Asm. Lorena Gonzalez

Existing law prohibits a voter from showing his or her ballot to any person after it is marked in such a way as to reveal its contents. Existing law provides that a person who interferes or attempts to interfere with the secrecy of voting is guilty of a felony, and authorizes the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, or a local elections official to bring an action to impose additional civil penalties for committing those acts. This bill would create an exception to that prohibition that would permit a voter to voluntarily disclose how he or she voted if that voluntary act does not violate any other law.

Existing law prohibits a person who has been convicted of a felony involving bribery, embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes, from being considered a candidate for, or elected to, a state or local elective office. Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides that campaign funds under the control of a former candidate or elected officer are considered surplus campaign funds at a prescribed time, and it prohibits the use of surplus campaign funds except for specified purposes. This bill would prohibit an officeholder who is convicted of one of those enumerated felonies from using funds held by that officeholder's candidate controlled committee for purposes other than certain purposes permitted for the use of surplus campaign funds. The bill would also require the officeholder to forfeit any remaining funds held 6 months after the conviction became final, and it would direct those funds to be deposited in the General Fund. The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. This bill would permit a public officer or candidate to expend or accept public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office if the state or a local governmental entity established a dedicated fund for this purpose, as specified. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. 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 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 generally requires elected officials, candidates for elective office, and committees formed primarily to support or oppose a candidate for public office or a ballot measure, along with other entities, to file periodic campaign statements. The act requires that these campaign statements contain prescribed information related to campaign contributions and expenditures of the filing entities. Existing law, the Online Disclosure Act, requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission, to develop online and electronic filing processes for use by these persons and entities. This bill, in addition, would require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Commission, to develop and certify for public use an online filing and disclosure system for campaign statements and reports that provides public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format. 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 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

(1) The California Constitution and existing statutory law provide for the electors to propose statutes or amendments to the Constitution by initiative. Existing law authorizes a person who is a voter or who is qualified to register to vote in California to circulate an initiative or referendum petition anywhere within the state. Existing law requires that each section of a petition for an initiative or referendum measure have attached thereto the declaration of the person soliciting the signatures that includes specified information. This bill would require a person who solicits signatures for a proposed initiative measure and does not receive money or other valuable consideration for the specific purpose of soliciting signatures of electors to make additional declarations, as specified. (2) Existing law requires local elections officials to perform various duties with respect to statewide initiative petitions including, within 8 days after the filing of a petition, determining the total number of signatures affixed to the petition. Existing law also requires an elections official, within 30 days of notification from the Secretary of State that a petition has received 100% or more of the signatures needed to declare the petition sufficient, to determine the number of qualified voters who signed the petition. Upon order of the Secretary of State, existing law requires an elections official, within 30 days, to verify each signature on a petition, as specified. This bill would extend the time a local elections official is required to determine the total number of signatures affixed to a petition to 10 days, and would extend the time a local elections official is required to determine the number of qualified voters who signed the petition to 35 days after receiving notice from the Secretary of State that the petition has received the signatures needed to declare the petition sufficient. The bill also would extend the time that an elections official is required to verify the signatures on a petition to 35 days. This bill would require at least 5% of the signatures that are required to qualify an initiative measure to be solicited by a person who does not receive money or other valuable consideration for the specific purpose of soliciting signatures of electors, and would require that the declaration of such a person include additional content, as specified. The bill would require an elections official who determines the total number of signatures affixed to a petition and an elections official or registrar of voters who verifies signatures on petitions to also determine the total number of signatures submitted by persons who do not receive money or other valuable consideration for the specific purpose of soliciting signatures of electors, as specified. The bill would include specified findings and declarations of the Legislature in support of these policies. (3) Existing law requires that, if the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures on a petition is within 95 to 110% of the number of signatures of qualified voters needed to declare the petition sufficient, the Secretary of State shall order the examination and verification of each signature filed, and shall so notify the elections officials. This bill, with regard to an initiative petition for which the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures for all signatures submitted is more than 110% of the number of qualified voters needed to find the petition sufficient, but the number of valid signatures submitted for purposes of the 5% requirement described above is within 95 to 110% of the number of signatures needed to satisfy that requirement, would require the Secretary of State to only order an examination and verification of each signature filed that would satisfy the 5% requirement. (4) Existing law requires every proposed initiative measure, prior to circulation, to include on the petition, among other things, the circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney General and a heading for the initiative measure, as specified. Existing law also requires a petition for a proposed initiative or referendum measure to be presented in sections, as specified. This bill would provide that its provisions do not apply to any initiative petition for which the Attorney General issued a circulating title and summary before January 1, 2017, and would require a petition for a proposed initiative measure to have printed in the one-inch space across the top of the first page of each section of the petition, in 18-point roman boldface type, the circulating title for the measure prepared by the Attorney General. The bill would additionally require a petition for a proposed initiative measure that is circulated by persons who do not receive money or other valuable consideration for the purpose of obtaining signatures of electors to be printed on white paper in a contrasting color ink. The bill also would require a petition for a proposed initiative measure that is circulated by persons who do receive money or other valuable consideration for the purpose of obtaining signatures of electors to be printed on paper of a color other than white in a contrasting color ink. (5) Under existing law, an initiative petition must contain specified language advising the public of its right to ask whether the person circulating the petition is a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer. This bill would additionally require a statewide initiative, referendum, or recall petition to include a disclosure, as specified, notifying the public that the petition circulator is receiving money or other valuable consideration for the specific purpose of soliciting signatures of electors, or is a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit organization. (6) Existing law provides that a person who engages in specified conduct in connection with the collection of signatures on any statewide initiative or referendum petition is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would require a statewide initiative or referendum petition section to be deemed invalid, and would prohibit use of the petition section for the purpose of determining whether the initiative or referendum measure qualifies for the ballot, if the signatures are solicited and submitted by a person who engages in fraud, misrepresentation, or any of the specified conduct for which he or she may be found guilty of a misdemeanor. The bill would authorize specified persons to enforce this provision by a civil action upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence. (7) Because this bill would impose new requirements on local elections officials relative to calculating and verifying signatures on a petition, 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 these statutory provisions. (8) This bill would provide that specified provisions shall become operative only if the Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.) .

