The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to rewrite the ballot description of Proposition 23, a measure voters will consider in November that would suspend California’s global warming law.

Saying that state Attorney General Jerry Brown had deliberately written a misleading title and summary aimed at killing the measure, the taxpayers association asked a Sacramento County Superior Court to nullify and change it.

“Whether intentional or not, it certainly looks as though the attorney general has crafted a description intended to sway voters to vote ‘no’ on Prop. 23,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Opponents of the ballot measure called the lawsuit a desperate strategy.

“This is a Hail Mary pass from a campaign that is circling the drain,” said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for the No on Proposition 23 campaign.

A Field Poll released July 9 found just 36 percent of likely California voters in favor of suspending the global warming law, with 48 opposed and 16 percent undecided.

If approved by a majority of voters, Proposition 23 would suspend AB 32, California’s landmark global warming law, until the state unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent or lower for four consecutive quarters. In the past 20 years, that has only occurred three times, most recently between October 2005 and June 2007.

AB 32 was passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. The law requires that California’s greenhouse gas emissions be cut to 1990 levels by 2020, a drop of about 15 percent from current levels.

Opponents of the law say it will cost the state jobs — particularly given the current recession — and have little effect on worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases. Supporters say it will create jobs by boosting the state’s renewable energy and green technology industries, and will set an example for other states and Congress.

As the California Air Resources Board continues to write the specific rules that will take effect in 2012, the regulations are expected to fall hardest on the industries that burn the most fossil fuels, including oil refineries, power plants and cement kilns.

Two Texas oil companies, Valero and Tesoro, provided much of the funding to qualify Proposition 23 for the ballot. The yes campaign has raised roughly $3.4 million so far, including a $100,000 donation from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

The no campaign has raised roughly $2.5 million, with contributions from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and others. On Monday, Tom Steyer, founder of Farallon Capital﻿, a $20 billion hedge fund in San Francisco, announced he will donate $5 million to the no campaign and co-chair it with former Reagan administration Secretary of State George Shultz.

The official summary of the measure that voters will see on their ballots reads as follows:

“Suspends air pollution control laws requiring major polluters to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, until unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent or less for full year.”

The taxpayers association lawsuit filed Tuesday says that language violates state election laws because it is biased. Specifically, the lawsuit contends that the measure would not suspend air pollution control “laws” because other greenhouse gas laws and smog laws would remain unaffected if it passes.

The lawsuit also alleges that the ballot summary is inaccurate when it says that AB 32 affects “major polluters,” because in the view of the taxpayers group, it will affect thousands of businesses.

The lawsuit, which names Brown, Secretary of State Debra Bowen and state printer Kevin Hannah, asks for new language. It suggests: “Suspends state law that requires greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020, until California’s unemployment drops to 5.5 percent or less for four consecutive calendar quarters.”

The coalition in favor of the measure includes the California Republican Party, U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. Opponents include the Sierra Club, League of Women Voters, PG&E, Google, Applied Materials and SunPower.

Contact Paul Rogers at 408-920-5045.