The watchdog group that kept tabs on campaign contributions to California's controversial ballot initiatives this election season plans to develop an extensive guide to California Legislature on the Web.
The California Voter Foundation's Web site will track legislative activity, lawmakers' voting records, lobbyists' activities, and, of course, campaign contributions. It will also provide resources for voters, including summaries of new laws, legislative calendars, and contact names at the Capitol.
"Citizen participation and oversight in California's lawmaking process is almost non-existent," Kim Alexander, executive director of the non-partisan, nonprofit CVF, said in an email. "The sheer size of the state of California prevents many citizens from being actively involved in the legislative process."
With 120 legislators in Sacramento representing between 400,000 to 800,000 California voters each, CVF hopes to keep folks informed on just what their representatives are up to in a state with the largest economy in the country, the seventh largest in the world, and the most electoral votes.
Indeed, as more voters go online for campaign information, nonprofits around the country, as well as legislators themselves, are getting in on the act. A survey by Goddard-Clausen Consulting found that 12 percent of Californians who voted in the 5 November election - or 1 million people - surfed the Web for election information.
The total budget for the CVF endeavor is estimated at US$100,000 for the 1997-1998 legislative session.
