By | Ben Giles | Arizona Capitol Times
A top Arizona legislator said he would be open to making it easier for the state’s voters to circumvent the Legislature and pass laws by way of the ballot in exchange for easing restrictions that prevent the Legislature from tweaking those same laws.
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House Speaker J.D. Mesnard said he’s “open to a grand bargain” if it means loosening the constraints placed on legislators by the Voter Protection Act, which prohibits the Legislature from making any change to voter-approved laws other than those that further the intent of the law. Even then, it takes a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber to approve such changes.
State Election Director Eric Spencer proposed altering the VPA as a truce of sorts. In exchange, Spencer offered suggestions for ways to make voter initiatives and referenda, staples of direct democracy baked into the Arizona Constitution, more accessible to the average Arizona voter.
