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Challengers To Initiative Capping Hospital Exec Pay Get Court Hearing

Healthcare workers in Arizona who want to cap the salaries of hospital executives will have to go to court before the issue can get on the November ballot. On Thursday, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge agreed to hear a new challenge, setting hearings for Aug. 10 and 16.

A union-led initiative that would allow voters to cap hospital executives’ pay at $450,000 a year was added to the November ballot in early July.

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce wants the initiative barred from the ballot, arguing there were problems with petition sheets, signature gatherers and the political committee filings by supporters, backed by the Service Employees International Union-Untied Healthcare Workers West.

An SEIU spokesman has called the legal challenge "frivolous."

Just over 280,000 signatures were gathered to get the measure on the ballot, far more than the approximately 150,000 required. The Secretary of State’s Office is still reviewing signature sheets to see if it qualifies for the ballot.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story's byline was updated to reflect KJZZ producer Heather van Blokland's reporting.

Heather van Blokland was a host at KJZZ from 2016 to 2021.