(photo courtesy of USC)

USC law professor Elizabeth Garrett, the newest member of the state commission that polices elections, believes a combination of direct democracy and the legislative process can form a "hybrid democracy," which "may well be the best system" as long as it is regulated properly.

She could've worked in the Obama administration helping decide tax policy, but chose instead to stay at USC and accepted the part-time job as member of the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. Her first meeting is Sept. 10.

In an interview last week, Garrett said the FPPC's work goes to the heart of the scholarship she has done. The commission regulates campaign financing and spending, financial conflicts of interest, and lobbyist registration and reporting, among other things.

The FPPC has to be sophisticated in its regulations if it is to respond to changes in the political process, she said.

For example, money is now circulating through independent political groups, lawmakers' charitible funds, and ballot measure committees. And political ads are running on new media platforms.

The way money moves in politics is similar to the way Jell-O moves, Garrett said. You can try pushing it down in one area, but it pops up in another area.

"You constantly see shifts in the money," she said.

Direct democracy -- which includes ballot initiatives, recalls and referendums -- has come to play an increasingly prominent role in California politics. But critics of the intiative process have said it's too easy for laws to get passed if the backers spend a lot of money during the campaign. Well funded groups also can pay people to gather signatures to get an initiative on the ballot.

Increasing the number of signatures required to get an initiative on the ballot, however, merely "increases the price of admission," Garrett said.

Measures that could empower more grassroots groups ought to be considered, she said. Such ideas include requiring volunteer signature gatherers, having gatherers disclose that they're getting paid, or collecting signatures online, though that poses security and verification challenges.

Joe Mathews, a journalist and scholar at the New American Foundation think tank, wrote in his blog about Garrett's appointment that those involved in ballot initiatives and referendums should take notice. The FPPC probably hasn't had a member who understands direct democracy as intimately as Garrett does, he added.

"She is not, as so many academics are, reflexively hostile to direct democracy," Mathews wrote Aug. 12. "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." 

Garrett's appointment to the FPPC ends Jan. 31, 2013.

In March, the White House nominated her as assistant Treasury secretary for tax policy, but in May she withdrew, citing "aspects of my personal family situation." Personal considerations "have required that I reassess my initial decision to be considered for this office," she said in a statement at the time. Garrett declined to say anything else last week about her reasons for turning down the Treasury position.

A job at the Treasury Department might've seemed like a logical step for Garrett, who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; worked as a tax, budget and welfare reform aide for former U.S. Sen. David L. Boren; and served on a bipartisan federal tax reform panel advising President George W. Bush.

At USC, Garrett is vice president for academic planning and budget and is the Frances R. and John J. Duggan professor of law, political science and public policy.