Elected officials: residency requirements.

Existing law imposes residency requirements on specified elected officials in California. The California Constitution provides that each house of the Legislature is the sole judge of the qualifications of its Members. This bill would require that a person elected to a nonjudicial public office for a county, city, or school district, maintain his or her domicile, as defined, within the jurisdiction within which voters are qualified to vote for the office during his or her term of office. The bill would require a person who violates this provision to immediately forfeit his or her office and would disqualify the person from holding any state or local public office for a period of 4 years. As to persons serving terms of office that commence on or after November 2, 2010, the bill would also make a violation of the domicile requirement punishable by either a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 or a fine not to exceed $1,000, imprisonment in a county jail for no more than 6 months, or by both fine and imprisonment, if it is established that the officeholder moved his or her domicile out of the jurisdiction of the office with the intent of retaining the office and misleading the voters within the jurisdiction to believe that he or she maintains his or her domicile within the jurisdiction of the office. The bill would authorize enforcement of its provisions by the Attorney General or the district attorney of a county for a violation involving a nonjudicial public office whose territory is located wholly or partially within that county. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.