Bills Would Make Recalls Harder

Gray Davis is long gone from the Capitol, but the weapon responsible for his political annihilation still unnerves Democratic lawmakers, who are trying to make it harder to recall state officials.

Last week, the Senate’s elections committee unanimously approved legislation that would prohibit recall proceedings against any statewide official within 90 days of election. SB 1317 would also protect statewide officials who had been the target of a recall within six months or had less than six months left in their terms. Those rules currently apply only to local elected officials.

Another bill that has passed at least one committee, AB 2917, would make it a misdemeanor for paid signature-gatherers to misrepresent themselves or the purpose of their petition.

Serious recall campaigns against state officials have been rare. But many lawmakers fear that special interests and partisan groups will show new enthusiasm for removing officials who do not bend to their will.

“I think as a practical matter, we’re going to see increasingly a trend in the next few years of moneyed interests realizing how easy it is to recall someone or at least force them into a recall election,” said John Longville (D-Rialto), chairman of the Assembly Elections Committee.

Democrats have not forgotten complaints last fall that the recall process was too chaotic, with its short time frame and 135 candidates to replace Davis.

Changes they are informally bandying about include: separating the recall and replacement votes so they occur on different days, rather than having them on the same ballot; increasing the number of voter petition signatures required to initiate a recall; and making it harder for replacement candidates to get on the ballot.

And the California Assn. of Clerks and Elected Officials is urging legislators to permit arguments on both sides of a recall to be printed on the ballot for state elections, as well as some other technical changes to make future recall elections smoother.

Democratic proponents, however, say they are reluctant to move ahead with substantial changes unless there is support from Republican legislators.

A hard push could inflame the bad feelings from last year and make it unlikely for changes to be enacted. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office has not weighed in on the legislation, lawmakers say. Republicans have said they would oppose major efforts to restrict recalls. Assemblywoman Sharon Runner (R-Lancaster) said: “The recall was our biggest way that we as Californians sent a message that we don’t like how things are going and we want a change.”