A federal appeals court has sided with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in a long-running dispute over whether a 2016 ballot measure he pushed that increased withdrawals from the state land trust to fund education violated federal law.
Tuesday’s 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals ruling overturned a 2018 decision by a Phoenix-based federal judge that said Ducey needed congressional approval to boost land trust withdrawals. Congress eventually approved the move. But Wake said last year if it happened again he would issue an injunction preventing additional withdrawals. The appeals court ruled on procedural grounds, and the case may continue in state court.
