Arizona lawmakers are making one last push to reimburse former State Senate President Russell Pearce for the expenses he incurred in last year's recall election.
The state constitution includes a provision for a public payment of the "reasonalbe special election campaign expenses" in a recall, but it never makes clear what a "reasonable" expense is. This is one of the points Senator David Lujan touched on during a conference committee Wednesday.
"In this case, Russell Pearce has no campaign expenses," Lujan said. "These were all outside donors, adn there were no out-of-pocket expenses, so ..."
The repayment provision was added to a bill that would require primaries in recall elections, but it doesn't specify exactly how much a candidate can be reimbursed. Supporters say they're adding the provision because the constitution requires it. The measure still needs final approval in both the House and the Senate.