CEBV Weekly: April 28, 2025
Compromise for vulnerable families. Onward to budget negotiations. Unconstitutional bills with bipartisan support.
This past week, with just days to go until the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) ran out of funding, state lawmakers and Gov. Hobbs reached a compromise. Funding for the program will continue; parent advocate Brandi Coon characterized it as “a miracle.”
Digging in didn’t work. As recently as a few days ago, naysayers Matt Gress (R-4) and David Livingston (R-28) were stubbornly standing their contemptible ground, insisting that lawmakers restrict the definition of caregiving, pull funding from other vulnerable programs, and even possibly end the Parents as Paid Caregivers program in 2 years. After introducing their ill-favored “solution” as an amendment on the House floor, they ran out the debate clock by asking each other questions to shut down discussion, expecting their entire caucus to blindly follow. But it didn’t work: some Republicans joined all Democrats to vote down their floor amendment.
Other voices took over. When it became clear House Republican legislative leaders didn’t have the votes to ram their idea through, discussion continued behind the scenes. Assistant minority leader Nancy Gutierrez (D-18) and majority whip Julie Willoughby (R-13) took the reins, each negotiating toward consensus within their respective parties. Hours later, the House came back to pass a far more reasonable amendment with overwhelming support. The next day, the Senate followed suit. The only no votes in either chamber came from the extreme right.
Funding and “guardrails.” Overall, families got most of what they needed. The bill taps the Prescription Drug Rebate Fund, which lawmakers from both parties agreed had money to spare. It caps parent-caregiver hours at 40 per week, a change which Hobbs announced last month. It allocates $355,000 for an audit, something Republicans apparently insisted on out of suspicion that some parents are abusing the program. The bill also includes smaller changes. Parents will be banned from being paid for household tasks (again, out of suspicion that some parents are “gaming the system”) and providing care between 10 PM and 6 AM (which doesn’t recognize reality, as children don’t have seizures only during business hours). Perhaps most worryingly, lawmakers will get some additional control over the waivers which allow various services to function, as opposed to their current status as administrative matters. This could allow lawmakers to end the program altogether if it experiences a sudden, unaddressed surge in growth.
Driven by people like you. Regardless, the passage of this bill is a huge victory. It’s full funding for a program for vulnerable families that Republicans, especially in the House, had been fighting against continuing for months. That’s a rapid about-face, to say the very least. Perhaps Republicans finally understood how poorly their actions were playing to the general public — an awakening like that doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The volume of angry contacts from people like you undoubtedly helped push holdout lawmakers toward a compromise that actually worked.
⏰ If you have 10 minutes: Directly contact your state senator and Gov. Hobbs (602-542-4331 / engage@az.gov) to OPPOSE the two Spotlight bills below.
⏰⏰ If you have 20 minutes: Directly contact your state senator and representatives, as well as Gov. Hobbs (602-542-4331 / engage@az.gov), about your expectations for a state budget. Make it clear that Arizona cannot afford any tax giveaways, especially given the chaos on the federal level. Ask that lawmakers and the governor work together in good faith to reach a compromise budget that serves all Arizonans. See the “Budget Watch” section below for more.
⏰⏰⏰ If you have 45 minutes: Also express your opposition on other CEBV-opposed bills scheduled for floor votes this week by directly contacting your state senator (for bills headed to the Senate floor) or representatives (for bills headed to the House floor). See the “Call: Bills on the Floor” section below for more.
⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom for our next CEBV Happy Hour conversation. After our usual state legislative rundown, we’ll hear from Martín Quezada with CAIR Arizona. Happy Hour meets every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of legislative session. Sign up in advance here.
This week we’re spotlighting two dangerous, potentially unconstitutional bills that are advancing with bipartisan support. After you contact your state senator directly (RTS will not work here), also contact Gov. Hobbs at 602-542-4331 or engage@az.gov to express your opposition.
Christofascism in Public Schools
HB2724, sponsored by Tony Rivero (R-27), would let public school principals decide whether "patriotic youth groups" could address students directly and distribute materials to them. This would advance one of the long-term goals of right-wing religious fascism: to inject into local public schools the sort of curriculum that Trump’s 1776 Commission pushed for. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who sat on the 1776 Commission board, is pushing voucher-funded private schools, microschools and Christofascist curriculum because he wants to “transform the way our young people perceive freedom, government, and free enterprise” — not out of some benevolent impulse.
Last year, Florida passed a similar bill, which its sponsor said was intended “to facilitate (groups’) access to schools so they can continue to influence young minds.” This raises questions about constitutionality, ideology and indoctrination, especially given Trump’s 1984-worthy recent federal executive order on “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.” It appears our senators need a reminder that indoctrination in school is wrong, even if you call it “patriotism.”
HB2724 is scheduled for a Senate Third Reading on Tuesday 4/29. Contact your senator directly to OPPOSE.
First Amendment Attack
HB2880, sponsored by Alma Hernandez (D-20), would ban “encampments” on university and community college campuses.
Universities have long been a place for student protests; nowadays is no exception. As Sen. Lauren Kuby (D-8) warned during floor debate this past week, HB2880 “represents unprecedented and unconstitutional intrusion on First Amendment rights. College campuses are longstanding spaces for public discourse, academic inquiry and political dissent."
It’s also important to note the atmosphere in which all of this is happening. Our government is literally disappearing people for exercising their First Amendment right to protest. Other activists have been arrested for criminal trespassing; suspended and expelled from school; attacked with metal pipes, mace and pepper spray; and evicted from student housing for speaking out against genocide. Last year, ASU’s chief of police was filmed slashing a protester's tent with a knife and later retired in good standing.
School administrators can choose to impose time, place and manner restrictions on protests, but lawmakers shouldn’t target encampments just because they dislike someone’s point of view. That’s the very discrimination they purport to oppose, and in an environment where people are being abducted and deported without due process, it’s unconscionable.
HB2880 is scheduled for a Senate Third Reading on Tuesday 4/29. Contact your senator directly to OPPOSE.
With a funding continuation for the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) now firmly in place, the next step is a state budget. Lawmakers have some bills that are still alive, of course, but none of those are essential; there’s nothing they have to complete before diving into budget talks.1 However, they do have some serious fiscal issues to surmount — which is easier said than done.
Unwinnable. Nonpartisan budget analysts say Arizona’s revenue is growing much less than originally thought. In other words, state lawmakers and Gov. Hobbs will have even less money than they’d hoped for a budget. The chaos and uncertainty at the federal level (which we’ve talked about here before) is also proving to be a massive monkey wrench.
Don’t kill anyone. What do state lawmakers do in this situation? There’s no way the state budget can backfill all the expected federal cuts; that would drain the $1.6 billion Rainy Day Fund and then some. The looming election and the requirement for a two-thirds legislative supermajority to raise taxes make finding more revenue politically and logistically hopeless. It’s a mess with no good solutions, and the stakes are high. Former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer warned those pushing for federal Medicaid cuts, "You can't kill people to balance your budget. You just can't do that."
“It's going to be a very delicate balance and I don't see what the path is right now.” — veteran Capitol journalist Mary Jo Pitzl on state budget negotiations
Somewhere to start. Arizona now has just over 60 days left until lawmakers must pass a state budget or face a shutdown. Lawmakers may not have all the answers, but it’s clear that Republicans must back away from their love affair with tax carve-outs and giveaways. As they say, when you’re in a hole, the first step is to stop digging.
Big yikes for Gress. Every negotiation has winners and losers. In the DDD debacle, one big loser is Matt Gress (R-4), who dug in his heels to try to prevent the program’s continuation and got dragged. He held his inflexible line to the very end, when he and Appropriations chair David Livingston (R-28) filibustered back and forth to run out the debate clock on their amendment only to see their fellow Republicans stand with Democrats to vote it down. Former Gov. Ducey’s budget director clearly doesn’t possess the power-player clout he thought he did.
Future budget strategy. The players and strategies at the table for this negotiation may herald a new strategy to be taken into state budget talks. As David Livingston recently told press, “One of my hopes is that the tough lessons we've learned going through this bill we can directly apply next week and start working on the budget and getting out of here before Memorial Day.” That’s one of our hopes, too, sir — along with the hope that this experience has truly helped you and some of your colleagues to learn some desperately needed lessons.
