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Committee backs bill to allow referenda on local emergency measures after Payson testimony
Summary
After local elected officials from Payson urged action, the Senate Government Committee advanced SB 10‑54 with an amendment. The measure would make local emergency ordinances referable to voters under a 30‑day petition window; the League of Arizona Cities warned it could undercut true emergencies.
The Senate Government Committee voted to give SB 10‑54 a due‑pass recommendation after adopting a strike‑everything amendment that would allow local emergency ordinances, resolutions or measures to be placed on the ballot for referendum within 30 days of passage.
Steve Otto, mayor of Payson, said his town had experienced repeated and what he described as improper uses of the emergency clause—including tax increases and a $70 million bond—that denied residents the opportunity to bring measures to referendum. "It wasn't an emergency," Otto said of a sales‑tax increase he described as rammed through via an emergency clause, and he urged support for the bill to protect voter rights.
Jane Ahern, representing the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, testified in respectful opposition, arguing that making emergency measures referable could defeat the purpose of true emergencies, invert the established referendum process in Article IV of the state constitution and create opportunities for delay and litigation that would hamper municipal operations.
Committee debate focused on balancing local governments' need to act quickly in genuine emergencies against the rights of voters to challenge measures passed under emergency declarations. Some members, including Senator Mesnard, said misuse of emergency clauses was a pervasive problem that required statutory guardrails; others warned the change could invite delay in urgent responses and that existing remedies—such as constitutional provisions and judicial review—already exist.
The committee approved the Rogers strike‑everything amendment and moved SB 10‑54 as amended; the committee recorded a due‑pass recommendation and will forward the measure with committee report for further consideration.
Next steps: SB 10‑54 proceeds to the floor with the committee's due‑pass recommendation. Lawmakers flagged potential floor amendments to narrow exemptions and clarify application to legitimate emergency actions.
