A state appellate court told lawmakers Thursday to stop writing official ballot language for measures they want voters to pass, a practice the Legislature has used in recent years to cast its proposals in a more favorable light. The decision by the Sacramento-based 3rd District Court of Appeal would prevent lawmakers from crafting ballot descriptions for tax-hike extensions that Gov. Jerry Brown wants to put before the electorate in June. Should it stand, the ruling also could erase ballot wording that lawmakers wrote for a water bond and a rainy-day fund measure slated for the 2012 ballot. Instead, the court...
