In 2008, the California legislature passed AB 583, which would institute public funding in California, starting in 2014, only for the Secretary of State race. The law cannot go into effect unless it is approved by the voters, so it will be on the June 2010 ballot.

On August 25, 2009, the Institute of Governmental Advocates filed a lawsuit in state court to remove the measure from the June 2010 ballot. The Institute represents lobbyists. The bill provides that most of the money to pay for public funding would be raised by increasing the fee to register as a lobbyist, from $25 every two years, to $700 every two years. The case is Institute of Governmental Advocates v Bowen, Superior Court, Sacramento, 34-2009. Here is the Complaint. The Institute argues that the measure is a tax increase, so it should have been passed by two-thirds of each house of the legislature to have any effect (the California Constitution doesn’t permit tax increases without a two-thirds vote in the legislature). The Institute also argues that the amount of the tax violates the First Amendment.