Lawmakers have scrapped a last-minute push to make changes to state election laws amid criticism that the changes could undermine the state's new primary system and give elected officials more latitude in declaring residency as they jockey for newly drawn districts.
Assembly Bill 1413, by Assemblyman Paul Fong, D-Cupertino, included a provision stating that the residency of a member of the Legislature or Congress "is conclusively presumed to be the address indicated on that person's currently filed affidavit of registration."
The proposal came as a handful of legislators are facing the prospect of relocating to qualify to run under the state's new political maps. The timing also raised eyebrows in light of last year's indictment of Sen. Rod Wright, D-Los Angeles, who faces charges stemming from accusations that he lied about his residence to run for the state Legislature.
Fong, who chairs the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee said earlier today that the bill would not impact Wright's case, but was meant to "clarify the residency rules" for members ahead of the 2012 election.
"There's a lot of moving going on right now and so we just wanted to clearly define the residency... to be the domicile," he said.
Capitol Alert: California push to change candidate residency laws scrapped
via blogs.sacbee.com
