A judge has rejected a challenge to a voter initiative aimed at limiting so-called predatory debt collection, finding that opponents of the measure did not prove a summary provided to voters who signed qualifying petitions was misleading, the Associated Press reported. The ruling by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz also turned away an argument by the attorney for a newly created group funded by Arizona debt collection agencies that alleged that paid petition circulators were improperly registered with the secretary of state’s office. Moskowitz said the Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act qualifies to appear on the November ballot. His ruling is not the last word, however. Attorney Kory Langhofer, who represents a newly formed group called Protect Our Arizona that was funded by debt collection agencies, said Wednesday he has already filed an appeal with the Arizona Supreme Court. The secretary of state also still needs to certify that that proponents turned in enough signatures, although the group backing the measure, Healthcare Rising, turned in more than twice the nearly 238,000 signatures, meaning it is nearly certain it has enough to make the ballot. Healthcare Rising is primarily funded by the California-based Service Employees International Union, which represents nurses and other health care workers, government employees and others in that state.
