The Arizona Supreme Court said last week that a referendum on making permanent a temporary 1% state sales tax should be included on the November ballot.
The three-judge panel ruled Aug. 14 that the petitions submitted by the political action group Quality Education and Jobs complied with state law.
The court later said the analysis of the measure from the Legislative Council was flawed in calling the measure a tax increase.
Secretary of State Ken Bennett in July rejected petitions signed by more than 290,000 voters calling for a Nov. 6 vote to extend the three-year tax hike approved by voters in 2010, ruling that the version filed with the state varied from the one circulated among voters.
Bennett officially certified Proposition 204 for a place on the ballot in a letter to Gov. Jan Brewer the day after the court ruling. The petitions contained more than the 172,809 valid signatures required to put the referendum to voters in November, Bennett said in a statement.
“The ultimate effect is that voters will get to vote on it, and we’re fine with it,” he said. If the state sales tax increase is not extended, the rate would revert to 5.6% on May 31, 2013.
Proposition 204 would create and impose a new tax, with most of the revenues dedicated to financing infrastructure needed for public education and higher education.
