Hourly Update

Judge gives OK for Napolitano to sign Prop. 200 into law

PHOENIX - A federal judge has given the OK for Gov. Janet Napolitano to officially proclaim approval of Proposition 200. Judge David Bury, in an order released Wednesday, said Napolitano is free to declare that voters approved sections of the initiative which require proof of citizenship to register to vote and mandate that those seeking to cast a ballot must first present identification. That, in turn, permits the state to submit the change to the U.S. Department of Justice for its required review of whether the measure illegally impairs the voting rights of minorities. But Bury left intact part of his original Nov. 30 order which bars the state from enforcing the section of Proposition 200 which says government employees must get proof that applicants for public benefits are here legally and are required to report illegal entrants to federal officials. That order also precludes proclaiming voter approval of that section of the initiative. Based on that, Napolitano late Wednesday "signed" a modified proclamation. The actual signing was done by an "auto pen" machine after the governor, who is in Washington, gave her verbal approval; she will formally sign it when she returns on Monday. The move comes as a Colorado-based public interest law firm filed legal papers Wednesday to intervene on behalf of the Yes on 200 committee and Randy Pullen, its chairman, in the federal court lawsuit challenging the legality of the initiative. That lawsuit filed by attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund contends both the voting and public benefits provisions are illegal. William Perry Pendley, president of Mountain States Legal Foundation, said he believes that Napolitano and Attorney General Terry Goddard won't vigorously defend the legality of the voter-approved law when the case goes back before Bury on Dec. 22. Pendley noted both personally opposed the initiative. He also faulted the attorney general for issuing a formal legal opinion last month declaring that the provisions of Proposition 200 requiring proof of legal residency for "public benefits" applies to only a narrow range of services "contrary to the view of Randy Pullen as to what it did and I also believe, the view of the voters who voted on it." Pendley also said state attorneys failed to raise raised a key objection at the Nov. 30 hearing when initiative challengers sought - and received - the restraining order against enforcement of the measure. He said one issue before Bury was whether temporarily blocking the law from taking effect would result in a cost to taxpayers. Initiative proponents contend illegal immigration costs $1 billion a year in Arizona. Based on that, Pendley said, the cost of delaying Proposition 200 even until Dec. 22 means a $60 million price tag. But that $1 billion figure, prepared by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, includes all federal and state services that illegal entrants might use, including education and emergency care which are not affected by Proposition 200. Both Napolitano and Goddard have insisted repeatedly they will defend the legality of the initiative in court despite their personal feelings. Pendley's motion, filed in federal court in Tucson, also seeks intervention in the lawsuit on behalf of FAIR. The lawyer said that national group has an interest in the lawsuit because it spent more than $150,000 to put the measure on the ballot and push for its approval.