Arizona Proposition 129, Single-Subject Requirement for Ballot Initiatives Amendment (2022)

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Arizona Proposition 129
Flag of Arizona.png
Election date
November 8, 2022
Topic
Direct democracy measures
Status
Approveda Approved
Type
Constitutional amendment
Origin
State legislature

Arizona Proposition 129, the Single-Subject Requirement for Ballot Initiatives Amendment, was on the ballot in Arizona as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this constitutional amendment to require that citizen-initiated ballot measures embrace a single subject.

A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment, thus continuing to allow citizen-initiated ballot measures to embrace more than one subject.


Election results

Arizona Proposition 129

Result Votes Percentage

Approved Yes

1,311,046 55.23%
No 1,062,533 44.77%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Overview

How did this ballot measure change the initiative process in Arizona?

See also: Constitutional changes

Proposition 129 added a provision to the Arizona Constitution that requires citizen-initiated ballot measures to embrace a single subject. The ballot measure required the initiative's subject to be expressed in the ballot title, or else the missing subject would be considered void.[1]

As of 2021, there was no single-subject rule for ballot initiatives in Arizona. The Arizona Supreme Court stated that there was no rule in Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry v. Daniel J. Kiley—a case that addressed the voter-approved Proposition 206 (2016). Proposition 206 enacted statutes related to minimum wage and paid sick time, which the plaintiff (Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry) argued was two subjects in violation of the single-subject rule. The Arizona Supreme Court held that the single-subject rule found in Section 13 of Article 4 of the Arizona Constitution applied to legislative statutes but not citizen-initiated statutes.[2]

What other changes to the initiative process were on the ballot in Arizona?

See also: Background

In 2021, the Arizona State Legislature referred two constitutional amendments related to citizen-initiated measures to the ballot for November 8, 2022. Besides the Single-Subject Requirement for Ballot Initiatives Amendment, the Legislature also passed the Legislative Changes to Ballot Initiatives with Invalid Provisions Amendment. That constitutional amendment—on the ballot as Proposition 128—would have allowed the Arizona State Legislature to amend or repeal voter-approved ballot initiatives if any portion was declared unconstitutional or invalid by the Arizona Supreme Court or U.S. Supreme Court. It was defeated.

In 2022, the Arizona State Legislature also placed Proposition 132 on the ballot for November 8, 2022. The constitutional amendment, which requires a 60% vote for voters to pass ballot measures to approve taxes, was approved.

How was this constitutional amendment placed on the ballot?

Path to the ballot

State Rep. John Kavanagh (R-23) introduced the constitutional amendment into the state Legislature during the 2021 legislative session. The constitutional amendment passed both the Senate and House of Representatives along party lines and with the minimum number of required votes. In the Senate, 16 votes were required, and the 16 Senate Republicans voted for the amendment, while the 14 Senate Democrats voted against the amendment. In the House, 31 votes were required, and the 31 House Republicans voted for the proposal, while 28 House Democrats voted against the changes.[1]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:[1]

Proposition 129
Proposed amendment to the constitution by the legislature relating to initiative measures

Official Title

Proposing an amendment to the constitution of Arizona; amending Article IV, Part 1, Section 1, Constitution of Arizona; relating to initiative measures.

Descriptive Title

The constitutional amendment would limit an initiative measure to a single subject and require that subject to be expressed in the title of the initiative measure. [3]

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:[1]

A “YES” vote shall have the effect of amending the constitution to limit each initiative measure to a single subject and require that subject to be expressed in the title of the initiative measure.

A “NO” vote shall have the effect of retaining existing law on initiative measures.[3]

Constitutional changes

See also: Article IV, Arizona Constitution

The ballot measure amended Section 1 of Article IV of the Arizona Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:[1]

Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the below text to see the full text.

(1) Senate; house of representatives; reservation of power to people. The legislative authority of the state shall be vested in the legislature, consisting of a senate and a house of representatives, but the people reserve the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject such laws and amendments at the polls, independently of the legislature; and they also reserve, for use at their own option, the power to approve or reject at the polls any act, or item, section, or part of any act, of the legislature.

(2) Initiative power. The first of these reserved powers is the initiative. Under this power ten per centum percent of the qualified electors shall have the right to propose any measure, and fifteen per centum percent shall have the right to propose any amendment to the constitution.

