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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-10-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - PROP 50 ELECTION RIGGINGO Agenda Item: 2 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA .` AGENDA REPORT NEW BUSINESS CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: DATE: October 14, 2025 SUBJECT: PROPOSITION 50: THE ELECTION RIGGING RESPONSE ACT DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office PRESENTER: Masis Hagobian RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council discuss and provide direction to staff. BACKGROUND At the September 9, 2025, regular meeting, the City Council requested to agendize a discussion item on Proposition 50: The Election Rigging Response Act. Proposition 50 is a legislative constitutional amendment that will appear on the November 5, 2025, Special Election ballot. The ballot measure establishes new boundary lines for Congressional districts and would go into effect immediately. A simple majority is required for the ballot initiative to pass. The new boundary lines established by Proposition 50 would remain in effect until subsequent new boundary lines are adopted by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), following the 2030 National Census. Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 8, the legislative vehicle that established Proposition 50, was introduced by California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas on August 18, 2025. On August 21, 2025, ACA 8 passed the Assembly and Senate, reaching the minimum two- thirds vote threshold in each chamber. Senator Suzette Valladares (R-14-Santa Clarita) opposed the legislation and Assembly Member Pilar Schiavo (D -52 -Chatsworth) voted in support. Following the passage of ACA 8, Senator Valladares was part of a group of Republican State Legislators that riled two lawsuits with the California Supreme Court, claiming that the process in passing the legislation violated the California Constitution. Both lawsuits were denied by the California Supreme Court. Proposition 50 includes a legislative finding that the ballot measure is in direct response to the Texas State Legislature's adoption of new Congressional district maps in Texas. Following a letter from the United States Department of Justice, citing four Congressional districts in Texas as discriminatory and unconstitutional, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called a Special Session to Page 1 Packet Pg. 34 O address redistricting, among other issues. The Texas State Legislature passed the redistricting of Congressional districts at the end of August 2025 and Governor Abbott signed the new districts into law on August 29, 2025. Currently, the City of Santa Clarita (City) is entirely in Congressional District 27, which also includes the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, in addition to the unincorporated areas of Acton, Agua Dulce, Castaic, and Stevenson Ranch. Proposition 50 proposes to remove some communities in the City from Congressional District 27 and places those areas in Congressional District 30. Additionally, Congressional District 30 would encompass the unincorporated areas of Acton and Agua Dulce and all or parts of the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles, and West Hollywood. The unincorporated area of Castaic would be in Congressional District 26, which would be shared by the cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Camarillo, Moorpark, Oxnard, Santa Paula, and Thousand Oaks. State law establishes the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which is required to adjust the boundary lines of Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts following the National Census at the beginning of each decade. In developing the new districts, the CCRC must follow a set of criteria, consistent with State law. Included as part of the criteria, the CCRC must respect the boundaries of cities, counties, neighborhoods, and communities of interest, and minimize their division, to the extent possible. A community of interest is defined as a contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. Communities of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates. Following the 2020 National Census, the City Council adopted recommendations regarding the redistricting of Congressional districts. Adopted at the July 13, 2021, regular meeting, the recommendations advocated to the CCRC were to have the City of Santa Clarita and Santa Clarita Valley, including the communities of Acton, Agua Dulce, Castaic, and Stevenson Ranch, entirely within only one Congressional district. Additionally, the recommendations advocated that the Congressional district encompass communities of interest outside of the Santa Clarita Valley, including the Antelope Valley and northwest communities of the San Fernando Valley. ALTERNATIVE ACTION Other action as directed by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact as a result of this item. ATTACHMENTS Current Congressional District 27 Page 2 Packet Pg. 35 O Proposed Congressional District 27 Proposed Congressional District 30 Proposition 50 Text Page 3 Packet Pg. 36 2.a California Congressional Districts District: 27 Field Value District 27, 0 LO c 0 r 0 a 0 L a N r V �L r 0 0 L 0 U Y L L U c 0 E t v c� r r Q ©2021 CALIPER, ©2020 HERE SHA-512:49d4ObOcd1c2a92c6a3321e420082eb335c72cO8fbb85b5fccc7deOb53fa49ccaf01e2681beOfbcdb4e59cbf6c744dc504beOb1fd720fde9321c878c36bd99e2 Packet Pg. 37 �-O•A7� EN r I� District 27 SIMf YA4EY - ®UA6AMK T 0-0 OAKS Population Deviation Deviation % Other Other % Latino Latino % Asian Asian % Black Black % 760,067 1 0.0% 272,963 35.9% 346,015 45.5% 67,289 8.9% 73,800 9.7% Total CVAP Other CVAP Other CVAP % Latino CVAP Latino CVAP % Asian CVAP Asian CVAP % Black CVAP Black CVAP % 491,708 191,818 39.0% 194,051 39.5% 48,679 9.9% 57,160 11.6% 2020 Census 45% 0 LO C O N O Q 8% 9% LO ti Other % Latino % Asian % Black N V Citizen Voting Age Populatio N 0 39% 39% �C C O N d C O U 11% d 9 % — rn O Other % Latino % Asian % Black C d t ci Packet Pg. 38 a �-O•A7� EN r I� District 30 i EURSANK l any�a - 8wv �F LOS ANGELES MmIlbu EL M.ONTE WEST COVINA Monterey park r...,th EI M-1. 