(a) When the Secretary of State has received from one or more county elections officials a petition certified to have been signed by a sufficient number of registered voters to initiate a recall election, the Secretary of State shall, within 10 days, notify each county elections official of that fact.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, any voter who has signed a recall petition under this chapter shall have the voter’s signature withdrawn from the petition upon the voter filing a written request that includes the voter’s name, residence address, and signature with the elections official within 30 business days of the Secretary of State’s notice provided by subdivision (a).
(c) No later than 10 business days after the withdrawal period provided by subdivision (b), the elections officials shall report to the Secretary of State the total number of signatures that have been withdrawn pursuant to subdivision (b). The Secretary of State shall promptly make a second preliminary determination of whether the petitions have been signed by the sufficient number of registered voters to initiate a recall election. If the petitions have not been signed by a sufficient number of registered voters, the Secretary of State shall notify the county elections officials to continue to verify signatures pursuant to Section 11104. The Secretary of State and elections officials shall continue to make the notifications and reports required by this section until such time as the Secretary of State determines that there is a sufficient number of verified signatures, not including withdrawn signatures, to initiate a recall election.
(d) Upon receipt of the notification from the Secretary of State required in subdivision (c) that there is a sufficient number of verified signatures, not including withdrawn signatures, to initiate a recall election, the Department of Finance shall, in consultation with the affected elections officials and the Secretary of State, estimate the costs of the recall election, including expenses for verifying signatures, printing ballots and voter information guides, and operating polling places. The Department shall estimate the costs that would be incurred if (1) the recall election is held as a special election and (2) the recall election is consolidated with the next regularly scheduled election pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 15 of Article II of the California Constitution. Within 30 business days of receipt of the Secretary of State’s notice of sufficient signatures to initiate a recall required by subdivision (c), the Department of Finance shall submit the estimate to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of State shall not certify the sufficiency of the signatures under Section 11109 until the Department of Finance has submitted the estimate required by subdivision (d) and either of the following has occurred:
(1) The Joint Legislative Budget Committee has had 30 days to review and comment on the estimate submitted by the Department of Finance pursuant to subdivision (d).
(2) The Legislature has appropriated funds that it determines are reasonably necessary to conduct the recall election and has designated funds for that purpose in the Budget Act or in another statute.
(f) The Secretary of State shall publish a copy of the estimate submitted by the Department of Finance on the Secretary of State’s public internet website no later than 21 business days after the day that the Secretary of State certifies the sufficiency of the signatures under Section 11109.
(g) After the Secretary of State has certified the sufficiency of the signatures under Section 11109, the Director of Finance, or the director’s designee, shall direct the Controller to remit to the elections official from those funds designated for that purpose in any budget act or other statute an amount that takes into consideration the amount of funds available for the purpose, the number of elections officials expected to conduct state recall elections held in that fiscal year, the Department of Finance’s estimates of the costs of each elections official to conduct each state recall election, and the amount reasonably necessary to conduct such recall election.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 34, Sec. 3. (SB 152) Effective June 28, 2021.)