(3) Referendum power; emergency measures; effective date of acts. The second of these reserved powers is the referendum. Under this power the legislature, or five per centum percent of the qualified electors, may order the submission to the people at the polls of any measure, or item, section, or part of any measure, enacted by the legislature, except laws immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or for the support and maintenance of the departments of the state government and state institutions; but to allow opportunity for referendum petitions, no act passed by the legislature shall be operative for ninety days after the close of the session of the legislature enacting such measure, except such as require earlier operation to preserve the public peace, health, or safety, or to provide appropriations for the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and of state institutions; provided, that no such emergency measure shall be considered passed by the legislature unless it shall state in a separate section why it is necessary that it shall become immediately operative, and shall be approved by the affirmative votes of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the legislature, taken by roll call of ayes and nays, and also approved by the governor; and should such measure be vetoed by the governor, it shall not become a law unless it shall be approved by the votes of three-fourths of the members elected to each house of the legislature, taken by roll call of ayes and nays.

(4) Initiative and referendum petitions; filing. All petitions submitted under the power of the initiative shall be known as initiative petitions, and shall be filed with the secretary of state not less than four months preceding the date of the election at which the measures so proposed are to be voted upon. All petitions submitted under the power of the referendum shall be known as referendum petitions, and shall be filed with the secretary of state not more than ninety days after the final adjournment of the session of the legislature which shall have passed the measure to which the referendum is applied. The filing of a referendum petition against any item, section, or part of any measure shall not prevent the remainder of such measure from becoming operative.

(5) Effective date of initiative and referendum measures. Any measure or amendment to the constitution proposed under the initiative, and any measure to which the referendum is applied, shall be referred to a vote of the qualified electors, and shall become law when approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon and upon proclamation of the governor, and not otherwise.

(6) (A) Veto of initiative or referendum. The veto power of the governor shall not extend to an initiative measure approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon or to a referendum measure decided by a majority of the votes cast thereon.

(6) (B) Legislature's power to repeal initiative or referendum. The legislature shall not have the power to repeal an initiative measure approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon or to repeal a referendum measure decided by a majority of the votes cast thereon.

(6) (C) Legislature's power to amend initiative or referendum. The legislature shall not have the power to amend an initiative measure approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon, or to amend a referendum measure decided by a majority of the votes cast thereon, unless the amending legislation furthers the purposes of such measure and at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature, by a roll call of ayes and nays, vote to amend such measure.

(6) (D) Legislature's power to appropriate or divert funds created by initiative or referendum. The legislature shall not have the power to appropriate or divert funds created or allocated to a specific purpose by an initiative measure approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon, or by a referendum measure decided by a majority of the votes cast thereon, unless the appropriation or diversion of funds furthers the purposes of such measure and at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature, by a roll call of ayes and nays, vote to appropriate or divert such funds.

(7) Number of qualified electors. The whole number of votes cast for all candidates for governor at the general election last preceding the filing of any initiative or referendum petition on a state or county measure shall be the basis on which the number of qualified electors required to sign such petition shall be computed.

(8) Local, city, town or county matters. The powers of the initiative and the referendum are hereby further reserved to the qualified electors of every incorporated city, town, and county as to all local, city, town, or county matters on which such incorporated cities, towns, and counties are or shall be empowered by general laws to legislate. Such incorporated cities, towns, and counties may prescribe the manner of exercising said powers within the restrictions of general laws. Under the power of the initiative fifteen per centum percent of the qualified electors may propose measures on such local, city, town, or county matters, and ten per centum percent of the electors may propose the referendum on legislation enacted within and by such city, town, or county. Until provided by general law, said cities and towns may prescribe the basis on which said percentages shall be computed.

