Elections: elective office: felony conviction., the official text

An act to amend Section 20 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law prohibits the consideration of a person as a candidate for, and provides that the person is not eligible to be elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has been convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes.
This bill would additionally prohibit the consideration of a person as a candidate for, and provide that the person is not eligible to be elected to, any state or local elective office if they have been convicted of a felony involving sexual assault or human trafficking, as defined.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 20 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
20.
(a) A person shall not be considered a candidate for, and is not eligible to be elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has been convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, sexual assault, human trafficking, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes.
(b)For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:(1) “Conviction of a felony” includes a conviction of a felony in this state and a conviction under the laws of any other state, the United States, or any foreign government or country of a crime that, if committed in this state, would be a felony, and for which the person has not received a pardon from the Governor of this state, the governor or other officer authorized to grant pardons in another state, the President of the United States, or the officer of the foreign government or country authorized to grant pardons in that foreign jurisdiction.
(2) “Human trafficking” means a violation of subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 236.1 of the Penal Code.
(3) (A) “Sexual assault” means a violation of Section 261, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, or 289 of, or former Section 288a or 289.5 of, the Penal Code.
(B) “Sexual assault” does not include a violation of subdivision (b) of Section 286, subdivision (b) of Section 287, or subdivision (h) or (i) of Section 289 of the Penal Code.