BILL NUMBER: SB 283	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Nielsen

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2015

   An act to amend Sections 9050, 9051, 9053, 9086, 9087, 13262,
13282, and 18602 of the Elections Code, and to amend Section 88002 of
the Government Code, relating to elections.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 283, as introduced, Nielsen. Elections: ballot titles and
summaries.
   Existing law requires the Attorney General to provide a ballot
label and a ballot title for each measure to be submitted to the
voters at a statewide election. Existing law requires the Attorney
General to prepare a summary of the chief purposes and points of each
statewide ballot measure as part of the ballot title. Existing law,
including provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires
that the ballot pamphlet contain, among other things, the official
summary prepared by the Attorney General.
   This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, instead of the
Attorney General, to prepare the ballot label and the ballot title
and summary for all measures submitted to the voters of the state.
The bill would also make conforming changes.
    The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides
that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes
upon a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified
procedural requirements.
   This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 9050 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   9050.  After the Secretary of State determines that a measure will
appear on the ballot at the next statewide election, the Secretary
of State shall promptly transmit a copy of the measure to the
 Attorney General.   Legislative Analyst. 
The  Attorney General   Legislative Analyst
 shall provide and return to the Secretary of State a ballot
title and summary and ballot label for  the measure. The
Legislative Analyst shall prepare a ballot title and summary and
ballot label for  each measure submitted to the voters of the
whole state by a date sufficient to meet the ballot pamphlet public
display deadlines.
  SEC. 2.  Section 9051 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   9051.  (a) (1) The ballot title and summary may differ from the
legislative, circulating, or other title and summary of the measure
and shall not exceed 100 words, not including the fiscal impact
 statement  .
   (2) The ballot title and summary shall be amended to 
include a summary of the Legislative Analyst's estimate of the net
state and local government fiscal impact prepared pursuant to Section
9087 of this code and Section 88003 of the Government Code.
   (b) The ballot label shall not contain more than 75 words and
shall be a condensed version of the ballot title and summary
including the financial impact summary prepared pursuant to Section
9087 of this code and Section 88003 of the Government Code.
   (c) In  providing   preparing  the
ballot title and summary, the  Attorney General 
 Legislative Analyst  shall give a true and impartial
statement of the purpose of the measure in such language that the
ballot title and summary shall neither be an argument, nor be likely
to create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure.
   (d) The  Attorney General   Legislative
Analyst  shall invite and consider public comment in preparing
each ballot title and summary.
  SEC. 3.  Section 9053 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   9053.   Each   A  measure shall be
designated on the ballot by the ballot label certified to the
Secretary of State by the  Attorney General.  
Legislative Analyst. 
  SEC. 4.  Section 9086 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   9086.  The ballot pamphlet shall contain as to each state measure
to be voted upon, the following, in the order set forth in this
section:
   (a) (1) Upon the top portion of the first page, and not exceeding
one-third of the page, shall appear:
   (A) Identification of the measure by number and title.
   (B) The official summary prepared by the  Attorney General
  Legislative Analyst  .
   (C) The total number of votes cast for and against the measure in
both the State Senate and Assembly, if the measure was passed by the
Legislature.
   (2) The space in the title and summary that is used for an
explanatory table prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
(e) of Section 9087  of this code  and Section 88003 of the
Government Code shall not be included when measuring the amount of
space the information described in paragraph (1) has taken for
purposes of determining compliance with the restriction prohibiting
the information described in paragraph (1) from exceeding one-third
of the page.
   (b) Beginning at the top of the right page shall appear the
analysis prepared by the Legislative Analyst, provided that the
analysis fits on a single page. If it does not fit on a single page,
the analysis shall begin on the lower portion of the first left page
and shall continue on subsequent pages until it is completed.
   (c) Immediately below the analysis prepared by the Legislative
Analyst shall appear a printed statement that refers voters to the
Secretary of State's Internet Web site for a list of committees
primarily formed to support or oppose a ballot measure, and
information on how to access the committee's top 10 contributors.
   (d) Arguments for and against the measure shall be placed on the
next left and right pages, respectively, following the final page of
the analysis of the Legislative Analyst. The rebuttals shall be
placed immediately below the arguments.
