HCR2005 is a legislative referendum that would ask voters to periodically reauthorize those ballot measures that have funding attached. It successfully passed out of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

The measure would have all voter-approved initiatives and referendums going back to 1998 come up for reauthorization every six years, with the first batch (anything passed between 1998 and 2008) on the 2014 ballot.

Why 1998? That’s when voters passed Proposition 105, which essentially locked in stone any successful ballot measure, with no real ability to modify the program or funding components attached.

There are certainly question marks around some elements of the measure.  For example, since 2004, any ballot measures that have costs attached are required to have their own source funding and not impact the General Fund.  The General Fund is the primary money the legislature has within their sphere of control for budgeting purposes.  I’m sure the argument is those funds could be used for other purposes, but in reality, those are dollars that do not, and will not, ever flow into the General Fund.

Further, as just a logistical issue, can you even fathom how painful the 2014 ballot will be?  Those of us who are seasoned Arizona voters know that our western perspective and progressive history make us heavy users of both referendums and initiatives.  However, even the most studious of voters – who else has had to bring in their practice ballot just to remember what everything is? – will likely be overwhelmed with a decade’s worth of measures to remember, relearn, rethink and revote on.

However, that doesn’t mean the discussion isn’t without real merit.  The Joint Legislative Budget Committee – the legislature’s budget staff – estimated in 2010, the most recent year data was available, that voter protected spending impacts 12 state agencies and locks away anywhere from $800 million to $3.9 billion in ongoing spending.  Locking away these dollars severely limits the flexibility needed to budget nimbly in response to economic cycles.

Further, this measure does not look to outright repeal voter-approved measures against the will of the public.  It provides voters a chance to periodically evaluate if the spending priority they’ve approved still meets the needs of the state.

HCR2005 is an interesting proposal that will hopefully generate some much needed debate around Arizona’s budgeting, vision and priorities.

To learn more about HCR2005, visit the Arizona State Legislature’s website here.