CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Measure Guarding Initiatives Is Set

A measure designed to prevent the Legislature from interfering with the initiative process will appear on the November ballot, Secretary of State March Fong Eu said. The initiative would change the state Constitution to require a vote of the people on any proposed laws governing the process of putting ballot measures before voters. Sponsors of the measure, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., submitted more than 1 million signatures, nearly twice the 595,485 valid signatures required to qualify the initiative for the ballot. Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Jarvis tax group, said an initiative is a so-called people’s law, adding: “We believe people should have the right to approve any changes that are made to their law.” The measure would prevent lawmakers from making changes, such as increasing the number of voter signatures required to qualify an initiative for the ballot, without voter approval.