February 2, 2023
Golden State Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the GSRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Karen Contreras, Lou Ann Flaherty and Elaine Freeman
AB 13, Elections: Election Day holiday: voting by mail.
(1) Existing law requires the statewide general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year. Existing law designates specific days as holidays in this state.
This bill would add the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of any even-numbered year to the list of state holidays.
(2) Existing law requires county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter for all elections, as provided. Existing law authorizes any county to conduct an all-mailed ballot election if certain requirements are met.
This bill would repeal the provisions requiring county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter and authorizing a county to conduct an all-mailed ballot election. The bill would instead authorize a voter to request a vote by mail ballot for any election, as specified. The bill would also authorize a voter to apply to become a permanent vote by mail voter, in which case the voter would receive a vote by mail ballot for every election.
(3) Existing law authorizes a voter who is unable to return their ballot to designate any other person to return the ballot, as specified.
This bill would restrict the persons a voter may authorize to return the voter’s ballot to only the voter’s spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or a person residing in the same household as the voter.
(4) Under existing law, a ballot is timely cast if it is received by the elections official no later than 7 days after election day and postmarked on or before election day.
This bill would reduce the deadline for receiving a ballot to 3 days after election day.
Read second time and amended on 01/26/23.
SB 77, Voting: signature verification: notice.
Existing law requires a county elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with the voter’s signature appearing on specified voter registration records. If the elections official determines that the signatures do not match, or if the identification envelope does not contain a signature, existing law requires the elections official to mail a notice to the voter, no later than 8 days before the certification of the election, of the opportunity to verify the voter’s signature or provide a signature, as applicable.
This bill would require the elections official to additionally notify the voter by a text message or email, if the elections official has a telephone number or email address for the voter on file. By increasing the duties of county elections officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
AB 62 – Statewide water storage: expansion.
Existing law declares the state shall determine in what way the water of the state, both surface and underground, should be developed for the greatest public benefit. Given the current situation with heavy rainfall in California this becomes a critical issue.
This bill would establish a statewide goal to increase above- and below-ground water storage capacity by a total of 3,700,000 acre-feet by the year 2030 and a total of 4,000,000 acre-feet by the year 2040. The bill would require the state board, beginning July 1, 2027, and on or before July 1 every 2 years thereafter until January 1, 2043, in consultation with the state water department, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the progress made in designing and implementing measures to achieve the statewide goal.
Introduced by Assemblyman Devon Mathis on 01/26/23.
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