Arizona group ordered to release records CAMPAIGN 2012 Group gave $11 million to sway Props. 30, 32

California Fair Political Practices Commission chair Ann Ravel, center, talks with staff members, Gary Winuk, left, Lynda Cassady, second from left, and Zackery Morazzini, right, after a meeting concerning the hundreds of thousands of dollars in missingcampaign funds in an alleged embezzlement scheme by a former campaign treasurer, during a meeting of the California Fair Political Practices Commission in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. Federal prosecutors charged Democratic treasurer KindeDurkee earlier this month with mail fraud and said she siphoned $700,000 from the campaign accounts of state Assemblyman Jose Solorio and others including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. less California Fair Political Practices Commission chair Ann Ravel, center, talks with staff members, Gary Winuk, left, Lynda Cassady, second from left, and Zackery Morazzini, right, after a meeting concerning the ... more Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Arizona group ordered to release records 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

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 said it would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The group asked the state's high court to suspend its order in the meantime, but the justices declined.

The developments reduced the likelihood that the donors will be publicly identified before Tuesday, when the California ballot will include Proposition 30, Brown's measure to increase income and sales taxes to fund schools and other programs, and Proposition 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 state Fair Political Practices Commission.

The commission said it may have been the largest anonymous campaign contribution in California history.

Federal law does not require such organizations to name their donors. But the FPPC says California law mandates disclosure if the donors knew the money was going to a political campaign in the state. If so, the only question is whether the names will be disclosed before or after the election.

After ordering written arguments through the weekend, the state's high court on Sunday unanimously lifted a stay that had prevented the FPPC from examining the Arizona group's records to determine whether the contributions were intended for a California campaign. Such a finding would enable the commission to order the nonprofit to identify its donors.

But the commission's chairwoman, Ann Ravel, said the group's lawyer told an FPPC attorney it would not turn over the records Sunday. Instead, the group went back to the state's high court and asked for another stay until 9 a.m. Monday while it appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court denied the request less than an hour later.

In an e-mail to the U.S. court on Sunday evening, the Arizona group's attorney, Thad Davis, said the case raises "critical First Amendment issues regarding the ability of an organization to speak on vital election-related matters without reprisal by government officials."

A state lawyer told the California court that the Arizona group was in contempt of court and "must immediately produce these records."

Ravel said it was another indication that Americans for Responsible Leadership "is not going to disclose what the people of the state have a right to know."

In a court filing Saturday, Davis said the state's effort to reveal the donors was part of a campaign by Brown and the FPPC to "intimidate and silence those who would oppose Proposition 30." He argued that mandatory disclosure would violate the rights of the group and its donors to freedom of speech.

In a response - which Ravel said state lawyers forwarded to the court at 2 a.m. Sunday - the FPPC denied any political motivation and said time was of the essence.

"Each day that passes deprives more and more voters of relevant information," state lawyers said. "This harm cannot be undone after election day."