SAN FRANCISCO _ The California Supreme Court decided Wednesday to remove a measure aimed at dividing California into three states from the November ballot.
In a brief order, the court said it acted "because significant questions have been raised regarding the proposition's validity and because we conclude that the potential harm in permitting the measure to remain on the ballot outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election."
The court, meeting in closed session, also agreed in the meantime to consider a challenge to the measure filed last week by the Planning and Conservation League, a California environmental group.
The group contends that the measure amounts to a proposed revision of the state Constitution, which can be placed on the ballot only if two-thirds of both houses of the Legislature approve.
"Proposition 9 fundamentally conflicts with the Constitution and proposes instead to disregard and abolish California's current governmental structure, including the Constitution's declared freedoms," the group said in written arguments to the court.
The secretary of state has taken no position on the challenge but asked the court to resolve it quickly.
Proposition 9 would trigger a process for dividing California, but ultimately any such change would have to be approved by the U.S. Congress.
Tim Draper, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, sponsored the measure, arguing voters would have more say in a smaller state.
"The concept of breaking this enormous state into smaller, more manageable states is not new," Draper told the court in written arguments. "In fact, the voters of California were asked to, and did approve, the Pico Act in 1859, which asked Congress to approve splitting the state into two."
"Congress never acted on that request, as it might not do if Proposition 9 is approved," Draper said.
He said he was not properly served with the legal challenge and questioned why the environmental group waited until July to challenge the measure.
Draper submitted more than 600,000 signatures for the measure in April, substantially more than the 365,880 required. He said the measure qualified for the ballot on June 12.
Voters can amend California's Constitution, though more signatures are needed to qualify a proposed constitutional amendment than a statute. Draper qualified Proposition 9 as a statute.
A more sweeping change to the basic plan of government is considered a constitutional revision.
