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REFERENCE TITLE: publicity pamphlets; judicial performance; comment. |
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State of Arizona Senate Fiftieth Legislature First Regular Session 2011
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SB 1472 |
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Introduced by Senator Gould
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AN ACT
amending section 19-123, Arizona revised statutes; amending title 19, chapter 1, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 19-124.01; relating to publicity pamphlets.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 19-123, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
19-123. Publicity pamphlet; printing; distribution; public hearings
A. When the secretary of state is ordered by the legislature, or by petition under the initiative and referendum provisions of the constitution, to submit to the people a measure or proposed amendment to the constitution, the secretary of state shall cause to be printed, at the expense of the state, except as otherwise provided in this article, a publicity pamphlet, which shall contain:
1. A true copy of the title and text of the measure or proposed amendment. Such text shall indicate material deleted, if any, by printing such material with a line drawn through the center of the letters of such material and shall indicate material added or new material by printing the letters of such material in capital letters.
2. The form in which the measure or proposed amendment will appear on the ballot, the official title, the descriptive title prepared by the secretary of state and the number by which it will be designated.
3. The arguments for and against the measure or amendment.
4. For any measure or proposed amendment, a legislative council analysis of the ballot proposal as prescribed by section 19‑124.
5. The report of the commission on judicial performance review for any justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals and judges of the superior court who are subject to retention, including the arguments on retention and the judicial information prescribed in section 19-124.01.
6. The summary of a fiscal impact statement prepared by the joint legislative budget committee staff pursuant to subsection D of this section.
B. The secretary of state shall mail one copy of the publicity pamphlet to every household that contains a registered voter. The mailings may be made over a period of days but shall be mailed in order to be delivered to households before the earliest date for receipt by registered voters of any requested early ballots for the general election.
C. Sample ballots for both the primary and general elections shall include a statement that information on how to obtain a publicity pamphlet for the general election ballot propositions is available by calling the secretary of state. The statement shall include a telephone number and mailing address of the secretary of state.
D. On certification of an initiative measure as qualified for the ballot, the secretary of state shall hold or cause to be held at least three public meetings on the ballot measure. Hearings shall be held in at least three different counties and shall be held before the date of the election on the measure. The hearings shall provide an opportunity for proponents, opponents and the general public to provide testimony and request information. Hearings may be scheduled to include more than one qualified ballot measure and shall include a fiscal impact presentation on the measure by the joint legislative budget committee staff. The joint legislative budget committee staff shall prepare a summary of the fiscal impact for each ballot measure, not to exceed three hundred words, for publication in the publicity pamphlet.
Sec. 2. Title 19, chapter 1, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 19-124.01, to read:
19-124.01. Judicial information; arguments on judicial retention; publicity pamphlet
A. Not later than sixty days preceding the regular primary election, the commission on Judicial Performance Review shall prepare and file with the secretary of state the following information relating to justices of the supreme court and judges of the court of appeals for publication in the publicity pamphlet pursuant to section 19-123:
1. Biographical information on each justice or judge, including length of time serving in a judicial capacity and educational background. This information shall not exceed three hundred words in length.
2. For their most recent term, a summary of decisions by each justice or judge and a listing of cases in which the justice or judge declared a statute unconstitutional and a brief statement of the reason why.
B. Not later than fifty-three days preceding the regular primary election, a person may file with the secretary of state an argument advocating or opposing the retention of a justice or appellate court judge on the retention ballot. Each argument filed shall contain the original notarized signature of each person sponsoring it. If the argument is sponsored by an organization, it shall contain the notarized signature of two executive officers of the organization or if sponsored by a political committee it shall contain the notarized signature of the committee's chairman or treasurer. Payment of the deposit required by subsection D of this section or reimbursement of the payor constitutes sponsorship of the argument for purposes of this subsection. The person or persons signing the argument shall identify themselves by giving their residence or post office address and a telephone number, which information shall not appear in the publicity pamphlet. Each argument filed pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed three hundred words in length.
C. The arguments shall be included in the publicity pamphlet immediately following the information for the individual justice or judge provided by the commission on Judicial Performance Review. Arguments in the affirmative shall be placed first in order, and first among the affirmative arguments shall be placed an argument filed by the justice or judge. The remaining affirmative and negative arguments shall be placed in the order in which they were filed with the secretary of state.
D. The person filing an argument shall deposit with the secretary of state, at the time of filing, an amount of money as prescribed by the secretary of state for the purpose of offsetting a portion of the proportionate cost of the purchase of the paper and the printing of the argument.
E. Notwithstanding any law or court rule to the contrary, an attorney is not subject to professional discipline for filing a statement permitted by this section.
Sec. 3. Legislative intent
The legislature intends by this act to provide voters with more information on justices and appellate court judges than is normally available through the retention elections process.