Senate BillChaptered/Signed
SB 162: Elections.
What SB 162 does, verified December 8, 2025
A special election will be held throughout the state on November 4, 2025, and a consolidation with the statewide special election is allowed for local elections called by a district, city, or other political subdivision on or before August 8, 2025. This consolidation is prohibited from being certified before the 28th calendar day following the election. The costs of the statewide special election will be reported to the director of finance and the joint legislative budget committee by April 1, 2026. $100,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the secretary of state for this report. The bill takes effect immediately as a budget-related appropriation.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
✓Second ChamberComplete
✓GovernorComplete
6ChapteredCurrent
Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 115, Statutes of 2025. (2025-09-11)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions21 total · showing 5
| Sep. 17, 2025 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 115, Statutes of 2025. |
| Sep. 17, 2025 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 15, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m. |
| Sep. 12, 2025 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 29. Noes 0. Page 2957.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Sep. 12, 2025 | In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 17, 2025 · 892 words
Senate Bill No. 162
CHAPTER 115
An act to amend Section 4 of Chapter 97 of the Statutes of 2025, relating to elections, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget.
[ Approved by Governor September 17, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State September 17, 2025. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 162, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Elections.
A special election will be held throughout the state on November 4, 2025. Existing law authorizes consolidation of a local election for the submission of any question, proposition, or office to be filled, which was called by a district, city, or other political subdivision on or before August 8, 2025, and scheduled to be held on November 4, 2025, with the statewide special election. Existing law prohibits a county elections official from certifying the results of the statewide special election before the 28th calendar day following the election.
This bill would also prohibit a county elections official from certifying the results of a local election called by a district, city, or other political subdivision on or before August 8, 2025, and scheduled to be held on November 4, 2025, before the 28th calendar day following the election.
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to report on the final costs of the statewide special election to the Director of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee no later than April 1, 2026.
This bill would appropriate $100,000 from the General Fund to the Secretary of State for purposes of that report.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 4 of Chapter 97 of the Statutes of 2025 is amended to read:SEC. 4.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure counties have sufficient funding to effectuate the November 4, 2025, statewide special election. An amount is hereby appropriated from the General Fund for the actual and reasonably necessary costs, as determined by the Director of Finance, for the counties to conduct the November 4, 2025, statewide special election.(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the Controller shall allocate these funds to counties according to a schedule provided by the Director of Finance. Any excess funds received by the county shall be used to offset state costs for the next statewide election conducted by the county. Each county shall report its final total cost to administer the statewide special election to the Secretary of State in a manner and by a date determined by the Secretary of State.
(c) An amount is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Secretary of State for the actual and reasonably necessary costs, as determined by the Director of Finance, for the Secretary of State to administer the November 4, 2025, statewide special election.
(d) No later than April 1, 2026, the Secretary of State shall report on the final costs of the statewide special election to the Director of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The report shall include all of the following:
(1) The total cost of the statewide special election by county.
(2) The costs broken out by category for each county.
(3) Any funds remaining, by county, that can be used to offset state costs for the next election conducted by the county.
SEC. 2.
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 10262, 10551, 15301, and 15372 of the Elections Code, for any regular or special local election for the submission of any question, proposition, or office to be filled, which was called by a district, city, or other political subdivision on or before August 8, 2025, and scheduled to be held on November 4, 2025, the elections official shall not certify the results of the election prior to the 28th calendar day following the election. Subdivisions (f), (g), and (h) of Section 3 of Chapter 97 of the Statutes of 2025 apply to that election in the same manner as those provisions apply to the November 4, 2025, statewide special election.(b) To the extent that the requirement in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 3 of Chapter 97 of the Statutes of 2025 is inconsistent with duties of the elections official under Sections 3001, 3105, or 13303 of the Elections Code, for an election scheduled after November 4, 2025, and before December 31, 2025, the County of Santa Clara may by resolution adopt other reasonable timeframes for the elections official to fulfill these duties, provided that the timeframes are consistent with the requirements in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 3 of Chapter 97 of the Statutes of 2025.
SEC. 3.
The sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Secretary of State for the 2025–26 fiscal year for purposes of developing the report on the final costs of the November 4, 2025, statewide special election pursuant to Section 4 of Chapter 97 of the Statutes of 2025.SEC. 4.
This act is a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill within the meaning of subdivision (e) of Section 12 of Article IV of the California Constitution, has been identified as related to the budget in the Budget Bill, and shall take effect immediately.Text of SB 162 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions