As the AZ Legislature hits major milestones this week, we once might have welcomed you to “halftime” for the 2024 session. Now we chuckle at the thought: we’re expecting to be here until June 30, possibly beyond. The Legislature’s one constitutionally mandated requirement is to pass a budget, and we’re expecting a pitched battle between the governor and irrational MAGA lawmakers who refuse to acknowledge our government is divided. Buckle in: it’s going to be a long haul.
The first bill deadline. Bills that haven’t passed out of committee in their chamber of origin are now considered dead for the year. By our count, just over half of the 1760 bills introduced this session are now dead, having never received a hearing.
Crossover Week. Most committee hearings will pause this week (except for Appropriations and Rules) while lawmakers debate and vote on bills in an attempt to pass them to the other chamber. This flurry of activity means long days and agendas for lawmakers, but a break for us from spending an hour on entering our Request to Speak positions! It’s a good chance to switch to other modes of activism; see “What Can I Do?” below for some options.
Vetoes waiting to happen. Just as many good bills have died, many bad ones are speeding toward a brick wall. Last year Gov. Hobbs demonstrated her willingness to veto bad policy — not just occasionally, but a record-shattering 143 times. If you’ve been looking at agendas with us over these past few weeks, you’ll probably agree that it’s looking like the MAGA wing will shatter that record again in 2024.
However, we’re disturbed by the new trend of Republican lawmakers attempting to circumvent Hobbs’ veto pen by referring measures directly to our November ballot. (Because these go to voters, they need only a simple majority from each chamber and cannot be vetoed.) In all, we’re tracking a jaw-dropping 30 harmful ballot measures that are still alive.
For comparison, the 2022 ballot carried 8 legislative referrals — a number we thought was excessive at the time.
Putting aside questions of rationality and strategy (what on earth are they doing?!), we must work to stop these harmful measures now so we don’t have to go to the time, expense and frustration of trying to educate all the voters in Arizona on what to do with 30 ballot measures.
⏰ If you have 5 minutes: Use Request to Speak to oppose the bad ballot referral bills in committee this week.
⏰⏰ If you have 10 minutes: Also use RTS for bills in Appropriations Committees.
⏰⏰⏰ If you have 20 minutes: Also call your senator to ask them to vote NO on the bad ballot referral bills that will be coming their way on the floor this week. Contact information here; see “Ballot Referrals” below.
⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom at 4pm on Sunday for our next CEBV Happy Hour conversation. This week’s featured guests are LGBTQ Caucus co-chairs Patty Contreras (D-12) and Oscar De Los Santos (D-11). We’ll meet every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of session. Sign up in advance here.
These bills are being heard in Rules committees on Monday and will almost certainly move to the full House or Senate for votes this week. Please call your senator (for Senate Bills) and representatives (for House Bills) and urge them to support these good ideas as they come to the floor. More information is available below; just search the bill number.
SB1353, Marsh (D-4), would require the Department of Education to estimate how much funding it needs for ESA vouchers in advance of the upcoming fiscal year
SB1415, Hernandez (D-24), would require cities with 75,000+ residents to allow guest houses of up to 1,000 square feet
SB1483, Diaz (D-22), would have Arizona join at least 11 other states in banning “lunch shaming” at school
SB1535, Burch (D-9), would allow district and charter schools to administer glucagon at school if necessary to treat severe hypoglycemia
SB1555, Bennett (R-1), would require district and charter schools to make reasonable accommodation for teachers to breastfeed their infants at school
SB1600, Bennett (R-1), would require district and charter schools to train their school resource officers on how to recognize and effectively interact with children with disabilities
HB2218, Terech (D-4), would ban school districts and charter schools from suspending students for their unexcused absences
HB2861, Schwiebert (D-2), would increase required relocation payments for condo sales, making sure owners get a fair deal if they’re forced to sell to investors
These bills are being heard in Rules committees on Monday and will almost certainly move to the full House or Senate for votes this week. Please use RTS, then call your senator and urge them not to unnecessarily crowd the ballot with this nonsense.
