Arizona GOP files new bill to reimburse Russell Pearce for recall
Source: Arizona Republic
The effort to reimburse former Sen. Russell Pearce for the money he spent in his 2011 recall election has been revived at the state Legislature.
Rep. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, filed House Bill 2290, which proposes to pay the “reasonable special election campaign expenses” of any elected official who faces a recall out of the relevant state, county or local government’s general fund. It requires the individual to submit an itemized account of campaign expenses to the appropriate governing body. The Legislature or appropriate governing body then must approve the amount.
The bill is retroactive to expenses “incurred for a recall election held in November 2011.” Pearce’s was the only recall election that month.
Pearce did not spend any of his own money in the campaign, but raised and spent about $261,000 in donations from individuals and political committees. If the bill were to pass, he could charge the state for that amount.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20130122arizona-bill-reimburse-russell-pearce-filed.html