By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Capitol Times
A liberal public advocacy group is suing to block a 2016 ballot measure that will ask voters to make the state Land Department self-funding, which it argues violates the 1910 congressional act that granted statehood to Arizona.
The Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest argued in a lawsuit filed on Friday that SCR1018, a legislative referral that will put the issue on the November 2016 ballot, violates the New Mexico-Arizona Enabling Act. The act granted more than 10 million acres of land to Arizona to be held in trust, but stipulated that the proceeds from that land could only be used for a small handful of purposes, primarily funding education.
