COCONINO COUNTY DEMOCRATS ARIZONA LEGISLATIVE ALERT
March 13, 2023
LD 1 / LD 7 REPRESENTATIVE SPONSORED BILLS
SB 1324 – BENNETT – OPPOSE – Would require copies of digital ballot images to be made publicly available online. Besides obvious privacy concerns, this may only generate more mistrust in our democracy. CONTACT BENNETT DIRECT.
HB 2332 – BLISS – OPPOSE – Would require public district and charter schools to provide students with firearms training between grades 6 and 12. Characterized by some as “an attempt to give the NRA a foothold into classrooms” or “pull kids into gun culture”. USE RTS!
SB 1109 – ROGERS – OPPOSE – Would legalize gun silencers!!! USE RTS!!
SB 1234 – ROGERS – OPPOSE – Would ban the use of photo radar! This technology offers many safety benefits. This bill would lead to more dangerous roads and more collisions. USE RTS!
SB 1236 – ROGERS – OPPOSE – Would ban cities and counties from charging taxes or fees on blockchain technology. Cryptocurrency is a bubble and a playground for the megarich. USE RTS!
GOVERNANCE
SB 1117 – KAISER (R-2) – OPPOSE – Would eliminate most city authority over residential housing!! This is a boon to developers using the cover of “affordable housing”. This bill has NO affordability requirements in it. This is being pushed by realtors, home builders and the Goldwater Institute. CONTACT Senator Kaiser DIRECTLY
SB 1009 – OPPOSE – Would make it a felony to damage or destroy any public or private monument or statue. Damaging a statue simply does not rise to a felony magnitude. USE RTS!
SB 1021 – Kavanagh (R-3) – OPPOSE – Would require the Attorney General to defend all laws passed by the legislature against all legal challenges. Clearly an attempt to limit the discretion of the newly elected Democratic Attorney General. USE RTS
SB 1087 – OPPOSE – Would force state regulatory boards and agencies to waive or reduce license fees if their bank balance hist a certain amount. A Koch-funded efforts to routinely sponsor deregulation measures that would harm public safety and state finances. USE RTS!!
SB 1092 – OPPOSE – Would fine the Bar and the state Supreme Court for “infringing” on “political speech” of lawyers. Seems to be intended to aid an freshman lawmaker who is under investigation by the State Bar for filing bad-faith lawsuits over the 2020 election. USE RTS!
HB 2309 – OPPOSE – Would ban Arizona and all its counties and cities from complying with US law if it’s inconsistent with Arizona law regarding the authority of the state and local law enforcement agencies. Guess the sponsor of this bill didn’t read the Constitution!! USE RTS!
SB 1011 – Kavanagh (R-3) – OPPOSE – Would make municipal elections, mayors and city council, partisan starting in 2024. Clearly a partisan attempt to sway local elections. Use RTS.
TAXATION
SB 1559 – Kaiser (R-2) – OPPOSE – Would exempt from state taxes all of the profits for a corporation in its first year of business, half of the profits in its second year, and a quarter of its third year profits! Clearly a terrible idea for tax revenue which is already forecasted to crater in the next two years! CONTACT SENATOR KAISER DIRECTLY
SB 1260 – OPPOSE – Would accelerate tax cuts on Arizona “small business” income to 2.5%. Most corporations in AZ pay only the minimum tax of $50 anyway. Too many tax cuts!! USE RTS
HB 2394 – OPPOSE – Would ban Arizona and its cities and counties from enforcing any tax on firearms or ammo, on the grounds that it “might create a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by law-abiding citizens.” AWWWWWW USE RTS!
ANTI – EGS LEGISLATION
(Environmental, Social, Governance)
SB 1611 – KERN – (R-27) – OPPOSE – Would ban government from contracting with any company unless the contract specifies the company will not “discriminate” based on political affiliation or social or environmental values. Could cost Arizona millions!! CONTACT SENATOR KERN DIRECTLY
SB 1694 – HOFFMAN (R-15) – OPPOSE – Would ban the state, including public schools, from requiring “diversity, equity, and inclusion programs” for its employees, spending public funds on such programs, or setting policies to influence the composition of its workforce on the basis of race, sex, or color!! And this is America??? CONTACT SENATOR HOFFMAN DIREDTLY
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 1096 – OPPOSE – This bill would prohibit any public entity from entering into a contract of over $100,000 with a company that “discriminates’ against the firearm industry. Also would prohibit public entities from adopting policies that have the “effect of inducing discrimination” against the firearms industry. USE RTS!
HB 2472 – OPPOSE – Would ban the state from requiring banks to use a “social credit score” when evaluating loan worthiness. USE RTS!
SB 1611 – OPPOSE – Would ban government from contracting with any company unless the contract specifies the company will not “discriminate” based on political affiliation or social or environmental values. USE RTS 2.0!
