February 12, 2007

" February Primary: Who Pays, And When?"

"It's hard to call what happened today in a Senate committee shocking news: legislation to move California's presidential primary in 2008 to February 5 cleared its first hurdle, with a vote by the full Senate now expected as soon as early next week [early reports had speculated it could be brought up this week].

More interesting than the progress of an early primary in California, though, is a new twist on a familiar debate: who pays for all of these special elections?

SB 113 by Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) was approved by the Senate Elections Committee in a short hearing this morning. Speaking to reporters afterward, Calderon reiterated why California should fast forward the process from June to February. "New Hampshire and Iowa, as they are really wonderful states, they don't reflect the diversification in this country," he said.

What will it cost? No one's numbers are yet definitive, but early estimates range from $56 million up to about $90 million. The potential higher costs of this election, compared to the 2005 special election's $39 million, are due to the fact that there aren't any local elections scheduled for that day... in other words, there aren't any costs that would have already been incurred.

So, who pays? State lawmakers say they agree, in concept, that local governments should be reimbursed. But when representatives of the state's counties suggested today that SB 113 be amended to make that perfectly clear, some committee members said the bill didn't need to be amended-- because 2004's Proposition 1A ensures that the state will reimburse the counties."

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at February 12, 2007 12:24 PM