AP15:089
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2015
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Public Funding. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures today.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
ELECTION CAMPAIGN FINANCE. PUBLIC FUNDING. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Repeals ban on public funding of election campaigns. Directs Legislature to create a public financing system for elections. Delays effective date of any such legislation until after the next election of the Legislature, unless there is no cost to taxpayers. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Potentially significant state and local government costs to provide public funds to pay for campaigns and other unknown fiscal effects. Increased state and local government costs—possibly exceeding $1 million annually—to administer amended campaign laws, offset by increased fine revenue. (15-0057.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1719 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0057.
The proponent of the measure, Alison Hartson, must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by May 4, 2016. The proponent can be reached at (714) 878-9662.
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