GOVERNOR VETOES BOWEN INITIATIVE REFORM MEASURE, SAYS LETTING VOTERS KNOW WHO IS BANKROLLING MEASURES IS “EXPENSIVE AND ONEROUS”

“To argue that voters shouldn’t be told who is financing a multi-million dollar signature gathering effort because it might be ‘too expensive’ for the proponents to list the top five contributors on a piece of paper doesn’t pass the laugh test,” continued Bowen. “There’s plenty of information on who is financing an initiative once it qualifies for the ballot, but there’s virtually nothing available to help people decide whether they want to support putting a measure on the ballot in the first place.”

In vetoing the bill, the Governor wrote:

“Unfortunately, under this bill, petitions circulated by paid circulators would have to be continually updated and reprinted to reflect any changes in the top five donors backing the measure. As a result, it would be more expensive and onerous to qualify initiatives for the ballot and the ability for the smaller, grassroots-oriented organizations to participate in the process would be limited.

“As with similar measures I have vetoed in the past, this bill attacks the initiative process and makes it more difficult for the people of California to gather signatures and qualify measures for the ballot. While making the process more cumbersome and costly may be for those hostile to the initiative process, it is not for reform-minded Californians.”

“The Governor has it backwards,” concluded Bowen. “Reform-minded Californians don’t want to be kept in the dark when it comes to money and politics. They want their government to be more transparent and they want more information, not less, about where the money comes from to put initiatives on the ballot.”

SB 1598 was similar to SB 469 (Bowen) of 2005, which was also vetoed by the Governor.

Debra Bowen is the Democratic nominee for California Secretary of State. She is the Chair of the Senate Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments Committee.