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927 passes elections and constitutional amendments committee

Senate Bill 927, which would allow the Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD) to change its method of electing directors from at-large seats to by territorial unit, was approved by the State Senate's Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee on a 5-0 vote April 19.

"We're really gratified that the process is moving along so quickly," said FPUD general manager Brian Brady.

SB 927 had previously passed out of the State Senate’s Governance and Finance Committee on a 7-0 vote March 30. The approval of the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee sends the bill to the State Senate's Appropriations Committee.

"There is no fiscal impact. It's just one of the required steps," Brady said.

The bill will be assigned an Appropriations Committee hearing date.

"We expect it to be in the next couple of weeks, and we expect it to be on Senate floor hopefully at the end of May," Brady said.

Passage by the full State Senate would send SB 927 to the State Assembly for the committee hearing process.

Section 15972 of the California Public Utilities Code stipulates that if the entirety of a public utility district is in the same county the board shall have five directors elected at large. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) believes that FPUD’s at-large election system is a violation of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001.

MALDEF chose to sue FPUD for following state law rather than suing the state, and in an apparent settlement FPUD’s board voted 5-0 March 7 to approve a resolution to change the method of election from at large to by division while also creating a map for the five divisions.

State Senator Joel Anderson introduced SB 927 as enabling legislation to allow FPUD to elect its directors by territorial unit. A previous exemption gave public utility districts within Placer County the option of electing its directors at large or by wards. SB 927 would allow public utility districts within San Diego County to elect its board members at large or by subdistrict. FPUD is the only public utility district in San Diego County.

SB 927 has been introduced as urgency legislation on the grounds that the change would bring public utility districts in San Diego County into compliance with the California Voting Rights Act. Urgency legislation requires a two-thirds vote in both the State Senate and the State Assembly for passage but would take effect immediately rather than on January 1 of the following year. That would allow FPUD to begin elections by division with the three seats up for election in November 2016.

 

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