By Howard Fischer
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PHOENIX - Arizonans will get to vote in November on a package of measures that Republican lawmakers say are necessary to create a secure border.

In a brief order late Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected arguments by immigrant rights groups and Living United for Change in Arizona that the five-provision measure violates a requirement that all legislation be limited to "one subject and matters properly connected therewith.''

That same requirement applies to the measure placed on the ballot. The idea is to prevent "logrolling,'' where disparate issues are placed together with voters forced to adopt the whole package - including things they don't want - to get what they do.

Challengers specifically argued that new sentencing laws for sale of lethal fentanyl in the package have nothing to do with other provisions in the bill, like allowing state and local police to arrest border crossers.

But Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer, writing for the unanimous court, rejected their pleas to keep Proposition 314 - originally crafted by lawmakers as HCR 2060 - off the ballot.

"The court concludes that HCR 2060 satisfied the single-subject rule,'' Timmer wrote.

"HCR 2060's subject is ‘responses to harms relating to an unsecure border,’'' she said. "And all components of the proposed law are 'reasonably related' to that subject.''

All that means is that foes now must convince voters to reject the plan on the general election ballot.

The most visible part of the legislation is the language allowing police to arrest those who enter Arizona from Mexico other than at a port of entry. That is modeled after SB 4, a similar statute enacted last year in Texas, though enforcement of that remains on hold because of a federal appellate court order.

Republicans in the Legislature here actually approved a measure to do just that earlier this year, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs. So, the GOP leadership decided to bypass the governor and send it directly to voters.

The final version, however, contains other issues, including creating one crime of using forged papers to seek public benefits and another one making it illegal to get around requirements to prove legal presence to work in the state.

But they also added another section on fentanyl sales.

That already is a felony, punishable by a presumptive sentence of five years in prison. The new language would add another five years if the seller knew the drug being sold was fentanyl and if it resulted in the death of another.

Now it is part of a single take-it-or-leave-it package for voters as Prop 314.