SEN. 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 RITA. IS IT SHAKE? TO
THE COMMITTEE. RITA 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 SP 863 BY
SENATOR ALAN BEFORE WE HEAR A
PRESENTATION ON THE BILL, LET'S
ESTABLISH A QUORUM AND WITH
ASKAR COMMITTEE ASSISTANT TO
PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. SINNERS
GLASER GLASER HERE WHEN ALAN
ALAN HERE, DURAZO HERE, MENJIVAR
MENJIVAR HERE. NEWMAN HAMBURG.
OKAY WE DO HAVE A QUORUM. YEAH
AND SORT SHEETS, OKAY. JUST WANT
TO CHECK ON THAT, OKAY? MEMBERS.
WE DO HAVE ONE ITEM PROPOSED FOR
THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THAT'S SP
251. STICK OF THE CONSENT
CALENDAR FIRST. IS THERE A
MOTION ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR?
SENATOR. MENJIVAR. MOVED THE
CONSENT CALENDAR WITH THE
SECRETARY. PLEASE CALL THE ROLL.
SENATORS GLASER GLASER. I WIN.
ALLEN HAS OH, SO I MENTIONED OR
I. NEWMAN HAMBURG ASKED FOR IT.
OKAY, SO THAT HAS FOUR VOTES AND
WE'LL PLACE IT ON CALL. HMM NEXT
ITEM IS SP 863 BY SENATOR ALLEN.
I DON'T SEE AN AUTHOR HERE. OH
THERE HE IS. OK, SENATOR ALLEN
MALEK TO INVITE YOU TO THE
COMMITTEE AND PREPARED TO HEAR
YOUR BILL. YOU'RE READY. PLEASED
TO BE HERE AT THIS COMMITTEE FOR
QUITE SOME TIME TODAY, AND I
KNOW HOW MUCH THE CHAIR COVERS
CARES ABOUT GOVERNMENT
EFFICIENCY. AND THAT'S WHY I
WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO BE HERE
AND READY. FOR THIS. THIS 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 THE
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTIONAL FOR
VOTER APPROVAL AT A STATEWIDE
ELECTION. STATEWIDE OUR CURRENT
LAW ALLOWS THE LEGISLATURE TO
SPECIFY IN A BOND OR OTHER
LEGISLATIVE MEASURE AT WHICH
STATEWIDE ELECTION WILL APPEAR
BEFORE THE BORDERS, 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
ABOUT 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 OUTLINED
IN THE CONSTITUTION. AND THEY
DON'T REQUIRE GOVERNOR'S
SIGNATURE. AND SO, UM, 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 HAS TO BE A
SEPARATE BILL ACCOMPANYING
LEGISLATION TO ALLOW FOR THAT,
SO AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT
CAME UP SENATOR AND I WERE
SPEAKING ABOUT HOW ONE OF MY
PILLS THAT WE HAD TO PULL BACK
AFTER ALREADY PASSED THE SENATE
BECAUSE OTHER MEMBERS WANTED TO
MAKE SURE THAT THERE UH, A C A
WAS PUSHED TO THE NOVEMBER
BALLOT. CREATED A LOT OF DRAMA.
UM 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 ANOTHER LEGISLATIVE
MEASURES THAT ARE THAT ARE THAT
ARE BEING PLACED BEFORE THE
VOTERS. NOT THE BIGGEST BILL OF
THE YEAR, BUT IT DOES SOLVE A
SMALL BUT YOU KNOW BUT
IMPORTANT. PIECE OF THE PROCESS.
AND WITH THAT I RESPECT FOR
RESTAURANT BOAT. THANK YOU,
SENATOR ALAN, DO WE HAVE A LEAD
WITNESS? I DON'T BELIEVE SO
UNLESS SOMEONE OBVIOUSLY YOUR
BIGGEST BILL OF THE YEAR OF THE
HEARINGS YEAH. ALRIGHT SO SINCE
THEN 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 NOT GOING TO
MOVE TO LEAD WITNESSES AND
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
CEREMONY IS DAVID BULLOCK,
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 IDEA OF 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. SEE YOU WANT NO ONE
ELSE IN OPPOSITION WILL BRING
THE MATTER BACK TO THE COMMITTEE
FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. ANY
MEMBERS HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR
QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT SEEN NONE. UH
CENTER AROUND YOU LIKE TO CLOSE.
