KSWT 13
The head of a ballot initiative campaign to reduce Arizona property taxes says the effort will go down to the wire. Lynne Weaver is chairwoman of the Prop 13 Arizona campaign. She said Thursday that supporters are still collecting voter signatures to put the measure on the ballot and likely won’t file petitions until right before the July 1 filing deadline.
Nearly 1,000 petition signatures have been turned in to the Sierra Vista City Clerk’s office in the city’s first voter initiative. The initiative asks voters to decide whether Sierra Vista should be divided into six wards/districts with council seats filled by voters in each district. The measure would also eliminate staggered elections, electing all six wards/districts and the mayor every four years starting in 2014.
Arizona Senate President Bob Burns says a mistake about how long it takes to get a referral on a special election ballot means lawmakers won’t consider putting a tax increase on the March ballot when they meet on Thursday. Burns told The Associated Press on Wednesday that there was a mix-up on what time is needed to authorize and prepare for a special election. He says ballot measures are now “off the table” for special session action.
Arizonans will get a second chance to vote on a state Constitutional amendment giving them new health care rights under a resolution approved by the House on Thursday. The amendment would ban any rule mandating participation in a health care system. It also would guarantee a right to pay directly for health care services and to provide those services.