COCONINO COUNTY DEMOCRATS ARIZONA LEGISLATIVE ALERT
February 6, 2023
Below is our Arizona Legislature Alert for this week. Our representatives continue to be busy – mostly suppressing the vote, imposing restrictions on public schools, arbitrary constraints on cities and counties, etc.
Please take whatever time you can to use RTS (Request to Speak) to voice your position on the bills outlined in the attached. Better yet, send and email or make a phone call to your representative to really let them know how you feel.
Remember that Civic Engagement Beyond Voting holds a hour long “Happy Hour” every Sunday at 4:00 PM to review what the legislature is up to. It is well worth your time. You can find a link to CEBV registration form to attend these zoom sessions here.
LD 7 REPRESENTATIVE SPONSORS
SB 1239 – OPPOSE – ROGERS – Would allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency as payment by partnering with a private third-party company. Crypto is a gamble used by the mega rich. USE RTS!
SB 1114 – OPPOSE – ROGERS – Would appropriate $3.64 Million to the existing hyperbaric oxygen therapy fund for military veterans. Such therapy can be sued for serious infections. It is likely this is an attempt to get state funding for fraudulent COVID treatment. USE RTS
SB 1366 – OPPOSE – ROGERS – Would mandate that medical personnel inform women seeking abortions that health benefits may be available to her if she chooses to stay pregnant and a lot of other incentives to not getting an abortion. This bill serves no medical purpose. USE RTS!
SB 1300 – OPPOSE – ROGERS – Would ban school governing boards from restricting or prohibiting the parent of a student from carrying or transporting a firearm on school property if the parent possesses a valid concealed weapons permit (something that is ridiculously easy to get). USE RTS
HOMELESS
HB 2284 – OPPOSE – Would create state funded “tent cities” for anyone experiencing homelessness. It would segregate and criminalize people without dealing with the homelessness issue. AZ has a serious homeless crises and real solutions are needed not attempts to criminalize the condition for people. USE RTS.
SCR 1011 – OPPOSE – Would ask voters to allow the Housing Trust Fund to be used to fund state-funded “tent cities” for those experiencing homelessness. It would penalize cities with high homelessness rates then the state average and thus encourage cities to simply evict people. Another attempt to segregate and criminalize the homeless condition. USE RTS
SB 1413 – OPPOSE – Would require cities and counties to immediately remove any “homeless encampment” and throw away all materials found there!! USE RTS!
SOCIAL SAFETY NET
HB 2329 – SUPPORT – Would appropriate $12 Million from the general fund to create the First Generation Home Buyers Down Payment Assistance Grant Fund. This fund would provide five-year loans for first time disadvantaged homebuyers to use for down payments!! USE RTS!
SB 1544 – SUPPORT – Would raise the monthly stipend for kinship foster care parents (those related to the child) to the same $600 per month that every other foster care parent gets. USE RTS!
HEALTH & WELFARE
HB 2338 – SUPPORT – Would expand Arizona’s Medicaid system to include preventative dental care. USE RTS!
TAXATION
HB 2447 – OPPOSE – Would allow out-of-state residents to buy a vehicle tax-free in Arizona. USE RTS!
SB 1156 – OPPOSE – Would allow $40,000 deduction for taxes (up from $3,000) for adoptions. Just another way to reduce the state’s general fund. We already give away much more than we take in on revenue. We don’t need anymore credits. USE RTS!
SB 1281 – OPPOSE – Would give income tax rebates of $200 for individual and $400 for a couple for tax year 2022. This could cost the state general fund almost $1 Billion!!! USE RTS!
SB 1559 – OPPOSE – Would exempt from state taxes all of the first-year profits for a corporation in its first year of business, half the profits in year two and a quarter of the profits in year three. It would waive all fees as well. This is no time to further grant tax breaks to business! USE RTS!
SB 1577 & SCR 1035 – OPPOSE – Would mandate that If Arizona had a budget surplus in any given year, then the state would have to automatically cut income taxes by 50% for the next year! USE RTS!
SB 1577 & SCR 1035 – OPPOSE – Would mandate that If Arizona had a budget surplus in any given year, then the state would have to automatically cut income taxes by 50% for the next year! USE RTS!
EDUCATION
HB 2538 – OPPOSE – Would allow district and charter schools to offer live, remote instruction for students in grades 9 thru 12 in exchange for a portion of school funding. Offering bonuses for passing grades monetizes learning and leads to inequality. USE RTS!
HB 2800 – OPPOSE – Would give raises to district and charter teachers who teach more than 50% of the time. The concept is admirable, the bill is unworkable. It lacks flexibility for schools to adapt to state funding cut backs, it does NOT cover support personnel, and funding is tied to “accountability” measures (even through ESA Vouchers are not accountable!). USE RTS!
