January 17, 2020
By Jon Riches
The
Goldwater Institute has argued that the Phoenix City Council’s imposition of
new ride-sharing fees at Sky Harbor Airport is unconstitutional—and now, the
Arizona Attorney General agrees.
On
Thursday, the state Attorney General completed his investigation into Phoenix’s
illegal fees on ride-sharing services at Sky Harbor and agreed
with Goldwater that the fee increases “very likely violate” the Arizona
Constitution. This was an excellent outcome for ride-sharing drivers,
passengers, and the many visitors to this state and will ensure that the city’s
illegal action gets prompt and definitive resolution from the Arizona Supreme
Court.
Last
month, the Phoenix City Council adopted an ordinance that raised fees for
ride-sharing services at Sky Harbor by more than 200%. At the time, the
Goldwater Institute warned
the Council that the city’s action violated Proposition 126, which amended
Arizona’s Constitution to prohibit any city from imposing any new fees or
raising any existing fees on services offered in the state.
The
City Council ignored significant opposition from the public and the Goldwater
Institute’s warning that the fee increase violated the state Constitution.
Fortunately,
under Arizona law, a state lawmaker may submit a request to the Attorney
General to investigate city actions that violate the constitution. If the
Attorney General finds a likely constitutional violation, he can send the case
directly to the Arizona Supreme Court for expedited review.
In
this case, the Attorney General concluded that the city’s fee increases “very likely
violates” Proposition 126, as the Goldwater Institute had warned.
In
his report, the Attorney General dismissed the city’s mumbled and contradictory
arguments as to why it imposed the fees as policy preferences, not fidelity to
the law. The Attorney General wrote, “What the City seeks is to effectively rewrite the Constitution in
light of the City’s policy preference, placing the powers of government above
the rights of the people to whom the government must always answer.” That is
exactly correct.
The Attorney General also said
that he will now file an action directly in the Arizona Supreme Court and
“expeditiously seek relief” against Phoenix’s illegal action. The Supreme Court
must give that case precedence.
If the Attorney General had
found a violation of Proposition 126 outright, his option would have been to
direct the State Treasurer to withhold Phoenix’s share of state revenue. But, the city undoubtedly would have
challenged that action in trial court, likely bogging this case down for years
while the traveling public awaiting resolution.
The
Attorney General’s decision, instead, has the benefit of getting clarity on
Proposition 126 from the state’s highest court on an issue of statewide concern
that is bound to repeat itself as cities try to impose ever higher, and ever
more creative, taxes and fees.
The Attorney General’s investigation
and report, in other words, ensures that the city’s punishing fee increase will
be quickly and finally resolved in the courts. It vindicates the Goldwater
Institute’s warning to the city—and we are confident the Supreme Court will also hold true to the
Constitution and set aside the city’s illegal action, and others it might
contemplate, once and for all.
Jon Riches is the
Director of National Litigation at the Goldwater Institute.
