2006 Proposition Policy Analysis; By Rep. Russell Pearce

(emphasis by Gene Reed)

(YES) Proposition 100; Bail for undocumented immigrants - Would give Judges the authority to deny bail to illegal aliens when there is convincing evidence that they've committed a serious felony, class 4 or higher or Aggravated DUI. Recognizing they pose a great flight risk and are already in violation of federal law of entering and remaining in the U.S. Illegally. We currently have thousands of illegal aliens that have committed serious crimes and fled to Mexico while on bail and the Mexican Government has refused to extradite them back to the U.S. (25 people killed each day by illegal aliens; 13 by DUI and 12 by stabbings and shootings).

(YES) Proposition 101; 2006 Taxpayer Protection Act - Would amend the Arizona Constitution to require, beginning in 2007, that counties, cities, towns and community college districts determine their primary levy limit based on the actual tax levy in 2005. This proposition would be a step forward towards controlling liberal governments by limiting the ability of a municipality to tax its citizens by basing the municipal tax increases on the previous year’s collections. Even further, some municipalities have a maximum allowable tax levy growth of 21.6%, which is outrageously high. This proposition would limit that growth to 8.3%.

Higher percentages would require a vote of the people!

(YES) Proposition 102; Standing in Civil Actions - Would amend the Arizona Constitution to prohibit an illegal alien from being awarded punitive damages in the courts of Arizona. This is a proposition that I worked on as part of my larger immigration reforms. It was my intention to protect the rights of legal U.S. Citizens by not allowing frivolous lawsuits brought by illegal aliens to result in punitive damage awards. We have to ensure that our judicial system is not allowing those who break the law to profit at the expense of U.S. Citizens.

(YES) Proposition 103; English as the Official Language (for Arizona State and local documents) - English must be designated the official language of the state of Arizona. Like President Theodore Roosevelt once said, "We have one language here, and that is the English language, and we intend to see that the [assimilation] crucible turns our people out as Americans. Former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm wisely observed that "a nation needs a common language just as it needs a common currency.” A common language promotes unity and understanding among the citizens of a nation. By making English the official state language we provide an even greater incentive for all immigrants to learn English, apply for citizenship, and become empowered and productive Americans, (this referendum is Official English not English Only makes appropriate exceptions for trade, tourism, communication purposes, emergencies, etc.) By making English the official language, we also eliminate the wasteful spending used to translate millions of state documents into hundreds of languages.

(NO) Proposition 104; Municipal Debt - Would amend the Arizona Constitution to allow incorporated cities and towns to exceed their debt limit by up to 20% for: public safety, law enforcement, fire and emergency service facilities, streets and transportation facilities. This proposition plain and simple opens the door for municipalities to potentially increase taxes. It would allow cities to incur additional debt to pay for certain services. This debt will have to be passed on and paid for by its citizens through increased tax rates.

(YES) Proposition 105; State Trust Land Reform - Would amend the Arizona Constitution to allow urban state trust land to be conveyed to a county, city or town for permanent conservation, and up to 400,000 acres of rural state trust land to be conveyed for permanent conservation to the county in which the land is located. All provisions are dependant on Arizona voter approval in November 2006 and the US Congress must amend the Arizona-New Mexico Enabling Act by 12-31-08. This proposition streamlines the process for selling and leasing State Trust Land, without creating any unneeded bureaucracy. The money created from these transactions exist for the sole purpose of benefiting Arizona’s schools.

(NO) Proposition 106; Conserving Arizona’s Future - Would amend the Arizona Constitution to permanently conserve and protect 690,000 acres of land and provide a classroom funding stream though improved planning and management of trust land. All provisions are dependant on Arizona voter approval in November 2006 AND the US Congress must amend the Arizona-New Mexico Enabling Act by 12-31-08. This is a proposition that might as well have been written by the Sierra Club. The measure creates a new bureaucracy designed to grant environmentalist an enormous amount of trust land as low cost. The more land that is granted to the environmentalist will directly correlate with a decrease in funds for the education community.

(YES) Proposition 107; Protect Marriage Arizona - Would amend the Arizona Constitution to define marriage as only consisting of the union of one man and one woman, and would prohibit the state and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing any legal status for unmarried persons that is similar to that of marriage. This proposition protects the sanctity and tradition of marriage and the enactment of this proposition would also ensure that independent cities or towns could not infringe on the moral will of the voters by enacting an immoral definition of marriage.

This proposition could prohibit “partner” benefits for government employees. It would not affect “partner” benefits at private businesses.

(NO) Proposition 200; Arizona Voter Reward Act - Would amend state laws to establish a voter reward random drawing every two years with a first prize of $1M or more. Voters who cast ballots in the primary or general elections will be eligible to win and the money will come from the Arizona Lottery and private donations. This is an absurd measure that equates the civic duty of voting with the media ploys used on television games shows like “Who wants to be a Millionaire.” Voting is a privilege and right granted to each citizen of this country. We should not patronize nor trivialize our civic duty.

