BILL NUMBER: AB 441AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hall FEBRUARY 24, 2009 An act to amend Section 18370 of the Elections Code, relating to elections. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 441, as amended, Hall. Elections: prohibited activities. Existing law prohibits a person from engaging in specified activities within 100 feet of a polling place or anelectionelections official's office when a voter may be casting a ballot and makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. This bill would additionally prohibit a person in those circumstances from soliciting a donation, engaging in specified commercial activity, or distributing goods or items for consumption or use. Because the bill would make additional conduct a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 18370 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 18370. No person, on election day, or at any time that a voter may be casting a ballot, shall, within 100 feet of a polling place or an elections official's office: (a) Circulate an initiative, referendum, recall, or nomination petition or any other petition. (b) Solicit a vote or speak to a voter on the subject of marking his or her ballot. (c) Place a sign relating to voters' qualifications or speak to a voter on the subject of his or her qualifications except as provided in Section 14240. (d) Do any electioneering. (e) Solicit a donation of any kind. (f) Engage in commercial activity. "Commercial activity" means any activity or action undertaken only on election day in whole or in part by a business or an individual whose purpose, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, is to derive or realize a present or future financial gain for the individual or business. As used in this section, "100 feet of a polling place or an elections official's office" means a distance 100 feet from the room or rooms in which voters are signing the roster and casting ballots. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.