From Senator Chuck Poochigian’s office:
Poochigian Requests Attorney General Investigation into
Use of Taxpayer Funds for “Preschool for All” Campaign
“There have been calls for audits to connect the paper trail about the process in which taxpayer money was spent on the ‘First 5 California’ and ‘Preschool for All’ campaigns. I applaud and support these efforts. However, the key question is not whether or how the money was spent. Public records show that hundreds of millions of tax dollars have been spent on public relations and advertising campaigns associated with ‘First 5 California’ and ‘Preschool for All.’ The threshold question is whether funds were spent legally.
“For this reason, I am requesting that the Attorney General open a formal investigation into whether taxpayer funds were illegally used to influence signature gathering efforts and build support for the Proposition 82 ‘Preschool for All’ campaign. If taxpayer funds were found to have been used illegally for campaign purposes, the Attorney General will likely have the ultimate responsibility of prosecuting the claim, or seeking injunctive relief to safeguard public funds and the election process. The potential civil penalties for misuse of state funds for campaign purposes in this matter could exceed $69 million dollars for the ‘Preschool for All’ television ad buy alone. There could be millions of dollars more in civil penalties if other funds were found to have been spent inappropriately.
“The large amount of money involved and possibility of impropriety clearly warrant a thorough investigation in order to protect the public trust and taxpayer resources.”
To read the Senator’s letter, click here.