Here's an intriguing appointment. Elizabeth Garrett, a professor at the University of Southern California law school, has produced some of the most important research on direct democracy in the U.S. Today, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen appointed her to the state's Fair Political Practices Commission, which polices campaigns in California.

Those involved in initiatives and referenda should watch Garrett closely. I don't believe the FPPC has never had a member who understands direct democracy -- and how it is practiced -- as intimately as the professor does. And she is not, as so many academics are, reflexively hostile to direct democracy. If Garrett proves to be an effective commissioner, the FPPC may issue rulings that are quite subtle and recognize the reality of how initiative campaigns operate in California. 

In California's blockbuster democracy, it's now commonplace for politicians to establish their own political committee to raise money for and spend money on ballot measures (as opposed to the committees they use for their own election campaigns). This tactic, most aggressively advanced by Gov. Schwarzenegger, makes sense in an era when most issues of significance end up on the ballot.

But some believe that ballot measure committees, which may accept a contribution of any limit, are a way around the legal limits on how much one can give a politician. And several politicians have used the ballot measure funds for political spending that had nothing to do with an initiative or referendum.

On Thursday, the state's Fair Political Practices Commission made a stab at limiting the power of ballot measure committees that are controlled by politicians. Such committees will no have to show that they are devoted to a particular ballot measure. What does this mean? Even more such committees, as politicians open multiple accounts to comply with the regulation. So who's the winner in this scenario? Election lawyers.