SB 163, a
bill by California State Senator Robert M. Hertzberg which would provision each
registered California voter with a mail-in/absentee ballot during voting periods,
passed 5-2 during today’s meeting of the California State Senate Appropriations
committee. The committee took the bill
out of the “suspense” file where it had been since May 4th, and
voted “do pass, with amendments.”
The two
Republicans on the committee, Jim Nielsen and Patricia Bates, voted “no” on the
bill, while the five Democrats all voted “yes.”
Those Democrats were Ricardo Lara, Jim Beall, Jerry Hill, Connie Leyva,
and Tony Mendoza.
According
to Wikipedia, there are 25 Democrats, 14 Republicans, and one vacancy in the
California State Senate.
Once the
amendments are incorporated into the official transcript of the bill, it will
go to “the desk” and then to “the floor” to be considered by all 40 California
State Senators.
The bill
has to pass out of the Senate by June 5th, according to staff at the
committee. Also according to staff, the
bill’s author, California State Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, will decide when
to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
If it
passes a floor vote in the Senate, it will go to the State Assembly for further
consideration.
Watch Etopia
News for further coverage of this bill, which would make California a de
facto “vote-by-mail” state, while simultaneously demonstrating former California
Assembly Speaker and current Senator Hertzberg’s continuing mastery of the
legislative process in Sacramento.
No comments:
Post a Comment