The proposal to reimburse former State Senate President Russell Pearce for the costs of the recall election that ousted him from office last fall is dead. Lawmakers approved the provision in committee on Wednesday, but couldn’t garner enough support in the senate to move the bill forward. From Phoenix, Devin Browne reports.
Senate Bill 1449 proposed wide changes to the way recall elections are conducted in Arizona -- going forward, recalls would have had primary and general elections instead of one open election, which is what Pearce faced in November. But after a provision was added to the bill which would have allowed Pearce -- or any elected official who faced a recall -- to seek reimbursement for campaign expenses, it lost support ... even from some conservative Republicans who said they opposed spending taxpayer money that way.