SCR1011, Rogers (R-7), requiring that voters be US citizens 18 years or older and to ban reforms such as ranked choice or top-two voting from ever being instituted
SCR1019, Kern (R-27), enshrining racism in the state Constitution by banning, among other things, the discussion of inclusion and equity issues in public school
SCR1021, Bolick (R-2), a QAnon conspiracy-theory-driven measure mandating life sentences for child sex traffickers; the broad, vague and expansive language could accidentally sweep in victims
SCR1023, Mesnard (R-13), forcing cities and school districts to hold elections on general election days only
SCR1036, Wadsack (R-17), banning “at-large” city council members
SCR1037, Wadsack (R-17), repealing charter cities in Arizona with fewer than 500,000 residents (because lawmakers can’t preempt their city regulations)
SCR1040, Mesnard (R-13), allowing the state land trust to guarantee financing for charter schools
SCR1041, Mesnard (R-13), letting anyone sue to knock a citizen initiative off the ballot on grounds that it is not constitutional
SCR1044, Gowan (R-19), giving judges in Arizona’s most populous counties lifetime appointments and throwing out the entire judicial retention slate for November
Because of Crossover Week, this section is shorter than usual. Use this opportunity to take an additional action: send emails or make phone calls to lawmakers, write a Letter to the Editor, talk to friends and neighbors, watch committee testimony, or monitor floor votes in the House or Senate. We also encourage you to remember that activism is a marathon, not a sprint. This is sure to be a long session and we want you to still be active in June when the chips are down.
Monday
HCR2047, sponsored by Matt Gress (R-4), would ask voters to put a new version of Prop 123 in the state Constitution that restricts funds to “eligible teachers” only, rather than the many and varied needs of public schools as the expiring version of Prop 123 allows. Individual schools are best suited to determine their own needs, and don’t need a top-down mandate. Because it would go directly to voters, Gov. Hobbs cannot veto it. Use your RTS comments to encourage Republican lawmakers to work with the governor and their Democratic colleagues to craft a bill that has the support to pass. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday. OPPOSE with comments.
HCR2048, sponsored by Austin Smith (R-29), would ask voters to set the actual salary schedule for Prop 123. Normally the legislature does this internally in case anything needs changing, but sending it to voters makes it impossible to tweak later. It directs funds to classroom teachers only, expecting the strapped general fund (which is currently facing a $1.7 billion deficit) to somehow backfill the current $257 million for general school funding. It bars district and charter schools from reducing teacher salaries below the FY2024-25 amount, even if the prop fails to direct the necessary funds to schools. It restricts funds to only certain types of teachers, which is like buying a new transmission for a car but not replacing its four flat tires. Putting two Prop 123 measures on the ballot in an already crowded year could sink both. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday. OPPOSE with comments.
HCR2060, sponsored by Ben Toma (R-27), would ask voters to require cities and counties that receive public funds for social welfare programs to use E-Verify to confirm the “lawful presence” of all of their employees, independent contractors and subcontractors. Violation would be a Class 6 felony for the employer. The sponsor is running in a crowded primary for Congress in a deep-red district. This smells like red meat for Republican primary voters rather than a serious proposal, and would unnecessarily clutter an already crowded ballot. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
Tuesday
SB1148, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would require Arizona to give taxpayers ages 55+ a one-time rebate of an unspecified amount on their state taxes. Arizona faces a jaw-dropping $1.7 billion deficit, thanks in part to unbridled tax cuts. Where will the money come from to do this? Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SB1387, sponsored by Lela Alston (D-5), would gradually raise the monthly stipend for kinship foster care parents (those related to the child) to the same $600 per month that every other foster parent gets. Kinship foster parents are often grandparents raising grandkids; the bill sponsor, who has been working for parity for these families since 2019, says some families must send the children back to the state because they cannot afford to take care of them. The sponsor has been working to pass this policy for many years. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. SUPPORT.
SB1464, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would appropriate $500,000 from the general fund in FY2024-25 to ADE to award grants to school districts and charter schools to build community gardens. School gardens offer many benefits, including making healthy food more appealing to kids, helping fight hunger, and aiding emotional regulation. The idea from Lela Alston (D-5) was incorporated into last year’s budget, but expires June 30. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. SUPPORT.
