The Arizona State Legislature voted last week to place a constitutional amendment regarding property taxes on the ballot in November.
The amendment, introduced by Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R-17) and Sen. Vince Leach (R-11), would consolidate the property tax provisions within the Arizona Constitution into a single provision, as well as allowing the legislature to set certain property tax exemption amounts and qualifications. This includes property tax exemptions for certain individuals, such as widows and widowers, those with disabilities, and disabled veterans, as well as for property used for trade, business, or agriculture.
The amendment would also repeal constitutional language providing for a property tax exemption for honorably discharged veterans. This was ruled unconstitutional in Benjamin v. Arizona Department of Revenue, decided by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
The measure was part of a series of pieces of legislation passed by the Arizona State Legislature as they adjourned their session on June 25, 2022.
There are currently eight measures on the Arizona ballot this November. The seven others are:
The In-State Tuition for Non-Citizen Residents Measure, repeals provisions of Proposition 300 (2006) to allow in-state tuition for non-citizen residents
The Voter Identification Requirements for Mail-In Ballots and In-Person Voting Measure, which requires date of birth and voter identification number for mail-in ballots and eliminates two-document alternative to photo ID for in-person voting
The Sales Tax for Fire District Funding Measure, which creates a 0.1% sales tax for 20 years to fund Arizona’s fire districts
The Legislative Changes to Ballot Initiatives with Invalid Provisions Amendment, which allows the legislature to amend or repeal voter-approved ballot measures that contain provisions ruled unconstitutional or invalid by the state or federal supreme court
The Single-Subject Requirement for Ballot Initiatives Amendment, which requires citizen-initiated ballot measures to embrace a single subject
The Create the Office of Lieutenant Governor Amendment, which creates the office of Lieutenant Governor
The 60% Supermajority Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments and Ballot Initiatives Amendment, which would require a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote to pass ballot initiatives (both statutes and constitutional amendments) and legislatively referred amendments
In Arizona, 73 legislatively referred constitutional amendments have been on the ballot between 1985 and 2020. Forty-four (60%) of them have been approved, and 29 (40%) of them have been defeated.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
