A high stakes battle over Proposition 32 on California’s November ballot is underway.
California unions have already raised close to nine-million dollars to defeat the measure, which would ban unions from automatically deducting political contributions from paychecks.
Prop 32 would also ban donations from corporations to political candidates. But opponents said the measure is not political reform. They claimed it’s a way to create exemptions for special interests.
Derek Cressman with California Common Cause said it doesn’t ban contributions from limited liability companies, partnerships, real estate trusts or Super PACs. Cressman commented that “the money that’s spent on political campaigns has caused all of us to mistrust the system and rightly so, but the sponsors of Prop 32 are trying to use our anger and our mistrust to try to change the rules for their own benefit.”
Supporters of the measure said state law defines what constitutes a corporation, not Prop 32.
But they said if the measure had been in place in 2010, it would have prevented 35 million dollars in direct contributions from corporations to lawmakers.