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Bills in Rules Committees
Rules exists only to consider whether a bill is constitutional and in the proper form for passage; the committee doesn’t take testimony and doesn’t read comments. These bills will proceed to caucus (separate partisan meetings of all Democrats and all Republicans, which usually happen Tuesdays) and from there to a full floor vote. Contact your senator for Senate bills, your representatives for House bills.
SB1006, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), 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.” This ill-considered blanket mandate would leave half a million teachers, municipal workers and other government employees with retirement accounts that are unable to invest in most major companies, and creates a minefield for investors and pension fund managers. Gov. Hobbs vetoed the same bill last year. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1116, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would make it illegal for anyone to receive money or other compensation for registering people to vote based on the number of registrations they collect. This assumes nefarious activities and penalizes voter registration efforts. Bennett introduced a similar bill last year, which Gov. Hobbs vetoed. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1122, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would allow anyone to file a complaint with ADE alleging that a school district has violated a state law that requires the displaying of the US flag, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights in each classroom. Violations would incur a $1000 civil penalty. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1124, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would ban social media platforms from purposely "deplatforming" or “shadow banning” a candidate. Inspired by a conspiracy theory that right-wingers, candidates in particular, are being persecuted by “Big Tech” via settings which let the user post and browse the site normally but limit their posts’ reach to other users. Rogers introduced a similar bill last year, which Gov. Hobbs vetoed. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1146, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would allow meat, poultry and seafood products made from animals that were not given a mRNA vaccination to be labeled "mRNA free." The bill appears to be driven by a false conspiracy theory that mRNA vaccines have entered the US food supply. A similar bill was introduced last year in Tennessee. Duplicate bill HB2406, Gillette (R-30), is already through committee. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1151, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), permits a teacher or administrator in any school in the state to read or post in any school building copies or excerpts of the Ten Commandments, pursuant to applicable state laws. Right now, all public schools are prohibited from including religious or partisan materials. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1158, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), would ban states from removing Trump from the ballot for violating the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. On Thursday, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to disqualify him because of his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection attempt. The state legislature has no business preempting judicial decision-making. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1170, sponsored by David Farnsworth (R-10), is subject to a striker that would ban voting centers and early voting, instead requiring all voting to occur at individual precincts. In a nod to “ballot fraud” conspiracy theories, requires ballot paper to include colored or fluorescent threads. Bans voters from voting by mail unless they are a student outside of Arizona, temporarily residing outside of Arizona, or a military or overseas citizen. Would also force public schools to serve as polling places, removing current space, safety and welfare exemptions. New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1184, sponsored by David Farnsworth (R-10), is a ridiculously overburdened continuation of the state Department of Transportation. Republican lawmakers have added a series of conditions and restrictions, including killing Phoenix-Tucson transit in its infancy by banning ADOT from accepting funds for commuter rail. (In December ADOT announced a $500,000 federal grant for restarting Amtrak service.) In its current form, the bill also bans ADOT from planning to reduce carbon greenhouse gases, building or maintaining EV charging stations, reducing the number of lanes on any road, or adopting a vehicle travel mile reduction plan. Politicizing the continuation of an essential state agency with these ludicrous conditions not only threatens the roads, bridges and critical infrastructure Arizonans rely on; they’re just silly. As Teresa Hatathlie (D-6) said to Jake Hoffman (R-15) in committee, “If you want to go and suck on somebody’s tail pipe, be my guest.” Lawmakers must pass a full, clean continuation of this agency; they need to strip out all the added amendments. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1243, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would allow anyone who has a grandfathered right to groundwater in the Phoenix, Tucson or Pinal Active Management Areas to sell or give that right — or the groundwater itself — to anyone else in the area. This would be incredibly destructive for Arizona’s water future. Thanks in large part to lax regulation of Arizona groundwater, rural wells are already drying up. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1261, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would remove a school district’s ability to hold all-mail elections, such as or bonds and overrides. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1279, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would ban “any method of representing or honoring Satan” from public property. In only 25 words this bill seems to violate three separate First Amendment clauses: prohibiting the government from establishing a religion, barring government interference with the free exercise of religion, and guaranteeing the right to free speech. The bill appears motivated by a case in Arkansas. