Here is the contact information for our Legislators:
AZ SENATE:
LD 6 – Wendy Rogers 602-926-3042
LD 7 – Theresa Hatathlie 602-926-5160
President Karen Fann 602-926-5874
Majority Ldr Rick Gray 602-926-5413
AZ HOUSE:
LD 6 – Walt Blackman 602-926-3043
LD 6 – Brenda Barton 602-926-3421
LD 7 – Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren 602-926-3069
LD 7 – Myron Tsosie 602-926-3157
Speaker Russell Bowers 602-926-3128
Majority Ldr Ben Toma 602-926-3298
CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AS BILLS MOVE TO HIM TO SIGN
IT IS BEST TO CALL HIS OFFICE TO VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION – 602-542-4331.
IF YOU TWEET – SEND YOUR OPPOSITION VIA TWITTER – @DOUGDUCEY
(He hates to get Tweets it seems!!)
Other Resources to Find Out More on Key Arizona Legislative Issues:
RTS Access via AZ Legislature Web Site: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview?SessionID=125
Coconino County Democratic Party: https://coconinodemocrats.org/category/action-alerts/
Civic Engagement Beyond Voting: https://www.cebv.us/
Save our Schools: https://sosarizona.org/
Anne Schneider’s Alerts: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Z2KAoOtBd3S4kORzQnfaHP6jtLHWhqI/view
AAUW – Arizona: https://www.aauwarizona.org/
ANIMAL WELFARE – Arizona Humane Society
Legislative Initiatives to Create a Safer Arizona – Arizona Humane Society (azhumane.org)
DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE – Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
2022 Legislative Agenda (acesdv.org)
Sign up for weekly legislative alerts on Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence : Sign Up to Stay in Touch (constantcontact.com)
EDUCATION
Arizona Education Association – Legislative Alert Sign-Up: AEA Legislative Update | Arizona Education Association (arizonaea.org)
Arizona School Boards Association – Legislative – Arizona School Boards Association (azsba.org)
ENVIRONMENTAL
Sierra Club Legislative Alerts: 2022 Legislative Updates | Sierra Club
Sierra Club Legislative Tracker: Legislative Tracker | Sierra Club
HEALTH and WELFARE
Arizona Nurses Association
2022 AzNA Healthcare Bill Watch List – Arizona Nurses Association (aznurse.org)
National Association of Social Workers, Arizona Chapter
Action Alerts and Legislative Updates (socialworkers.org)
TECHNOLOGY – Arizona Technology Council
ICBD-580-AZTC-Public-Policy-2022_V12-Digital_Compressed.pdf (aztechcouncil.org) – mostly policy statements and federal legislation, but some discussion is more relevant to state legislation and appropriations.
VETERANS
Arizona Veterans Legislation Proposals 2022 – Jackson Law (jacksonlawgroupaz.com)
BILLS SPONSORED BY WENDY ROGERS, WALT BLACKMAN, or BRENDA BARTON
HB 2624 – Walt Blackman – OPPOSE – Would penalize cities and counties if they don’t spend enough on law enforcement.
HCR 2028 – Walt Blackman – OPPOSE – Would ask voters to amend the AZ constitution to set a minimum value that cities and counties must collectively spend on law enforcement.
SB 1132, introduced by Wendy Rogers – not yet on any committee agenda, so use My Bill Positions. This bill would prohibit any municipality from issuing any “green bond” – that is, issuing bonds that would finance any “green project” – and “green project” is defined in the bill as any project addressing even in part climate adaptation, climate mitigation, carbon neutrality, or carbon mitigation efforts. This is ridiculous over-reach in limiting city activities; and in addition it is so poorly and vaguely written it would prohibit things like trying to increase the energy efficiency (or decrease the heating/cooling bills) of city buildings. OPPOSE
EDUCATION
HB 2009 – Steve Kaiser (R-15) – OPPOSE – Would subject schools to the whims of individual lawmakers through withholding their funding.
HB 2439 – Beverly Pingerelli (R-21) – OPPOSE – NEW – Would require school boards to approve every single book purchase in advance and to publicize for 60 days what books are to be bought!!
SB 1211 – Nancy Barto (R-15) – OPPOSE – Would require teachers to post a list of EVERY SINGLE item teachers use or discuss with students!!
HB 2112 – Michelle Udall (R-25) – OPPOSE – Would ban racist or “controversial” topics in schools, and penalizes school districts with fines. This is an unnecessary wedge between teachers and parents that would threaten engagement with students, deprive kids of crucial knowledge about their identities, and force teachers out of the profession as restrictive practices mount!
HB 2161 – Steve Kaiser (R-15) – OPPOSE – Would require publicly funded schools to give parents access to all their records, including shot records and psychological files. Schools would be banned from withholding information from parents about students’ emotional health or gender identity, or helping the student withhold such information. This bill makes no allowance for restraining orders or legal lack of custody.
SB 1657 – Paul Boyer (R-20) – OPPOSE – Another broad expansion of the ESA voucher program and pulls the money for this directly from Public Schools!
SB 1707 – Paul Boyer (R-20) – OPPOSE – Would further undermine Public Schools by allowing students who were able to use Ducey’s “Neo Vouchers” to avoid COVID restrictions and go to private schools on tax dollars to become permanently eligible for vouchers going forward.
