When the Arizona legislature adjourned on July 1, it had failed to pass two bills concerning the state’s public funding program for candidates for state office. A post here on July 1 noted that the bill to ask the voters if they want to repeal the program had failed. However, the July 1 post failed to note that another bill, to fix the system, had also failed to pass.

SB 1087 would have repaired the constitutional flaws in the “Clean Elections” law. Although it had passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 19, it never made any further headway. A federal lawsuit, McComish v Brewer, filed last year, charges that the additional public funding given to participating candidates whose non-participating opponents have raised a great deal of campaign contributions, is unconstitutional. That lawsuit is expected to prevail.

SB 1087 would have deleted the extra contributions given to participating candidates whose non-participating opponents raise a great deal of money (or, who are the beneficiaries of a great deal of independent expenditures). If SB 1087 had passed, the lawsuit would have been moot, but now it will continue. See this article.