The Show on KJZZ

Listen live weekdays at 9 a.m.

Phoenix Man Sues Over Prop 123

By Will Stone
Published: Thursday, May 19, 2016 - 3:53pm

A Phoenix man has filed a lawsuit to stop Proposition 123, even as the results of Tuesday’s special election remain too close to call.

The lawsuit argues Prop 123 — the school funding initiative — violates the Enabling Act passed by Congress that first established Arizona’s land trust back in 1910.  The petitioner is Phoenix resident Michael Pierce whose complaint doesn’t list anyone representing his side except himself.

Proposition 123 increases the amount the state draws from its trust from 2.5 percent to more than 6 percent in the next decade. The suit argues that Congress must approve such a change first. But Gov. Doug Ducey and other supporters have discounted that contention, because Congress later amended the act.

At the end of last year, the Congressional Research Service issued a memo saying Prop 123 could go forward without Congress taking action.

Politics