Following up on my coverage yesterday on the tentative ruling in the FPPC case, the Los Angeles Times offers Gov. Wins Initiative Fundraising Race; A preliminary ruling lets Schwarzenegger raise unlimited money to push ballot measure.” See also this Sacramento Bee report.
Much of the judge’s concern about the FPPC rule stems from her view that the FPPC may have lacked the authority to pass the rule and also that the details of the rule were too vague, raising constitutional concerns. I flagged these dangers in a January 2005 Los Angeles Times oped, calling on the Legislature to pass a statute (probably over the governor’s veto) placing limits on candidate controlled ballot measure committees through a clear statute.
As I read the judge’s ruling, such legislation may well sustain constitutional muster. Crucially, she does not see the case controlled by the 1981 Supreme Court CARC case. For more details on the constitutional issues, see here.