BILL ANALYSIS
SB 113
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 113 (Calderon)
As Amended February 9, 2007
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :31-5
ELECTIONS 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Price, Leno, Levine, |Ayes:|Leno, Caballero, Davis, |
| |Laird, Salda?a | |DeSaulnier, Huffman, De |
| | | |La Torre, Krekorian, |
| | | |Levine, Ma, Nava, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Adams, Niello |Nays:|Walters, Emmerson, La |
| | | |Malfa, Nakanishi, Sharon |
| | | |Runner |
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SUMMARY : Moves California's presidential primary election from
June to February in presidential election years. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Makes the first Tuesday in February in each year evenly
divisible by the number four an established election date.
Provides that elections held on that date are statewide
elections.
2)Repeals a requirement that the presidential primary election
be consolidated with the statewide direct primary that is held
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in each
year evenly divisible by four.
3)Requires the presidential primary to be held on the first
Tuesday in February in every year that is evenly divisible by
the number four, and prohibits the presidential primary from
being consolidated with the statewide direct primary.
4)Declares the intent of the Legislature to fully reimburse
counties for costs resulting from the presidential primary
elections added by this bill in an expeditious manner upon
certification of those costs.
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EXISTING LAW requires the presidential primary to be held on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in any year evenly
divisible by the number four, and requires that the presidential
primary be consolidated with the statewide direct primary held
on that date.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis:
1)About $3.1 million to the Secretary of State (SOS) for
printing and mailing voter registration cards and reporting
election results.
2)The SOS would incur additional costs for printing and mailing
a ballot pamphlet for any propositions included on the
presidential primary ballot via initiatives or legislation.
These costs would be about $1.3 million for each proposition.
Assuming these propositions would otherwise be placed on a
subsequent state ballot, this would not represent an
additional state cost.
3)Reimbursable costs to the counties in the range of $48 million
to $80 million to print and mail the sample ballot to voters,
conduct the election, and tabulate and report the results.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "California is the biggest
and most influential state in the union yet its current June
presidential primary virtually ensures that the major party
nominees will be determined long before our voters cast their
ballots. A February presidential primary will encourage
presidential candidates to campaign here and to debate and
discuss issues and policies important to our people. California
voters deserve to play a major role in deciding the presidential
nominees."
From 1946 to 1994, California's primary election was held in
June of every even-numbered year. Frustrated with the perceived
lack of importance and impact that California had on the
presidential nominating process, the state moved its
presidential primary to the fourth Tuesday in March for the 1996
election cycle. The legislation that moved the 1996
presidential primary, AB 2196 (Costa), Chapter 828, Statutes of
1993, requires the statewide direct primary election to be moved
SB 113
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as well, and to remain consolidated with the presidential
primary election.
AB 2196 provided for a one-time-only change in the date of the
presidential primary, so without further action by the
Legislature, the 2000 primary would have been held in June.
However, SB 1999 (Costa), Chapter 913, Statutes of 1998, moves
the date for all future primary elections, not just presidential
primary elections, to the first Tuesday in March.
California's primary elections in 2000 and 2004 were held on the
first Tuesday in March. But many states leapfrogged ahead of
California and by the time the polls opened in California on
March 2, 2004, 20 other states had already apportioned their
delegates in primaries or caucuses and California shared its
March 2nd primary date with nine other states.
Frustrated that the earlier primary date did not increase
California's clout in the presidential primary process and by
the extended time period between the primary and general
elections for legislative and congressional races, the
Legislature and Governor chose to move California's primary
election, including presidential primaries, back to June. SB
1730 (Johnson), Chapter 817, Statutes of 2004, requires
California's primary election to be held on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in June in every even-numbered year. As
a result, the 2006 primary election was held in June, and
without further action by the Legislature and the Governor,
California's presidential primary in 2008 will be held on June
5th.
While this bill would move the 2008 presidential primary
election in California to February 5th, it would not change the
currently scheduled June 5, 2008, primary for all congressional
and legislative races. However, because the February 5, 2008,
presidential primary election would be a statewide election,
state initiatives and other ballot measures would be eligible to
appear on the ballot at that election.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
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