Voters may get say on initiatives

Laws curtailing citizen-led drives spur ballot push

Angered by restrictions the Legislature imposed on citizen efforts to pass laws, a group will seek to refer the measures to the 2018 ballot.

The Voters of Arizona committee is taking aim at two bills signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey, and a third bill that is awaiting legislative action. The trio of bills creates more restrictions on citizen initiatives.

Republican lawmakers, who championed

the bills, said they’re needed to prevent fraud. But critics call them a thinly veiled effort to sharply curtail the ability of citizen groups to propose their own laws via the ballot.

Former Attorney General Grant Woods and former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson are chairing the committee, which filed its paperwork with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday.

“Arizona, since statehood, has treasured the right of the people to serve as a check on the Legislature,” said Woods, a registered Republican. “It’s pretty obvious they are trying to chip away at that. We’re not going to let them.”

The committee needs to gather 75,321 voter signatures within 90 days after hitting the streets to qualify for the 2018 ballot. Joe Yuhas, the committee’s consultant, said they will aim for 120,000 to 130,000 signatures to have a cushion. The drive will use a combination of paid and volunteer circulators.

The way circulators are paid is the subject of one of the measures the committee wants to refer to the ballot. House Bill 2404 bans political committees from paying initiative circulators by the signature. It does not apply to candidate committees. And because it has not yet taken effect, the ban would not affect this petition drive. The other targeted bills are: » House Bill 2244, which requires the mechanics of the initiative effort — from the size of the petition to the font size of the text — to strictly comply with the law. Gov. Doug Ducey signed it into law last month.

» Senate Bill 1236, which would add more requirements for petition circulators. It would hold the political committee that sponsors an initiative responsible for any legal violation a circulator might commit, subject to a fine of up to $1,000. Currently, the individual is responsible for his actions. The bill awaits a final vote in the Senate.

Yuhas said the drive to gather signatures would not start until the Legislature adjourns. That is expected next week.

Organizers also are mulling a challenge to some of the bills in court, he said.

“We view this as a direct attack on the direct-democracy process,” he said.

Citizen initiatives have been a vital part of the Arizona lawmaking process since statehood, Yuhas said. Policies ranging from banning smoking in bars and restaurants, preventing marriage for same-sex couples (later made irrelevant by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling) and hikes to the minimum wage all were passed at the ballot box, he said.

Last fall’s successful minimum-wage campaign, Proposition 206, helped propel this year’s legislation. The bills were promoted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry and other business groups upset about the citizen-imposed mandate.

Fundraising is just starting, and Yuhas declined to name key donors. The committee expects groups from across the political spectrum to join the effort.

“This has the potential to be the Star Wars bar of campaigns,” he said, citing what he believes is the broad appeal of the drive to turn back the initiative restrictions.