SACRAMENTO (AP) – The California Senate has approved a bill that seeks to discourage frivolous ballot questions by raising filing costs, following a measure advocating the slayings of gay and lesbian people.
Senators approved AB1100 by Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low of Campbell on a 23-14 vote Aug. 17. It would increase filing fees from $200 to $2,000 to help defray administrative costs.
Sen. Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens, who presented Low’s bill, said the ballot initiative proposal fee hasn’t been increased since 1943.
Some Republicans said it amounts to a tax on the poor. Both Democrats and Republicans worried it would be a hindrance to direct democracy.
In June, a judge agreed to throw out the proposal that advocated killing anyone who engages in gay sex as unconstitutional.
The bill returns to the Assembly.
