The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Ivor Pine, Equality California

PHONE: 323-428-3805

EMAIL: ivor@outthinkpartners.com

Equality California Applauds Legislation That Increases Ballot Initiative Filing Fee

LOS ANGELES

Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation authored by Assemblymembers Evan Low (D-Campbell) and Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) to increase the fee required to submit a ballot initiative from $200 to $2,000. Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur issued the following statement in response:

"By requiring ballot measure proponents to pay their full costs, AB 1100 makes it somewhat harder for individuals and hate groups to advance violent and hateful ballot measures like the one from earlier this year which called for the murder and imprisonment of LGBT people. We thank Governor Brown and Assemblymembers Low and Bloom for their leadership and hope that it is a first step in the direction of broader reform that will address the misuse of the initiative process in California to restrict the civil rights of LGBT people and the communities that LGBT people are a part of."

Equality California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve equality and civil rights for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians.