Arizona Supreme Court Rejects Argument To Remove Light Rail Initiative From Ballot

Published: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 - 1:38pm
Updated: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 - 5:55pm

The Arizona Supreme Court has issued an explanation of its June 12 ruling, which will allow an initiative that aims to stop the expansion of the Phoenix light rail, on a special election ballot in August.

The court rejected an argument by a contractor’s group that the measure should be kept off the ballot.

The justices disagreed with the Arizona chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, which argued the initiative description's wording was flawed. 

The justices also disagreed with the group’s argument that the summary was misleading.

The contractors contended that signers were not informed that the light rail initiative would terminate funding for upkeep of the light rail; the justices disagreed.

If voters approved the measure, any planned rail extensions will be stopped and funds will go to other transportation projects. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to clarify that the court issued explanation on a previous ruling.