City Council

(9) 24­1100­S6 AD HOC COMMITTEE ON CITY GOVERNANCE REFORM REPORT and COMMUNICATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY, ORDINANCES FIRST CONSIDERATION, and BALLOT RESOLUTIONS relative to placing a Charter amendment establishing an independent redistricting commission for the City of Los Angeles on the ballot at the City’s General Municipal Election. A. AD HOC COMMITTEE ON CITY GOVERNANCE REFORM REPORT Recommendations - for Council action: AD HOC COMMITTEE ON CITY GOVERNANCE REFORM REPORT and COMMUNICATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY, ORDINANCES FIRST CONSIDERATION, and BALLOT RESOLUTIONS relative to placing a Charter amendment establishing an independent redistricting commission for the City of Los Angeles on the ballot at the City’s General Municipal Election. A. AD HOC COMMITTEE ON CITY GOVERNANCE REFORM REPORT Recommendations for Council action: 1. AMEND the following Sections of the text of the Proposed Ballot Measure, dated April 10, 2024, attached to the Ballot Resolution, to read as follows: a. Section 482 (a) – Each Commission member shall be 18 years old and a resident of the City at the time of selection, and shall have resided in the City for at least five years immediately preceding the person’s submission of an application. A Commissioner is not required to be a registered voter. A Commissioner is not required to be a United States citizen. b. Section 483 (f) – Following the public review period, the City Ethics Commission shall evaluate the applications of the individuals in the applicant pool to identify individuals who satisfy the eligibility requirements specified in subsections (a) through (d) of Section 482 and who shall be included in the Commission Selection Pool. After the establishment of the Commission Selection Pool, the City Ethics Commission shall have the authority to receive information from the public and make determinations regarding the continuing eligibility of individuals in the Commission Selection Pool. c. Section 483 (g) – The City Clerk and City Ethics Commission, with assistance from the City Data Bureau and through a process that allows for pubic input, shall designate eight geographic regions of the City with generally equal population. The City Clerk shall conduct a random drawing at a public meeting to select one person from each of the eight geographic regions. The result of this selection process shall be the selection of eight members of the Commission, one from each of the eight geographic regions. d. Section 485 (d) – The Commission shall provide live translation of Commission meetings in English and Spanish and as further provided by ordinance. The Commission shall provide materials in the languages required by federal and state law and as provided by Tuesday ordinance. person from each of the eight geographic regions. The result of this selection process shall be the selection of eight members of the Commission, one from each of the eight geographic regions. d. Section 485 (d) – The Commission shall provide live translation of Commission meetings in English and Spanish and as further provided by ordinance. The Commission shall provide materials in the languages required by federal and state law and as provided by ordinance. e. Section 483 (c) – The City Clerk shall conduct an outreach and education program to ensure that there is publication and awareness of the Commission application process, with efforts to reach underserved communities and with efforts conducted in multiple languages as identified by ordinance. The City Clerk shall monitor and make public the demographic data of application submissions and enhance outreach as reasonably needed to ensure that the applicant pool has a sufficient number of qualified applicants and reasonably reflects the City’s diversity. 2. AMEND the following Sections of the Ordinance, dated April 10, 2024, relative to adding provisions to the Los Angeles Administrative Code related to the establishment and operations of the City of Los Angeles Independent Redistricting Commission, to read as follows: a. Section 2.63 (c) – The City Clerk shall prepare and publicize the application to ensure wide outreach and awareness. Outreach shall include information regarding the eligibility requirements, responsibilities, and restrictions applicable to members of the Commission. Outreach shall include information regarding the public nature of the redistricting process, requirements to engage the public and comply with open meeting laws, and other elements of the public process that commissioners may encounter. Outreach is to be conducted in a manner that conforms with or exceeds the City’s language Access Plan. Outreach is to be conducted widely, including in communities not previously well­represented in the redistricting process. b. Section 2.65(b) ­­ The Commission shall provide live translation of all Commission meetings and events in English and Spanish at minimum. The Commission shall arrange for the live translation of a public hearing or workshop in an applicable language, as defined by Charter Section 485(d) and as provided by ordinance, if a request is made at least 48 hours prior hearing or to a workshop, as practical. the City’s language Access Plan. Outreach is to be conducted widely, including in communities not previously well­represented in the redistricting process. b. Section 2.65(b) ­­ The Commission shall provide live translation of all Commission