Special interests, fear of voter wrath push initiatives to ballot
Tom Collins
PHOENIX - The initiative process has become a powerful tool for special-interest groups - sometimes bankrolled by out-of-state groups - to get their pet projects on the ballot, experts say. But many initiatives make it to the ballot because lawmakers don't want to face voters' wrath for their stands on controversial issues. One initiative on the November ballot that might not be there if not for out-of-state money is a proposal to eliminate bilingual education in public schools. The signature-gathering effort was funded in large part by Ron Unz, a Silicon Valley millionaire who financed a successful effort to eliminate bilingual programs in California. Unz says initiatives are sometimes the only way to get controversial issues on the ballot. "There are very few people who can think of the last time the state Legislature passed anything of significance," he said. Initiatives have become "a fairly well-developed industry," said Lyn Ragsdale, a political science professor at the University of Arizona. "It strikes me that what it means is that there is just simply a lot more organized money that sees the initiative process as a way to win on a particular issue or hope to win on particular issue," she said. And the stakes have become higher since voters in 1998 passed a measure requiring a three-quarters vote of the Legislature to change voter-approved initiatives. "The voters need to be very well informed when they vote on these initiatives because when they vote them in, they're here to stay," said Rep. Dan Schottel, a Tucson Republican. The initiative and referendum process has its roots in the turn- of-the-century progressive movement that wanted to give voters final say in state policies, said John Garcia, a UA political science professor. The upside is an empowered electorate, he said. The downside is that small, organized groups can take control of a single issue, in part because political parties are weaker. "It cuts both ways," Garcia said. In some situations, lawmakers try to eliminate their exposure on controversial issues by kicking them to the ballot, Ragsdale said. One example on the November ballot, she said, is Gov. Jane Hull's proposal to increase the state sales tax by 0.6 cent on the dollar to raise$450 million a year for education. "In some ways, I guess it's a kind of win-win situation for (lawmakers) in the short term. But in the long term, it seems like they're saying 'We can't make up our minds,' " Ragsdale said. The problem is, you can't count on lawmakers to make reforms, said Jeffrey Singer, a Phoenix surgeon and treasurer for a group trying to eliminate the state's personal and corporate income taxes. "I think people are disgusted, and the political establishment is basically a dead end," Singer said. "Ideally I'd like to see representative democracy." Frustration with the Legislature led to Healthy Arizona 2, an initiative that would use the state's tobacco settlement money to increase health insurance for the working poor, said Rep. Andy Nichols, D-Tucson, a backer of the measure. In 1996 voters passed a similar measure with a different funding source that has never been fully enacted, he said. "The fact is that we've had the means in hand for some time to deal with the un-insurance problem, at least in part. And I think the proponents of Healthy Arizona 2 feel that we have made little or no progress in this area. In fact, we've skipped backward in some respects," Nichols said. STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURES Initiatives and referendums expected to be on the November ballot Referred by the Legislature: - Proposition 100 - Changes state constitution to allow preservation of up to 3 percent of the state's 9.3 million acres of trust land. Creates the Arizona Conservation Reserve to preserve initial lands, including some areas around Tucson. - Proposition 101 - Updates language in the constitution. For example, the constitution says Arizonans can't vote until they are 21, although 18-year-olds in Arizona have had the right to vote since the federal statute was changed. - Proposition 102 - Requires initiatives on wildlife management to pass with a two-thirds margin. - Proposition 103 - Expands membership on the Arizona Corporation Commission board to five from three. Changes length of service from one six-year term to a maximum of two four-year terms. - Proposition 104 - Freezes property taxes for senior citizens who meet certain income requirements. - Proposition 105 - Allows the Legislature to exempt cemeteries from property taxes. - Proposition 300 - Raises state lawmaker's salaries to $30,000 from $24,000. - Proposition 301 - Raises state sales taxes to 5.6 percent from 5 percent on the dollar to raise money for education. Money would go toward teacher performance bonuses and a raise in base pay, along with other measures, including reduced classroom sizes. - Healthy Children, Healthy Families - Uses the state's $3.1 billion share of the tobacco settlement to fund various health programs. Provides health insurance for uninsured working parents whose children are in the state's KidsCare program. Also funds child abuse prevention and expanded preschool programs. Referred to ballot by initiative petitions: - The Drug Medicalization, Prevention and Control Act of 2000 - State would use assets seized from criminals to fund drug treatment and gang prevention. Increases punishment for drug felons. Establishes a system, run by state attorney general, for the legal distribution of marijuana to medical patients. - Citizen's Growth Management Initiative - Requires cities and counties to write growth-management plans. Communities of more than 2,500 residents would develop urban growth boundaries. Developers would have to pay for schools and roads in new subdivisions. Growth plans could not be changed without voter approval. - English Language Education for Children in Public Schools - Requires all public school instruction to be conducted in English. Under most circumstances, children not fluent in English would be placed in an intensive, one-year English immersion program. Parent could request a waiver of the requirements for children 10 and older and children who have special needs. - Consumer Choice and Fair Competition Telecommunications Amendment - US West-sponsored measure to end state regulation of local phone services where more than one company is competing. Allows state to maintain rate regulation in non-competitive areas. Requires users in non-competitive areas to receive same rates as other customers in competitive areas. - Healthy Arizona 2 - Would use the state's $3.1 billion share of tobacco settlement to offer insurance to the working poor. People whose incomes are 100 percent or less of the federal poverty level would be eligible for state insurance. - Taxpayer Protection Act of 2000 - Ends all Arizona state corporate and personal income taxes in 2005. Requires that voters approve new taxes. - Fair Districts, Fair Elections - Amends constitution to create a non-partisan commission to draw legislative and congressional districts. Power currently lies with the Legislature |