We have enough uninformed voters now; we don’t need more who are only voting the play the election lottery! 

(NO) Proposition 201; Smoke-Free Arizona Act - Would amend state laws to prohibit smoking in all enclosed public places and places of employment. Prohibiting smoking in all public and private businesses establishment tramples the private property rights of the business owners. The founding fathers viewed the right to own private property as one of the most important issues protected by the Constitution. A government should not have the right to take the legal act of smoking and make it illegal to do on ones private property.

(NO) Proposition 202; AZ Minimum Wage Act - It would impose a state minimum wage of $6.75, and would create a new politically appointed “Commission” to oversee minimum wage and employment practices in AZ, which would have no term limits and wouldn’t be accountable to the legislative branch or the voting public. The Commission would have full access to all records of any employer. It would grant any labor union or special interest group the power to access employment records.

Increasing the minimum wage in Arizona would only encourage more private employers to move, or hire more illegal aliens under the table!

(NO) Proposition 203; First Things First for Arizona’s Children - Would amend state laws to use an increased sales price (an additional $.80) on tobacco to provide funds for early childhood education for children ages 0-5. This proposition is a further expansion of all day Kindergarten, an issue championed by Governor Napolitano. This proposition would create a new source of revenue for state subsidized daycare. The new source of revenue would be in the form of tax increases amounting to more than $188 million per year.

(NO) Proposition 204; Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act - Would amend state laws to provide six years for the state to adopt more human practices regarding pigs during pregnancy and calves raised for veal. This forces the agricultural community to adopt nonsensical standards regarding the way that they raise there privately owned life stock. This is an initiative pushed by out-of-state animal-rights activists, which would ban common practices used by livestock producers to house breeding pigs and veal calves (even though there is no veal production in Arizona), and subject farmers to as much as $20,000 in fines and six months in jail.

(NO) Proposition 205; Your Right to Vote - Would amend state laws to provide that all registered voters automatically receive a mailed ballot from the election official before every election and that a limited number of county-wide polling places shall remain open on election days for on site voting. This proposition is an attempt to circumvent the voter enacted and protected standards established by Proposition 200. This is achieved by eliminating almost all polling places, thereby negating the need for legal citizens to present identification when voting. Mail-in ballots are currently readily available to any registered voter who requests that they be sent this paper work. Why would we want to make it more difficult for the already small percentage of people who do vote to do so, by eliminating polling places?

(YES) Proposition 206; AZ Non-Smoker Protection Act - This smoking ban proposition is less costly for business owners and tobacco consumers than Prop. 201, because it would allow smoking in bars and does not include a tax increase. It recognizes private property rights. Signs must notify patrons and employees where smoking is permitted. Still prohibits minors in smoking areas.

This proposition would standardize the treatment of bar owners statewide, as opposed to the local smoking bans now being practiced in some local arrives, but not others.

(YES) Proposition 207; Private Property Rights Protection Act - Would amend state laws to define public use and declare that the public benefits of economic development, including increased tax revenues and employment, shall not constitute a public use. This proposition is an effort to protect Arizona citizens from infringement and regulatory taking of private property like recently happened in Connecticut. In that case the state government stole private property from its citizens for the purpose of increasing its tax base. This proposition on the most basic of levels protects the rights of private property owners from the unlawful takings of land by dominating governments and additionally protects these owners from government facilitated attempts to diminish the value of private property.

(YES) Proposition 300; Public Program Eligibility - Would amend state laws to require recipients of certain state-funded services to be legal residents in the United States and would direct the entities that provide these services to report on the number of people who applied to participate and the number who were not eligible for those programs due to their non-legal status. After the back door veto of 2004’s Proposition 200, by Governor Napolitano and Attorney General Terry Goddard, this proposition would once again allow the voters to demonstrate there willingness to protect social services by ensuring that only legal U.S. citizens have access to State tax payer funded services, as intended by the 2004 Proposition 200. By offering these services to illegal aliens, it increases the burden on our state programs and robs our own citizens of services they’ve paid for with their taxes.  Above all, free state services for all takes away the incentive for illegal aliens to become citizens and legitimate members of American society. It is vital that we spend our tax dollars on helping Arizonans and not aid and abet illegal aliens.

(YES) Proposition 301; Probation for Methamphetamine Offenses - Would amend state laws to prevent a person convicted of drug charges involving methamphetamine from being eligible for probation under the Drug Medicalization, Prevention, and Control Act of 1996. This proposition recognizes the methamphetamine epidemic that has swept the nation and closes loopholes currently available for those individuals convicted of methamphetamine related drug offences.

(?) Proposition 302; State Legislators’ Salaries - This would increase the salaries of state legislators from $24,000 to $36,000.