Calif: Campaign limit advances [would limit donations to Schwarzenegger's initiatives]

Sacramento Bee ^ | May 27, 2005 | Jim Sanders

[John Jorsett]

The Assembly passed legislation Thursday to limit the sums that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other state politicians can raise for ballot-measure committees they control.

AB 709, by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would not take effect unless it passes the Senate, is signed by the governor and is approved by state voters.

The Assembly vote was 43-29, with Republicans dissenting.

The measure limits a person from making contributions exceeding $5,600 during the entire period that a state officeholder or candidate for state office controls the ballot-measure committee.

The Fair Political Practices Commission imposed a $22,300-per-donor limit in June 2004, ruling that higher contributions violated Proposition 34, the voter-passed initiative on campaign finance.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang later killed the FPPC regulation in a lawsuit filed by Citizens to Save California, a business group promoting Schwarzenegger's initiatives.

[John Jorsett]

This must be symbolic, since Schwarzenegger is about as likely to sign this as I am to date supermodels.

[proxy_user]

In any case, he'll just tell you to give the money to the committee he doesn't control, but that still supports his position.

[goldstategop]

Its DOA. The Democrats want to tie the Governor's hands. And score cheap political points, knowing full well a veto will be sustained. Just how stupid do they think Arnold is? As a bill, it purports to advance clean government in the service of partisan interests. A strategem that has the same credibility as the contention a bordello can be a church.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

So....why wasn't this proposed during the Davis administration?