Wilson Signs Into Law Bill Requiring the State to Pay for Special Elections

Gov. Pete Wilson has signed into law a bill that will require the state to pay for special elections, a move that will provide a bit of relief to cash-strapped counties normally responsible for tallying such votes.

The measure, authored by Orange County Assemblyman Ross Johnson, is retroactive to the beginning of the year and is expected to save counties around the state upward of $5 million this year alone.

In Orange County, the bill will mean the state picks up the $231,000 price tag for a special election held earlier this year to fill the Garden Grove-based state Senate seat vacated when Ed Royce jumped up to Congress.

“It’s simply a matter of fairness,” said Johnson, a Republican from Fullerton.

While the state “obviously has its own fiscal problems, the Legislature has an obligation” to fund the special elections because they are held to select representatives to Sacramento and Washington, Johnson said.

The law does not cover special elections to local offices.

The new law comes as Orange County and other jurisdictions throughout the state brace for an expected onslaught of special elections in the years to come as lawmakers jockey for new posts because of California’s new term-limits law. So far this year, eight special elections have been called around the state to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Congress.

Officials in the state finance department were opposed to the legislation, reasoning that--given the tough budget problems facing both the state and its counties--it’s a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul.