PHOENIX β Republican state lawmakers agreed Thursday to impose two new sets of restrictions on initiatives. Foes argued that they, in combination with already-approved measures, will effectively deny the ability of voters to propose their own laws.
SB 1236, approved by the House on a 35-23 party-line vote, would make any committee pushing a ballot measure financially responsible for acts of fraud or forgery committed by anyone paid to gather signatures for the initiative. Those fines would be $1,000 for each violation.
Rep. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, said holding a campaign organization financially responsible for the acts of people it pays is appropriate.
That measure still needs final Senate approval.
Separately, the House gave final approval to a Senate-passed bill to require that initiatives be in βstrict complianceββ with election laws to get on the ballot. HB 2244, which now goes to Gov. Doug Ducey for his anticipated signature after the 34-23 vote, would overturn prior rulings of the Arizona Supreme Court that initiatives may be placed before voters if they are in βsubstantial complianceββ with the law.
The actions came after Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, urged colleagues to tread lightly.
βWe have before us one of the gravest decisions we will ever make here, and that is whether to effectively shut down the initiative process for all but those, the richest interests, inside and out of the state,ββ he said.
Clark said lawmakers imposing the new restrictions now may at some point be sorry when they want to put something before voters, like extending the 0.6-cent sales tax that helps fund education, a levy that will otherwise self-destruct in 2020.
But House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said the changes in initiative laws are not only appropriate but actually required. He said the Arizona Constitution directs lawmakers to enact measures dealing with voter registration βand other laws to secure the purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.ββ
These two changes come just weeks after Ducey signed a third restriction, to outlaw what had been the widely used practice of paying petition circulators based on the number of signatures they gather. What that leaves is the more expensive method of paying people by the hour.
Arizonans have had the right of initiative since the first days of statehood.
The timing of these three bills comes after voters in November approved increasing the stateβs minimum wage to $10 an hour β and to $12 by 2020 β and mandating that employers provide workers at least three days off a year for sick time. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce tried to have the initiative voided by the courts.
When that failed, the businesses turned to their allies at the Capitol, said Rep. Isela Blanc, D-Tempe, said. βThe people have not asked for this,ββ she said. βIt is the Chamber.ββ
Chamber President Glenn Hamer sent out an email earlier this week saying new restrictions on initiatives are part of the βto-do listββ for lawmakers.
Rep. Ray Martinez, D-Phoenix, was more blunt, saying the initiative process is being altered because public support for higher wages βpissed off a lot of people.ββ
Mesnard said the changes are necessary because a 1998 constitutional amendment keeps legislators from overturning what voters have approved. βThere is no room for error,ββ he said.
Repealing that would require taking the issue back to voters, something the Republican-controlled Legislature has been unwilling to do. Instead, SB 1236 mandates that all print advertising and fundraising solicitations for future initiatives must disclose that if the measure is approved it cannot be changed by the Legislature except by a three-fourths vote and, even then, only if the amendment βfurthers the purposeββ of the underlying measure.
Clark said that language is designed to provide a disincentive to people supporting the initiative.