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1282, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would explicitly reject federal funding for biking and walking infrastructure, depriving Arizona communities of millions of available dollars. In 2017, Arizona received at least $18 million in federal funding for bike/ped work through the Transportation Alternatives program alone, only one of at least 14 potential federal funding programs for bike/ped safety projects. This appears to be a “sore loser” bill motivated by the loss of federal grant funding to widen I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Hoffman introduced the same bill last year, which failed to pass. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1292, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would strip the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors of their power by splitting up Maricopa County into four smaller counties. The gerrymandered proposal packs Democrats into one county, leaving Republicans to control the other three. This would be a vast expansion of government, creating more than 160 new departments based on nothing more than frustration that county officials refuse to embrace baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. This is the third straight year Hoffman has introduced the bill. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1298, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would require “age and identity verification” for companies that provide “material harmful to minors” over the internet. Users must be at least 18, or companies would be subject to civil penalties. Similar legislation has been passed in at least 7 other states. A district court blocked a similar law in Texas on grounds that it violates First Amendment rights and is overly vague. Rogers’ bill does nothing to ensure people’s privacy; as the court stated, "People will be particularly concerned about accessing controversial speech when the state government can log and track that access." New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1316, sponsored by Catherine Miranda (D-11), would create a special license plate for sororities and fraternities. Arizona currently has 101 special plates, with a portion of each purchase going to a different cause. Not only does having so many plates create difficulties for law enforcement, but some of the plates raise money for political groups, such as the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom and the anti-abortion Arizona Life Coalition. Arizona added 8 more plates just last year. When will it stop? Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1344, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would expand Arizona’s first-degree murder statutes to include deaths by fentanyl if the drug can be traced back to a specific individual. The bill’s broad language could subject friends or family of overdose victims to prosecution that includes penalties of life in prison or the death penalty. Cancer patients, for example, use fentanyl patches for pain management, and accidental overdoses by children have become common. Law enforcement should focus on high-risk offenders, expand rehabilitative programs, and work to reduce prison populations, rather than further criminalizing drug use. The same bill failed to pass last year. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1353, sponsored by Christine Marsh (D-4), would require the Arizona Department of Education to provide the legislature with an estimate of how much funding it requires for ESA vouchers in advance for the upcoming fiscal year. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
SB1375, sponsored by Shawnna Bolick (R-2), would require each ballot be printed with a unique ID number that allows ballots to be linked to specific voting locations. This concept, part of MAGA Republicans’ rampant election denialism conspiracy theory, was part of a package of bills that expelled conspiracy theorist Liz Harris introduced last year to “try to convince voters their votes were stolen.” No good reason exists to make this change. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1407, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), 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. Employers would not be allowed to question an employee's religious beliefs, or to “discriminate” against an employee based on vaccination status. Currently employees must have a “sincerely held religious belief.” Arizona is already headed in the wrong direction for public health; vaccine exemption rates are so high, experts say they’re “a disaster waiting to happen.” This puts the collective well-being of all Arizonans at risk. Shamp introduced the same bill last year, which Gov. Hobbs vetoed. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1415, sponsored by Anna Hernandez (D-24), would require cities with 75,000+ residents to allow “accessory dwelling units,” commonly known as guest houses, of up to 1,000 square feet or 75% of the size of the original home on the lot. Some cities, such as Phoenix, are already doing something similar. Cities would not be able to require the ADU to match the original home design or stop owners from renting them long-term. We note that the bill doesn't require a kitchen, a choice made to favor affordability. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
SB1430, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would ban wind farms from being located within 6 miles of someone else’s property border without written consent. Wind farms have long been caught in the world of conspiracy theories, somehow turning a simple machine into a public health hazard that supposedly causes birth defects, cancer, etc. Meanwhile, local governments are banning green energy faster than they’re building it. This bill would move Arizona in the wrong direction. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1448, sponsored by Flavio Bravo (D-26), would create a special license plate for neurodiversity services. Arizona currently has 101 special plates, with a portion of each purchase going to a different cause. Not only does having so many plates create difficulties for law enforcement, but some of the plates raise money for political groups, such as the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom and the anti-abortion Arizona Life Coalition. Arizona added 8 more plates just last year. When will it stop? Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1459, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would require district and charter schools to report details on student discipline to ADE, and states ADE’s belief that “the school has no reasonable justification for implementing disciplinary actions in fewer than 75%” of cases per year. If schools don’t meet this bar, ADE can demote the school’s letter grade. Arizona’s current state superintendent, Tom Horne, holds polarized positions on discipline and is pushing the change on the grounds that “discipline has evaporated and classrooms have become anarchic.” He has said he believes cracking down will help solve teacher retention. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1466, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would reinstate statewide testing to graduate from high school. In 2015, when Republican lawmakers overwhelmingly chose to repeal the requirement, they stated that "the test has no meaning behind it" and that "placing all the responsibility and stress on individual students for the success of our educational system is unfair." Other states that have repealed their high-stakes test requirements caution against conflating a measure of learning with “a meaningless hoop to jump through.” This bill contains no exceptions for students with many forms of special needs who struggle to pass standardized tests. Bennett introduced a similar bill last year. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1469, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would allow schools to hire retired police officers as “school resource officers.” School policing disproportionately affects minority students and students with disabilities, who are often referred to law enforcement at nearly twice their share of the overall student population. The bill does not include any training for these retired officers, which puts students at risk. New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1471, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would require the Bar and the state Supreme Court to dismiss without comment or investigation all complaints made against an attorney who is a member of the Bar for violating a rule of professional conduct if the complainant has no attorney-client relationship or similar connection to the attorney. Kern has twice introduced similar legislation to try to stop the Bar and the state Supreme Court from “infringing” on the “political speech” of lawyers. This would aid the sponsor, whose lawyers were ordered to pay $75,000 after filing a frivolous lawsuit over his role in the 1/6/21 insurrection attempt, as well as freshman lawmaker Alex Kolodin (R-3), who the State Bar disciplined for filing bad-faith lawsuits over the 2020 election. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. New to report. OPPOSE.
SB1477, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would create a "grade challenge department" within the Arizona Board of Regents to hear challenges from public university students regarding grades received in any class or on any assignment if a student alleges a grade was awarded because of “political bias.” The department could order faculty to regrade or reevaluate the student's work. Reminiscent of McCarthyist hysteria. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1479, sponsored by Brian Fernandez (D-23), bans consumer fireworks from being sold in tents, requires sellers to be licensed, and raises the purchasing age to 18. However, it also legalizes “aerial device” consumer fireworks. This is one of the more dangerous types, as they can injure people some distance away from where they are launched. Arizona legalized small fireworks in 2009 after industry lobbyists assured lawmakers that anything that explodes or shoots into the air would stay illegal. Committee chair David Gowan works for TNT Fireworks, whose lobbyists write bills for him, and has been trying to pass this concept into law for years. Please comment and ask for the aerial device provision to be removed. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1483, sponsored by Eva Diaz (D-22), would have Arizona join at least 11 other states in banning “lunch shaming” at school. The bill would outlaw actions that bring attention to students who are unable to pay for a school meal, including refusal to serve the child, the serving of an alternative (lesser) meal, chores or disciplinary treatment. Lawmakers first introduced the proposal in 2018 after one elementary school humiliated a student by stamping his arm with the words "LUNCH MONEY.” Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
SB1511, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), would force insurance companies to pay the medical costs for those who want to “detransition” from sex changes “and reclaim their God-given gender.” Shamp says she based the bill on a belief that “political ideology” is driving gender-affirming care. The bill is being pushed by the evangelical Christian lobbyist group Center for Arizona Policy. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1535, sponsored by Eva Burch (D-9), would allow district and charter schools to administer glucagon at school if necessary. Glucagon helps regulate blood glucose and is used to treat severe hypoglycemia. A change that could save a child’s life. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
SB1555, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would require district and charter schools to allow a nursing mother who is a teacher at the school to bring her infant to the school in order to breastfeed. The bill also requires reasonable accommodations, including reasonable breaks and a private place to nurse. The bill should come with an appropriation to help schools meet these requirements, but otherwise deserves our support. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
