(April 19, 2010) California Chamber of Commerce-opposed Proposition 15 on the June ballot repeals the voter-approved ban on public financing of campaigns, a coalition of opponents is pointing out.

Proposition 15 imposes a new tax on lobbyists, lobbying firms and lobbyist employers (including the CalChamber) to pay for a pilot program that would use the public money to finance campaigns for Secretary of State.

Although the pilot program sunsets after two election cycles, the ban on public campaign financing is repealed permanently.

Reasons to Oppose Prop. 15

Following are five reasons to stop Proposition 15, adapted from the website of the opposition campaign, made up of a coalition of taxpayers, governmental advocates and small businesses.

1. Proposition 15 is a trick.

More than 20 years ago, voters prohibited taxpayer funds from being given to politicians for their campaigns. Proposition 15 repeals that prohibition. The ballot label approved by legislators didn’t include the repeal, but a judge ordered the first sentence to read, “Repeals ban on public financing of political campaigns.”

Supporters contend that Proposition 15 is about using a new tax on lobbyists to fund a harmless pilot program, but the pilot program expires after two elections while the repeal on the public campaign financing ban is permanent. Another hidden provision of Proposition 15 allows legislators to use tax money for any campaigns they wish, including their own. All it takes is a simple majority vote.

2. Proposition 15 raises taxes.

Proposition 15 includes a severability clause, which means that if the court rules that the lobbyist tax is unconstitutional (as two courts have ruled already), the repeal of the ban on public campaign financing remains in effect. If the courts throw out the new tax or even if it just falls short of paying for the campaigns the Legislature wants to finance, Proposition 15 says they can use money from the General Fund “or any other sources.” If they want more, they can raise taxes like the $12 billion tax hike approved last year. California has no shortage of problems; it doesn’t need to use taxpayer money for negative ads and junk mail.

3. Proposition 15 does not stop the influence of special interest money.

Proposition 15 claims to curb the influence of special interests and lobbyists. Lobbyists already are prohibited from contributing to candidates, and Proposition 15 specifically authorizes politicians to continue to ask for money from special interests for things like legal fees, inaugural parties and “officeholder expenses.”

4. California voters have already rejected public campaign financing twice in the past 10 years.

Proposition 15 repeals the law voters passed more than 20 years ago to prohibit politicians from using tax dollars to run for office. Time and again, voters have said NO to taxpayer-funded political campaigns. Just four years ago, 74 percent of voters said NO to Proposition 89, a similar proposal to use tax dollars for political campaigns. In 2000, two-thirds of voters rejected Proposition 25, which would have allowed public financing.

5. Taxpayer financing of political campaigns is a bad idea.

Proposition 15 requires lobbyists to pay for the election campaigns of candidates for Secretary of State, whose job it is to regulate lobbyists. The measure gives money to any eligible candidate regardless of who they are or what they stand for. There’s no restriction on how candidates spend taxpayer dollars. They can even put their friends and relatives on their campaign payrolls at taxpayer expense.

More information is available at www.StopProp15.com.

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