HB 2803 – John Fillmore (R-16) – OPPOSE – Would make every AZ student eligible for a private school voucher.
SB 1011 – Kelly Townsend (R-16) – OPPOSE – Would ban school districts from using tax dollars to pay for membership in a state or national school board association. These associations provide valuable training, leadership and other services to nearly all school boards (240 in Arizona alone). Another effort being pushed by the Goldwater Institute to further weaken support for public schools.
SB 1617 – Ugenti-Rita (R-23) – OPPOSE – Would ban schools from requiring permission to use school property for after hour peaceful protests – would open up school property to political groups for rallies of al types.
HB 2284 – John Fillmore (R-16) – OPPOSE – Would require teachers to hold back a student who does not meet course or competency requirements. This presumes that parents and teachers cannot be trusted to determine what is best on a case-by-case basis. There is no appropriations attached to this bill. Arizona will not fund an additional year for retained students!
HB 2808 – Michelle Udall (R-25) – OPPOSE – Would punish poorly performing schools by shutting them down – without real tools to help those schools succeed.
SB 1159 – Rick Gray – OPPOSE – Would consolidate Arizona’s teaching certificates so that anyone who goes through any teacher prep program or subject matter expert certification receives a Standard Teaching Certificate. This plays into the misconception that “anyone” can teach.
SB 1519 – Martin Quezada (D-29) – SUPPORT – Would require a cost study to be done every two years on the cost of providing special education programs. This is a small step toward providing better funding to these traditionally underfunded programs.
PUBLIC SAFETY
HB 2198 – Steve Kaiser (R-15) – OPPOSE – Mandates any employee who is fired for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID would get one year’s salary or reinstatement – retro active to November 2021.
SB 1048 – Warren Petersen (R-12) – OPPOSE – Would ban all levels of government from ordering the closing of any business during a state of emergency.
HB 2453 – Neal Carter (R-8) – OPPOSE – Would ban all government buildings from requiring people to wear face masks.
HB 2316 – John Kavanagh (R-23) – OPPOSE – Would allow people with concealed weapon permits to bring guns into libraries, community centers, public pools, state museums, the DMV, government offices, block parties, marches and street fairs – even if asked to turn over their firearms for storage
HB 2414 – Jacqueline Parker (R-16) – OPPOSE – Would allow parents to bypass gun-free zones at schools and have loaded weapons in their vehicles while dropping off kids.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
HB 2413 – Jacqueline Parker (R-16) – OPPOSE – Would allow a juror to be removed based on unsubstantiated allegations of bias or prejudice.
HB 2595 – Jacqueline Parker (R-16) – OPPOSE – Would allow the removal of a judge based on unsubstantiated allegations of bias or prejudice.
HB 2328 – Kevin Payne (R-21) – OPPOSE – NEW – Would remove financial liability to companies who contract with the state for prison labor making them unaccountable for injuries or death!!
VOTING RIGHTS
HB 2492 – Jake Hoffman (R-12) – OPPOSE – Would require proof of residency to register to vote at least for the federal only ballot – a clear violation of federal law.
HCR 2025 – John Fillmore (R-16) – OPPOSE – Would ask voters to require themselves to show a government issued ID when voting – This blocks many low income, racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly and those with disabilities from voting.
SB 1094 – JD Mesnard (R-17) – OPPOSE – Would require petition circulators to read aloud the descriptions of initiatives and referendum petitions – clearly an effort to make citizen initiatives harder to execute.
HB 2493 – Jake Hoffman (R-12) – OPPOSE – Would set up an “election integrity fund” to pay for hand tabulations of election results – an attempt to move away from machine counting of ballots.
HCR 2015 – Tim Dunn (R-15) – OPPOSE – Would restrict voter initiatives and referendum effectiveness by requiring a super majority of voters to pass.
ARIZONA RETIREMENT SYSTEM
HB 2637 – Jake Hoffman (R-12) – OPPOSE – Would severely limit companies that the Arizona Retirement system could invest in – specifically limits any company that in any way support or acknowledge abortions. Probably not available to RTS so contact Reps directly via e-mail or phone – to be voted on the house floor on Monday, 2/28.
HEALTHCARE
SB 1272 – Tyler Pace (R-25) – SUPPORT – Would use federal matching funds to extend for one year postpartum care to low-income women.
GOVERNANCE
SB 1009 – Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-23) – OPPOSE – Would limit the Governor’s ability to declare a state of emergency to 120 days. After that both chambers of the legislature would need to reauthorize it. Clearly aimed at preventing appropriate responses to key emergencies, such as COVID.
TAXATION
SB 1093 – JD Mesnard (R-17) – OPPOSE – NEW – Would shift state taxes from corporations to individuals by limiting corporate property taxes.
SB 1020 – Rick Gray (R-21) – SUPPORT – Would require lawmakers to determine if a tax credit would increase beyond projections in the future. Too often these tax credits increase dramatically beyond their original intent – significantly reducing the general fund.
FOSTER CARE
HB 2084 – Joanne Osborne (R-13) – SUPPORT – Would help kinship families become licensed faster and eliminates time consuming tasks that delay ensuring the safety of children.
NATIVE AMERICAN SUPPORT
SB 1201 – Tyler Pace (R-16) – SUPPORT – Would provide funding for the construction of the Ganado School Loop Road – a road that hasn’t been maintained in almost 30 years!
Share this: