Republican legislators in Sacramento are crying foul over an eleventh-hour push to limit future initiatives to November general elections.

But the idea behind the union-backed legislation doesn't seem so bad to a majority of GOP voters, according to a new Field Poll.

Registered Republicans supported the proposed change by a 15-point margin, 52 percent to 37 percent. Overall, 56 percent of voters back the proposal, which was approved by the Legislature and is now awaiting action by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.

Democrats supporting Senate Bill 202 argued that putting initiatives up for a vote in higher-turnout general elections would ensure that more Californians have a say in the measures that impact their lives.

Republicans accused Democrats of jamming through a change to the initiative process that would benefit their own political aims, including delaying a union-opposed measure expected to qualify for the June 2012 primary election. That election should hold more interest for GOP voters, who will choose a presidential candidate to face President Barack Obama.

Despite the potential political impacts, Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo said average voters aren't tuned in to the maneuvering behind the last-minute legislation. To them, the idea of considering initiatives in the election they are more likely to vote in "sounds reasonable," he said.

"It kind of sprung out on people at the last minute," DiCamillo said. "You have to be reading the tea leaves of what's going on in Sacramento to even be aware that this is a contentious issue."

The possible political implications of the proposal didn't change the mind of one Republican voter who told pollsters she was in favor of the idea.

"I think I would still go back to which election are more people going to be at," said Chico Republican Jan Derry, 62, who volunteers as an election worker.

The poll also found voters have mixed feelings on whether the state should require online retailers to collect taxes on purchases made by Californians.

Voters who think it's bad policy not to hold out-of-state online retailers to the same sales tax collection standard as local brick-and-mortar stores outweigh those who don't by 11 percentage points, 51 percent to 40 percent.

But respondents supported the actual online tax collection law approved as part of this year's budget by a much slimmer margin, 47 percent to 46 percent.

And a push by Amazon.com to overturn the tax law was favored by 49 percent of voters, compared to 44 percent who said they wanted the law to remain in place.

That's a question they might never see on the ballot. The online retailer has agreed to shelve its referendum drive if Brown signs compromise legislation giving it a one-year reprieve on collecting the taxes.

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Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.

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