(1) Existing law imposes ballot layout specifications, including, among other things, the content of the ballot label, defined as that portion of the ballot containing the names of the candidates or the statement of a measure. Existing law requires the ballot label to include, among other things, a condensed version of the ballot title and summary and a list of the names of supporters and opponents, as specified. Existing law defines the ballot title and summary and requires that it include a summary of the chief purpose and points, including the fiscal impact, of any measure that appears in the state voter information guide. Existing law requires the ballots used when voting on a statute referred to the voters as a referendum measure to use words asking the voter whether the statute that is the subject to referendum should be adopted, followed by the choices "Yes" and "No." This bill would revise the ballot title and summary and ballot label requirements for statewide referendum measures by instead requiring that the ballot title and summary be posed in the form of a question asking whether the state should keep or overturn the law that is proposed to be overturned, followed by a summary of the chief purposes and points of the law. The bill would require this question and a condensed version of the summary to be included on the ballot label. The bill would require the ballot title and summary that appears in the state voter information guide for a statewide referendum measure to be followed by the measure's top funders, as specified. Commencing January 1, 2025, the bill would additionally require the names of supporters and opponents in the ballot arguments printed in the state voter information guide to be listed on the ballot label, as specified. The bill would require the ballot label for statewide referendum measures to be followed by the choices "Keep the law" and "Overturn the law." (2) Existing law requires the Secretary of State, upon receipt of a referendum measure petition certified to have been signed by the requisite number of qualified voters to issue a certificate of qualification certifying that the referendum measure is qualified for the ballot, notify the proponents of the referendum measure and the elections official of each county that the measure is qualified for the ballot, and include the referendum measure in a list of all statewide referendum measures that have qualified for the ballot, as specified. This bill would, for a referendum measure, require the Secretary of State to identify the date of the next statewide general election or the next special statewide election that will occur not less than 31 days after the date the Secretary of State receives a petition certified to have been signed by the requisite number of qualified voters. The bill would, on the 131st day prior to the date of the identified election, or upon receipt of a certified petition described above, require the Secretary of State to take the steps described above. The bill would void a certificate of qualification for a referendum measure pending on the effective date of this bill and would require the Secretary of State to reissue a new certificate pursuant to these provisions, and permit the proponents of the measure to withdraw the measure, as specified. The bill would, upon the Secretary of State's transmission of notification to the proponents and elections officials, provide that the statute that is the subject of the referendum measure ceases to have effect unless and until the Secretary of State or a court of competent jurisdiction concludes that the petition was not signed by the requisite number of qualified voters, the proponents of the referendum measure withdraw the measure, or the voters vote to keep the statute that is the subject of the referendum at the statewide election in which the referendum measure appears on the ballot. This bill would require any judicial action or proceeding to challenge, review, set aside, void, or annul this bill or any portion of this bill to be commenced within 45 days after the date this bill would become effective, and would prohibit relief granted by the court from interfering with the November 5, 2024, statewide general election or any special election held after the date this bill would become effective. (3) Existing law requires the state voter information guide to contain, as to each state measure to be voted upon, the official summary prepared by the Attorney General, among other things. This bill would require, in the state voter information guide for a statewide referendum measure, that the official summary prepared by the Attorney General be followed by a blank horizontal line and a listing of the top funders of the petition to overturn the law, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of State to determine the list of top funders no later than the date a referendum qualifies for the ballot. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, authorizes the Legislature, without following the procedures required for amending the act absent voter approval, to add to the ballot pamphlet information regarding candidates or other information. This bill would declare that it permits or requires the inclusion of additional information in the ballot pamphlet in accordance with the above-described authority. (4) Because this bill would impose new requirements on local elections officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
This measure would designate the month of June 2023 as Healthy Homes Awareness Month.
This measure would recognize July 28 as World Hepatitis Day and would urge all California institutions, nonprofit organizations, health care organizations, businesses, community leaders, and residents to ensure screenings for hepatitis B and C, vaccinations for hepatitis B, and treatment become the standard of care.
This measure would designate October 23, 2023, as Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase (AADC) Deficiency Awareness Day in the state.
This measure would recognize August 15, 2023, as India's Independence Day and urge all Californians to join in celebrating India's independence.
This measure would proclaim August 2023 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2023 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve women's access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.
The Water Conservation in Landscaping Act provides for a Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance that is adopted and updated at least every 3 years by the Department of Water Resources, unless the department makes a specified finding. Existing law requires a local agency to adopt the model ordinance or to adopt a water efficient landscape ordinance that is at least as effective in conserving water as the updated model ordinance, except as specified. Existing law specifies the provisions of the updated model ordinance, as provided. Existing law includes a related statement of legislative findings and declarations. This bill would require the updated model ordinance to include provisions that require that plants included in a landscape design plan be selected based on their adaptability to climatic, geological, and topographical conditions of the project site, as specified. The bill would also exempt landscaping that is part of a culturally specific project, as defined, ecological restoration projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system, mined-land reclamation projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system, and existing plant collections, as part of botanical gardens and arboretums open to the public, from the model ordinance. The bill would require the updated model ordinance to include provisions that, among other changes, prohibit the use of traditional overhead sprinklers on all new and rehabilitated landscapes and require that new and rehabilitated landscapes use only water efficient irrigation devices. The bill would also require the model ordinance, at the next update initiated after January 1, 2029, to require that all new or renovated nonresidential areas install in the project footprint not less than 10% California native plants, as provided, and to prohibit the inclusion of nonfunctional turf in nonresidential landscape projects. The bill would make other clarifying changes to the updated model ordinance. The bill would also revise the legislative findings and declarations to state, among other things, that the model ordinance furthers the state's goal to conserve biodiversity and provide for climate resilience consistent with state drought efforts to eliminate the use of irrigation of nonfunctional turf. Because the bill would revise requirements imposed on certain local agencies in connection with water efficient landscape ordinances, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
This measure would recognize the 50th anniversary of hip hop on August 11, 2023, as a time of celebration, pride, and nostalgia for the citizens of California.