A marijuana plant
Initiative petitions for three November ballot propositions were turned in to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office by Thursday's deadline, the secretary of state's website reported.
The three are:
-
Legalization of recreational marijuana for anyone 21 and older, including a 15 percent tax on retail sales and a system for licensing the sale of marijuana. Supporters of the proposed Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act turned in 258,699 signatures, 108,000 more than needed.
-
An increase in the minimum wage from the current $8.05 an hour to $10 in 2017 and gradually to $12 in 2020. The proposal also would allow employees of large businesses to earn up to 40 hours of paid sick time each year. The proposed Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act turned in 271,883 signatures, 121,000 more than needed.
-
A limit on the total compensation that hospital executives and administrators can receive in a year. The proposal would limit salary, bonus, retirement benefit and other compensation to the salary of the president of the United States. That currently is $400,000. The proposed Hospital Executive Compensation Act turned in 281,087 signatures, 130,000 more than needed.
Before any of the proposals are approved for the ballot, signatures must be verified in a process that will be led by the Secretary of State's Office with county recorders checking for voter registration and other matching information on randomly selected groups of signatures.
The secretary of state has until Aug. 4 to certify the petitions. After that, county recorders must complete their verifications by Aug. 25. It then goes back to the secretary of state, who has until Aug. 30 to complete the certification.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.