California Assembly Bill AB436 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 436AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Saldana  (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member   Huffman   )  FEBRUARY 24, 2009 An act to  amend Section 9004 of   add Section 9004.5 to  the Elections Code, relating to elections. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 436, as amended, 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  instead require  that  a new  fee  in specified amounts every 2 years from $200   from $500 in 2010  to $2,000 in 2016  and   be paid in lieu of current fees. The bill  would require the fee to be  refunded if the measure qualifies for the ballot within 2 years and to be  deposited into the General Fund  and   if it does not qualify,  to be used to reimburse the Attorney General for the costs of preparing the title and summary of proposed initiative measures.  The bill would delete the provision for reimbursement of the proponent if the measure qualified for the ballot.  The bill would require in 2018 that the Attorney General biennially 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 9004.5 is added to the   Elections Code   , to read:   9004.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 9001 or 9004 or any other provision of law, on or after January 1, 2010, the proponents of an initiative measure, at the time of submitting the draft of the measure to the Attorney General, shall pay in lieu of all other fees, a fee to the Attorney General in accordance with the following schedule: (1) Five hundred dollars ($500), beginning January 1, 2010. (2) One thousand dollars ($1,000), beginning January 1, 2012. (3) One thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), beginning January 1, 2014. (4) Two thousand dollars ($2,000), beginning January 1, 2016. (b) A fee received under subdivision (a) shall be placed into 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 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. (c) Beginning in 2018, the Attorney General shall annually review the amount of the fee required by this section and every two years, beginning in 2018, shall increase the fee in an amount equaling an increase in the California Consumer Price Index as determined pursuant to Section 2212 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.   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. (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 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 an initiative measure, at the time of submitting the draft of the measure to the Attorney General, shall pay a fee of five hundred dollars ($500) beginning January 1, 2010; one thousand dollars ($1,000) beginning January 1, 2012; one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) beginning January 1, 2014; and two thousand dollars ($2,000), beginning January 1, 2016. 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 every two years, beginning in 2018, 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.