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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12152009 - SD.9FISCAL IMPACT: None APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 12/15/2009 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes:Speaker: Rollie Katz, Public Employees' Union, Local 1. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Susan A. Bonilla, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Luis Quinonez 521-7100 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: December 15, 2009 David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: SD. 9 To:Board of Supervisors From:Susan A. Bonilla, District IV Supervisor Date:December 15, 2009 Contra Costa County Subject:Support Repair California's efforts to convene a limited Constitutional Convention ATTACHMENTS Resolution No. 2009/556 Repair CA Fact Sheet Repair CA FAQ Repair CA Delegate Selection Repair CA Polling Place       Constitutional Convention Ballot Measures Fact Sheet    • Repair California filed two ballot measures on October 28, 2009, to call for a limited  state Constitutional Convention.  They are currently awaiting title and summary from  the Attorney General.    • The first ballot measure, the Citizens’ Constitutional Convention Act, amends Article 18,  Section 2 of the California Constitution to allow the citizens of California to call for a  Constitutional Convention by the vote of simple majority in a state‐wide election ballot.      o It specifies that a Call for a Convention can be made through the initiative  process, so long as no convention has convened within ten years of such an  election.      o It stipulates that whether a Convention is called through the Legislature (the  current route to a Convention) or through the initiative process (the new route  to a Convention), the Convention call may prescribe judicially enforceable limits  (a limited scope), it authorizes the Convention to propose both a revision or  separate amendments to the Constitution and finally, it allows the call to outline  a fair methods for selecting or electing delegates.    • The second ballot measure, The Call for a Citizens’ Limited Constitutional Convention,  would call for the Convention and set forth the following rules and principals:    o Forms the Constitutional Convention Commission, made up of the Fair Political  Practices Commission or their designees, which will:  Incur all costs of the  Convention; determine the date and location of the Convention; hire the  Constitutional Convention Clerk and other staff and counsel; be the final arbiter  of delegate qualification; provide for the training of delegates; determine if  required deadlines should be extended; and, provide any additional assistance as  determined by the Convention.    o Outlines the duties of the Constitutional Convention Clerk who will:  Prepare and  manage the Convention budget; establish Convention rules for adoption; serve  as interim‐Chair for Convention until the delegates elect a Chair; hires staff and  provides analysis for the delegates’ deliberation (provided that the delegates  may also call upon the state’s Legislative Analyst or other sources of  information); establish and maintain Convention website; and, oversee the  administration of Convention and other duties determined by the Commission or  the Convention.        o Describes the three different types of delegates to be selected: Assembly District  delegates, County delegates and Indian Tribe delegates.    ƒ There will be 240 Assembly District delegates, three from each district.  ƒ There will be one County delegate for each 175,000 residents of that  County. If a County has less than 175,000 residents, it will have one  delegate.    ƒ There will be four Indian Tribe delegates, serving as representatives of  the federally recognized Indian Tribes in the State.    o Outlines the process by which each type of delegate is selected. (see Delegate  Selection paper)    o Limits the scope of the Convention to the following four categories:  ƒ Government Effectiveness, with emphasis on establishing a method for  ensuring government efficiency.  ƒ Elections and the Initiative Process, with a focus on reducing special  interest influence.  ƒ Spending and Budgeting, relating to the process, term and balancing of  the budget, voting thresholds and mandating spending.  ƒ Governance, including the relationship between the state and local  governments and the structure of the legislative and executive branches.    o Further limits the scope of the Convention by dictating that the Convention may  not propose direct tax or fee increases nor shall it address social issues or other  issues related to increasing taxes and changes that could threaten protections on  civil rights.    o Requires the Convention commence no later than May 20, 2011 and the  delegate’s package of proposals will be voted upon no later than at the  November 2012 general election.    o Outlines quorum, voting rules and order of business responsibilities.    o Ensures that all proceedings of the Convention are free and open to the public  and sets forth rules to ensure openness and transparency.    o Note: The parameters governing the proposed Convention set forth in this  initiative and inserted as statutory government code will expire on December 31,  2012, unless otherwise extended by the Legislature.          Repair California: We are a broad‐based coalition of Californians dedicated to achieving real  reforms that are needed to get California functioning again.   