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HR-100 (2019-2020)

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HR100:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

House Resolution
No. 100

Introduced by Assembly Member Calderon

July 27, 2020

Relative to the Legislature.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


HR 100, as introduced, Calderon.
WHEREAS, The Governor of the State of California, on March 4, 2020, proclaimed, under the California Emergency Services Act, a state of emergency in the State of California; and
WHEREAS, The President of the United States, on March 13, 2020, proclaimed that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States constitutes a national emergency, and, on March 22, 2020, further declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, The Governor of the State of California, the County of Sacramento, and other jurisdictions have issued public health orders directing individuals to stay home or at their place of residence in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus; and
WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability of several Members of the Legislature to safely attend legislative committee hearings and floor sessions, and threatens to undermine the constitutional duty and authority of each house to convene and to compel the attendance of its Members; and
WHEREAS, Section 7 of Article IV of the California Constitution provides authority for each house to adopt rules for its proceedings, defines a quorum necessary to conduct business, and establishes the authority of each house to compel the attendance of absent Members; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assembly hereby adopts the following rules governing proxy voting in the Assembly during the 2019–20 Regular Session:

PROXY VOTING RULES DURING THE COVID-19 STATE OF EMERGENCY

Authorization

1.(a) Notwithstanding any other rule of the Assembly, the Speaker shall have the authority to permit proxy voting by designated Members for floor sessions held during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
(b) To be eligible to request authorization to vote by proxy, a Member shall be at a higher risk from the COVID-19 virus.
(c) Any authorization to vote by proxy shall terminate upon the earliest of the following:
(1) The adjournment sine die of the 2019–20 Regular Session pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
(2) The termination of the state of emergency.
(3) The withdrawal of the authorization by the Speaker.

Designation of Members Who May Vote By Proxy

2.(a) A Member requesting authorization to vote by proxy shall submit a letter to the Speaker prior to the floor session at which the Member seeks to cast a vote by proxy. If the Speaker approves the request, a copy of the authorization to vote by proxy shall be provided to the Chief Clerk of the Assembly and printed in the Assembly Journal.
(b) The Chief Clerk shall maintain a list of Members who are authorized to vote by proxy for each floor session and shall regularly update the list for each floor session. The Chief Clerk shall post the list, as it may be updated, on the internet website of the Assembly prior to the convening of each floor session.

Proxy Voting Procedures

3.(a) Before proceeding to business on the Daily File during a floor session, the presiding officer shall announce the names of any Members who have been authorized to vote by proxy for that floor session.
(b) A quorum of Members shall be present in the Assembly Chamber to conduct business.
(c) (1) A Member authorized by the Speaker to vote by proxy shall submit written voting instructions prior to each applicable floor session. The instructions shall identify each legislative action on which the Member will be voting by proxy, and shall clearly state how the Member wishes to have the Member’s vote recorded for each action.
(2) The written instructions shall be submitted to the Chief Clerk in the manner specified by the Chief Clerk.
(d) A Member voting by proxy may change the Member’s written voting instructions with regard to a particular legislative action at any time prior to the presiding officer opening the roll for votes on that legislative action. The revised voting instructions shall be submitted in writing as described in subdivision (c).
(e) The Speaker or the Speaker's designee, the Majority Leader, the Republican Leader or the Republican Leader's designee, and the Republican Floor Manager shall cast proxy votes for the Members of their respective caucuses who are voting by proxy by operating the electronic voting switches of those Members.
(f) A Member casting a proxy vote for a Member voting by proxy shall follow the written voting instructions exactly as submitted pursuant to subdivision (c), including any change in those instructions submitted pursuant to subdivision (d).
(g) A Member voting by proxy may not add on to a rollcall vote after the announcement of the vote by the presiding officer, and may not change the Member’s vote after the proxy vote is cast. A Member voting by proxy may submit a written explanation of the Member’s proxy vote and that explanation shall be printed in the Assembly Journal, provided that no explanation may exceed 50 words in length.
(h) The Assembly Journal shall identify any Members who voted by proxy on each rollcall vote.