MTA forced to change campaign message

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority risked violating state law recently by using its taxpayer-funded Web site to potentially promote its proposed half-percent sales tax increase, the Los Angeles County Counsel's Office has determined. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Following the counsel's advice, the agency removed material from the site that appeared to support Measure R, although officials said they may replace it with more neutral phrasing that conforms to state law.

But at the same time, the agency is moving forward with a $4.1 million public-information campaign that is apparently legal, although it has raised the ire of taxpayer groups and at least one county supervisor.

Tony Bell, spokesman for Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, said the supervisor plans to ask County Counsel Ray Fortner for a report on the information campaign.

"A public agency ought not to spend public dollars campaigning for a proposed ballot measure," Bell said. "That presents a legal question, and it may constitute a misuse of public funds."

As part of the information campaign, the MTA has placed advertisements on the radio and in local newspapers referring people to www.metro.net to get more information about the ballot measure. The MTA plans to spend $23,885 on radio advertisements and $884,948 on print advertisements through Nov. 4 in connection with the proposed tax increase.