YES ON PROPOSITION 104

The right of voters to enact their own laws was contained in one of
the first amendments to the state constitution in 1914, two years
after Arizona became a state.

This year, voters have the chance to change the constitution once
more, and in doing so to ensure that the power claimed by voters in
1914 cannot be usurped by the Legislature. A ``yes'' vote on
Proposition 104 is the best way to do that.

Propositions 104 and 105 would both forbid the Legislature from
thwarting the will of the people, as expressed in initiative measures
passed by popular vote.

The differences between the two measures are differences of degree,
rather than intent.

Proposition 104, which was referred to the ballot by the Legislature,
is the more thoughtful approach.

It forbids a veto of any voter-passed initiative by the governor. This
has never been done, but it was threatened by Gov. Symington two years
ago on a couple of measures he disliked.

Proposition 104 also prohibits repeal of any initiative measure for
five years and it requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to do
so even then.

That same two-thirds vote would be needed to change any portion of an
initiative measure, including all initiatives passed previously by the
voters.

It gets the job done with a minimum of fuss and with zero
ambiguity.

Proposition 105 is itself an initiative, placed on the ballot by
backers of last year's measure to ``medicalize'' marijuana and offer
treatment rather than imprisonment for those convicted of minor drug
offenses.

Those folks were understandably upset when the Legislature passed laws
that undid their initiative and they gathered signatures for a measure
to insure that it wouldn't happen again.

Proposition 105 forbids a gubernatorial veto and it forbids any
legislative repeal of an initiative measure. It also requires that any
amendment to an initiative law be passed by a three-fourths vote of
the Legislature and that any such change ``furthers the purposes'' of
the initiative passed by voters.

This language is ambiguous and subject to legal fights.

And the three-fourths requirement is too high. Initiatives are not
perfect. Often they contain minor mistakes or produce unintended
results. The will of the voters should not be tinkered with
cavalierly, but the Legislature should be able to correct mistakes
made by the drafters of voter initiatives.

The two-thirds test proposed by Proposition 104 is high enough to
guarantee that the Legislature will not thwart the will of the voters.

The Arizona Daily Star urges a ``yes'' vote on Proposition
104.

We do not, however, urge a ``no'' vote on Proposition 105. If voters
pick one measure and vote against the other one, they could end up
defeating both.

If both measures pass, the one receiving the most votes will prevail.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady