Special election.

Existing law provides that the Secretary of State is the chief elections officer of the state and requires the Secretary of State to perform specified duties, including preparing and mailing ballot pamphlets, in connection with any statewide election. Existing law further requires the Attorney General to provide for each ballot measure submitted to the voters of the state a ballot title, an official summary, and a ballot label that shall be a condensed statement of the ballot title. Existing law requires that every measure submitted to the voters comply with a specified schedule leading up to the day of the election. This bill would call a statewide special election to be held on May 19, 2009. The bill would place 5 measures before the voters at that election, including (1) a legislative constitutional amendment relating to budget reform, (2) a legislative constitutional amendment relating to education finance, (3) a legislative measure relating to the California State Lottery, (4) a legislative measure relating to Proposition 10 approved by the voters at the November 3, 1998, statewide general election, and (5) a legislative measure relating to Proposition 63 approved by the voters at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election. This bill would further set forth language to be used for the ballot labels and the ballot titles and summaries for those measures. In addition, this bill would waive certain statutory deadlines for placement of those measures before the voters at the May 19, 2009, statewide special election, and would specify that the ballot label public examination period be limited to 8 days. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.