California Judge Says He'll Write Gas Tax Ballot Language

(AP) - A California judge says he'll write the official ballot description himself for an initiative that would repeal a recent gas tax increase.

Sacramento County judge Timothy Frawley said Friday that he'll uphold his tentative ruling from earlier this week that the description written by Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra was misleading.

Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach is promoting the initiative and filed a lawsuit challenging Becerra's description, known as a ballot title and summary. Allen is a Republican candidate for governor.

The judge said he'd hoped lawyers for Becerra and Allen could agree on a compromise but will write a new title and summary himself.

His ruling says Becerra's description would confuse voters because it focuses on the loss of transportation funding rather than the repeal of taxes.