Arizona Governor Vetoes Official English Bill

U.S. English, Inc. looks to put measure on ballot in 2006

Despite support from the citizens and legislature, Arizona governor Janet Napolitano yesterday vetoed legislation that would have made English the official language of the Grand Canyon State. In her veto letter, Gov. Napolitano encouraged non-English speakers to learn the common language of the United States, but questioned whether there was enough funding for English learning programs.

“How does the governor expect to increase language learning opportunities when she refuses to put the weight of the government behind English?” asked Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. “As we saw in Iowa, efforts to increase funding for English instruction go hand-in-hand with enacting common language legislation. An official English policy is the first step toward ensuring that we remain one nation.”

Introduced by Arizona Rep. Russell Peace, efforts to make English the official language of Arizona began as a proposed ballot initiative. HCR 2030, which would have given voters the choice to make English the official language of Arizona in Nov. 2006, passed the House in March. Later in the session, a measure that would have made English the official language by statute was introduced as an amendment to SB 1167, which passed the House in April (32-24) and the Senate in May (17-13).

In spite of the governor’s veto, both U.S. English, Inc. and Arizona Rep. Russell Pearce vowed to carry this debate into the election of 2006. If successful, it would mark the eighth time that legislation to make English the official language was put before the voters of a state. All seven previous attempts have been successful, including a 1986 California initiative which garnered 71 percent of the vote and a 1988 Arizona initiative, which was struck down by the Supreme Court ten years later.

“Arizona’s initiative process was designed for issues like this, ideas wholeheartedly supported by the people, but opposed by the governor. It was the voice of Arizona residents that made English the official language of the state in 1988, a voice Gov. Napolitano will be hearing again in 2006.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.