Elections

AB 1873 (Gonzalez) – Support
As Amended on May 28, 2014

AB 1873, by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez, would allow counties to conduct legislative and congressional vacancy elections almost entirely by mail, under certain conditions. Counties would need to provide opportunities to vote on at least one Saturday and Sunday before the election, and would need to provide polling places in every city or for every 10,000 voters, whichever is greater. For multi-county districts, every county involved would have to agree. The bill’s provisions would sunset at the end of 2019.

Recent vacancy elections have featured single-digit voter turnout.

AB 1873 is currently on the Senate Floor awaiting a vote. The bill received a number of ‘no’ votes as it moved through the Assembly, but was unanimously approved by the Senate Elections Committee.

Broadband

AB 2292 (Bonta) – Support
As Amended on June 11, 2014

AB 2292, by Assembly Member Rob Bonta, would allow infrastructure financing districts to finance public capital facilities or projects that include broadband.

The Senate passed AB 2292 on a vote of 36-0 on Monday, August 4. The bill now moves to the Assembly Local Government Committee, which plans to consider the bill next Wednesday, August 13.

Taxes

AB 1717 (Perea) – Support
As Amended on July 2, 2014

AB 1717, by Assembly Member Henry Perea, would implement a system for collecting state and local charges, including utility users taxes, on prepaid wireless purchases. These transactions have historically escaped collection because, unlike wireline and post-paid services, the service is not always aware of the consumer’s location.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider AB 1717 next Monday, August 11.

Appropriations Suspense Files

The following bills were all sent to the suspense files of the Senate or Assembly Appropriations Committees. Their fate will depend on closed-door negotiations that take place over the next week. The deadline for fiscal bills to be referred to the floor is next Friday, August 15.

AB 2231 (Gordon) – Support - Would restore the Senior Citizens’ Property Tax Postponement Program.

AB 2372 (Ammiano) – Support - Would change the definition of “change of ownership” for the purposes of property reassessment to capture more corporate changes of ownership.

SB 69 (Roth) – Support - Would provide a “Vehicle License Fee Adjustment Amount” for newly incorporated cities, providing immediate financial assistance to the four newly incorporated cities in Riverside County.

AB 2493 (Bloom) – Oppose - Would authorize successor agencies of dissolved redevelopment agencies to use and commit proceeds from bonds issued between January 1, 2011, and June 28, 2011, for certain types of projects. This would directly affect the allocation of property tax revenues.

SB 1129 (Steinberg) – Oppose - Would make changes to three components of the redevelopment dissolution process: enforceable obligations, long range property management plans and compensation agreements, and use of bond proceeds for debt issued in 2011. This would directly affect the allocation of property tax revenues.

SB 1364 (Fuller) – Support - Would extend to 2019 the sunset date for the California High-Cost Fund-A (CHCF-A) and CHCF-B, which subsidize telephone companies to provide service in rural and small metropolitan communities.