2020 Census 60% LO c IN 0 23% Q 12% 0 d 3% O Other % Latino % Asian % Black CM V Citizen Voting Age Populatio N 0 60% C O N d L ai O U 20% � 13% N O - L Other % Latino % Asian % Black ♦2 C d E t V f4 Population Deviation Deviation % Other Other % Latino Latino % Asian Asian % Black Black % 760,066 -0 -0.0% 460,657 60.6% 178,511 23.5% 95,096 12.5% 25,802 3.4% Total CVAP Other CVAP Other CVAP % Latino CVAP Latino CVAP % Asian CVAP Asian CVAP % Black CVAP Black CVAP % 547,252 333,360 60.9% 110,511 20.2% 72,569 13.3% 30,812 5.6% Packet Pg. 39 a TEXT OF PROPOSED LAW 2.d PROPOSITION 50 This amendment proposed by Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 of the 2025-2026 Regular Session (Resolution Chapter 156, Statutes of 2025) expressly amends the California Constitution by adding a section thereto; therefore, new provisions proposed to be added are printed in italic type to indicate that they are new. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XXI First —This measure shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Election Rigging Response Act." Second —The people of the State of California find and declare all of the following: (a) President Donald Trump has called on Republican - led states to undertake an unprecedented mid -decade redistricting of congressional seats to rig the 2026 United States midterm elections before voting begins. (b) The State of Texas has convened a special session of its Legislature to redraw congressional district maps to unfairly advantage Republicans. (c) The Legislature of the State of Florida has established a select committee to advance an extraordinary mid -decade redistricting to unfairly advantage Republicans. (d) Republicans have urged the State of Ohio to conduct its mid -decade redistricting to unfairly produce more Republican seats in Congress. (e) Republican officials in the States of Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska, and South Carolina are also considering President Trump's call for the mid -decade redistricting of congressional seats to unfairly advantage Republicans. (f) President Trump and Republicans are attempting to gain enough seats through redistricting to rig the outcome of the 2026 United States midterm elections regardless of how the people vote. (g) President Trump's election -rigging scheme is an emergency for our democracy. (h) The 2026 United States midterm elections are voters' only chance to provide an essential check and balance against President Trump's dangerous agenda. W California has long stood as a national leader for fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting. (j) California calls on all other states to commit to fair and impartial drawing of maps. (k) California has a duty to defend democracy. U) The 2026 United States midterm elections for Congress must be conducted on a level playing field without an extreme and unfair advantage for Republicans. (m) The people of California, not politicians, should have the power to approve temporary congressional district maps in response to President Trump's election -rigging scheme. (n) It is the intent of the people that California's temporary maps be designed to neutralize the partisan gerrymandering being threatened by Republican -led states without eroding fair representation for all communities. Third —That Section 4 is added to Article XXI thereof, to read: SEC. 4. (a) It is the policy of the State of California to support the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. The people of the State of California call on the Congress of the United States to pass federal legislation and propose an amendment of the United States Constitution to require the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. (b) In response to the congressional redistricting in Texas in 2025, and notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution or existing law, the single -member districts for Congress reflected in Assembly Bill 604 of the 2025-26 Regular Session pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 21400) of Division 21 of the Elections Code shall temporarily be used for every congressional election for a term of office commencing on or after the date this subdivision becomes operative and before the certification of new congressional boundary lines drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission pursuant to subdivision (d). (c) (1) The Attorney General has the sole legal standing to defend any action regarding a congressional district map adopted pursuant to subdivision (b). (2) The California Supreme Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction in all proceedings in which a congressional district map adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) is challenged. (d) The Citizens Redistricting Commission established pursuant to Section 1 shall continue to adjust the boundary lines of the congressional, State Senatorial, Assembly, and Board of Equalization districts in conformance with the standards and process set forth in Section 2 in 2031, and every 10 years thereafter as provided in Section 1. Fourth —The provisions of this measure are severable. If any portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence, phrase, word, or application of this measure is for any reason held to be invalid by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this measure. The Legislature hereby declares that it would have proposed, and the voters hereby declare that they would have adopted, this measure and every portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence, phrase, word, and application not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of this measure or application of this measure would be subsequently declared invalid. 18 1 Text of Proposed Law Packet Pg. 40