Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Prescott Public Library to celebrate the “The Rock Garden,” an early literacy play space that opened last November.

Designed for children from birth to five years, the play space offers an environment that encourages early childhood literacy with books, toys, a puppet stage and comfy furniture. The area also hosts a collection of parenting materials and examples of literacy activities that can easily be replicated at home.

The Arizona State Library has joined in partnership with the Arizona Department of Education, First Things First, the Governor’s Office of Education Innovation and Read On Arizona in a first-ever statewide collaboration of services and resources focused on childhood literacy; reaching families and children of all ages to engage them in summer reading.

This program is designed to get children to realize the rewards of reading by encouraging them to exercise their imaginations and make reading a daily event this summer.  Evidence shows that children who stop reading over summer vacation often fall behind when they return to school in August. I encourage all school children to take part in this program whether they want to learn about sports stars, or stars in outer space. Be it poolside, camping or on the beach, bring a book with you and read!

The Arizona Reading Program has three different levels: adults, teens and preschoolers/elementary school. The theme for this year’s program is “underground.”  The goal is to have 100,000 readers participate in the summer reading program.  To participate, sign up at your local library. To find a library near you, visit the Arizona State Library’s website at: www.azlibrary.gov/libdir.

The Libertarian Party has officially notified our office that they wish to open their 2014 Primary Election (see letter, attached). As you all know, this means that any voter who is not registered with a recognized party will be able to select a Libertarian ballot in the primary, requiring, among other changes, that you include a Libertarian sample ballot in your mailing to those PND voters.

Arizona’s Supreme Court has confirmed the Secretary of State’s office correctly summarized Proposition 204, a 2012 ballot measure which would have permanently increased state sales taxes to fund education and infrastructure projects.  The initiative was defeated by voters last fall 64% to 36%.

State law directs the Secretary of State to provide, and the Attorney General to approve, a description of the measure to appear on the ballot.  In the latest lawsuit, the Quality Education and Jobs Committee sued the Secretary of State’s office insisting the description “falsely characterizing the Act as a tax increase.”

The most recent ruling comes on the heels of a decision issued by the Court last month which also affirmed Secretary Bennett acted properly when the office initially rejected the measure because the petitions signed by voters did not match the official language filed in the office. 

As I’ve said before, we follow the laws, policies and procedures which guide the ballot measure process from beginning to end.  Our office is required to provide the public an accurate description of what ballot initiatives actually do.  Unfortunately the Committee disagreed with our characterization of the initiative which said ‘a yes vote shall have the effect of permanently increasing the state sales tax by one cent per dollar.’  Simply arguing we inaccurately described the initiative as a permanent tax increase doesn’t make it so, and we are pleased that the Court was not persuaded otherwise.

Now, Arizona is at a critical juncture as we continue to maintain fiscal stability and economic growth.  Over the coming months, the legislature will face significant decreases in revenue as the temporary sales tax increase expires and federal stimulus dollars run out.  How the legislature allocates the state’s limited amount of resources will determine the course of our short-term and long-term economic future. 

Pro-growth strategies and a positive atmosphere for growth will be vital to Arizona’s resurgence.  So many of our young people are looking for satisfying careers, not just jobs.   We must make it easier for them to find fulfilling long-term professions that provide a good living for their families.  Our future depends on it.

While economic concerns are Arizona’s number one priority, our office is also exploring opportunities to enhance our system of elections.  From early ballot processing to initiative petitions, we are meeting with state legislators and the elections community to identify areas where we can make improvements.  Our goal is to have the best system of elections in the world and I’m confident we will take more steps toward that goal during the 51^st legislative session.

I’ll join former Governor of Florida Charlie Crist, Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz, South Carolina State Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter and Nina Perales of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The opportunity to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee is a distinct honor and privilege and I’m looking forward to offering our insights on this election cycle and shed some light on Arizona’s system of elections.

The hearing will take place in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

A webcast of the hearing will be available at: http://www.judiciary.senate.gov

135,140 early and provisional ballots statewide remain to be processed.

A state canvass to certify official election results for federal, statewide and legislative races is scheduled for December 3.

This will be the final ballot processing update from the AZSOS until after Pima and Maricopa complete their work.

View Pima County’s progress at: www.pima.gov.

Maricopa County announces their daily total at: http://recorder.maricopa.gov/web/pressrelease.aspx

A state canvass to certify official election results for federal, statewide and legislative races is scheduled for Dec. 3.