Free Republic

To the Members of the California State Senate: I am returning Senate Bill 168 without my signature. This bill makes it a crime for a person to payor receive money (or any other thing of value) based-directly or indirectly--on the number of signatures obtained on a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition. While runderstand the potential abuses of the current per-signature payment system, 1 believe this bill is flawed for two reasons. First, this bill would effectively prohibit organizations from even setting targets or quotas for those they hire to gather signatures. It doesn't seem very practical to...

Legislators are forever looking for ways to "improve" the initiative process. And why not? Direct democracy infringes on their power. California needs fewer ballot propositions, not more. The system needs an overhaul. But Gov. Jerry Brown should veto Senate Bill 168, on his desk, a veiled attempt to limit initiatives in a loaded manner... Supporters include organized labor, which long has made heavy use of direct democracy. Unions could rely on members and their family and friends to sign petitions, and perhaps could gain an advantage over rivals if the pay-by-signature system were outlawed. The California Chamber of Commerce and...

WALNUT CREEK - Four women, including a schoolteacher from Concord, have asked the state to investigate allegations of illegal and abusive behavior by signature-gatherers hired to work on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's initiatives. Erica Rodriguez filed a complaint Thursday afternoon with the secretary of state's office that includes testimony from the women and transcripts of secretly recorded conversations between herself and several petition-gatherers. A laundry list of allegations includes misrepresentations about the petitions' contents and impacts, and illegally allowing felons to register citizens to vote. It also details alleged intimidation tactics used to scare off detractors such as swearing, physical crowding...