California 2009-2010 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate

SCA 4 — A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by amending Sections 5 and 6 of Article II thereof, relating to elections.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2009-2010 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing provisions of the California Constitution require the Legislature to provide for primary elections for partisan offices, including an open presidential primary election, as specified. The California Constitution also provides that all judicial, school, county, and city offices are nonpartisan offices, and a political party or party central committee is prohibited from endorsing, supporting, or opposing a candidate for such an office. This measure, which would be known as the "Top Two Primaries Act," would provide for a "voter-nominated primary election" for each state elective office and congressional office in California, in which a voter may vote at the primary election for any candidate for a congressional or state elective office without regard to the political party preference disclosed by the candidate or the voter. The measure would further provide that a candidate for a congressional or state elective office generally may choose whether to have his or her political party preference indicated upon the ballot for that office in the manner to be provided by statute. The measure would prohibit a political party or party central committee from nominating a candidate for a congressional or state elective office at the primary, but the measure would permit a political party or party central committee to endorse, support, or oppose a candidate for congressional or state elective office. The 2 candidates receiving the 2 highest vote totals for each office at a primary election, regardless of party preference, would then compete for the office at the ensuing general election. This measure would require the Legislature to provide for partisan elections for presidential candidates, political party committees, and party central steering committees. This measure would designate the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a nonpartisan office. If the measure is approved by the voters, it would become operative on January 1, 2011.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009.

  2. Enrolled. To Secretary of State at 5 p.m.

  3. In Senate. To enrollment.

  4. Read and adopted. (Ayes 54. Noes 20. Page 362.) To Senate.

  5. Read second time.

  6. (Ayes 66. Noes 2. Page 358.)

  7. Art. IV, Sec. 8(b), of Constitution dispensed with.

  8. Read first time.

  9. In Assembly.

  10. Read and adopted. (Ayes 27. Noes 12. Page 168.) To Assembly.

  11. Senate Rule 29.3 suspended. (Page 167.)

  12. Read third time. Amended. (Page 167.)

  13. Read second time.

  14. (Ayes 27. Noes 9. Page 166.)

  15. Art. IV, Sec. 8(b), of Constitution dispensed with.

  16. Placed on second reading file.

  17. Withdrawn from committee.

  18. To Com. on E., R. & C.A.

  19. From print. May be acted upon on or after January 1.

  20. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Correa · Cosponsor
  • Maldonado · Primary
  • Wolk · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 119 not signed on · 3 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Maldonado

Co-sponsors (2)

  • Correa
  • Wolk

Not signed on (119)

119 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 119 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

W/O REF. TO FILE SCA4 Maldonado

Passed 28 Yea · 12 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 251100
Democratic 3000
Republican 0100
Total 281200
% of votes cast 70%30%0%0%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Yee — Nay
Cogdill — Yea
Ashburn — Yea
Hancock — Nay
Wyland — Nay
Negrete — Yea
Harman — Nay
Runner — Nay
Corbett — Yea
Kehoe — Yea
Leno — Yea
Benoit — Nay
Ducheny — Yea
Dutton — Nay
Liu — Yea
McLeod — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Romero — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Walters — Nay
Wiggins — Yea
Wright — Yea
Aanestad — Nay
Alquist — Yea
Hollingsworth — Nay
Huff — Nay
Maldonado — Yea
Oropeza — Yea
Simitian — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Cedillo — Yea
Correa — Yea
Cox — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Denham — Yea
Florez — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Lowenthal, Josh Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SCA4 Maldonado Senate Third Reading By CALDERON

Passed 63 Yea · 21 Nay · 8 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 581808
Democratic 5000
Republican 0300
Total 632108
% of votes cast 68%23%0%9%
How each member voted (92)
Member Party Vote
Eng — Yea
Feuer — Yea
Fuller — Yea
Carter — Yea
Bill — Yea
Berryhill — Yea
Tom — Yea
Berryhill — Yea
Furutani — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Charles — Yea
Gilmore — Yea
Hall — Yea
Hayashi — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
De — Yea
La — Yea
Torre — Yea
De — Yea
Leon — Yea
Huber — Yea
Fletcher — Yea
Bonnie — Yea
Conway — Yea
Cook — Yea
Coto — Yea
Duvall — Yea
Krekorian — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
John — Yea
A. — Yea
Perez — Yea
Salas — Yea
Saldana — Yea
Chesbro — Not Voting
Gaines — Nay
Portantino — Nay
Audra — Nay
Garrick — Nay
V. — Not Voting
Manuel — Not Voting
Perez — Not Voting
Hagman — Nay
Harkey — Nay
Jeffries — Nay
Knight — Nay
Ammiano — Nay
Anderson — Nay
Blumenfield — Not Voting
Miller — Nay
Monning — Yea
Nava — Yea
Nestande — Yea
Price — Yea
Ruskin — Yea
Silva — Nay
Smyth — Yea
Solorio — Yea
Torlakson — Yea
Torres — Yea
Tran — Nay
Villines — Yea
Adams — Nay
Bass — Yea
Beall — Yea
Blakeslee — Yea
Block — Yea
Brownley — Not Voting
Buchanan — Yea
Hill — Yea
Huffman — Yea
Logue — Not Voting
Ma — Nay
Nielsen — Yea
Skinner — Not Voting
Swanson — Nay
Torrico — Yea
Emmerson — Yea
Evans — Yea
Davis — Yea
DeVore — Nay
Yamada — Nay
Fuentes — Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Lowenthal, Josh Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Niello, Roger W. Republican Nay
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SCA 4 do?
Existing provisions of the California Constitution require the Legislature to provide for primary elections for partisan offices, including an open presidential primary election, as specified. The California Constitution also provides that all judicial, school, county, and city offices are nonpartisan offices, and a political party or party central committee is prohibited from endorsing, supporting, or opposing a candidate for such an office. This measure, which would be known as the "Top Two Primaries Act," would provide for a "voter-nominated primary election" for each state elective office and congressional office in California, in which a voter may vote at the primary election for any candidate for a congressional or state elective office without regard to the political party preference disclosed by the candidate or the voter. The measure would further provide that a candidate for a congressional or state elective office generally may choose whether to have his or her political party preference indicated upon the ballot for that office in the manner to be provided by statute. The measure would prohibit a political party or party central committee from nominating a candidate for a congressional or state elective office at the primary, but the measure would permit a political party or party central committee to endorse, support, or oppose a candidate for congressional or state elective office. The 2 candidates receiving the 2 highest vote totals for each office at a primary election, regardless of party preference, would then compete for the office at the ensuing general election. This measure would require the Legislature to provide for partisan elections for presidential candidates, political party committees, and party central steering committees. This measure would designate the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a nonpartisan office. If the measure is approved by the voters, it would become operative on January 1, 2011.
Who sponsors SCA 4?
SCA 4 is sponsored by Correa, Maldonado, and Wolk.
What is the current status of SCA 4?
This bill died with 2009-2010 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SCA 4?
Track SCA 4 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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