In June 2009, the Arizona Legislature took an historic step by placing Prop. 107 banning “affirmative action” programs that grant preferential treatment based on race or sex in public contracting, public education, or public employment on the November 2010 ballot. The amendment was sponsored by Representative Steve Montenegro and Senator Russell Pearce. The Senate vote was 17-11 and the House vote was 32-18.

The operative clause of the initiative will be: "The state shall not grant preferential treatment to or discriminate against, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting."

The Republicans hold an edge in the Legislature and has occupied the governor's office since the appointment of Janet Napolitano by President Obama. To retain their control, the GOP has decided that they need to stand for something and they are offering the people three basic principles - lower taxes, limited regulations, and an economy built around the principle that every able-bodied person needs to carry their weight based on individual merit. Obviously, race preferences in contracting make no sense in the Arizona of tomorrow. Representatives from Tucson, for example, supported this legislation by calling attention to the fact that Tucson allows "minority" contractors a 7% bid preference. This means that taxpayers in that City will pay $107,000 for a sidewalk repair project to be done by a minority-owned firm even when a white-owned firm had bid $100,000. The GOP legislators stated that they could not support such waste of public money. The Democrats claim that preferences are still needed because they claim that “white privilege” still exists.

It is significant to mention that every Republican who was present voted for this legislation. Out of 54 GOP legislators in both houses of the Arizona Legislature, 49 voted in favor; five were absent and not voting. These 49 included conservatives, moderates and liberal Republicans. In fact, one of the most liberal members of the Senate, who is Republican, was the first one to cast an "aye" vote. The GOP leadership has concluded that this issue is "the right thing to do."

Senate Vote Details
AYES: 32 NAYS: 18 NOT VOTING: 10 EXCUSED: 0 VACANT: 0
Y = Yes
N = No
NV = Not Voting
EXC = Excused
V = Vacant

Member Name Vote
Edward Ableser N
Ray Barnes Y
Tom Boone Y
Judy M. Burges Y
Cloves C. Campbell, Jr. N
Rich Crandall NV
Adam Driggs Y
Martha Garcia N
Matt Heinz N
John Kavanagh Y
Phil Lopes NV
John McComish Y
Eric Meyer N
Steve B. Montenegro Y
Lynne Pancrazi NV
Doug Quelland NV
Carl Seel Y
Andrew M. Tobin Y
Jim Weiers Y
Steven B. Yarbrough Y
Nancy Young Wright NV
Kirk Adams Y
Vic Williams Y
Jerry Weiers Y
Anna Tovar N
Rae Waters N
Kyrsten Sinema NV
David W. Stevens Y
Michele Reagan Y
David Schapira N
Daniel Patterson N
Steve Farley NV
Patricia V. Fleming N
Doris Goodale Y
Frank Pratt Y
Rick Murphy Y
Warde V. Nichols Y
Robert Meza N
Ben R. Miranda N
Barbara McGuire N
Frank Antenori Y
Nancy McLain Y
David Lujan N
Debbie Lesko Y
Lucy Mason Y
Bill Konopnicki NV
Laurin Hendrix Y
Cecil P. Ash Y
Russell L. Jones Y
David Gowan Y
Sam Crump Y
Christopher Deschene N
Tom Chabin N
Steve Court Y
Olivia Cajero Bedford NV
Chad Campbell N
David Bradley NV
Jack A. Brown N
Nancy K. Barto Y
Andy Biggs Y

House Vote Details
AYES: 17 NAYS: 11 NOT VOTING: 2 EXCUSED: 0 VACANT: 0
Y = Yes
N = No
NV = Not Voting
EXC = Excused
V = Vacant

Member Name Vote
Paula Aboud N
Sylvia Allen Y
Ken Cheuvront N
Ron Gould Y
Albert Hale N
Leah Landrum Taylor N
Debbie McCune Davis NV
John Nelson Y
Steve Pierce Y
Thayer Verschoor Y
Carolyn S. Allen Y
Manuel V. "Manny" Alvarez N
Meg Burton Cahill N
Jorge Luis Garcia N
Pamela Gorman Y
Chuck Gray Y
Linda Gray Y
Jack W. Harper Y
John Huppenthal NV
Barbara Leff Y
Linda Lopez N
Al Melvin Y
Richard Miranda N
Jonathan Paton Y
Russell Pearce Y
Rebecca Rios N
Jay Tibshraeny Y
Jim Waring Y
Robert "Bob" Burns Y
Amanda Aguirre N