How I Intend to Vote: The Statute Propositions

With the proposed constitutional amendments out of the way let's talk about Propositions 200 through 300.

Proposition 200: Pay Day Loans
No.
Look, I have no problems with the existence of pay day loan places. I believe that many are legitimate businesses that provide a useful services. And what other businesses have dared redevelop blighted street corners that were left vacant after our over-zealous environmental laws shut down so many local gas stations?

With that said, I'm still voting "no" on Prop 200. It is very technical, long, and complicated, and is precisely the type of issue that should be debated and refined in our legislature. Note to self: it's generally a good idea to just vote "no" on long, complicated ballot propositions.

Proposition 201: Home Warranties
No.
Like Prop 200, this gets a "no" vote because it is long and complicated. And it's funded by labor unions. And it's a bad idea.

Prop 200 purports to protect homeowners if they buy a home with defects. But homeowners are already protected by current Arizona law that says any time a defect is found in a house, homeowners simply notify the seller and provide them an opportunity to inspect and repair it before any lawsuits are filed. The current law also offers a process to resolve problems without expensive lawsuits.

This brilliant piece of satire made it into the Publicity Pamphlet (emphasis added):
Help increase litigation payouts by supporting Prop. 201
Coming from a family of trial lawyers, I was thrilled to see the Sheet Metal Union put Prop. 201 on the ballot. If you don't know, under current law if you sue a builder for an alleged construction defect and the claim turns out to be frivolous, the builder is eligible to recover reasonable attorney fees as awarded by the court. The problem with this provision is that it discourages large scale class action lawsuits against builders, which are needed to intimidate them into settling out of court.
But now with Prop. 201, home builders will no longer be eligible to recover court costs, meaning attorneys will be able to file as many lawsuits as they want with no fear of actually having to pay for the litigation. The result is that buffer claims, a much needed component to help expand the size and scope of construction defect lawsuits, can be included as a way to increase settlement payouts.
Some people try to give trial attorneys a bad name, but using the court process is a legitimate and smart way to make money. I believe that the legal process needs to utilized to its fullest extent, and that is why come November, please support Prop. 201.
Beau Flahart, Gilbert

Proposition 202: Facilitating Illegal Hiring
No. No. No.
Do not vote "yes" on this! It is a lie. It is touted as somehow fighting illegal immigration when it does exactly the opposite. Prop 202 creates a loophole in current law, allowing to employers to get away with hiring illegal workers by saying: "but we didn't know that he was illegal".

Fittingly, the Prop 202 campaign is funded by the same open-borders people who funded the Kevin Gibbons campaign to smear Russell Pearce. Remember the signs that read: "Kevin Gibbons, Protecting our Borders"? As though Gibbons would somehow do more to secure our borders than Pearce. The same kind of deception is being used to promote Prop 202.

Proposition 300: Legislators Salaries
Yes.
This is on the ballot every time yet it gets voted down every time. Look, this is not about whether or not our legislators deserve a raise. The lower the salaries, the harder it is for ordinary people to hold office. Being a legislator requires so much time that it's impossible to simultaneously hold a regular, full-time job. Voting for a raise in salary increases the pool of good candidates who are willing to run for and hold office in our state legislature.