Governor Signs Cervantes Bill to Create an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission for the Riverside County Board of Supervisors into Law

(SACRAMENTO) – On Sunday night, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1307 by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) into law. This new law requires the creation of an independent citizens redistricting commission to draw district boundaries for the Riverside County Board of Supervisors beginning with the 2030 round of redistricting. The commission will also be reconstituted after every census to draw Riverside County’s supervisorial districts in subsequent redistricting cycles. In July, the enacted 2022-23 State Budget allocated $1 million for the implementation of Assembly Bill 1307.

In early December 2021, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to adopt a supervisorial district map for the 2020 round of redistricting that fractures the Latino community in the County, diluting the Latino community’s voting power and capacity to elect representatives of their choice. Supervisor V. Manuel Pérez was the only member of the Board of Supervisors to vote against the new district boundaries.

“This failure of a majority of the Board of Supervisors to protect the voting rights of our Latino community illustrates why we needed to create an independent citizens redistricting commission to draw fair maps for Riverside County,” said Assemblymember Cervantes, Vice Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus.

AB 1307 is modeled after Senate Bill 958 (Lara, 2016) and Assembly Bill 801 (Weber, 2017) which successfully created independent citizens redistricting commissions for Los Angeles and San Diego counties, respectively. Like those bills, the partisan makeup of the Commission will be proportional to the partisan makeup of Riverside County voters. The process of selecting citizen redistricting commissioners is similar to the process used by the statewide independent citizens redistricting commission. The bill also sets out eligibility criteria and restrictions for members of the Commission, mostly based on an individual’s current employment or employment history. Individuals who have been candidates for or elected to public office within the preceding ten years will be ineligible to serve as commissioners. Registered local, state, and federal lobbyists will also be prohibited from serving on the Commission.

“As Vice Chair of the Latino Caucus, I want to thank the bill’s co-authors Assemblymembers Eduardo Garcia and Jose Medina, legislative leadership, and the Governor for working with me to make Assembly Bill 1307 law. This will help protect the voting rights of our Latino community and strengthen democracy in Riverside County.” Cervantes said. “Together, we have ensured that members of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors cannot draw their own district boundaries for their own benefit, and instead have returned that power where it rightfully belongs—with the people.”

You can find more information about AB 1307 here.

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Sabrina Cervantes is a mother of triplets who proudly represents the 60th District of the California State Assembly, which encompasses the cities of Corona, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Norco, Riverside, and the unincorporated communities of Coronita, El Cerrito, and Home Gardens. Cervantes is Vice Chair and Chair-elect of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy.

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