Agda Pkt 2026.07.27 Joint SA PFA

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1127 11TH STREET, SUITE 300, SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 • 916.974.9270 • PUBLICPOLICYGROUP.COM PAGE 2 based elections exits the statute's coverage, which has functioned as a practical safe harbor. Government Code 34886 lets a city council adopt by-district elections by ordinance, including the four- or six-districts-plus-elective-mayor structure, without a vote of the people. Elections Code 10010 governs the conversion process: four public hearings, draft-map publication at least seven days before consideration, republication for seven days after revisions, and a notice- letter regime in which a prospective plaintiff must give 45 days' notice before suing, a city may protect itself for 90 further days by adopting a resolution of intention, and letter-writer reimbursement is capped at $30,000, CPI-adjusted. The seven-day map-publication rules exist today; they are not new to this bill. Outreach to non-English-speaking communities is currently permissive. The FAIR MAPS Act (Elections Code 21100 et seq., including Section 21130) imposes ranked criteria and process requirements on city and county redistricting. Federally, Section 2 of the VRA survives but has been progressively narrowed (Brnovich in 2021, Callais in 2026), and Shelby County v. Holder (2013) disabled federal preclearance. Under the 2001 act, no California public agency has ever prevailed in a CVRA case at trial; Palmdale paid $4.5 million in plaintiff fees plus an estimated $1.5 million in defense, Santa Clara paid $3.3 million plus interest and appellate fees, and Santa Monica's exposure was publicly estimated as high as $22 million. SB 1164 KEY PROVISIONS (AS AMENDED JULY 2, 2026) • Sec. 1 (amends 10010). Extends the full hearing and publication process to by-district cities changing maps in response to a notice letter; makes public outreach, including to non-English- speaking communities, mandatory; requires hearings to begin at a fixed time; requires notice letters to be transmitted to the Statewide Database for public posting and placed on the next agenda; permits a second party to file once a substantially similar letter is 45 days old; raises reimbursement to $25,000 in attorneys' fees plus $50,000 in other costs, CPI-adjusted. • Secs. 2-3 (amend 14025-14026). Renames the act and rewrites definitions. Method of election now includes mixed district-plus-citywide systems, share-based (proportional) systems, and any districting or redistricting plan. Election policy or practice covers any rule, practice, or action respecting voting, boundaries, or the administration or schedule of elections. Protected class becomes any group of individuals who are members of a race, color, or language-minority group. A new definition of voting location is added. • Secs. 4-5 (replace 14027). Creates two causes of action. Voter suppression: no political subdivision or state agency may implement an election policy or practice that results in, or is likely to result in, a material disparity or impairment affecting protected class members; once disparity is shown, the agency must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the practice is necessary to a compelling, particularized interest with no reasonable alternative. Vote dilution: no political subdivision may employ a method of election that has or will likely have a diluting effect where another constitutionally permissible method would mitigate it. Intent is not required for either claim. The provision also reaches undue burdens tied to incarceration or a prior conviction (14027(a)(5)). Pending cases remain under 2001 standards for liability. 7.D. - Page 8 of 17 296