SB 1546 – SUPPORT – Would set up a $100,000 grant program for district and charter school community gardens. Such gardens offer many benefits to the school students and the community. USE RTS!
SB 1717 – OPPOSE – Would give incentive bonuses to teachers and district and charter schools for students who pass a qualifying dual enrollment course – allows HS students to earn college credits. This makes the program just another kind of inequitable “results-based funding” further increasing the achievement gap. USE RTS!
SB 1145 – OPPOSE – Would exempt students at all three in-state universities from student activity fees if the student says the payment would “violate their conscience”. Intended to enshrine culture wars into statute. USE RTS!
SB 1410 – OPPOSE – Would allow any state lawmaker to order the Attorney General to investigate whether a city is violating state law – and extend this “right” to school boards. This “right” has been used by Republicans to stop cities from enacting policies that they don’t like. USE RTS!
SCR 1025 – OPPOSE – Would ask voters to insert the “parents bill of rights” into the state Constitution. This is an act that is often wielded by far-right political groups as a bludgeon against schools, health care organization and children’s advocacy groups. USE RTS!
LGBTQ RIGHTS
SB 1040 – Kavanagh (R-3) – OPPOSE – Would ban trans kids from using the school bathrooms, changing facilities and “sleeping quarters” that align with their gender identity. Allows anyone to sue. Previous legislation like this has been found to be unconstitutional – this will lead to serious legal challenges that will need to be defended at tax-payer expense. USE RTS.
VOTING RIGHTS
SB 1074 & HB 2613 – OPPOSE – Would ban all electronic voting equipment from primary use unless it meets Department of Defense cybersecurity standards. Unnecessary and based on more conspiracy theories. USE RTS!
SB 1140 – OPPOSE – Would ban county-based voting centers and mandate that counties return to precinct-style voting. The voting center concept is very beneficial – it provides voter convenience, financial savings and increased turnout. USE RTS!
SB 1213 – OPPOSE – Would mandate the Legislative Council, not the Secretary of State, create the official elections procedure manual. Can you imagine what that would do to our elections!! USE RTS
SB 1324 and HB 2560 – OPPOSE – Would require copies of digital ballot images to be made publicly available online. This is a recommendation of the Cyber Ninjas after their failed ballot review. An obvious invasion of privacy and a continuing attempt to undermine Arizona’s election process. USE RTS.
SB 1332 – OPPOSE – Would make the “cast vote record” a public record. This is a recipt of everything scanned by a voting machine. It’s the latest example of the endless and fruitless search for proof of election wrong doing. Never substantiated! USE RTS!
SB 1518 – OPPOSE – Would allow voters to skip the signature verification process by presenting an ID when dropping off ballets on Election Day. This would break the chain of ballot custody! The bill also bans one person in a family from dropping off ballots after the Friday before Election Day. USE RTS!
SB 1595 – OPPOSE – Would make voters present ID in order to drop off their early ballot after 7PM on the Friday before Election Day. This would unnecessarily complicate voting for 20% of all voters and likely result in more ballots being rejected. USE RTS!
SB 1596 – OPPOSE – Would require government offices, including school district offices, to serve as polling places if elections officials ask for it. This is a sly attempt to promote a return to precinct-style voting. USE RTS!
SB 1597 – OPPOSE – Would require elections officials to tabulate early ballots on-site at polling places no later than November 2024. There is not appropriation to support this very expensive requirement. USE RTS!
ABILITY OF CIITES/COUNTIES TO MANAGE FUNDS
SB 1146 – OPPOSE – Would require Arizona’s retirement system to divest from companies that “promote, facilitate or advocate for” abortions for minors, or for “the inclusion of, or the referral of students to, sexually explicit material.” Would hamstring financial managers and prevent effective investments for state, county and local workers. USE RTS!
SB 1500 – OPPOSE – Creates definition of “nonpecuniary factor” to mean consideration of corporate governance, social or environmental “nonpecuniary factors”. In short, it would prohibit looking at risk from the sense of good governance, social responsibility, and environmental goals. Organizations against this bill include AZ National Organization for Women and the State Conference NAACP. USE RTS!
PUBLIC SAFETY
SB 1160 – SUPPORT – Would keep someone who seeks medical help for another person experiencing a drug-related overdose from being arrested for possession or use of drugs. USE RTS!
SB 1433 – OPPOSE -Would mandate any employer who requires a person to be vaccinated for COVID be liable for damages that result from a “significant injury’ caused by the vaccine, with a minimum penalty of $1 MILLION!! USE RTS!
GOVERNANCE
SB 1313 – OPPOSE – Would ban cities from making any plans that would “reduce overall system capacity of motor vehicle traffic”. This bill is based on the conspiracy theory that believes world government wants to limit people’s freedom of movement and advance a totalitarian agenda!! Ridiculous! USE RTS!
SCR 1023 – OPPOSE – Would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to repeal charter cities in Arizona. Larger cities can adopt a charter which then supersedes any state law that conflicts with purely municipal affairs. State lawmakers have long hated charter cities since it restricts their ability to mandate things. USE RTS!
SCR 1034 & HCR 2038 – OPPOSE – Would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to automatically extend the previous year’s budget if lawmakers don’t pass one in time. This would eliminate any incentive or requirement for lawmakers to compromise on spending decisions! USE RTS!
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
SB 1600 – OPPOSE – Would broaden a controversial anti-abortion bill from 2017 that requires clinic, hospitals and physicians to “care for a baby delivered alive”. This bill forces unnecessary procedures on babies with no chance of survival instead of allowing those babies to die in the arms of their parents. USE RTS!
HB 2179 – SUPPORT – Adds domestic violence offenders with orders of protection to the list of prohibited possessors. USE RTS or RTS 2.0
HB 2787 – SUPPORT – Gives women the right to know the status of their sexual assault kits. USE RTS or RTS 2.0
HB 2788 – SUPPORT – Gives women the right to choose their forensic exam provider in sexual assault cases. USE RTS or RTS 2.0
SB 1295 – SUPPORT – Creates protection from nuisance laws for survivors of domestic violence who call the police for help numerous times. USE RTS or RTS 2.0
SB 1644 – SUPPORT – Creates lease termination rights for purpose of fleeing domestic violence. USE RTS or RTS 2.0
ENVIRONMENTAL
Probably need to use RTS 2.0 For these bills
HB 2505 – SUPPORT – Continues the recreation coordinating commission through 2029. Thiscommission reviews and provides comments on statewide recreation issues for state parks. USE RTS
HB 2506 – SUPPORT – Continues the Arizona State Park board until 2029. USE RTS
HB 2518 – SUPPORT – Appropriates $3.5 Million to the State Parks Board for Prescott and Prescott Valley to establish the Glassford Dells regional park. USE RTS
HCM2022 – OPPOSE – Sends a message to Congress to open up more public land to development! USE RTS
HCM 2004 – OPPOSE – Has a lot of misinformation and urges Congress to change the management of the National Forests. USE RTS
HB 2535 – OPPOSE – Would exempt private water wells on private property from regulation. USE RTS
SB 1224 – SUPPORT – Would restore the $10 million allocation from lottery dollars for the State Parks Heritage Fund for trails, protecting cultural sites, education ,etc. USE RTS.
SB 1093 – OPPOSE – Another attempt to punish Scottsdale for not selling water to Rio Verde community. USE RTS.
SB 1392 – SUPPORT – Would appropriate an unspecified amount for a state park at the headwaters of the Verde River. USE RTS
SB 1714 – SUPPORT – Would appropriate $250,000 for the Arizona Trail Fund. USE RTS.
SB 1501 – OPPOSE – Would ban public utility companies like APS, SRP and TEP from using their revenues to build or operate EV charging stations! USE RTS!
NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS
SB 1661 – SUPPORT – Would strengthen the admission policies into behavioral health residential facilities and outline clearer guidelines throughout the process. There is a growing threat of pop-up rehab centers which target vulnerable indigenous populations. USE RTS or RTS 2.0
Here is the contact information for our Legislators:
AZ SENATE:
LD 1 – Ken Bennett 602-926-5874
LD 7 – Wendy Rogers 602-926-3042
LD 6 – Theresa Hatathlie 602-926-5160
President Warren Petersen 602-926-4136
Majority Ldr Sonny Borrelli 602-926-5031
Minority Ldr Raquel Teran 602-926-3308
AZ HOUSE:
LD 1 – Selina Bliss 602-926-4018
LD 1 – Quang Nguyen 602-926-3258
LD 7 – David Cook 602-926-5162
LD 7 – David Marshall 602-926-3579
LD 6 – Mae Peshlakai 602-926-3708
LD 6 – Myron Tsosie 602-926-3157
Speaker Ben Toma 602-926-3298
Majority Ldr Leo Biasiucci 602-926-3018
Minority Ldr Andres Cano 602-926-3027
E-Mail Contact for Governor Katie Hobbs:
https://azgovernor.gov/contact/form/contact-governor-hobbs