republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20152016/ab-277.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "California Voting Rights Act of 2001."
description: "Existing law, the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) , prohibits the use of an at-large election in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a protected class, as defined, to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election. The CVRA provides that a voter who is a member of a protected class and who resides in a political subdivision where a violation of the act occurs may bring an action in superior court to enforce its provisions. The CVRA requires a court to implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of district-based elections, that are tailored to remedy a violation of the act. The CVRA defines \"political subdivision\" to mean a geographic area of representation created for the provision of government services, including, but not limited to, a city, a school district, a community college district, or other district organized pursuant to state law. The state courts have determined that the provisions of the CVRA apply to a charter city."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20152016"
identifier: "AB 277"
citation: "California AB 277 (20152016)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["California Voting Rights Act of 2001."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Roger Hernández"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 16
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2015-02-11"
last_action: "2015-10-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e3814058-e3f7-4305-bb01-2a94a313215d"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB277"
source_hash: "885daa1d4b065044d8bb8f8e1b27df9686fe3378c79c29f9804772ec2f992be1"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 277 (20152016) — California Voting Rights Act of 2001.

Existing law, the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) , prohibits the use of an at-large election in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a protected class, as defined, to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election. The CVRA provides that a voter who is a member of a protected class and who resides in a political subdivision where a violation of the act occurs may bring an action in superior court to enforce its provisions. The CVRA requires a court to implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of district-based elections, that are tailored to remedy a violation of the act. The CVRA defines "political subdivision" to mean a geographic area of representation created for the provision of government services, including, but not limited to, a city, a school district, a community college district, or other district organized pursuant to state law. The state courts have determined that the provisions of the CVRA apply to a charter city.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/11/15 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB277&version=20150AB27799INT)
2. **04/07/15 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB277&version=20150AB27798AMD)
3. **10/10/15 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB277&version=20150AB27796CHP)
4. **AB277** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB277)
5. **09/08/15 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB277&version=20150AB27797ENR)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading AB277 Roger Hernández By Hertzberg — **28–12** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended. — **5–2** (pass) · lower
- Do pass — **4–1** (pass) · upper
- AB 277 HERNÁNDEZ Assembly Third Reading — **55–22** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Roger Hernández — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2015-02-11** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2015-02-12** From printer. May be heard in committee March 14.
- **2015-02-23** Referred to Com. on E. & R. `referral-committee`
- **2015-04-06** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (March 25). `amendment-introduction, committee-passage, amendment-passage`
- **2015-04-07** Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. `amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2015-04-08** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2015-05-04** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 55. Noes 22. Page 1255.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2015-05-04** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2015-05-14** Referred to Com. on E. & C.A. `referral-committee`
- **2015-06-16** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (June 16). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2015-06-17** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2015-09-03** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 28. Noes 12. Page 2454.). `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2015-09-03** In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. `committee-passage`
- **2015-09-18** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
- **2015-10-10** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2015-10-10** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 724, Statutes of 2015.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/e3814058-e3f7-4305-bb01-2a94a313215d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).