California Assembly Bill AB436 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 436INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Saldana FEBRUARY 24, 2009 An act to amend Section 9004 of the Elections Code, relating to elections. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 436, as introduced, Saldana. Elections: initiatives. Existing law requires that the proponents of an initiative measure submit a draft of the measure to the Attorney General for preparation of a summary of its chief purposes and points. Under existing law, the proponents are required to also submit at that time a $200 fee that is held in trust and refunded to the proponents if the measure qualifies for the ballot within a specified time period, but the fee is paid to the General Fund if the measure fails to qualify. This bill would increase that fee to $2,000 and would specify that, if deposited into the General Fund, the fee be used to reimburse the Attorney General for its costs in preparing the title and summary of proposed initiative measures. The bill would require that the Attorney General annually review the fee and increase it in accordance with an increase in the California Consumer Price Index. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 9004 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 9004.  (a)    Upon receipt of a draft of a petition, the Attorney General shall prepare a summary of the chief purposes and points of the proposed measure. The summary shall be prepared in the manner provided for the preparation of ballot titles in Article 5 (commencing with Section 9050), the provisions of which in regard to the preparation, filing, and settlement of titles and summaries are hereby made applicable to the summary.  The   (b)     The  Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title and summary to the Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of the final version of a proposed initiative measure, or if a fiscal estimate or opinion is to be included, within 15 days after receipt of the fiscal estimate or opinion prepared by the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee pursuant to Section  9005.   If   9005. If  during the 15-day period, the proponents of the proposed initiative measure submit amendments, other than technical, nonsubstantive amendments, to the final version of the measure, the Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title and summary to the Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of the amendments.  (c)    The proponents of  any   an  initiative measure, at the time of submitting the draft of the measure to the Attorney General, shall pay a fee of two  hundred   thousand  dollars  ($200)   ($2,000)  , which shall be placed in a trust fund in the office of the Treasurer and refunded to the proponents if the measure qualifies for the ballot within two years from the date the summary is furnished to the proponents. If the measure does not qualify within that period, the fee shall be immediately paid into the General Fund of the state  for reimbursement of the costs incurred by the Attorney General for preparing the title and summary of proposed initiative measures. The Attorney General shall annually review the amount of the fee required by this subdivision and shall increase it in an amount equaling any increase in the California Consumer Price Index as determined pursuant to Section 2212 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.  .