CCL President Robert S. Peck told CBS News that the California Attorney General’s had only “ministerial” responsibility for giving a title and summary for qualifying initiative petitions, meaning that she could not exercise discretion. Appearing on the CBS Morning News on March 31, CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy about the options available to Attorney General Kamala Harris, who has sought judicial permission to avoid proceeding with an initiative that would criminalize homosexual sex and punish it with death, specifying that the sentence be carried out by “bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.” The blatantly unconstitutional proposed amendment to the California Constitution, which Peck also called “insensible,” has no chance of passing, but garnered headlines because of its extreme proposal and the ease with which the California initiative process is commenced. To make it to the ballot, a petition must gather nearly 400,000 signatures after receiving a title and summary from the Attorney General.

Peck explained that California’s Attorney General may have a way to avoid any further involvement with the amendment. California law requires a proponent to pay a filing fee of $200, plus provide certain information, including public contact information. To date, all news reports indicate that no news organization has successfully contacted the Californian who proposed the initiative. If his public contact information is inadequate or wrong, Peck said, the petitioner has not complied with the prerequisites for filing so that no title or summary would need to be issued by the state.