California 2015-2016 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 278 — Municipal elections.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 736, Statutes of 2016.

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 11, 2015. Enacted.

Prognosis

Advancing 58% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Mixed recorded votes

    10 passed, 1 failed in recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city to submit to voters at any municipal or special election an ordinance providing for the election of members of the legislative body by districts, from districts, by districts with an elective mayor, or from districts with an elective mayor. Existing law also authorizes such an ordinance to be submitted to the voters by means of an initiative measure. Existing law requires that the ordinance state the number of legislative districts, describe the boundaries of each, number the districts, and state the method for electing the members of the legislative body, as described above. This bill would delete the requirement that the ordinance describe the boundaries, and number, of each legislative district and would instead require the legislative body to prepare a proposed map describing the boundaries and numbers of the legislative districts after the ordinance is passed or enacted, as specified. The bill would require a legislative body changing from a from district method of election to a by district method of election, or adjusting the district boundaries, to hold public hearings on the change or adjustments, as specified. The bill would also make numerous technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. Existing law applies certain procedures if a majority of votes on the subject of incorporating a new city are in favor of incorporation and in favor of a by district method of election, including, among other things, requiring the boundaries of the districts of the legislative body to be as nearly equal in population as possible. This bill would also require the districts to comply with applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city with a population of fewer than 100,000 people to adopt an ordinance that requires the members of the legislative body to be elected by district or by district with an elective mayor without submitting the ordinance for voter approval. This bill would extend this authority to the legislative body of any city, regardless of its population.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 736, Statutes of 2016.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2:30 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 54. Noes 21. Page 6527.).

  5. From committee: That the Senate amendments be concurred in. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 29).

  6. Re-referred to Com. on E. & R. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2.

  7. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 19 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

  8. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 5. Page 5058.).

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  11. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  12. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 29).

  13. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

  14. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

  15. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on GOV. & F. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 8).

  16. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

  17. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  18. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

  19. In committee: Set, second hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.

  20. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  21. Referred to Coms. on E. & C.A. and GOV. & F.

  22. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  23. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 43. Noes 32. Page 1865.)

  24. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  25. Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  26. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (May 28).

  27. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  28. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  29. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  30. Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  31. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. Read second time and amended.

  32. Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  33. Read second time and amended.

  34. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (March 25).

  35. Re-referred to Com. on E. & R.

  36. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended.

  37. Referred to Coms. on E. & R. and L. GOV.

  38. From printer. May be heard in committee March 14.

  39. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 119 not signed on · 11 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (2)

  • Alejo
  • Hueso

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

AB 278 HERNÁNDEZ Concurrence in Senate Amendments

Passed 54 Yea · 21 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 481705
Democratic 5000
Republican 1400
Total 542105
% of votes cast 68%26%0%6%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Not Voting
Alejo — Yea
Baker — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Nay
Brown — Yea
Harper — Nay
Low — Yea
Maienschein — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Nazarian — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Ting — Yea
Wood — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Cooper — Not Voting
Daly — Yea
Burke — Yea
Campos — Yea
Chang — Yea
Salas — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Lopez — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Holden — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Kim — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Levine — Yea
Linder — Yea
Mayes — Nay
Chu — Yea
Chávez — Nay
Cooley — Yea
Dababneh — Nay
Dodd — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Medina — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Olsen — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Weber — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Williams — Yea
Bonilla — Not Voting
Gray — Not Voting
Chau — Not Voting
Steinorth — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Gatto — Yea
Hadley — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
Travis Allen — Nay
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading AB278 Roger Hernández By Allen

Passed 33 Yea · 5 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 30501
Democratic 3000
Total 33501
% of votes cast 85%13%0%3%
How each member voted (39)
Member Party Vote
Hernandez — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Vidak — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Fuller — Nay
Glazer — Yea
Hill — Yea
Allen — Yea
Pan — Yea
Cannella — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hall — Yea
De León — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Mitchell — Not Voting
Huff — Yea
Lara — Yea
Leno — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Liu — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
Monning — Yea
Anderson — Yea
Bates — Nay
Beall — Yea
Block — Yea
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Roth — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Bill Berryhill — Yea
Mark Stone — Nay
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Beall — Yea
Lara — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

AB 278 HERNÁNDEZ Assembly Third Reading

Passed 43 Yea · 32 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 392605
Democratic 3100
Republican 1500
Total 433205
% of votes cast 54%40%0%6%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Nay
Alejo — Yea
Bloom — Nay
Brough — Nay
Brown — Nay
Low — Yea
Mathis — Nay
Mullin — Yea
Quirk — Nay
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Waldron — Nay
Weber — Yea
Wood — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Daly — Not Voting
Burke — Yea
Campos — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Chu — Yea
Salas — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Gray — Yea
Lopez — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Holden — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Levine — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Medina — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Olsen — Nay
Perea — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Ting — Yea
Williams — Yea
Bonilla — Nay
Gordon — Not Voting
Hadley — Nay
Harper — Nay
Kim — Nay
Linder — Not Voting
Maienschein — Nay
Mayes — Nay
Chang — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Baker — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Chau — Not Voting
Chávez — Nay
Dababneh — Nay
Steinorth — Nay
Thurmond — Not Voting
Wagner — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Gatto — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
Travis Allen — Nay
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay
Patterson, Joe Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 12 Yea · 0 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 2000
Unaffiliated 10003
Republican 0002
Total 12005
% of votes cast 71%0%0%29%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Quirk — Yea
Wood — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Chang — Not Voting
Holden — Yea
Daly — Yea
Bigelow — Not Voting
Rendon — Yea
Wagner — Not Voting
Weber — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Not Voting
Jones, Brian W. Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 5 Yea · 1 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5103
Total 5103
% of votes cast 56%11%0%33%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Alejo — Yea
Holden — Yea
Maienschein — Not Voting
Gordon — Not Voting
Linder — Not Voting
Chiu — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Waldron — Nay
Gonzalez — Yea

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 AB 278 do?
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city to submit to voters at any municipal or special election an ordinance providing for the election of members of the legislative body by districts, from districts, by districts with an elective mayor, or from districts with an elective mayor. Existing law also authorizes such an ordinance to be submitted to the voters by means of an initiative measure. Existing law requires that the ordinance state the number of legislative districts, describe the boundaries of each, number the districts, and state the method for electing the members of the legislative body, as described above. This bill would delete the requirement that the ordinance describe the boundaries, and number, of each legislative district and would instead require the legislative body to prepare a proposed map describing the boundaries and numbers of the legislative districts after the ordinance is passed or enacted, as specified. The bill would require a legislative body changing from a from district method of election to a by district method of election, or adjusting the district boundaries, to hold public hearings on the change or adjustments, as specified. The bill would also make numerous technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. Existing law applies certain procedures if a majority of votes on the subject of incorporating a new city are in favor of incorporation and in favor of a by district method of election, including, among other things, requiring the boundaries of the districts of the legislative body to be as nearly equal in population as possible. This bill would also require the districts to comply with applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city with a population of fewer than 100,000 people to adopt an ordinance that requires the members of the legislative body to be elected by district or by district with an elective mayor without submitting the ordinance for voter approval. This bill would extend this authority to the legislative body of any city, regardless of its population.
Who sponsors AB 278?
AB 278 is sponsored by Alejo, Hueso, and Roger Hernández.
What is the current status of AB 278?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 11, 2015. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 278?
Track AB 278 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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