County DelegatesAssembly District DelegatesHow it works...How it works...Routes to become a Delegate to the California Constitutional ConventionThe County Delegate Selection Committee of each County will hold public meetings to select, by major-ity vote, County delegates to the convention. Any person interested can and should apply. The State Auditor randomly selects the names of 400 people in each Assembly District across California.Those 400 people, per district, will receive informa-tion by mail about becoming a delegate. If they are interested in serving, they respond to the Auditor. Of those who responded favorably, 50 individuals per assembly district will be invited to attend a presentation to learn more about duties and responsibilities of a delegate. At the meeting of 50, following discussion and deliberation, they will vote for three in their own ranks to represent the Assembly District as delegates to the Constitutional Convention.www.repaircalifornia.orgIn each County there will be a Delegate Selection Committee made up of fi ve people: Two members of the Board of Supervisors, two mayors and a school board or board of education member. Each California County will have one delegate for every 175,000 residents. If a County has a population of less than 175,000, they will have one delegate. Recent population esti-mates show that there would be 221 County Delegates.The three cities that have a population of over one million (Los Angeles, San Diego & San Jose) will have their share of delegates chosen at the city level by the members of the City Council, under the same process the County Delegate Selection Committee. In addition, the four federally recognized Indian Tribes will also ap-point their own delegates.Each California Assembly District will have three delegates. In total, there will be 240 Assembly District Delegates.California Constitutional ConventionStep OneStep OneStep TwoStep TwoStep Three221240** Based on population estimates Contact: John Grubb O: 415-946-8705 C: 415-847-6320 CALIFORNIANS WOULD VOTE TO AUTHORIZE AND CALL CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, NEW STATEWIDE POLL OF 1000 VOTERS FINDS Support Remarkably Consistent Across Party Lines, Age Groups, and Voting Propensity CALIFORNIA, September 16, 2009 — Californians appear ready to support two measures to call a limited citizen’s Constitutional Convention to reform the state’s failed governance system, according to a poll conducted by EMC Research for Repair California. After explaining basic details of the proposal, such as who could serve as delegates and what issues would or would not be considered, more than two-thirds of Californians (69 percent) would vote yes on “Proposition 1,” or the Citizen’s Constitutional Convention Act, which would allow the voters of California to directly call a Convention. A similar supermajority of 71 percent would vote yes on “Proposition 2,” or the Call for a Citizen’s Constitutional Convention, which would immediately call a limited Constitutional Convention to assemble a representative cross section of people of the state to propose reforms to the state’s governance structure. Both measures only require a simple majority of 50 percent of voters to win on Election Day. The poll was conducted September 8-13, 2009 with 1000 registered California voters and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent. “These results confirm what we have heard from Californians across the state who are intensely frustrated with the failure of state government – and the damage it has caused – and are ready to take power into their own hands to fix it,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council and a member of Repair California. “We are ecstatic to see support runs deep across party lines, ethnicities and age groups.” After sharing details of the Convention, and subjecting voters to opponent and supporter messages, 70 percent of registered Republicans would call the Convention, 71 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of decline to state voters would vote yes. In age groups, support was highest among young 18-34 year-old voters with 73 percent reporting they would vote yes, but 71 percent of those 55 years-old or higher would also approve the measures. Turnout is often considered a key political factor for ballot measures, but the Constitutional Convention measures are strong with low propensity voters (71 percent) and with high propensity voters (70 percent). Support for the Constitutional Convention was particularly high with Latino voters (80 percent). Men registered as decline to state voters were least supportive, with 67 percent saying they would support the measure. Voters are extremely pessimistic about the direction of California. Only 14 percent think the state is on the right track and 77 percent think the state is on the wrong track. Voters were asked what their highest priority would be if they were a delegate to a Constitutional Convention limited to governance reform. Their highest priorities were limiting the influence of special interests, reducing waste and bureaucracy, and controlling spending. Their lowest priority was changing Prop. 13. If the election were held today, without any basic information or positive or negative campaigning, just rudimentary ballot language, the two measures still look strong with 57 percent voting yes on Proposition 1 and 34 percent voting no. Sixty-three percent would vote yes on Proposition 2 and 28 percent would vote no. Repair California is finalizing two ballot measures to submit to the Attorney General for the November 2010 ballot. The first measure would amend the Constitution to give the voters the right to call a Constitutional Convention, a right currently reserved only for the Legislature. The second measure would call the Convention. As has been successfully and legally done in many other states, the measure would limit the Convention to issues of governance, specifically delineated as (1) the budget process, (2) the election and initiative process, (3) the relationship between state and local governments, and (4) management of state bureaucracy. Delegates would be barred from proposing any tax increases. If called, the Convention would gather in early 2011, then propose a revised system of governance to the voters in a special election in late 2011. “We want to make one thing very clear: This effort is as diverse as the state of California,” said Wunderman. “We are working with Republicans, Democrats, Greens, Libertarians and Nonpartisans. We are working with every gender, ethnicity and age group. Part of our systemic failure is our dissension into narrower and narrower interests. This Convention can unite us again.” # # # About Repair California Repair California is a broad-based coalition of Californians dedicated to achieving real reforms that are needed to get California functioning again. While the movement was initiated by the Bay Area Council, it has rapidly spread to include individuals and groups from around the state.