Existing law requires that the vote by mail ballot be available to any registered voter. Under existing law, a voter who is unable to return his or her vote by mail ballot may designate his or her spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or person residing in the same household as the vote by mail voter to return the vote by mail ballot. Except in the case of a candidate or the spouse of a candidate, existing law prohibits the return of a voter's vote by mail ballot by one of those designees who is also a paid or volunteer worker of a general purpose committee, controlled committee, or any other group or organization at whose behest the individual designated to return the ballot is performing a service. This bill would remove those restrictions and instead authorize the designation of any person to return a vote by mail ballot. The bill would prohibit a person designated to return a vote by mail ballot from receiving any form of compensation, as defined, based on the number of ballots that the person has returned and would prohibit an individual, group, or organization from providing compensation on this basis. The bill would state that any person in charge of a vote by mail ballot who knowingly and willingly engages in criminal acts related to that ballot is subject to the appropriate punishment pursuant to existing law. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3017 of the Elections Code proposed by SB 450 that would become operative only if SB 450 and this bill are both chaptered and this bill is chaptered last.

The California Ocean Protection Act establishes the Ocean Protection Council and requires the council, among other things, to coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems, and to establish policies to coordinate the collection and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies. The act creates the California Ocean Protection Trust Fund in the State Treasury and authorizes moneys deposited in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the council for projects and activities authorized by the council consistent with the purposes of the act. This bill would require the council, in consultation with the State Coastal Conservancy and other relevant entities, to establish and administer the Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Reduction Program for the purposes of achieving specified goals. The bill would authorize moneys in the trust fund to be expended for grants or loans for projects or activities that further public purposes consistent with the Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Reduction Program.