(9) Form and contents of initiative and of referendum petitions; verification. Every initiative or referendum petition shall be addressed to the secretary of state in the case of petitions for or on state measures, and to the clerk of the board of supervisors, city clerk, or corresponding officer in the case of petitions for or on county, city, or town measures; and shall contain the declaration of each petitioner, for himself, that he is a qualified elector of the state (and in the case of petitions for or on city, town, or county measures, of the city, town, or county affected), his post office address, the street and number, if any, of his residence, and the date on which he signed such petition. Every initiative measure shall embrace but one subject and matters properly connected therewith, which subject shall be expressed in the title; but if any subject shall be embraced in an initiative measure which shall not be expressed in the title, such initiative measure shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be embraced in the title. Each sheet containing petitioners' signatures shall be attached to a full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure so proposed to be initiated or referred to the people, and every sheet of every such petition containing signatures shall be verified by the affidavit of the person who circulated said sheet or petition, setting forth that each of the names on said sheet was signed in the presence of the affiant and that in the belief of the affiant each signer was a qualified elector of the state, or in the case of a city, town, or county measure, of the city, town, or county affected by the measure so proposed to be initiated or referred to the people.

(10) Official ballot. When any initiative or referendum petition or any measure referred to the people by the legislature shall be is filed, in accordance with this section, with the secretary of state, he the secretary of state shall cause to be printed on the official ballot at the next regular general election the title and number of said measure, together with the words "yes" and "no" in such manner that the electors may express at the polls their approval or disapproval of the measure.

(11) Publication of measures. The text of all measures to be submitted shall be published as proposed amendments to the constitution are published, and in submitting such measures and proposed amendments the secretary of state and all other officers shall be guided by the general law until legislation shall be especially provided therefore.

(12) Conflicting measures or constitutional amendments. If two or more conflicting measures or amendments to the constitution shall be approved by the people at the same election, the measure or amendment receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail in all particulars as to which there is conflict.

(13) Canvass of votes; proclamation. It shall be the duty of the secretary of state, in the presence of the governor and the chief justice of the supreme court, to canvass the votes for and against each such measure or proposed amendment to the constitution within thirty days after the election, and upon the completion of the canvass the governor shall forthwith issue a proclamation, giving the whole number of votes cast for and against each measure or proposed amendment, and declaring such measures or amendments as are approved by a majority of those voting thereon to be law.

(14) Reservation of legislative power. This section shall not be construed to deprive the legislature of the right to enact any measure except that the legislature shall not have the power to adopt any measure that supersedes, in whole or in part, any initiative measure approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon or any referendum measure decided by a majority of the votes cast thereon unless the superseding measure furthers the purposes of the initiative or referendum measure and at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature, by a roll call of ayes and nays, vote to supersede such initiative or referendum measure.

(15) Legislature's right to refer measure to the people. Nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive or limit the legislature of the right to order the submission to the people at the polls of any measure, item, section, or part of any measure.

(16) Self-executing. This section of the constitution shall be, in all respects, self executing.[3]

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 13, and the FRE is 18. The word count for the ballot title is 63.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 13, and the FRE is 47. The word count for the ballot summary is 48.


Support

The Make it Simple: Vote Yes on 129 PAC was the organization supporting Proposition 129.[4]

Supporters

Officials

Political Parties

Organizations

  • Americans for Tax Reform
  • Goldwater Institute

Arguments

  • State Rep. John Kavanagh (R-23): "It's unfair to the people who you ask to vote to have more than one subject matter."
  • Suzanne Kinney, president & CEO of Arizona Chapter of NAIOP: "Proposition 129 furthers the intent of the initiative process by ensuring that each measure which appears on the ballot addresses only one issue. It also aligns the initiative process with the long-standing legislative process which requires bills to address a single subject. Over the years, voters have repeatedly been faced with false choices. Voters have had to make a choice to support or oppose an initiative in its entirely even when they may favor some parts but have serious concerns with others. It is only right that Arizonans be able to vote for or against important policy issues one at a time. Under Proposition 129, groups would retain the same rights to put measures on the ballot. The only difference is that they will need to separate issues into more than one initiative if those issues are not directly related to each other. This will make the process clearer and fairer as it was intended to be by the framers of the Arizona Constitution."
  • Danny Seiden, president and CEO of Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry: "Too often we have seen propositions falsely portrayed due to the oversimplification of complex topics. We need to make certain that any measure put before voters only contains one subject and require the subject to be expressed in the title of the initiative measure. Voter-protected measures are nearly impossible to amend once enacted, so limiting them to a single subject will make sure that Arizonans have complete knowledge on what they are voting for."
  • Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy Action: "Arizona laws passed by legislators are limited to one subject; citizen initiatives should be also. This measure simply holds all laws to that same standard. Ballot measures passed by voters are bound by the Voter Protection Act, meaning the Legislature cannot make corrections or adjustments except to further the intent of the measure. That’s why it is so important to get ballot measures right."


