Governor Ducey vetoes justice of peace residency bill

williams-justice-courtPHOENIX — On Tuesday, Governor Doug Ducey vetoed H.B. 2592 which would have required a candidate for Justice of the Peace to be a resident of the precinct they are to represent at the time they file papers and would have to have been a resident for one-year at the time of the general election date.

The exception would have been a justice of the peace who had been appointed. A.R.S. § 16-230 allows the governor to fill vacancies in the Justice of the Peace office with a person of the same party.

The Governor stated in his veto letter:

I do not believe it is appropriate to create a separate residency standard for one specific elected office.

The Governor also vetoed S.B. 1171 concerning filing of late campaign reports. The bill would have required that the specific amount of daily late penalties and how and when daily late penalties start and stop accruing be added to notices sent to campaigns who file late campaign reports.

Governor Ducey said in his veto letter that this matter could be handled administratively in the office of the Secretary of State.

According to current law, all penalties for late filing must be paid prior to filing the late report.