Opinion ID: 2612398
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Need for different standard

Text: Deannexation proponents contend that legislation constitutional under equal protection analysis is also constitutional under special/local law analysis. They assert that the only test we must apply is whether the deannexation law is rationally related to a legitimate legislative purpose. Goodyear and Surprise counter that, although a rational basis for the legislation must exist, the analysis proposed by deannexation proponents does not go far enough. The municipalities argue that Arizona Downs set forth the proper standard to test a statute's constitutionality, and that under the articulated test, the deannexation statute is unconstitutional. A statute may withstand equal protection review, yet still be found unconstitutional under the special/local law provision. See State v. Levy's, 119 Ariz. 191, 192, 580 P.2d 329, 330 (1978); 2 E. McQuillan, supra, § 4.19, at 59 (A violation of the state prohibition against local or special laws is not necessarily a violation of [the equal protection] constitutional provision, since the former is more comprehensive than the latter.); J. Winters, State Constitutional Limitations on Solutions of Metropolitan Area Problems 83-84 (1961) (justifications for special law prohibitions encompass more than equality). A different and heightened standard of review is necessary because the two provisions were promulgated to address different evils. Our constitution's framers were well aware of the dangers inherent in special legislation. By including proscriptions against special laws, they sought to avoid the evils created by a patchwork type of legal system where some laws applied in a few locations while others applied elsewhere. The legislature may classify, but it cannot make a classification based on a decision that a law should apply to a particular individual or group. Rather, the legislature must enact laws that apply to all individuals who may benefit from its attempt to remedy a particular evil. Accordingly, we consistently review challenges under the equal protection and special/local law provisions separately. See Arizona Downs, 130 Ariz. 550, 637 P.2d 1053; Levy's, 119 Ariz. 191, 580 P.2d 329.