Watch Out: The Arizona Legislature Is Back In Session

The Legislature reconvenes this week with legislators eager to take action that could have far-reaching effects on the people of Arizona – for good or ill. Coconino Democrats are happy to host political scientists Anne Schneider and Harriet Young for our Democratic Political Action! meeting this Thursday. Dr. Young will provide an introduction explaining how legislatures have come to play such an important role in preservation of democracy. Dr. Schneider closely monitors bills in the Arizona Legislature; she will provide insight into specific issues we can expect will be in the forefront of this legislative session.

Anne Schneider is Policy Coordinator of Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona (UUJAZ) and author of a weekly legislative update on social justice and education issues. She’s already written three useful pieces about what to expect in the upcoming legislative session, divided into these topics (follow the links to read Schneider’s reports):

Many of our local activists have signed up for Request to Speak in order to engage remotely in lobbying our legislature.

The Request to Speak (RTS) is an online tool that allows individuals to give Arizona State Legislators their feedback on bills. RTS allows individuals to register their support or opposition to a bill and to provide the reason why. A person using RTS does not actually have to speak at a legislative session, but it does provide that option if a person desires to do so.

The use of RTS is supported through an informative newsletter from the group Civic Action Beyond Voting. Here’s the preview issue for the coming session. This weekly newsletter gives information about upcoming legislation and their recommendation about the response to be input on RTS. Sign up for this newsletter here.

In order to use RTS, a person must be registered. This registration needs to be done in Phoenix, but a person’s registration can be dropped off by someone else. You can also get registered by going onto the Civic Engagement Beyond Voting website at https://www.cebv.us/.

For more information about RTS, contact " target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Cathy Rutherford (opens in a new tab)">Cathy Rutherford, Second Vice Chair of the Coconino County Democratic Party.