Markley v. Rosenblum
Markley v. Rosenblum
Opinion of the Court
**857In Markley/Lutz v. Rosenblum ,
IP 28, if enacted, would modify Article I, section 8, of the Oregon Constitution to permit either a legislative body or the people exercising their initiative power to regulate campaign contributions and expenditures. See
Among other things, petitioners challenged the ballot title's unqualified use of the word "regulate." They noted, and we agreed, that "the word 'regulate,' when used in the context of regulating expressive activity, can encompass a range of different types of regulations."
**858The Attorney General filed the following modified ballot title:
"Amends Constitution: Allows laws that 'regulate contributions and expenditures' made to 'influence the outcome of any election'
"Result of 'Yes' Vote: 'Yes' vote allows laws passed 'by initiative or by an elected legislative body by a three-fourths vote' that 'regulate contributions and expenditures' to influence elections.
"Result of 'No' Vote: 'No' vote retains Oregon Constitution's existing free-expression provision; laws limiting contributions to candidates or political committees by a person, corporation or union violate constitution.
"Summary: Amends Constitution. The Oregon Supreme Court has interpreted the Oregon Constitution's free-expression provision ( Article I, section 8 ) to prohibit limits on many political campaign contributions and expenditures. The proposed measure amends Article I, section 8 to allow laws that 'regulate contributions and expenditures' made to 'influence the outcome of any election' (quoted terms undefined). Such laws would need to be consistent with the federal constitution's free-speech provision and 'adopted or amended by initiative or by an elected legislative body by a three-fourths vote.' If amendment passes, Measure 47 (2006), which limited campaign contributions/ expenditures, established new reporting/advertising disclosure requirements for the sources and amounts of campaign contributions/expenditures, might be revived."
Petitioners object to the modified ballot title, arguing among other things that it fails to comply with our opinion because it does not signal that "regulate" is undefined.
We appreciate the difficulty that the Attorney General faces in trying to accurately describe the nuances of complex measures in a limited amount of words. However, we reiterate what we previously said: the caption and the "yes" result statement should state that the word regulate is undefined.
*15
The modified ballot title is referred to the Attorney General for modification.
Petitioners Markley and Hedbor argue that the modified ballot title is generally deficient in that respect without explaining why the summary, which provides more explanation than the caption and "yes" result statement, is deficient. Petitioner Lutz challenges the use of "regulate" in only the modified caption and the "yes" result statement.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Kyle MARKLEY and Lars Hedbor v. Ellen F. ROSENBLUM, Attorney General, State of Oregon, Trent Lutz v. Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, State of Oregon
- Status
- Published