Arizona group ordered (again) to release records (and refuses)

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The state Supreme Court issued an order Sunday to allow California's political watchdog to identify contributors to an Arizona group's last-minute infusion of $11 million to the campaigns opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative and supporting an antiunion measure on Tuesday's ballot.

But the Arizona group declined to turn over its records by the court's 4 p.m. deadline and told a state lawyer it was planning to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, said Ann Ravel, chairwoman of the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

The refusal reduced the likelihood that the donors will be publicly identified before Tuesday, when the California ballot will include Prop. 30, Brown's measure to increase income and sales taxes to fund schools and other programs, and Prop. 32, which would prohibit unions from spending payroll-deducted dues on political campaigns.

An Arizona nonprofit called Americans for Responsible Leadership gave $11 million on Oct. 15 to a California committee that opposes Prop. 30 and supports Prop. 32. The nonprofit did not identify its contributors and appealed a Sacramento judge's ruling last week ordering it to disclose its records to the FPPC.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Arizona-group-ordered-to-release-records-4007780.php