SR-104-085 (3)
F:\atty\muni\strpts\mjm\veritas.doc
City Council Meeting January 8, 2002 Santa Monica, California
To: Mayor and City Council
From: City Staff
Subject: Qualification of Petition for Proposed Charter Amendment Entitled Voters
Election Reform Initiative for a True Accountability System (“VERITAS”),
and Recommendation to Set an Election Date
INTRODUCTION
On April 4, 2001, a notice of intent to circulate a petition proposing an amendment to
the Charter of the City of Santa Monica was submitted. The proponents advised of
their intent to qualify the measure for a special election ballot. On November 26, 2001,
a petition for the proposed charter amendment containing over 12,900 signatures was
duly submitted to the City Clerks Office. A copy of the proposed charter amendment
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and the ballot title and summary, as prepared by the City Attorney, are attached as
Exhibit A. Upon submittal of the petition, the City Clerk requested the Los Angeles
County Clerk/Registrar Recorder (County Clerk) to verify the signatures submitted
therein. In order to qualify for placement on the ballot, the petition needed a minimum
of 15% of the registered voter population at the time of publishing the notice of intent to
circulate the petition. The registered voter population at the time of publishing on May
28, 2001, was 60,259, and based on that number, 9,039 valid signatures were needed
for qualification. The County Clerk’s Office has verified that the petitions contain the
minimum number of valid signatures required to place the proposed Charter
Amendment on the ballot for a public vote (Exhibit B).
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BACKGROUND
The proposed measure would amend both the City Charter and Municipal Code. The
California Elections Code governs the submission of both types of proposals to the
voters.
Section 9255(a) applies to city charter amendments. It provides that they “shall be
submitted to the voters at either a special election called for that purpose, at any
established municipal election date, or at any established election date pursuant to
Section 1000, provided that there are at least 88 days before the election. . . .”
Section 9214 governs the submission to the voters of initiative petitions for ordinances
signed by 15% of city voters. It requires a city council to promptly adopt the measure,
order a report on the measure, or immediately order a special election.
Additionally, VERITAS itself includes an implementation schedule. For example, it
proposes amendments to Charter Section 600 that would purport to require the first
elections under the proposed new system to be held in 2002 and to include a municipal
primary. Also, a new Charter Section 1400 would require the primary to be held at the
same time as the state primary, which is in March. Questions have arisen as to
whether the schedule specified in VERITAS affects the timing of its submission to the
voters.
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DISCUSSION
VERITAS is primarily an amendment to the City’s Charter. Therefore, the Election
Code provisions regulating the submission of charter amendments to the voters govern
the timing of the vote on VERITAS. Thus, pursuant to Election Code Section 9255, the
Council has three options. It may:
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Call a special election and set a date for an election, provided the date is at
least 88 days before the election.
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Place the measure on the ballot at the next established municipal election date,
November 5, 2002.
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Set one of the election dates established in Section 1000 of the Elections Code,
including: (a) the second Tuesday of April in each even-numbered year; (b) the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of each odd-numbered year; (c) the
first Tuesday in March in each even-numbered year; (d) the first Tuesday after
the first Monday in June of each odd-numbered year; and (e) the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November of each year.
The question of whether the implementation duties within the text of VERITAS may
require the Council to opt for a special election has been considered. Even if a special
election were called and the measure was approved, the deadlines for calling a primary
municipal election in March of 2002 and consolidating with the County of Los Angeles,
as the proposed charter amendment provides, have already passed. Given this
practical reality, as well as the options for submission conferred on the Council by
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Elections Code Section 9255, it seems unlikely that a court would conclude that the
Council must call a special election.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The budget impact of this measure will depend on the date that Council’s sets for an
election. If the date selected for the election provides for the option of consolidating
with Los Angeles County, the cost is expected to be approximately $90,000. This
estimate is based on the cost of the 1998 and 2000 consolidated elections. If the date
set for the election requires a “stand-alone” election, it is expected that the cost will be
similar to the cost of the April 24-25, 1999, “stand-alone” two-day election. The cost for
the two-day election was approximately $130,000, not including outreach costs of about
$25,000.
If the date selected for the election is any other than November 5, 2002, staff will
request approval of appropriation of funds if no savings, or insufficient savings, are
realized from this year’s budget to cover the cost. If the date selected for the election is
November 5, 2002, staff will request appropriate funding during the next budget
process. Once Council has established the election date for this measure, staff can
better calculate the estimated cost.
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RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully requested that the City Council accept the petition, as verified by the
Los Angeles County Clerk/Registrar Recorder and set a date for an election for the
purpose of placing the proposed charter amendment on the ballot for a public vote.
Staff will return at the appropriate time with the required resolutions calling for the
election and setting forth the question to be placed to the voters.
Prepared by: Maria Stewart, City Clerk
Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Attachments:
Exhibit A: Proposed Charter Amendment and
Ballot and Title Summary
Exhibit B: Verification of Qualification of Petition
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