Clean Money & Fair Elections

Proposition 89

We supported Proposition 89 on the November 2006 ballot. Read the press release.

Proposition 89 would have allowed candidates running for office to receive public campaign funding by meeting certain eligibility requirements. Funding would have been provided for by an increase of 0.2 percent in the corporate income tax rate. This measure also would have imposed new limits on campaign contributions, and placed new restrictions on contributions by corporations and lobbyists.

The League vigorously supports practices which will enable candidates to compete more equitably for public office, and which place realistic limits on campaign contributions and expenditures.

In the Legislature: AB 583 (Hancock)

We supported AB 583 (Hancock), legislation that would provide competitive public financing to legislative and statewide candidates who qualify by showing a broad base of support. The bill would allow candidates to compete more equitably for public office.

May 17, 2006:     The Senate Elections Committee hearing on AB 583 was abruptly canceled, disappointing advocates who had massed to show support for the bill. Senator Gloria Romero was reportedly not ready to vote for AB 583, and she chose instead to attend a University of California Regents meeting in San Francisco.

After leaving the committee room, activists held a brief sit-in at the office of Senate President pro Tem Don Perata until the Senator met with them. He spoke of his support for public financing of campaigns and for the bill. The crowd moved on to Senator Romero's office and then met with Senator Debra Bowen, Elections Committee chair and strong supporter of AB 583.

We hoped that Senator Romero's concerns would have been allayed by the fact that Clean Money has benefited Latino communities and candidates in Arizona. See the California Clean Money Campaign's Web site for more about the events of the day and the effort to move AB 583 through the legislature.

Calls to Action

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