Opposition

Will of the People Arizona was the campaign in opposition to this measure.[5]

Opponents

Political Parties

  • Pima County Democratic Party

Organizations

  • Civic Engagement Beyond Voting


Arguments

  • Joel Edman, executive director of Arizona Advocacy Network: "The trick is that what qualifies as a single subject is in the eye of the beholder."
  • Pinny Sheoran, president of the Arizona League of Women Voters: "Citizens have a much heavier burden of work to be done in order to bring a proposition in front of the voters. A single subject will restrict tremendously your right to fight for rights that are complex."
  • Pinny Sheoran, president of the League of Women Voters of Arizona: "A vote for this measure will further limit citizens’ ability to enact laws that address issues and problems that the Legislature has failed to address and open the door to legal challenges regarding what qualifies as a single subject. Citizens could be forced to propose multiple, piecemeal initiatives to provide effective solutions. Legislators are funded by taxpayer money to enact legislation. Citizens must individually bear the high cost in both money and expenditure of time to get a measure on the ballot. The additional barriers in this proposed amendment will only diminish the people’s constitutional right to make laws."
  • Montserrat Arredondo, executive director of One Arizona: "Proposition 129 is just another way to undermine the will of the people. It would impose a new requirement on ballot initiatives that would allow the will of hundreds of thousands of Arizonans to be overridden by a single judge. This measure would open the door to unnecessary and expensive lawsuits for measures that have qualified for the ballot, preventing voters from being able to vote and make decisions on these issues."


Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Arizona ballot measures
The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recently scheduled reports processed by Ballotpedia, which covered through December 31, 2022.


The Make it Simple: Vote Yes on 129 PAC was the organization supporting Proposition 129.[4]

The Will of the People PAC was the organization in opposition to Proposition 129.[6]

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $555,000.00 $0.00 $555,000.00 $555,000.00 $555,000.00
Oppose $3,030,594.73 $184,469.36 $3,215,064.09 $2,966,615.28 $3,151,084.64

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.[6]

Committees in support of Proposition 129
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Make it Simple Arizona $555,000.00 $0.00 $555,000.00 $555,000.00 $555,000.00
Total $555,000.00 $0.00 $555,000.00 $555,000.00 $555,000.00

Opposition

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in opposition to the initiative.[6]

Committees in opposition to Proposition 129
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Will of the People $3,030,594.73 $184,469.36 $3,215,064.09 $2,966,615.28 $3,151,084.64
Total $3,030,594.73 $184,469.36 $3,215,064.09 $2,966,615.28 $3,151,084.64

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.[6]

Donor Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions
SEIU-UHW $2,150,000.00 $0.00 $2,150,000.00
The Fairness Project $250,000.00 $108,593.33 $358,593.33
National Education Association $250,000.00 $0.00 $250,000.00
Every Single Vote $70,000.00 $0.00 $70,000.00

Media editorials

See also: 2022 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org


Opposition

The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:

  • The Arizona Republic Editorial Board: "The same set of supporters claims the the state constitution should be amended to hold citizen groups to the same “single subject” or “adequate title” standard that binds the Arizona Legislature. It’s a false argument. Lawmakers, indeed, must follow the standard. Three of the Legislature’s Budget Reconciliation Bills were tossed by a judge last year for violating the adequate-title provision. But their sole job is to legislate. They have months to adjust language on bills. They have staff and attorneys to help them research and adhere to rules. Citizens aren’t afforded the same resources and time. But that doesn’t mean any petition initiated by them and signed by sufficient number of voters automatically qualifies for the ballot. A number of them have been challenged in court and disqualified over omitted or misleading language in the proposition’s 100-word summary. That safeguard rebuts a key argument from supporters of Proposition 129: That it would prevent special-interest groups from jamming unrelated provisions into one measure to sneak in pet projects. Don’t buy this nonsense that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Citizens needn’t be held to the same rigid lawmaking standard as fulltime legislators."