   (e) If no argument against the measure has been submitted, the
argument for the measure shall appear on the right page facing the
analysis.
   (f) The complete text of each measure shall appear at the back of
the pamphlet. The text of the measure shall contain the provisions of
the proposed measure and the existing provisions of law repealed or
revised by the measure. The provisions of the proposed measure
differing from the existing provisions of law affected shall be
distinguished in print, so as to facilitate comparison.
   (g) The following statement shall be printed at the bottom of each
page where arguments appear: "Arguments printed on this page are the
opinions of the authors, and have not been checked for accuracy by
any official agency."
  SEC. 5.  Section 9087 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   9087.  (a) The Legislative Analyst shall prepare an impartial
analysis of the measure describing the measure and including a fiscal
analysis of the measure showing the amount of any increase or
decrease in revenue or cost to state or local government. If it is
estimated that a measure would result in increased cost to the state,
an analysis of the measure's estimated impact on the state shall be
provided, including an estimate of the percentage of the General Fund
that would be expended due to the measure, using visual aids when
appropriate. An estimate of increased cost to the state or local
governments shall be set out in boldface print in the ballot
pamphlet.
   (b) The analysis shall be written in clear and concise terms, so
as to be easily understood by the average voter, and shall avoid the
use of technical terms wherever possible. The analysis may contain
background information, including the effect of the measure on
existing law and the effect of enacted legislation which will become
effective if the measure is adopted, and shall generally set forth in
an impartial manner the information the average voter needs to
adequately understand the measure. To the extent practicable, the
Legislative Analyst shall  utilize   use  a
uniform method in each analysis to describe the estimated increase
or decrease in revenue or cost of a measure, so that the average
voter may draw comparisons among the fiscal impacts of measures. The
condensed statement of the fiscal impact summary for the measure
prepared by the  Attorney General   Legislative
Analyst  to appear on the ballot shall contain the uniform
estimate of increase or decrease in revenue or cost of the measure
prepared pursuant to this subdivision.
   (c) The Legislative Analyst may contract with a professional
writer, educational specialist, or another person for assistance in
writing an analysis that fulfills the requirements of this section,
including the requirement that the analysis be written so that it
will be easily understood by the average voter. The Legislative
Analyst may also request the assistance of a state department,
agency, or official in preparing his or her analysis.
   (d)  Prior to   Before   
submitting the analysis to the Secretary of State, the Legislative
Analyst shall submit the analysis to a committee of five persons,
appointed by the Legislative Analyst, for the purpose of reviewing
the analysis to confirm its clarity and easy comprehension to the
average voter. The committee shall be drawn from the public at large,
and one member shall be a specialist in education, one member shall
be bilingual, and one member shall be a professional writer. Members
of the committee shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary
expenses incurred in performing their duties. Within five days of the
submission of the analysis to the committee, the committee shall
make recommendations to the Legislative Analyst as it deems
appropriate to guarantee that the analysis can be easily understood
by the average voter. The Legislative Analyst shall consider the
committee's recommendations, and he or she shall incorporate in the
analysis those changes recommended by the committee that he or she
deems to be appropriate. The Legislative Analyst is solely
responsible for determining the content of the analysis required by
this section.
   (e) (1) The title and summary of any measure that appears on the
ballot shall be amended to contain a summary of the Legislative
Analyst's estimate of the net state and local government fiscal
impact.
   (2) For state bond measures that are submitted to the voters for
their approval or rejection, the summary of the Legislative Analyst's
estimate described in paragraph (1) shall include an explanatory
table of the information in the summary.
  SEC. 6.  Section 13262 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   13262.  (a) The ballot shall contain the same material as to
candidates and measures, and shall be printed in the same order as
provided for paper ballots, and may be arranged in parallel columns
on one or more ballot cards as required, except that the column in
which the voter marks his or her choices may be at the left of the
names of candidates and the designation of measures.
