Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Under existing law, the Voters FIRST Act and the Voters FIRST Act for Congress, the Citizens Redistricting Commission is charged with various duties and responsibilities in connection with redistricting Assembly, Senate, Board of Equalization, and congressional districts. Existing law requires the Citizens Redistricting Commission to hire commission staff, legal counsel, and consultants, as needed, and requires the Secretary of State to provide support functions to the Citizens Redistricting Commission until its staff and office are fully functional. This bill would, instead, require the State Auditor to provide support functions to the Citizens Redistricting Commission until its staff and office are fully functional. Existing law requires the Governor to include in the Governor's Budget submitted to the Legislature amounts of funding for the State Auditor, the Citizens Redistricting Commission, and the Secretary of State that are sufficient to meet the estimated expenses of each of those officers or entities in implementing the redistricting process, and requires the Legislature to make the necessary appropriation in the Budget Act. This bill would delete the requirement that the Governor's Budget include amounts of funding for the Secretary of State in connection with the redistricting process. Existing law requires the State Auditor to initiate a process by which members of the commission are selected, including requirements that applicants be screened by an Applicant Review Panel comprised of 3 qualified independent auditors, as defined, and that the State Auditor and Applicant Review Panel meet prescribed deadlines in selecting members of the commission. This bill would revise the prescribed deadlines to provide additional time to select commission members. The bill would redefine the term "qualified independent auditor" to mean only auditors who are employed by the Bureau of State Audits and who have been practicing independent auditors for at least 10 years, thereby limiting membership on the Applicant Review Panel to auditors who are employed by the Bureau of State Audits. Existing law requires that a vacancy on the commission be filled within 30 days from a specified pool of applicants. This bill would require that the commission fill a vacancy within 30 days from the specified subpool of applicants if the vacancy occurs prior to December 31 of a year ending in 2, but within 90 days if the vacancy occurs on or after December 31 of a year ending in 2. Existing law requires the commission to take public comment for at least 14 days from the date that any map is publicly displayed. This bill would require the commission to publicly display the first preliminary statewide maps for specified offices no later than July 1 of a year ending in 1, and would prohibit the public display of any other map during the 14 days of public comment for those maps. This bill would require subsequent preliminary statewide maps to be subject to public comment for at least 7 days, and the final statewide maps to be subject to public comment for 3 days. The Voters FIRST Act, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements, including that the bill containing amendments to the act's provisions be in print for 10 days and that the Legislature not enact amendments to the act's provisions in a year ending in 0 or 1. This bill would require that a bill be in print for at least 12 days and additionally prohibit the Legislature from amending the act in a year ending in 9. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.