California Common Cause v. Fair Political Practices Commission

Government Code section 85300, enacted in 1988 as part of Proposition 73, amends the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code, § 81000 et seq.) to prohibit the use of public money for political campaigns. (Hereafter all citations to sections of an undesignated code are to the Government Code.) In this original proceeding (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 10), petitioners California Common Cause, League of Women Voters, and Walter Zelman seek a determination that section 85300 is unconstitutional and therefore does not override other provisions of law which we are asked to command respondents fully to enforce. Petitioners contend section 85300 is unconstitutional because it binds future legislatures from enacting any laws regarding the public funding of political campaigns. We find no merit in petitioners’ position and accordingly shall deny their application for writ of mandate.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 (Act) was an initiative measure intended to correct election abuses in California. (§§ 81001, 81002; see Diamond et al., California’s Political Reform Act: Greater Access to the Initiative Process (1975) 7 Sw.U. L.Rev. 453, 463-464; hereafter cited as California’s Political…