These bills are scheduled for a floor vote and will then proceed to the governor's desk for her signature or veto. A “final reading” indicates a bill has been amended in one chamber and the other chamber needs to vote on whether to accept those amendments.
To express your views, contact your senator for bills being heard on the Senate floor and your representatives for bills being heard on the House floor. RTS will not work here. You can also contact the governor at 602-542-4331 or engage@az.gov.
Democracy
SB1280, sponsored by Mark Finchem (R-1), would make the “cast vote record” (a receipt of everything scanned by a voting machine) a public record. Election deniers insist baselessly that this tedious and routine document will somehow detect fraudulent voting patterns; it’s just another example of conspiracy theorists’ endless, fruitless quest for election wrongdoing. Gov. Hobbs has already vetoed this idea. Scheduled for Senate Final Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
SB1375, sponsored by Mark Finchem (R-1), would force county recorders to let anyone download voter registration rolls for free. Creating public, no-cost access to voter rolls enables spam and harassment, and allows bad actors to easily generate fake purge lists. This threatens the integrity of our elections. Scheduled for Senate Final Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2017, sponsored by Rachel Keshel (R-17), would ban voting centers in Arizona and return the state to precinct-based voting, requiring under 1,000 registered voters at each precinct. Every voter would be assigned a neighborhood polling location; the ballots of voters who go to the wrong polling place would be thrown out. Before Arizona's shift to its current voting center model, our elections were plagued by long lines and technology issues, and tens of thousands of people's votes were never counted for being cast at the wrong location. The sponsor also introduced this ridiculous, deeply flawed proposal last year; the bill did not pass. HELD last week, but once again scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2154, sponsored by Rachel Keshel (R-17), would require a voter on the early voting list be booted to inactive status if a single election notice mailed to them is returned as undeliverable. Currently, officials must make an effort to contact the voter at the voter's new address and update that voter's address; this bill removes that requirement. The sponsor asserted in committee that she is pushing the bill because “two-thirds of Americans don’t trust our elections.” HELD last week, but once again scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2440, sponsored by Rachel Keshel (R-17), would hobble the ability of Arizona's attorney general to hold county supervisors accountable for refusing to certify election results, though the courts have said that this is their job. The AG would not be able to prosecute or file civil charges against a county board of supervisors member who voted not to certify an election canvass if the vote is based on "a good faith belief" in election irregularities. Anyone who claimed they saw something amiss would be able to provide "expert testimony," and thus a legal basis for supervisors to balk. County supervisors don’t have any real discretion about certifying election results, which is why Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd were indicted on felony charges of interfering with an election when they delayed certifying election results in 2022. Scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2651, sponsored by Steve Montenegro (R-29), is a copy of a bill vetoed in 2023 that would ban all electronic voting equipment beginning in 2029 unless it meets Department of Defense cybersecurity standards, all pieces of it are made in the US, and the auditor general is given copies of the source codes. This type of equipment does not exist. Inspired by a baseless conspiracy theory about vote-flipping supercomputers. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, 3/12, 4-3. Passed Senate Rules Committee, 3/17, PFC. Scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
Education
SB1694, sponsored by David Farnsworth (R-10), would ban Arizona universities from receiving state funds in any fiscal year in which they offer "courses on diversity, equity, and inclusion." These frameworks seek to promote fair treatment of all people, particularly groups that have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination. This bill not only pretends our differences don’t exist, but would hamstring the ability of our state universities to provide a competitive education compared to other states that have no such asinine requirement. As one student pointed out, “This is not about money; this is about erasure.” Scheduled for House 3rd Read, Monday 4/28. OPPOSE.
HB2724, sponsored by Tony Rivero (R-27), would allow public school principals to decide whether to allow "patriotic youth groups" to address students during the first quarter of each academic year. Principals would then have to ensure that any materials from these groups are distributed directly to students throughout the school year. Last year, Florida passed a similar bill, which its sponsor said was intended “to facilitate (groups’) access to schools, so they can continue to influence young minds.” This raises questions about constitutionality, ideology and indoctrination, especially given the 1984-worthy recent federal executive order on “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.” Scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2880, sponsored by Alma Hernandez (D-20), would ban “encampments” on university and community college campuses. Universities have long been a place for student protests; nowadays is no exception. School administrators can choose to impose time, place and manner restrictions on protests, but lawmakers shouldn’t target encampments just because they dislike pro-Palestinian views. Scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
LGBTQ+
SB1443, sponsored by Carine Werner (R-4), gives parents the explicit legal right to make mental health care decisions for their minor child, and creates a mandatory minimum $2,500 judgment against "governmental entities or officials" (such as schools and teachers) who violate that "right." This would put at risk every public school teacher and school counselor who supports the mental health of a minor student with unsupportive parents. Scheduled for House 3rd Read, Monday 4/28. OPPOSE.
