Since most of the drafters of Arizona's Constitution were Progressives, the state's constitution included the initia-tive, referendum, and recall. However, since President Taft condemned recall of judges, and, a therefore, vetoed Arizona statehood, Arizona eliminated the recall of judges until after they became a state when they consequently pushed it through.
Part II-Write a reflective analysis on the amendment process for the Arizona Constitution. Is this a "fair" process? Does it give too much power to the people? Do you think the Progressive framers would approve of the way the process has been used thus far? Why? Defend your rationale.
The Arizona Constitution has undergone more amendments than the American Constitution itself has since Arizona became a state in 1912. Since the Progressive framers wanted to give rights to the people and since many of the amendments deal with curtailing the power of the judges and authorities, they would have approved with this. On the other hand, many of the amendments also reflect indecisiveness and lack of appropriate gravitas. The framers may have urged more resolution and thought before hastily employing an amendment only to redo that amendment in the form of further amendments later on.
As regards the Arizona constitution, conditions for amendment are that the state's legislature or citizens can suggest amendment, and the voters must approve all changes. 125 changes therefore have been perpetrated since 1912. Compare to the U.S. Constitution itself where amendment...
Consequently only 25 amendments have been perpetrated in the U.S. Constitution since the founding of the U.S. This is a huge contrast!
Conditions for amendment include the following: they must address long-term issues; must be relevant for a span of generation and periods (not just for the moment); must be significant and needed; must accord with state statue; and must be in accordance with the spirit and latter of the U.S. Constitution. Important amendments that reflected these conditions include tax levy limits (Prop. 101) and the municipal debt capacity (Prop. 104). However, others such as limiting bail eligibility (Prop. 100) may have been overly specific to a particular time.
Since the statues are passed by the legislature, the legislator has to be more resolute and thoughtful in is eliminating and passing of laws.
In short, therefore, whilst the Progressive framers may have applauded Arizona's populist and participatory atmosphere, they may also have asked for further prudence and recalcitrance in passing laws.
Sources
Arizona: state history http://www.shgresources.com/az/history/
Arizona's Direct Democracy
http://www.tonimcclory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Factsheet_AZ_DirectDemocracy_2011.pdf
What is the process for amending the Arizona Constitution - JustAnswer http://www.justanswer.com/law/1hc03-process-amending-arizona-constitution.html#ixzz1vruo6Q2z
