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California Proposition 5, Prohibit Contempt Citations for Media Refusing to Disclose Information Sources Amendment (June 1980)
| California Proposition 5 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Business regulations and Civil trials |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
California Proposition 5 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in California on June 3, 1980. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported prohibiting any government body from issuing a contempt citation to any person connected with a newspaper, magazine, wire service, radio news, or television news show for refusing to disclose their sources of information. |
A “no” vote opposed prohibiting any government body from issuing a contempt citation to any person connected with a newspaper, magazine, wire service, radio news, or television news show for refusing to disclose their sources of information. |
Election results
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California Proposition 5 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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4,445,400 | 73.31% | ||
| No | 1,618,175 | 26.69% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition 5 was as follows:
| “ | Freedom of Press. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | Maintains existing guarantees of free speech and press. Adds provisions prohibiting any contempt citation by a judicial, legislative, or administrative body against a publisher, editor, reporter, or other person connected with a newspaper, magazine, wire service, or radio or television news for refusing to disclose sources of information or unpublished information obtained in course of processing information for communication to the public. Fiscal impact on state or local governments: No significant fiscal impact. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the California Constitution
A two-thirds vote was needed in each chamber of the California State Legislature to refer the constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of California Sacramento (capital) |
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