Taking the Initiative
?At the Statehouse…
Only four filed their petitions with the Secretary of State by the deadline (initiative supporters determine the proposals’ titles):
The initiatives could significantly impact Arizona policies, and all will inspire passionate debate until the November election. Elections offices around the state are reviewing the signatures and petitions, and county recorders will verify a random sample to determine whether those sample signatures do belong to registered voters. Once the Secretary of State obtains the results from county recorders on the random samples of signatures, opponents of the initiatives are likely to take legal action to keep proposals off the ballot based on signature fraud or other procedural errors. Such errors can often be highlighted to consider further legal action on, with many looking at these kinds of fraud from a court’s viewpoint. If it is something an individual discovers happens, they can learn more here about their legal options.
While courts are considering challenges to the initiatives, a legal fight is also unfolding about legislative changes to the initiative process itself. It’s safe to say that Arizonans will hear a lot about these issues – and others on the ballot – in the coming months.
In the News
This week, Governor Ducey announcedmore funding that was included in the state budget for the Border Strike Force he created to reduce crimes and increase security at the border and called for more of the state’s occupational licensing boards to waive fees for low-income Arizonans.
Legislators started a new discussion about online sales tax after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states may collect them, and Arizona’s water experts continued their work on a contingency plan in case the Colorado River supply is cut back because of drought – a plan that might lead to legislation.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will start its next term with an Arizona case that could impact a wide range of government personnel decisions,