SB 1500 – OPPOSE – Would require all state investments be made solely for pecuniary benefit and specifically prohibits boycotting any investment company. Probably intended to prevent boycotting fossil fuels. USE RTS 2.0!
SB 1138 – OPPOSE – Prohibits any financial institution from doing business in Arizona if they “discriminate” based on social credit, environmental, social governance or similar value based or impact criteria. Organizations opposed include the AZ National Organization for Women and the State Conference NAACP. USE RTS 2.0
SB 1139 – 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 2.0!
HB 2471 – OPPOSE – Creates definition of “nonpecuniary factor” to mean consideration of corporate governance, social or environmental goals, agreements, or characteristics when managing investments. Then prohibits all state investments from considering “nonpecuniary factors”, in short, it would prohibit looking at risk from the lens of good governance, social responsibility, and environmental goals. USE RTS 2.0!
EDUCATION
SB 1700 – WADSACT (R-17) – OPPOSE – Would ban many books from schools and institute public review of them. Any parent would be allowed to ask a school to remove a book, the Dept of Education would be required to maintain a list of banned books, and public schools would have to publish a list for 4 months before giving the books to students! Terrible bill!! CONTACT SENATOR WADSACT DIRECTLY
HB 2014 – OPPOSE – Would quadruple over 3 years the amount Arizona spends on a specific type of STO (School Tuition Organization) voucher. The bill further blurs the line between STO and ESA voucher funding. These are often used by parents who have NEVER sent their children to public schools. A further attempt to destroy public schools. USE RTS!
SB 1145 – OPPOSE – Would exempt students at Arizona’s three in-state universities from student activity fees if the student says the payment would “violate their conscience” or objects on religious or moral grounds. Intended to enshrine the culture wars into statue. USE RTS!
SB 1005 – OPPOSE – Would ban parents from having to pay attorney fees or damages if they lose a lawsuit against a public school or teacher (but not ESA-funded private schools or teacher). A further “parents bill of rights” idea being pushed by the Center for Arizona Policy extremist group. USE RTS!
SB 1243 – OPPOSE – Would eliminate some categories from STO (School Tuition Organization) vouchers – hence reduce tracking and making it easier for SRO’s to take in more money with less admin costs. Also would circumvent the requirement that students attend public schools first. USE RTS
SB 1696 – OPPOSE – Would ban district and charter schools from exposing minors to “sexually explicit materials”. The definition is so broad that it would ban many classic works of literature, from Shakespeare to Maya Angelou. USE RTS!
SB 1013 – OPPOSE – Would eliminate “free speech” zones on college campuses – allowing anyone who is present to protest anywhere on campus. This could result in protests in the classrooms and other sensitive areas – crating safety issues. Being pushed by the Goldwater Institute – enough said. Use RTS
SB 1564 – OPPOSE – Would mandate that students at small private schools or who use the ESA vouchers must be allowed to try out for interscholastic activities at PUBLIC schools! Clearly a terrible bill. U1657 – USE RTS
SB 1599 – OPPOSE – Would impose penalties of up to $5,000 per day for school districts that don’t post teacher salary information – something that is already required by law. Of course it doesn’t apply to taxpayer-funded, private voucher schools nor does it require a comparison of salaries in other states. USE RTS!
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
HB 2502 – GRESS (R-4) – OPPOSE – Would force courts to retroactively apply child support for pregnancies. This is a “fetal personhood” bill – designed to give fetuses the same legal rights as people. Driven by anti-abortion crusaders this type of legislation would lead to crimalizing IVF and many forms of contraception. CONTACT REP GRESS DIRECTLYI
HB 2427 – OPPOSE – Would lower barriers to filing aggravated assault charges against someone who knowingly attacks a pregnant person and increases mandatory sentencing. A sneaky attempt to codify the concept of “fetal personhood”. USE RTS!
PUBLIC SAFETY
SB 1047 – OPPOSE – Would make it a crime for a person to be within 20 feet of a “dangerous incident” if a police officer said to step back. This would remove transparency in law enforcement by banning the public from observing police in action. Aimed to expand police authority with no accountability. USE RTS!
SB 1250 – OPPOSE – Would force employers to allow employees to claim a religious exemption from the COVID or flu vaccines, or any vaccination FDA-approved for emergency use. Such a claim could not be challenged or questioned. USE RTS
SB 1254 – OPPOSE – Would remove the current requirement that prescribed opioids must have a red cap on the pill container. Such a requirement is meant to warn people that the prescription use should be used with caution. USE RTS
HB 2586 – OPPOSE – Would ban the Arizona Dept of Transportation from using the dynamic message signs over our freeways for anything other than highway or AMBER alerts. This would prevent their use to advise motorists of “no burn” days, state or national park information, wildfire alerts, messages honoring first reponders who die in the line of dugy and elections-related information urging people to vote. This was prompted by MAGA angst over 2020’s “social distancing, wash hands” messages during COVID. USE RTS!
