Holmes

Introduction

Plaintiff filed an action challenging the length of a “title and summary” prepared by the Attorney General for a petition circulated for voters’ signatures before a proposed initiative was approved to appear on the ballot. Elections Code section 9002 limits the Attorney General’s “title and summary” to 100 words. We find that additional text, which estimated the fiscal impact of the proposed initiative and which the Attorney General obtained from other sources pursuant to Elections Code section 9005, should not be counted as part of the 100-word limit imposed by section 9002. We conclude that no statutory violation occurred, and affirm the sustaining of the demurrer and dismissal of the complaint.

Plaintiff Roland Holmes (Holmes) named Bill Jones, Secretary of State of the State of California, and Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General of the State of California, as defendants in a complaint alleging that the title and summary prepared for the California Civil Rights Initiative (Proposition 209) violated sections 9002, 9004, and 9051, because it exceeded 100 words in length.

The trial court sustained a demurrer without leave to amend and filed a signed order…