite some time today, and I know how much the chair cares about government efficiency. And that's why I wanted to make sure to be here and ready for this auspicious presentation. My biggest Bill of the year, for sure. This really is a special one. Okay, so the Legislature has the ability to propose bonds, certain legislative measures, and the amendments to the California Constitutional for voter approval at a statewide election.

Our current law allows the Legislature to specify in a bond or other legislative measure at which statewide election will appear before the voters. But because of a unique process, the same flexibility doesn't exist for constitutional amendments. So existing statute sets a default ballot measure timeline for all ballot measures that are proposed by the Legislature. Bonds and legislative measures are subject to the same process as general legislative bills, and they have to be signed by the Governor.

These measures have the force of law, and they can specify an election other than the default required in the statute. But for constitutional amendments, they are subject to a different process that's outlined in the constitution, and they don't require a governor's signature. And so a constitutional amendment doesn't have the force of law and can't bypass the statutorily required timeline. So all proposed constitutional amendments are therefore automatically referred to the next statewide ballot by default.

And if the Legislature wishes to move a proposed constitutional amendment to another ballot, then there has to be a separate Bill accompanying legislation to allow for that. So this is something that came up. Senator and I were speaking about how one of my bills we had to pull back after it already passed the Senate because other Members wanted to make sure that their ACA was pushed to the November ballot. It created a lot of drama.

We're looking to streamline the process by allowing the Legislature to specify an election for a constitutional amendment to appear before voters, just like we can with bonds and other legislative measures that are being placed before the voters. Not the biggest Bill of the year, but it does solve a small but important piece of the process. And with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Senator Allen, do we have a lead witness?

I don't believe so, unless someone.

Obviously. Your biggest Bill of the year?

It's the only Bill of the hearing. Yeah.

All right, so since we're going to waive the lead witness opportunity, we want to give anyone here who is in support of the measure to step forward and let us know your name and affiliation and position of support. So anyone here in the room want to step up on this legislation? Okay, not seeing any. We're now going to move to lead witnesses in opposition. I don't have any indicated here. Are there any folks here in the room that are opposed to this Bill that want to express that opposition? Please come forward.

Hello, sir. My name is David Bollock, although I don't completely understand what's happening, but any drug lock in the legislative process to be continuing, putting legislation onto the people of California that has been from this body harmful is a good thing. So I'm opposed to this, and I like the ideal. If this means something to you, you will work hard to get it on the ballot. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Anybody else in opposition? All right, no one else in opposition will bring the matter back to the Committee for comments or questions. Any Members have any comments or questions? All right, seeing none. Senator Allen, you'd like to close?

Yeah, I'd like to get more information from the opponent as to the concern, because just to clarify, this doesn't impact the ability of the Legislature to put or not put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot, one way or another. What it does do is right now with bonds, for example, when we put forward a bond, the Legislature can specify we want this to be on the march ballot or the November ballot.

There's no mechanism for that right now with the constitutional amendments that are put on the ballot. So people have to run a separate Bill just to specify which ballot to put the amendment on. What we're trying to do here, it's a very tiny Bill, quite frankly, is to create conformity.

So that just like with bonds and other legislative measures that are subject to the ballot, that the Legislature, as it is passing, that as it is choosing to put it forward before the voters, the Legislature can specify whether it be on the march ballot or the November ballot for amendments as well. For constitutional amendments as well. That's all the Bill.

Yeah, we'll take that as your close. Senator Allen.

Yeah. Okay.

I did see a motion from Senator Durazo. This would be a do pass to just a do pass.

Okay.

So with that, would the secretary please call the roll?

Senators Glazer aye. Nguyen aye. Allen aye. Durazzo aye. Menjivar aye. Newman. Umberg aye.

That measure has five. We're going to put it on call. So we're now going to call all absent Members to close the role and all the measures we've considered today. We're first going to take file item number one. Senator Umberg, file item number one. This is SB 251. It's a do pass, and it's the consent. Secretary, please open the roll.

Senators Nguyen, Newman. Umberg, aye.

Okay, that's back on call at. I'd like to ask the absent Members who want to participate in our hearing to come down. Going to be here for about 5 minutes, and then some of us have other hearings that we are obligated to. So we're going to put this on in recess for just 5 minutes. Okay.

She's actually transportation, but I figured. Yeah. Back from recess. We have two bills on call. The first is file item number one, which is on the consent calendar, SB 251. Secretary, please open the roll.

Senators Nguyen, aye. Newman, aye. Newman, aye.

That Bill is out 70. This next item is file item number two. SB 863. Secretary, this is. Secretary, please open the roll. Yes.

The motion is do pass, and the current vote is five to zero. Senator Nguyen no. Newman aye.

That Bill is out six to one. So that concludes the work of the Senate Committee on Elections. Thank you for all the folks who participated today. If you're unable to testify, please submit your comments or suggestions in writing to the Senate Committee on elections or visit our website. Your comments and suggestions are important to us. I want to thank everyone for their support and cooperation today. Certainly the staff we've concluded our agenda. The Senate Committee on Elections and constitutional amendments is adjourned.