McPherson

As in the recent case of Costa v. Superior Court (2006) 37 Cal.4th 986 [ 39 Cal.Rptr.3d 470 , 128 P.3d 675 ] (Costa), we granted review in this case after a lower court, in an expedited preelection decision, directed that a proposed initiative measure—in this case, Proposition 80—be withheld from the November 8, 2005, election ballot. Unlike the situation presented to this court in Costa , however, in the present case the lower court’s action was not based upon a determination that the initiative failed to comply with a procedural requirement relating to the circulation of the initiative petition. Here, the lower court’s decision rested upon its conclusion that in light of the subject matter of the initiative measure at issue—which concerned energy regulation and contained several provisions conferring additional regulatory authority upon the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC)—the proposed measure was not one that, under the California Constitution, lawfully could be adopted by a vote of the people through the initiative process but rather was one that could be enacted only by the Legislature. Specifically, the Court of Appeal interpreted article XII, section 5…