A proposed initiative that would transfer the authority for writing ballot titles and summaries from the state attorney general to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office picked up the endorsement of the California Chamber of Commerce last week.

Voters should expect “clear, accurate and useful descriptions of ballot measures to help them make an informed decision when they vote,” CalChamber said in a statement.

Misleading ballot measure titles and summaries have long been a source of frustration in California, often leaving many voters wondering whether a “yes” vote or a “no” vote is aligned with their intention. It’s not an accident. Politically powerful special interest groups can influence the attorney general, who is a partisan elected official.

The AG wields great power over the outcome of the vote on ballot measures, because many voters know little or nothing of the measures beyond the title and summary.

Former state legislator Sam Blakeslee is the official proponent of the initiative to pull that responsibility away from the attorney general and hand it to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Blakeslee’s measure also contains some safeguards to assure that the LAO remains independent and non-partisan, and that the language used to describe ballot measures is easily understood and clearly states whether a measure increases taxes.

CalChamber may have been triggered into an endorsement when state attorney general Rob Bonta released the official title and summary for a measure that seeks to close loopholes that courts have carved out to make it easier to raise taxes. Proponents of that measure called it “The Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act.” Bonta titled it, “Limits State and Local Governments’ Ability to Raise Revenues for Government Services.”

Choosing the word “revenues” or “funding” is an easy way to mislead voters into thinking the government is sitting on a pile of its own cash, instead of thinking about their own pocket and how that cash was removed from it.

Voters are entitled to clear, accurate and neutral descriptions of the measures that appear on their ballot. The Ballot Measure Transparency Act is an important and long overdue reform that deserves support