Arizona voters have approved a cap on city and town grocery taxes and a ban on new photo traffic enforcement, two legislative referrals that change what local governments can do, according to Associated Press race calls reported by KJZZ.
Grocery taxes
Proposition 316 had 59% support when the AP called it at 11:33 p.m. Tuesday, KJZZ reported. The measure bars cities and towns from adopting or raising taxes on groceries until July 2027. After that, a new or higher grocery tax would need local voter approval and could not exceed 2%. Places that already charge more than 2% would be barred from seeking any increase.
Not every Arizona city taxes groceries. KJZZ reported in October that Phoenix, Mesa and Tucson do not, while some small rural towns charge 3% or 4% and draw close to a fifth of their revenue from the tax.
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns had warned that limits of this kind force cities to raise other taxes or cut services, though the final version was a compromise from an outright ban, and Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke backed it, the station reported.
Some progressive Democrats in the Legislature supported it on the view that regressive taxes such as this one hurt low-income residents, KJZZ reported.
Traffic cameras
Proposition 319 was leading with 59% when the AP called it at 1:34 a.m. Wednesday, according to KJZZ. It prohibits governments from putting up or operating any new traffic cameras that ticket drivers, and cities that already run cameras must get approval from their own voters to keep them.
Supporters said officers can use discretion with drivers slightly over the limit while cameras ticket everyone past a set threshold, and some raised concerns about how data from cameras such as Flock devices is stored and used, KJZZ reported. Opponents said the ban would hurt public safety and put lives at risk.
