SACRAMENTO — California politicians can raise unlimited amounts of money to promote ballot initiatives, a judge said Wednesday, handing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a significant victory as he promotes his political agenda this year.
In a preliminary ruling, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang said forcing Schwarzenegger to abide by fundraising limits for initiatives would unfairly trample on his right to free speech and would not subdue "the demons" of political corruption.
If Chang sticks with her initial ruling after a hearing scheduled for today, she will significantly alter Proposition 34, the initiative voters passed resoundingly in 2000 to reduce the influence of money in politics.
Last month Schwarzenegger, Citizens to Save California and other groups promoting initiatives sued the Fair Political Practices Commission, the agency that enforces state campaign laws. They asked Chang to overturn a regulation prohibiting politicians from "controlling" initiative groups that raise unlimited amounts of money from donors.
Campaign finance watchdogs said the ruling would allow politicians to bypass contribution limits by setting up and promoting themselves through initiative committees.
"This decision thwarts the understanding and intent of voters who assumed by voting in favor of Proposition 34 that the limiting of contributions to candidates and officeholders applied to ballot committees," said Paul S. Ryan, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., which joined in defending the regulations.
Chang's ruling is especially important to the Republican governor, because he has partly staked his political future on overhauling government at the ballot box rather than through the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The governor is expected to support at least four propositions in a possible special election this November, a campaign Schwarzenegger estimated would cost at least $50 million.
The preliminary ruling means Schwarzenegger can actively control Citizens to Save California and other groups promoting ballot initiatives, without having to abide by the contribution limits that apply to his reelection fund. He can accept no more than $22,300 per donor in that account.
"We certainly felt that all along there was a violation of the 1st Amendment," said Joel Fox, co-chairman of Citizens to Save California. "The right-to-associate and the freedom-of-speech issues were very important."
