Elections: initiatives.

Existing law requires that the proponents of an initiative measure submit a draft of the measure to the Attorney General for preparation of a summary of its chief purposes and points. Under existing law, the proponents are required to also submit at that time a $200 fee that is held in trust and refunded to the proponents if the measure qualifies for the ballot within a specified time period, but the fee is paid to the General Fund if the measure fails to qualify. This bill would instead require that a new fee from $500 in 2010 to $2,000 in 2016 be paid in lieu of current fees. The bill would require the fee to be refunded if the measure qualifies for the ballot within 2 years and to be deposited into the General Fund if it does not qualify, to be used to reimburse the Attorney General for the costs of preparing the title and summary of proposed initiative measures. The bill would require in 2018 that the Attorney General biennially review the fee and increase it in accordance with an increase in the California Consumer Price Index.