Background

Arizona Chamber v. Kiley

In 2017, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry v. Daniel J. Kiley—a case that addressed the voter-approved Proposition 206 (2016). Proposition 206 enacted statutes related to minimum wage and paid sick time, which the plaintiff (Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry) argued was two subjects in violation of the single-subject rule.[2]

The Arizona Supreme Court held that the single-subject rule found in Section 13 of Article 4 of the Arizona Constitution applied to legislative statutes but not citizen-initiated statutes. The opinion stated that Section 1 of Article 4, not Section 13, governed citizen-initiated statutes and that Section 1 did not include a single-subject rule.[2]

The ballot measure was designed to add the same single-subject language for legislative statutes, found in Section 13, to Section 1.[1]

Ballot initiative single-subject rules by state

See also: Single-subject rule

Of the 26 states that provide for at least one type of statewide citizen-initiated measure, 16 had single-subject rules as of 2021. Arizona was one of 10 states without a single-subject rule for ballot initiatives. The following map illustrates which states have a single-subject rule for ballot initiatives and which ones do not have a single-subject rule:

Direct democracy measures on the ballot, 2022

See also: Direct democracy measures on the ballot

Voters in three states decided on legislative proposals to change citizen-initiated ballot measure processes on November 8, 2022. On June 7, voters in South Dakota rejected an amendment.

November 8

State Type Title Description Result Yes Votes No Votes
AR

LRCA

Issue 2 Require a 60% vote to approve ballot initiatives

Defeated

353,812 (41%)

511,580 (59%)

AZ

LRCA

Proposition 128 Allow the Legislature to amend or repeal voter-approved ballot measures that contain provisions ruled unconstitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court or U.S. Supreme Court

Defeated

859,675 (36%)

1,502,368 (64%)

AZ

LRCA

Proposition 129 Require citizen-initiated ballot measures to embrace a single subject

Approveda

1,311,046 (55%)

1,062,533 (45%)

AZ

LRCA

Proposition 132 Require a 60% vote to pass ballot measures to approve taxes

Approveda

1,210,702 (51%)

1,176,327 (49%)

CO

LRSS

Proposition GG Require a table showing changes in income tax owed for average taxpayers in certain brackets to be included in the ballot title for initiated measures

Approveda

1,704,757 (72%)

665,476 (28%)


June 7

State Type Title Description Result Yes Votes No Votes
SD

LRCA

Constitutional Amendment C Require a three-fifths vote of approval for ballot measures that increase taxes or fees or require the state to appropriate $10 million or more in the first five fiscal years

Defeated

59,125 (33%)

122,417 (67%)


Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1995 through 2020, the Arizona State Legislature referred 50 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 32 (64%) and rejected 18 (35%) of the referred amendments. The average number of amendments appearing on the ballot during an even-numbered election year was 3.9. The last election ballot to feature referred constitutional amendments was November 6, 2018, when voters approved one constitutional amendment.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2020
Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Even-year average Even-year median Even-year minimum Even-year maximum
50 32 64.0% 18 35.0% 3.9 5.0 0 8

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Arizona Constitution

In Arizona as of 2022, a constitutional amendment requires a simple majority vote in each chamber of the Arizona State Legislature during one legislative session.

State Rep. John Kavanagh (R-23) introduced the constitutional amendment as House Concurrent Resolution 2001. On March 4, 2021, the Arizona House of Representatives voted 31-28 to pass the constitutional amendment. House Republicans supported HCR 2001, and House Democrats voted against HCR 2001. On June 29, 2021, the Arizona State Senate voted 16-14 to approve HCR 2001. Senate Republicans supported the proposal, and Senate Democrats opposed the proposal.[1] With approval in the Senate and House, the constitutional amendment was referred to the ballot for the general election on November 8, 2022.

Vote in the Arizona House of Representatives
March 4, 2021
Requirement:
Number of yes votes required: 31  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total31281
Total percent51.67%46.67%1.67%
Democrat0281
Republican3100

Vote in the Arizona State Senate
June 29, 2021
Requirement:
Number of yes votes required: 16  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total16140
Total percent53.33%46.67%0.00%
Democrat0140
Republican1600

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Arizona

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Arizona.

See also

External links

Footnotes