HB2438, sponsored by Rachel Keshel (R-17), is a "blatantly anti-trans" bill that would ban judges from issuing an order to amend a birth certificate. The goal is to prevent the state from having to accurately reflect the identities of transgender people on their birth certificates. In August, a federal judge ruled that an Arizona law requiring proof of gender-affirming surgery before amending a birth certificate is an unconstitutional violation of equal protection and due process rights. Scheduled for House Final Reading, Monday 4/28. OPPOSE.
Water
SB1236, sponsored by Warren Petersen (R-14), would allow the storage of storm water to be used for replenishment credits. This gives credits for water that generally would be recharged anyway, and would likely result in a net increase in pumping. Scheduled for Senate Final Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
SB1393, sponsored by TJ Shope (R-16), would allow some water providers to get out of having to replenish groundwater. This would drive unsustainable development and accelerate Arizona’s water demise. Scheduled for Senate Final Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
SB1523, sponsored by Tim Dunn (R-25), adds new landscaping restrictions for cities within active management areas. The bill includes language that could prevent cities' future water conservation efforts, and does not include language about new development projects or redevelopment. These restrictions would result in minimal if any water savings, while paving the way for unsustainable communities, prioritizing developer interests. Scheduled for House 3rd Read, Monday 4/28. OPPOSE.
SB1530, sponsored by Warren Petersen (R-14), would help developers get around assured water supply requirements by expanding the area of groundwater impact for wells. This is not based on any science or modeling and does not help groundwater recharge. Scheduled for Senate Final Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2201, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would give power companies new protections from lawsuits if their equipment starts a wildfire. Environmental protection groups are calling it the “bill that lets APS burn your house down.” The new legal standard would be harder to prove than in other civil cases, leaving injured homeowners on the hook for losses caused by utilities. Scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2203, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), increases the time frame for allowing acreage to be irrigated if it’s under the groundwater protection of an active management area. This would likely result in more destructive groundwater pumping. The bill is retroactive, so it would apply to the Douglas AMA, which voters narrowly approved in 2022. Douglas relies solely on groundwater, pumping out three times as much water as it returns to the basin; farming makes up 87% of the basin’s water demand, and some are pushing hard to be allowed to continue to drain groundwater without limit. Scheduled for House Final Reading, Monday 4/28. OPPOSE.
HB2274, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would call a special election for Willcox to decide whether to establish a domestic water improvement district. This does nothing to address the underlying issue of overpumping. The area has been in a drought for 30 years; poor summer monsoons and virtually nonexistent winter rains have left the aquifer with no natural recharge and no way to recover. In December, Gov. Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Water Resources designated Willcox as an Active Management Area, a long-overdue move that protects water for rural communities and the local economies that rely on it. Right now, the area is working on implementing the AMA; this bill distracts from that important work and could even exacerbate groundwater depletion. HELD last week, but once again scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
HB2570, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), creates a high bar for establishing temporary non-expansion areas that would limit new irrigated agriculture, and stipulates that they expire after ten years. Temporary measures like these do not constitute real action on our state’s groundwater crisis. Scheduled for Senate Third Reading, Tuesday 4/29. OPPOSE.
2025 Session Timeline
Monday, 6/30 Last day to pass a constitutionally mandated state budget
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There are still some major issues outstanding, of course. The legislature has deep disagreement on an extension of Prop 123, money from the state land trust which funds public schools. And there’s vehement opposition to the Diamondbacks tax giveaway (being pushed by billionaire team owner Randy Kendrick and others). But as Prop 123 was a lawsuit settlement, the state General Fund will assume the cost if lawmakers and the governor can’t agree on a renewal. And Arizona doesn’t need to give billionaires a handout to keep the world turning.