SB 1428 – OPPOSE – Would ban cities from prohibiting or regulating gun shows within their boundaries. Unregulated gun shows can be a magnet for traffickers to obtain large quantities of weapons without background checks. Terrible bill!! USE RTS.
HB 2094 – OPPOSE – Would relax regulations on food trucks. Sponsored by a representative who owns a food truck!! USE RTS!
SB 1331 – OPPOSE – 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
SOCIAL SAFETY NET
SB 1167 – OPPOSE – Would tie length of unemployment relief to Arizona’s unemployment rate. This would disproportionately harm rural areas and people of color, who typically have higher rates of unemployment compared to the state average. USE RTS
HEALTH & WELFARE
HB 2624 – OPPOSE – Would force Arizona’s Medicaid system to redetermine the eligibility of all 2.4 MILLION patients it serves by the end of 2023. The legislation would kick off all patients whose eligibility is unconfirmed, not just those who determined to be ineligible. An estimated 640,000 Arizonans would lose their health care unnecessarily because of this bill! USE RTS!
HB 2474 – OPPOSE – Would ban immunizations that have been approved by the FDA emergency use authorization process from being required for school attendance. No scientific ground to justify this bill! USE RTS!!
VOTING RIGHTS
SB 1074 – 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 1095 – OPPOSE – Would require early ballot envelopes to include a written warning about delayed results – an attempt to further confuse voters. USE RTS!
SB 1105 – OPPOSE – Would require election officials to immediately tabulate early ballots brought to the polls on election day. Such an action is both unnecessary and would compromise the already highly effective and accurate ballot counting process. USE RTS
SB 1170 – OPPOSE – Would ban unmonitored drop boxes. These are accessible, convenient, reliable and secure and HUGELY POPULAR!! USE RTS!
SB 1565 – OPPOSE – Would ban Arizona elections from using artificial intelligence or learning hardware, firmware, or software. Supporters’ thing AI can be used to maliciously mix up signatures and register dead voters. No such evidence exists. In any case, such technology is not used in Arizona. 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 1141 – OPPOSE – Would require anyone who turns in an early ballot at the polls to show ID and if they turn in more than one ballot (say for a spouse or other relative) to sign an affidavit. Clearly an attempt to intimidate voters! USE RTS!
SB 1142 – OPPOSE – Would require public lists of state voter registration events – designed to open elections officials to legal complaints. USE RTS!
SB 1201 – OPPOSE – Would ban electronic polling place signatures from use in ballot verification – calling them “inherently fraudulent”. 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 RTSs
SB 1695 – OPPOSE – Would ban Maricopa and Pima county supervisors from certifying election results if “election laws were violated and the violations resulted in the disenfranchisement of at least 1% of the voters in the county”. Such a thing has NEVER happened in the state or nationally EVER. This is driven by ridiculous conspiracy theories. USE RTS!
HB 2308 – OPPOSE – Would ban the Secretary of State from overseeing an election in which s/he is a candidate. USE RTS!
HB 2477 – OPPOSE – Affirms the importance of the electoral college system for presidential elections. This system is an artifact that has outlived its usefulness and adversely affects minorities by diluting their political power. USE RTS!
HOMELESSNESS
SB 1024 – OPPOSE – Would ban tents, tarps, boxes or “any full or partial enclosure for habitation” on streets, sidewalks or other public rights of way. USE RTS!
LGBTQ RIGHTS
SB 1028 – OPPOSE – Would classify drag performances as “adult cabaret” – similar to strip show categorization – and ban them from public property or anywhere else a minor may be able to see them. Since Arizona does nto define “drag performances” this could ban everything from drag story hours for kids or performances of Cabaret, Rent and even Peter Pan. USE RTS!
SB 1030 – OPPOSE – Would mandate that counties change their zoning laws to define business that hold “drag shows” as adult-oriented and would also ban the beloved Sunday drag brunch. The goal seems to be to mislead the public, intimidate LGBTQ people by perpetuating false, offensive narratives. USE RTS
DEMOCRACY
SB 1411 – OPPOSE – Would take away rights from people with certain disabilities who redeive services by “automatically and immediately” turning their parents into their guardians when they turn 18! The child would get NO say in whether this happened, only the parent would have a say. USE RTS!
ENVIRONMENTAL
HB 2437 – OPPOSE – Would exempt power transmission lines on private land to have an environmental review. USE RTS!
HB 2496 – OPPOSE – Would change the definition of a transmission line to include lines that are more than one mile. This means they would have no review by the Arizona Power Plant and Line Sitting Committee. USE RTS!
SB 1257 – OPPOSE – Would put more resources into augmentation of water resources and not into conservation of water. USE RTS!
HB 2535 – OPPOSE – Would exempt private water wells on private property from regulation. USE RTS
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