meetings and events in English and Spanish at minimum. The Commission shall arrange for the live translation of a public hearing or workshop in an applicable language, as defined by Charter Section 485(d) and as provided by ordinance, if a request is made at least 48 hours prior to a hearing or workshop, as practical. c. Section 2.65 (e) – The Commission shall provide outreach materials, meeting agendas, minutes, and other important documents the fourteen most spoken languages in the City, all languages required under the federal Voting Rights Act for City elections and consistent with any applicable City language access plans or County Registrar of Voter requirements, and any other language upon request, including an Indigenous language, within 72 hours of the request, as practicable. The Commission shall make reasonable efforts to provide all other Commission materials in all languages required under the federal Voting Rights Act for City election or by the County Registrar of Voters. d. Section 2.66 (e) – The Commission shall receive training regarding redistricting and shall provide redistricting training and workshops for the public including by providing grants to community organizations to conduct such trainings and workshops. The Commission shall follow a grant­making process that ensures transparency, compliance with public contracting procedures, and that is consistent with the ex parte communication rules applicable to the Commission. The Commission shall take into consideration the diversity of audiences that will be captured by each community organization to which a grant is awarded. 3. AMEND the Ordinance, dated April 10, 2024, to add a Section relative to adding provisions to the Los Angeles Administrative Code related to the establishment and operations of the City of Los Angeles Independent Redistricting Commission, to include: a. Compensation: i. Compensation shall be publicized with the application. ii. Compensation shall be adequate to enable Tuesday - April 30, p a2024 r t i c i-p a t i o n b y t h e m o s PAGE t e c o n14 omically 3. AMEND the Ordinance, dated April 10, 2024, to add a Section relative to adding provisions to the Los Angeles Administrative Code related to the establishment and operations of the City of Los Angeles Independent Redistricting Commission, to include: a. Compensation: i. Compensation shall be publicized with the application. ii. Compensation shall be adequate to enable participation by the most economically disenfranchised potential Commissioners. iii. I n a d d i t i o n t o c o m p e n s a t i o n , s t i p e n d s o r reimbursements must be made available for childcare, transportation, and other costs incurred incidental to participation in Commission activities. 4. REQUEST the City Attorney to transmit updated Ordinances and Resolutions incorporating the amendments made by the Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform, so that the Council may deliberate and adopt the revised documents. (Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee waived consideration of the above matter) B. COMMUNICATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY, REVISED ORDINANCES FIRST CONSIDERATION, and REVISED BALLOT RESOLUTIONS Recommendations for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR: 1. PRESENT and ADOPT the accompanying REVISED ORDINANCE dated April 24, 2024, relative to calling a Special Election to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters of the City of Los Angeles a Charter amendment establishing an independent redistricting commission for the City of Los Angeles, and consolidating this Special Election with the City’s General Municipal Election and the State General Election to be held on the same date. 2. PRESENT and ADOPT the accompanying REVISED ORDINANCE dated April 24, 2024, relative to adding provisions to the Los Angeles Administrative Code related to the establishment and operations of the City of Los Angeles Independent Redistricting Commission. Tuesday - April 30, 2024 - PAGE 15 3. ADOPT the accompanying REVISED RESOLUTION Angeles, and consolidating this Special Election with the City’s General Municipal Election and the State General Election to be held on the same date. 2. PRESENT and ADOPT the accompanying REVISED ORDINANCE dated April 24, 2024, relative to adding provisions to the Los Angeles Administrative Code related to the establishment and operations of the City of Los Angeles Independent Redistricting Commission. 3. ADOPT the accompanying REVISED RESOLUTION requesting the consolidation of a Special Election for a City of Los Angeles ballot measure with the State General Election to be held in the County of Los Angeles on November 5, 2024, regarding the following subject: an independent redistricting commission for the City of Los Angeles. 4. ADOPT the accompanying REVISED RESOLUTION providing the ballot measure text and the ballot title and question for a Charter amendment to be submitted to the qualified voters of the City of Los Angeles regarding the following subject: an independent redistricting commission for the City of Los Angeles. (Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform and Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee waived consideration of the above matter) Fiscal Impact Statement: None submitted by the City Attorney. Neither the Chief Legislative Analyst nor the City Administrative Office has completed a financial analysis of this report.