Governor Brewer signs Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration into law

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In a signing ceremony this morning, Gov. Brewer signed into law Arizona’s Medicaid restoration program:

Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law today an expansion of Arizona’s
Medicaid program under the federal health-care overhaul, brought about
through a fierce five-month legislative battle.

Brewer, standing before a riser in a Capitol conference room that
held dozens of lawmakers, hospital officials and other supporters,
thanked the bipartisan coalition of legislators who voted for the bill.

“They displayed something we don’t see a lot in politics today, and
that is courage,” the governor said. “You put people before politics and
you stood firm in the face of personal attacks.”

* * *

“An opportunity like this doesn’t come very often,” the governor said at
today’s signing ceremony. “And I hope less in the future.”

After Brewer signed the legislation into law, she sent out this tweet along with the following picture.

The bill signing was also likely the beginning of a two-pronged challenge to the new law.

House Bill 2010 is supposed to take effect in about three months, but
two former lawmakers and a group of GOP activists are organizing a
petition drive to refer the new law to voters, which could put it on
hold until the November 2014 general election.

At least one local group is considering a lawsuit challenging the
law’s passage without a two-thirds majority. The Goldwater Institute
argues – as several anti-expansion lawmakers did – that the hospital
assessment is a fee increase that requires approval by a supermajority
under a voter-approved constitutional amendment intended to reduce tax
and fee hikes.

Brewer said she doesn’t believe opponents will be able to gather the
86,405 valid signatures necessary to put the measure on the ballot, and
is confident the law will pass legal muster.

I do not share Team Brewer's confidence in their legal strategy and lawyers. The legal strategy is flawed — I believe the Goldwater Institute position is one to which the courts will agree — and her lawyers routinely lose in court. This isn't over yet.