Arizona voters could still get the last word on whether they want to ban paying petition circulators on a per name basis. Opponents of House Bill 2404 will need to start gathering signatures.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law last week. But opponents of the measure have other ideas.
Since the bill doesn’t go into effect until 90 days after the legislative session, they have time to gather the more than 75,000 signatures needed to refer the measure to the 2018 ballot.
The referendum drive is being organized by Mike Shipley, who ran for Congress in 2016. Shipley said the legislature has a real disregard for the electoral process.
"You notice in this case they didn't change how candidate petitions are handled, right? So they kept it really easy for themselves," Shipley said. "But they made it difficult for the people to get legislative action on their own."
The bill’s sponsor said he isn’t alarmed by Shipley’s efforts. He said Shipley is exercising his rights under the state Constitution.