I WOULD LIKE TO GET MORE
INFORMATION FROM THE OPPONENT.
IS THAT THE CONCERN BECAUSE JUST
TO CLARIFY THIS DOESN'T IMPACT
THE ABILITY OF THE LEGISLATURE
TO PUT OR NOT PUT, AND THAT'S A
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL ON THE
BALLOT. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, UM,
WHAT IT DOES DO IS SO RIGHT NOW
WITH BONDS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE
PUT FORWARD A BOND THE
LEGISLATURE CAN SPECIFY. WE WANT
THIS TO BE ON THE MARCH PALETTE
OR THE NOVEMBER BALLOT. AH THAT
THAT THAT 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
JUSTICE SPECIFY WHICH BALLOT TO
PUT THE AMENDMENT ON WHAT? WHAT?
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.
IT'S A VERY TINY BILL, QUITE
FRANKLY, IS TO CREATE CONFORMITY
, JUST LIKE WITH BONDS AND OTHER
LEGISLATIVE MEASURES THAT ARE
SUBJECT TO THE BALLOT. THE
THEY'RE THE LEGISLATURE AS IT IS
PASSING THAT AS PUTTING AS IT IS
CHOOSING TO PUT FORWARD BEFORE
THE VOTERS. THE LEGISLATURE CAN
SPECIFY WHETHER IT BE ON THE
MARCH BALLOT IN NOVEMBER BALLOT
FOUR AMENDMENTS AS WELL FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL MOMENT AS WELL,
THAT'S THAT'S THAT'S ALL THE
BILL DOES, UM, TOM, BUT YEAH,
WE'LL TAKE THAT AS YOUR CLOSE IN
YOUR ALLEY. OKAY I DID SEE A
MOTION FROM SENATOR DURAZO. THIS
WOULD BE A DO PASS. UM TO, UH,
JUST TO DO PASS. OKAY SO WITH
THAT WITH THE SECRETARY, PLEASE
CALL THE ROLL. SENATORS GLASER
GLASER. I WIN, ALAN TERRAZZO
TERRAZZO. AYE MENJIVAR MENJIVAR
AYE NEWMAN. AMBERG? AYE. THAT
THAT MEASURE HAS FIVE. WE'RE
GOING TO PUT IT ON CALL, SO
WE'RE GOING TO CALL ALL ABSENT
MEMBERS TO CLOSE THE ROLE AND ON
THE MEASURES WE'VE CONSIDERED
TODAY. WE'RE FIRST GONNA TAKE
FILE ITEM NUMBER ONE. SENATOR
UMBERG HIGHLIGHTER NUMBER ONE.
THIS IS SP 251. IT'S A DO PASS
AND IT'S THE CONSENT SECRETARY.
PLEASE OPEN THE ROLE AS NGUYEN
NEWMAN. HAMBURG BURGER. I CAN
CALL FIVE. OKAY, THAT'S BACK ON
CALL AT FIVE. LIKE TO ASK THE
ABSENT MEMBERS WHO WANT TO
PARTICIPATE IN OUR HEARING TO
COME DOWN GOING TO BE HERE FOR
ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. AND THEN
SOME OF US HAVE OTHER HEARINGS
THAT WE ARE OBLIGATED TO. SO
WE'RE GONNA GONNA PUT THIS ON
AND RECESS FOR JUST FIVE
MINUTES.
RECESS WE HAVE TWO BILLS ON CALL
. THE FIRST IS FILE I REMEMBER
ONE WHICH IS ON THE CONSENT
CALENDAR. SP 251 SECRETARY
PLEASE OPEN THE ROLE CENTERS.
NGUYEN WHEN I NEWMAN HUMAN EYE
OUT 70. THE NEXT ITEM IS FILE
ITEM NUMBER TWO SP 863 SECRETARY
, THIS IS A SECRETARY. PLEASE
OPEN THE ROLE. YES THE MOTION IS
DUE PASS IN THE CURRENT VOTE IS
5 TO 0, SENATOR NGUYEN, WHEN NO
NEWMAN NEWMAN, I BILL IS OUT 6
TO 1. SO THAT INCLUDES THE WORK
OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS. THANK YOU. FOR ALL
THE FOLKS WHO PARTICIPATED TODAY
THEY'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.