Fogliano v. Brain

In Fogliano v. Brain, 229 Ariz. 12, 270 P.3d 839 (App. 2011) Fogliano involved Proposition 204, an initiative the voters approved in the 2000 general election that amended various statutes relating to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System ("AHCCCS") to "substantially expand the number of people 'eligible' to receive health care subsidized by state, county, and federal funds." Id. at 14,2, 270 P.3d at 841. Proposition 204 specified a funding source for the AHCCCS expansion, but also provided, "to ensure that sufficient monies are available to provide benefits to all persons who are eligible," the fund "shall be supplemented, as necessary, by any other available sources including legislative appropriations and federal monies." Id. at 15,2, 270 P.3d at 842. The Court looked to the language of the statute, which includes mandatory directives such as the word "shall," and concluded that the supplemental funding provision means what it says. Id. at 18-19,18-21, 270 P.3d at 845-46. The Court therefore disagreed with the superior court's conclusion that Proposition 204 "merely contemplates that the Legislature will pass legislation to fund the program." Id. at 18,16, 270 P.3d at 845. Notwithstanding the legislature's obligation to fund the program, the Court ultimately concluded that whether the legislature had appropriated "any other available sources" of funding presented a non-justiciable political question. Id. at 19-20,22, 270 P.3d at 846-47.