Existing law makes it an infraction for a person to smoke a cigarette, cigar, or other tobacco-related product within 25 feet of a playground or tot lot sandbox area. This bill would make it an infraction for a person to smoke, as defined, on a state coastal beach or in a unit of the state park system or to dispose of used cigar or cigarette waste on a state coastal beach or in a unit of the state park system. The bill would establish a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. This bill would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop and post signs at state coastal beaches and units of the state park system to provide notice of the smoking prohibition. The bill would require the smoking prohibition to be enforced only after signs have been posted. The bill would authorize the Director of Parks and Recreation to designate, by posted order, areas within units of the state park system as exempt from these provisions. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act, an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 35 at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election (CASE Act) , requires a person who is subject to the Sex Offender Registration Act (the Act) to list any and all Internet identifiers established or used by the person and any and all Internet service providers used by the person on his or her sex offender registration. The CASE Act requires a person subject to sex offender registration to send written notice of any addition of, or change to, an Internet identifier or Internet service provider to the law enforcement agency with which he or she is currently registered within 24 hours. Existing case law currently enjoins the application of the above provisions of the CASE Act through the imposition of a preliminary injunction on the grounds that these provisions violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The CASE Act allows its provisions to be amended by a statute in furtherance of its objectives passed in each house of the Legislature by a majority vote of the membership. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to amend the CASE Act to further its objectives. The bill would delete the requirement that a person subject to sex offender registration list on his or her sex offender registration all Internet service providers used by him or her. The bill would require a person who is convicted of a felony on or after January 1, 2017, that requires registration pursuant to the Act, and one or more specified circumstances, including that the person used the Internet to collect any private information to identify a victim of the crime to further the commission of the crime, to register his or her Internet identifiers, as defined, and to send written notice to the law enforcement agency or agencies with which he or she is currently registered within 30 days of establishing or changing an Internet identifier, as specified. The bill would require a law enforcement agency to which this information has been submitted to make the information available to the Department of Justice. The bill would require a designated law enforcement entity to only use an Internet identifier submitted pursuant to these provisions, or to release that Internet identifier to another law enforcement entity, for the purpose of investigating a sex-related crime, a kidnapping, or human trafficking. The bill would prohibit a designated law enforcement entity from disclosing or authorizing persons or entities to disclose an Internet identifier submitted pursuant to these provisions to the public or other persons, except as required by court order. Existing law makes a person who is required to register under the Act based on a misdemeanor conviction or juvenile adjudication who willfully violates any requirement of the act guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year. This bill would make a person who fails to provide his or her Internet identifiers, as required by the bill, regardless of the offense upon which the duty to register is based, guilty of a misdemeanor punishable in a county jail not exceeding 6 months. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing provisions of the California Constitution provide that the University of California constitutes a public trust and require the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California (regents) , a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes, including any competitive bidding procedures as may be applicable to the university by statute for the letting of construction contracts, sales of real property, and purchasing of materials, goods, and services. Existing law requires the regents, except as provided, to let all contracts involving an expenditure of $100,000 or more annually for goods and materials or services, excepting personal or professional services, to the lowest responsible bidder meeting certain specifications, or to reject all bids. Existing law, until January 1, 2018, also authorizes the bid evaluation and selection for these contracts to be determined by the best value, as defined. This bill, beginning January 1, 2018, would require a bidder, to qualify as a lowest responsible bidder or best value awardee on contracts for specified services, among other requirements, to certify in writing to the University of California (UC) that the bid includes a total employee compensation package that is valued on a per-employee basis at a level sufficient that it does not materially undercut the average per-employee value of total compensation for UC employees who perform comparable work at the relevant campus, medical center, or laboratory at which the bidder proposes to perform the work. The bill would require the UC to include in its request for proposals a calculation of the average per-employee value of total compensation for UC employees who perform comparable work at the relevant location, as prescribed. The bill would, for these purposes, require contracts for services involving an expenditure of $100,000 or more annually to include any renewals or extensions of the contract that would result in an expenditure of $100,000 or more annually. This bill would exclude specified employees and public works from these provisions.

Under existing law, although persons not presently restrained of liberty may seek certain types of relief from the disabilities of a conviction, the writ of habeas corpus is generally not available to them. Existing law creates an explicit right for a person no longer unlawfully imprisoned or restrained to prosecute a motion to vacate a judgment based on newly obtained evidence of fraud or misconduct by a government official, as specified. This bill would create an explicit right for a person no longer imprisoned or restrained to prosecute a motion to vacate a conviction or sentence based on a prejudicial error damaging the moving party's ability to meaningfully understand, defend against, or knowingly accept the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or based on newly discovered evidence of actual innocence, as specified. The bill would require a court to grant the motion if the moving party establishes a ground for relief, by a preponderance of the evidence. The bill would require a court granting or denying the motion to specify the basis for its conclusion.