By Ryan Randazzo | Arizona Republic
Proposition 127 has further cemented its rank as the most expensive ballot initiative battle in state history with the filing of new finance reports that show Arizona Public Service Co.’s parent company and others spent big through Election Day.
Voters rejected the clean-energy ballot measure by a wide margin. It would have required APS and other regulated electric companies to get half their electricity supply from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2030.
The latest finance report filed Jan. 15 with the state shows the APS parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp. spent $37.9 million to defeat the measure.
The measure first grabbed the No. 1 spot after October campaign reports were filed, with Pinnacle West’s spending alone reaching about $22 million to that point.
The ballot measure was supported by billionaire activist Tom Steyer and his environmental group, NextGen America, which spent more than $23 million trying to pass the measure.
In addition to the two heavyweights in the fight, several other groups spent big trying to sway voters, mostly those opposed to the measure.
All told, the Prop. 127 fight cost $62.8 million, not including the final spending report from NextGen, which was not properly uploaded to the Secretary of State’s website.
