Republican lawmakers are moving to make it harder for Arizona voters to enact laws.
An Arizona House bill preserves the right of voters to propose their own laws, but instead of allowing approval on a simple majority, it would require a 60% majority.
But this doesn’t sit well with Rep. Athena Salman (D-Tempe) and her Democrat colleagues. HCR 2016 is clearly a power grab by the legislature because of the discontent of how the voters are voting, Salman said.
Salman is referring to initiatives like the recent education tax that passed by voters by a simple majority.
A similar Senate bill asks for a 66.6% majority, but specifically only when a new tax or tax increase is involved.
Voter Protection Act blocking bipartisan bill
Rep. Leo Biasiucci was waiting his turn to fight a parking ticket in court when the idea came to him.
As the Lake Havasu City Republican watched people ahead of him tell the judge they couldn’t afford to pay their tickets, he wondered why there wasn’t a way to lift the financial burden. Payment plans weren’t an option; an additional fee is required to start one, he said.
Biasiucci’s HB2110, first introduced as HB2055 in 2020, proposes that judges could order people to do community service, valued at $12 an hour, as payment for their tickets rather than money.
(The Center Square) â The process of ballot initiatives in Arizona could be under the microscope in 2021 after a tax hike proposal largely funded by out-of-state interests passed, giving the state one of the highest top marginal income tax rates in the nation.Â
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new analysis from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce says the stateâs ballot initiative process could benefit from new safeguards but appear to make passing a ballot measure increasingly difficult.Â
They suggest raising the number of required signatures for a proposition to make it to the ballot or requiring a certain number of signatures come from each legislative or congressional district and then increase the number of votes to enact the measure. They say the state should also consider a âsingle-subject ruleâ that would bar sweeping omnibus propositions that would allow for a less-popular measure to take effect when it wouldnât survive on its own merits.Â
New paper looks at Arizona’s initiative process, potential subject of reform next legislative session
A new paper from the Arizona Chamber Foundation surveys Arizona’s citizen initiative process and looks at how it compares to other states with direct democracy systems, the shortcomings of the system, and potential reforms and remedies.
The paper assesses the extent to which out-of-state interests influence the Arizona ballot, and whether reforms to the signature gathering process, single-subject rule, and vote thresholds would positively affect direct democracy in Arizona. Proponents of the initiative process highlight the ability to have a direct impact in the way the government runs and makes decisions. As opposed to representative democracy, voting on an initiative gives citizens the opportunity to have a larger impact per person on government policy. When an initiative, whether proposing a statutory change or a constitutional amendment, is put on the ballot, participatin
Jonathan Hoffman: Prop 208 an example of bad ballot box legislation tucson.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tucson.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.