SCR 1015 Would Ensure That Our State’s Initiative Process Is For All Arizonans

SCR 1015 Would Ensure That Our State’s Initiative Process Is For All Arizonans

by | Jun 24, 2023 | Opinion

By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |

For years, Arizona has been a target of out-of-state special interest groups that want to put their radical ideas in our state. The process usually goes something like this.

  1. Liberal groups from outside Arizona take an issue that is unpopular with the electorate, like tax hikes.
  2. They come in and hire an army of paid circulators to flood the streets of Phoenix and Tucson to collect their signatures—hardly bothering with the rest of the state.
  3. Bad policy and sweeping reforms are placed on our ballots with only a small fraction of the state’s support.

One of the most recent examples of this was Prop 208, which narrowly passed in 2020. Out-of-state teachers’ unions spent more than $30 million over four years in their effort to buy the largest tax hike in history—lying to Arizona voters to get signatures and lying to get the slimmest of majorities to approve it. Had it not been for the court system killing Prop 208 once and for all, Arizona would be a high tax state today.

Now, a proposed constitutional amendment sponsored by Arizona Senator J.D. Mesnard would put a stop to this abuse…

>>> CONTINUE READING >>>

AZ Republic Rescue Attempt Of MAG Prop 400 Plan Won’t Work

AZ Republic Rescue Attempt Of MAG Prop 400 Plan Won’t Work

by | Jun 13, 2023 | Opinion

By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |

The Prop 400 package put together by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is in serious trouble at the legislature, and Katie Hobbs and the transit lobby knows it. So, in a desperate attempt to rescue their defective plan, they have phoned a friend to see if a little legacy media pressure will improve their flagging fortunes at the Capitol.

In recent weeks, the AZ Republic has unleashed a torrent of articles and opinion pieces attempting to scare the legislature into sending their transit slush fund package up to Hobbs’ desk. Most of their writings have been nothing more than recycled talking points from MAG and transit industry lobbyists attacking conservative lawmakers and critics (like the Club) for opposing a plan that slashes freeway funding and increases traffic congestion in the region.

A couple weeks ago it was in the form of an editorial that claimed to disprove our Prop 400 criticism by “relitigating” the merits of bus and light rail and proving its value in the region. And now over the weekend, their opinion writers couldn’t race out fast enough to promote the press release issued by Katie Hobbs and the transit lobby that the legislature needs to adopt a fake “compromise” MAG plan.

In short, their efforts to “relitigate” the merits of transit or to declare that there is any type of “compromise” only demonstrate how radical their position really is.

Here are just a few examples of how the Republic has veered from journalism to being nothing more than a lobbying arm of the transit lobby:

>>> CONTINUE READING >>>

Maricopa Association Of Governments Conceals True Intent Of Prop 400 Plan

Maricopa Association Of Governments Conceals True Intent Of Prop 400 Plan

by | Jun 3, 2023 | Opinion

By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |

Last legislative session our organization led the opposition to the Maricopa Association of Governments’ (MAG) Prop 400 sales tax extension, SB1356, criticizing the plan for its massive expansion of transit spending, lack of oversight, and vague allocations of spending that amounted to a slush fund for government bureaucrats. It was astonishing the lack of answers we received to simple questions about the plan and how funds would be spent.

We suspected at the time that we weren’t being told the whole story and that ulterior motives were at play. Only now do we know how right we were.

Governor Ducey’s veto of MAG’s defective Prop 400 plan provided a reset of the Prop 400 debate. Coupled with new legislative leadership not beholden to MAG and the transit lobby, they could no longer avoid a debate of their unvetted proposal. So, after several months of legislative hearings and substantive meetings at the Capitol, what critical information has MAG been hiding from lawmakers and the public?

>>> CONTINUE READING >>>

The Defeat Of Prop 412 Is An Important Win For Freedom, But The Battle Is Not Over Yet

The Defeat Of Prop 412 Is An Important Win For Freedom, But The Battle Is Not Over Yet

by | May 27, 2023 | Opinion

By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |

Last week, Tucson residents exercised common sense by overwhelmingly rejecting Prop 412 in a special election. And whether you live in the city or not, this is a significant win for our future.

Disguised as a new agreement between the City of Tucson and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to renew the Franchise Agreement for another 25 years using the current 2.25% fee, the proposal included a number of Green New Deal pet projects. Had it passed, it would have added a 0.75% “Community Resilience Fee” to fund the costs associated with building underground transmission facilities—and “projects that support the City’s implementation of the City’s approved Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.”

That would have meant:

  • Lengthy construction projects removing driving lanes from roads (Road Diets)
  • Permanently inhibiting access to small businesses
  • Reducing personal vehicles by 40% by 2050
  • Establishing Tucson as a 15-minute city with local travel restrictions removing personal choice

Now, the citizens of Tucson have spoken. And it’s clear that they don’t want Green New Deal mandates that take money from their wallet and freedom from their lives.

But make no mistake about it. TEP and its leftist ally Major Regina Romero are committed to their “climate change” agenda…

>>> CONTINUE READING >>>