CA Supremes Put TURN's Prop 80 Back on Ballot

Less than a week after The Utility Reform Network reregulation initiative was knocked off the November 8 special election ballot by a lower court, the California Supreme Court put it back on. The state high court held that Proposition 80 qualified for the ballot, granting TURN's request for an expedited review. The measure's validity should not be decided until after the election to avoid interfering with the electoral process, according to the court. The latest twist came in a July 27 order. The Supreme Court held that "unlike the Court of Appeal, at this point, we cannot say that it is clear that [the California Constitution] precludes the enactment of Proposition 80 as an initiative measure," instead of a constitutional amendment. "California's voters have demonstrated they want this opportunity to vote on the folly of any future electric deregulation, and the Supreme Court has now ensured they will have that opportunity," said Bob Finkelstein, TURN executive director. TURN, along with a group of labor unions, sponsored the ballot measure. The consumer advocate sought an emergency ruling July 25 to get the measure back on the ballot in time to be included in the state voter pamphlet. That seminal document is set for final printing in mid-August. "We are obviously disappointed because not only is the initiative unconstitutional, it's bad energy policy," said Jan Smutny-Jones, Independent Energy Producers executive director. "Preelection challenges are difficult," he conceded, predicting that if the election goes forward, Prop. 80 opponents will prevail postelection. IEP and the California Retailers Association sued to keep the initiative off the ballot ( Circuit , July 1, 2005). On July 22, the Third District Court of Appeal sided with IEP, removing the consumer advocate's initiative from the ballot. The three appellate judges unanimously held that the California Public Utilities Commission's "plenary power" over utilities could be altered only via a constitutional amendment and not a statutory change, with the latter requiring more signatures to qualify for the ballot. Among other things, the measure calls for the CPUC to regulate nonutility electricity suppliers. Opponents of the measure began working to raise considerable resources to defeat the measure. Californians for Reliable Electricity, a coalition of large businesses and independent power producers, hope to raise between $10 million and $12 million to run weekly television ads attacking the initiative, said Dan Pellissier, the group's spokesperson. Newly joining the opposition is the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. V. John White, CEERT executive director, opposes TURN's initiative. The environmental group is concerned that it could thwart an expansion of the state's renewables portfolio standard. TURN attorney Matt Friedman rebutted White's claim. "The idea that we would limit the [renewables portfolio standard] program is ridiculous," he said. Prop. 80, according to Friedman, requires a 1 percent annual increase in energy providers' renewables procurement with no cutoff date. Thus, it could well be interpreted as considerably expanding the amount of green power in the state, he added. Despite its sponsorship of a bill in the Legislature last year that would have imposed reregulation of the electric industry, Southern California Edison is staying out of the fray. "It is not our issue," John Fielder, Edison senior vice-president, told Circuit . "It is too political and polarized."

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CA Supremes Put TURN’s Prop 80 Back on Ballot

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