Good government
AB 1302 (2003) Payment of Claims/Rick Walker
Provides expedited compensation to a man wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit, and for which he was imprisoned for more than a decade.
AB 1945 (2002) Brown Act, Closed Meetings/Confidentiality
Provides that it is a violation of the Brown Act to divulge confidential information from a lawful closed-session proceeding without the formal approval of the governing body.
AB 1303 (2003) Vehicle License Display: Persons with Disabilities
Allows disabled drivers to be legally compliant with state law, when their rear license plate is obscured by a wheelchair lift, if they display a DMV-provided replica of the license on the rear window.
AB 1590 (2002) Judicial Proceedings
Balances the rules during suppression hearings in criminal trials between the prosecution and defense. Among other technical changes, it ensures that the defense’s investigators have the same access to suppression hearings as the police investigators.
AB 400 (2002) Community Volunteer Ballot Designation
Allows those running for elected office to use the designation of Community Volunteer on the ballot.
AB 2760 (2002), SB 211 (2010) Catastrophic Events: Expedited Elections & Continuity of Congress
Mandates expedited Congressional elections if 25% of the United States Congress or the California Congressional delegation are killed, missing, or disabled. Provides for continuity of government in the face of a natural disaster, act of war or other catastrophic event. Senate Bill 211 updates AB 2760 to conform with federal law.
AB 1544 (2003) Mail Ballot Elections
Authorizes cities with a population of 100,000 or less, school districts, and special districts to conduct mail-only ballot elections to fill a vacancy in a special election.
SB 1342 (2010) Polling Places
Gives election officials the flexibility to adjust precinct size to reflect the actual number of election-day voters, and allocate resources accordingly. Counties may shift precinct boundaries within a county, from areas with high concentrations of permanent-vote-by-mail voters to areas with lower concentrations, equalizing the number of “walk-in” voters that are served by each polling place within a jurisdiction.