Arizona judge rejects Republican effort to block ESA reform ballot initiative; appeal planned

An Arizona judge ruled Wednesday that a Republican-referred attempt to block an Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) reform initiative is ineligible for the November ballot because it covers more than one subject in a single proposition.

A spokesperson for the Arizona Senate Republican caucus said an appeal is in the works.

Republican lawmakers referred Proposition 145, aka the Military Families College Savings and Scholarship Protection Act, to the ballot last month through House Concurrent Resolution 2048. Concurrent resolutions allow lawmakers to refer measures to voters without the governor’s approval.

How would Prop 145 block ESA reform initiative?

Prop 145 was designed to nullify Prop 212, aka the Protect Education Act, an initiative petition to add oversight and an income cap to the state’s universal ESA program.

The ESA program allows families to use public education tax dollars for private school or homeschooling expenses.

In addition to protecting military families’ ESAs, the Republican-backed measure would void the entirety of any other bill or ballot measure that violates it.

Save Our Schools Arizona — a public education advocacy group — and the Protect Education, Accountability Now Committee — the name of the political action group behind the Protect Education Act — filed a lawsuit arguing that the military ballot measure violates the state Constitution’s separate amendment rule.

The Protect Education Act is facing its own legal challenge related to the validity of thousands of signatures collected during the petition campaign.

Judges have now ruled against two Republican ballot measures

Republican lawmakers referred a total of 10 measures to the November ballot. Superior Court judges have now rejected two of them on similar grounds.

On Tuesday, a judge kicked Prop 143 off the ballot for violating the Arizona Constitution’s separate amendment rule. Republicans said they will not appeal that ruling.

Referred through HCR 2040, Prop 143 sought to ban school districts from using taxpayer money or resources to support unions and banned the state and all local governments from negotiating collective bargaining agreements with unions representing public employees such as police officers, firefighters, teachers and 911 operators.

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