The Commission may consider whether or not to support an initiative before the California voters. The Commission has taken positions on matters before the voters in the past. Usually such action is taken by adoption of a resolution in support or against an item on the ballot in order to provide non-partisan information to the voters.

The Commission may not expend public funds to promote a their position. Court cases explain the distinction between improper campaign expenditures and proper "informational" activities. The Commission is able to give the voters relevant facts to make an informed decision.

The Preschool For All (PFA) initiative can be reviewed and analyzed; the information can be presented to the Commission for support (or for opposition, as the case may be) based on the analysis. A fair presentation of the information and adoption of a position would be an informational activity and avoids issues of unfair campaigning.

There may be specific facts in the PFA initiative that need to be reviewed when presented to the Commission. As an example, if the initiative would result in a loss of funding to the Commission, that fact needs to be included in the information presented. I am not aware of the issues that may be involved in a conflict of interest for the Commission; conflicts are personal issues to individuals and would not apply in the same way to a public entity.

If you have any additional information on either the conflict issue or the initiative, I can review it.