Citizens in Charge

Arizona’s legislature adjourned for the year last night without passing any more anti-initiative bills. Yesterday I told you about a constitutional amendment to reduce the time to collect signatures by two months that will appear on the state’s November ballot.

Thanks to the work of initiative rights activists from all over the state, the three bills that were still pending - two that would have gutted the state’s Voter Protection Act and another that would have imposed restrictions on initiatives not placed on the legislature - failed to pass.

One bill, HCR 2041, was voted on but failed to receive the necessary 2/3 vote in the Senate. That bill would have forced initiatives making expenditures to be re-authorized every eight years, and would have applied retroactively to past initiatives.

This legislature has been intent on de-funding, repealing, or otherwise gutting voter created programs over the last two sessions. Of other bills considered this session, HCR 2036 would have allowed the legislature to revoke funding for certain initiatives approved by voters without asking the voters first, HCR 2010 would have completely repealed the Voter Protection Act, and HCR 2039 would have suspended the Voter Protection Act for three years. SCR 1031 would have prohibited initiatives from forcing expenditures from the general fund of political subdivisions such as cities and counties, but would not have placed the same restriction on the legislature. Luckily for voters, all of these bills failed.