It's bad enough that California law permits the attorney general -- an elected, partisan official -- to write the official titles and summaries for ballot initiatives that qualify from the ballot. Most of the time, at least, the a.g. is independent of the initiative sponsor. But when it comes to measures that are placed on the ballot by the legislature itself, lawmakers themselves get to write the official summaries. And they don't have a good record of being honest with the public.

The latest example is Prop 1A, the spending limit measure that was part of last week's budget deal and will appear on the May 19 special election ballot. The legislature's official description of the measure omits the very important fact that if the measure passes, temporary tax increases in the budget deal will last longer.
California needs an independent title board that would draft titles and summaries for ballot initiatives and legislative measures -- anything that goes to the people. Such a board should be balanced between Democrats and Republicans and independents. The board's only mission would be to give voters an accurate description of the measure. An honest board likely would reduce the number of court challenges to titles and summaries under the current, politicized process.

California wouldn't be the first state with a title board. Colorado has a Ballot Title Setting Board with three members: the secretary of state, the attorney general, and director of the legislature's legal services office. That's not ideal-I'd rather the board was made up of non-politicians. But even Colorado's board is an improvement on California's current set-up, which gives the attorney general virtually unchecked power over initiative titles and summaries - and the legislature too much power over legislative measures.