Suit filed over ballot wording

A national term limits group filed a lawsuit Wednesday against state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, demanding that his office rewrite the title and summary of a ballot initiative that would alter California’s term limits law and could extend the power of sitting legislative leaders.

A lawyer for U.S. Term Limits, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., said Brown’s office wrote an “intentionally inaccurate and misleading” summary suggesting that the initiative would strengthen the 17-year-old term limits law.

The attorney general’s office is required to produce the 100-word title and summaries to give voters a snapshot of initiatives. The law requires the wording to “neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice for or against the proposed measure.”

David Kravets, a spokesman for Brown, said the title and summary on the term limits measure “more than adequately describe the ballot initiative,” and supporters said “the litigation is meritless .... U.S. Term Limits can’t expect to have a title and summary that reflects their campaign literature.”

Polls have shown that voters continue to support term limits for lawmakers, making it difficult to promote any changes that would weaken the law.

The proposed initiative would allow lawmakers to serve a maximum of 12 years total in the Legislature rather than six in the Assembly and eight in the Senate.

The Legislature’s leadership could stay in power longer under that change. Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) would not have to leave the Assembly next year but could stay until 2014. Senate leader Don Perata (D-Oakland) would be allowed four more years in that chamber.

The initiative also would allow other current members to extend their overall time in office because it would not count the time they had already served in another house. They could stay a total of 12 years wherever they’re serving now.

State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), for example, was elected to the Assembly in 1996 and the Senate in 2002. He must leave office in 2010 -- but the initiative would allow him to exit after 12 years in the Senate, in 2014, instead of after eight years.

These twists are not clearly explained in the attorney general’s title and summary, and therefore hands a gift to lawmakers, said U.S. Term Limits attorney Eric Grant. “The result can only mislead the public into thinking a vote for an initiative which unquestionably weakens California’s term limits law is actually a vote to strengthen term limits,” he said.

The title and summary read, in part: “Limits on Legislators’ Terms in Office.... Reduces the total amount of time a person may serve in the state Legislature from 14 years to 12 years.” It also says there is a “transitional period” that allows current lawmakers to stay 12 consecutive years.

U.S. Term Limits wants to remove the word “reduces” and declare the initiative an “amendment” that would alter the current terms in each house, wording that also would be added. And “transitional period” would be changed to “an exception” for current lawmakers. The group also wants the title to say: “Changes to Limits on Legislators’ Terms in Office.”

Supporters of the initiative hope to collect enough signatures to place the measure on the February 2008 presidential primary ballot, giving Nunez and Perata enough time to run for reelection in the June primary.

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robert.salladay@latimes.com