Pearce supporters trying to pass recall reimbursement measure
Arizona lawmakers are making one last push to reimburse former State Senate President Russell Pearce for the expenses he incurred in last year's recall election.
The state constitution includes a provision for a public payment of the "reasonalbe special election campaign expenses" in a recall, but it never makes clear what a "reasonable" expense is. This is one of the points Senator David Lujan touched on during a conference committee Wednesday.
"In this case, Russell Pearce has no campaign expenses," Lujan said. "These were all outside donors, adn there were no out-of-pocket expenses, so ..."
The repayment provision was added to a bill that would require primaries in recall elections, but it doesn't specify exactly how much a candidate can be reimbursed. Supporters say they're adding the provision because the constitution requires it. The measure still needs final approval in both the House and the Senate.