   (b) If there are a greater number of candidates for an office or
for a party nomination for an office than the number whose names can
be placed on one pair of facing ballot pages, a series of overlaying
pages printed only on the same, single side shall be used, and the
ballot shall be clearly marked to indicate that the list of
candidates for the office is continued on the following page or
pages. If the names of candidates for the office are not required to
be rotated, they shall be rotated by groups of candidates in a manner
so that the name of each candidate shall appear on each page of the
ballot in approximately the same number of precincts as the names of
all other candidates.
   (c) Space shall be provided on the ballot or on a separate
write-in ballot to permit voters to write in names not printed on the
ballot when authorized by law. The size of the voting square and the
spacing of the material may be varied to suit the conditions imposed
by the use of ballot cards, provided the size of the type is not
reduced below the minimum size requirements set forth in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 13100).
   (d) The statement of measure submitted to the voters may be
abbreviated if necessary on the ballot, provided that
  if  each and every statement of  measures
  measure  on that ballot is abbreviated. 
Abbreviation   Any abbreviation  of matters to be
voted on throughout the state shall be composed by the 
Attorney General.   Legislative Analyst. 
  SEC. 7.  Section 13282 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   13282.  Whenever the  Attorney General  
Legislative Analyst  prepares a ballot label, the 
Attorney General   Legislative Analyst  shall file
a copy of the ballot label with the Secretary of State. The Secretary
of State shall make a copy of the ballot label available for public
examination  prior to   before  the
printing of the ballot label on any ballot. The public shall be
permitted to examine the ballot label for at least 20 days, and the
Secretary of State may consolidate the examination requirement under
this section with the public examination requirements set forth in
Section 9092. A voter may seek a writ of mandate requiring a ballot
label, or portion thereof, to be amended or deleted. The provisions
set forth in Section 9092 concerning the issuance of the writ and the
nature of the proceedings shall be applicable to this section.
  SEC. 8.  Section 18602 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   18602.   Any   A  person working for the
proponent or proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum
measure who covers or otherwise obscures the summary of the measure
prepared by the  Attorney General   Legislative
Analyst  from the view of a prospective signer is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
  SEC. 9.  Section 88002 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   88002.  The ballot pamphlet shall contain as to each state measure
to be voted upon, the following in the order set forth in this
section:
   (a) (1) Upon the top portion of the first page and not exceeding
one-third of the page shall appear:
   (A) The identification of the measure by number and title.
   (B) The official summary prepared by the  Attorney General
  Legislative Analyst  .
   (C) The total number of votes cast for and against the measure in
both the State Senate and Assembly if the measure was passed by the
Legislature.
   (2) The space in the title and summary that is used for an
explanatory table prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
(e) of Section 9087 of the Elections Code and Section 88003  of
this code  shall not be included when measuring the amount of
space the information described in paragraph (1) has taken for
purposes of determining compliance with the restriction prohibiting
the information described in paragraph (1) from exceeding one-third
of the page.
   (b) Beginning at the top of the right page shall appear the
analysis prepared by the Legislative Analyst, provided that the
analysis fits on a single page. If it does not fit on a single page,
then the analysis shall begin on the lower portion of the first left
page and shall continue on subsequent pages until it is completed.
   (c) Immediately below the analysis prepared by the Legislative
Analyst shall appear a printed statement that refers voters to the
Secretary of State's Internet Web site for a list of committees
primarily formed to support or oppose a ballot measure, and
information on how to access the committee's top 10 contributors.
   (d) Arguments for and against the measure shall be placed on the
next left and right pages, respectively, following the page on which
the analysis of the Legislative Analyst ends. The rebuttals shall be
placed immediately below the arguments.
   (e) If no argument against the measure has been submitted, the
argument for the measure shall appear on the right page facing the
analysis.
   (f) The complete text of each measure shall appear at the back of
the pamphlet. The text of the measure shall contain the provisions of
the proposed measure and the existing provisions of law repealed or
revised by the measure. The provisions of the proposed measure
differing from the existing provisions of law affected shall be
distinguished in print, so as to facilitate comparison.
   (g) The following statement shall be printed at the bottom of each
page where arguments appear: "Arguments printed on this page are the
opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by
any official agency."
  SEC. 10.   The Legislature finds and declares that this bill
furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.