The Liberty Justice Center, in collaboration with the law office of Nicole C. Pearson, FACTS LAW TRUTH JUSTICE, has filed an appeal to the California Court of Appeals. The appeal seeks to hold Attorney General Rob Bonta accountable for allegedly violating state law and abusing his power by assigning a misleading title to a proposed ballot initiative.
In September 2023, Protect Kids California submitted a ballot initiative that aimed to prohibit gender reassignment surgery on minors and required schools to inform parents if their children requested a transition at school. However, Attorney General Bonta titled it the “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth Initiative.” This title was claimed to be misleading and inaccurate by the Liberty Justice Center and its partners.
The lawsuit against Bonta was initially filed in February 2024 after Protect Kids California argued that the assigned title was biased due to Bonta's vested interest in related legislation. It noted his involvement in multiple lawsuits regarding parental notification policies.
Following a lower court's dismissal of this lawsuit, the Liberty Justice Center is now petitioning for an appeal. They argue that the initial ruling erred by concluding that Bonta’s title was not misleading, accepting false assertions about student safety exceptions, and misinterpreting the initiative’s scope regarding social versus medical transitions.
Emily Rae from the Liberty Justice Center stated: “Public officials are obligated to uphold the law at all times—not just when it advances their personal biases. As California’s Attorney General, Bonta has a duty to provide a neutral title and summary to all proposed ballot initiatives, even those he disagrees with. He failed Californians and violated state law by prioritizing political grandstanding above that duty.”
The case titled Protect Kids California v. Bonta was originally filed on February 13, 2024, in Sacramento County's Superior Court.