SB1556, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), is a tax cut for out-of-state remote sellers. Arizona has required out-of-state sellers to pay sales tax since 2019 following a US Supreme Court ruling (South Dakota v. Wayfair). Since then, far-right factions have been trying to undo or limit the law. This would hold long-term, negative and potentially disastrous impacts for the state general fund (which is already running a $1.7 billion deficit) and would negatively impact state services from public safety to public schools. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1561, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would create a special license plate for wildland fire prevention. Arizona currently has 101 special plates, with a portion of each purchase going to a different cause. Not only does having so many plates create difficulties for law enforcement, but some of the plates raise money for political groups, such as the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom and the anti-abortion Arizona Life Coalition. Arizona added 8 more plates just last year. When will it stop? Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1580, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would ban DCS and foster parents from vaccinating a child for whom they have temporary or court-ordered custody, on the basis of “parents' rights.” Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1581, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would require that home listings in the state include information on the congressional district, legislative district, county supervisor district, city council district, and voting precinct. This information is already publicly available. Wadsack, who carpetbagged into the district she represents by renting a room in a supporter's home, said she believes (incorrectly) that realtors aren't allowed to give clients this information if they want it. There is a potential civic education benefit here, but in today’s environment this will more likely fuel increased political polarization. New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1586, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would ban the Arizona Supreme Court from hiring lobbyists to represent its interests at the legislature. This may present constitutionality issues, as the judicial branch is co-equal with the legislative branch. New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1600, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would require district and charter schools to train each of their school resource officers how to recognize and effectively interact with children with disabilities. Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. Studies show that students with disabilities are among those most often negatively impacted by school policing; this best practice would help address that. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
SB1612, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would require cities and counties to determine the locations where “aggressive solicitation” occurs and put up signs detailing the penalties. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1613, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would allow a private citizen to make an arrest if they witness what they believe to be theft from a retail store. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1615, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), changes the legislative intent of Title 25 (which governs Marital and Domestic Relations) to add "protecting and promoting the parents' bill of rights." This would force the judiciary to consider everything in that title under the lens of statute written by the evangelical Christian lobbyist group Center for Arizona Policy. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1628, sponsored by Sine Kerr (R-25), would remove any reference to gender in Arizona law and replace it with “sex,” defined as the male or female label assigned to someone at birth based on their physical and reproductive characteristics. This narrow and inflexible definition of biological sex would eliminate any legal recognition of transgender people. Not only is there no evidence that transgender-friendly policies endanger anyone, transgender people face a much higher risk of violence, a risk that is elevated under restrictive policies like these. The law could also negatively impact schools’ funding sources. Title IX forbids schools from engaging in sex-based discrimination, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity; under this bill, schools could be put in the impossible position of violating state law or losing federal funding. The bill is being pushed by the evangelical Christian lobbyist group Center for Arizona Policy. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1633, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would establish a state depository for gold bullion. Related to a bill from last session based on beliefs that our banking system is imploding, the federal government is conspiring to cause a central banking crisis by controlling your money, and the end of Western civilization as we know it is imminent. New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1637, sponsored by Frank Carroll (R-28), would ban public utility companies like APS, SRP and TEP from owning or operating EV charging stations. Government involvement in new or emerging markets like EV charging networks is far more common (and economically rational) than government involvement in mature markets like gas stations. We cannot expect the private market alone to quickly create a robust charging network. The bill may also preempt the Corporation Commission’s authority. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1638, sponsored by Frank Carroll (R-28), allows law enforcement to immediately remove any "transient occupant" of private residential property and charge them with trespassing. State statutes already exist to cover this behavior, making this bill unnecessary. The bill does not include solutions for housing or shelter. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1648, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would allow meat, poultry and seafood products made from animals that were not given a mRNA vaccination to be labeled "mRNA free." The bill appears to be driven by a false conspiracy theory that mRNA vaccines have entered the US food supply. A similar bill was introduced last year in Tennessee. Several similar bills are moving in Arizona this year. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1649, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would preemptively ban the sale or production of lab-grown meat, and would allow anyone whose business is “adversely affected’’ by their sale (such as ranchers) to sue for up to $100,000 in damages. Lab-grown meat is produced by cultivating animal cells directly instead of raising and slaughtering animals for food. Cultivated meat uses significantly fewer resources, reduces pollution, and lowers food-borne illnesses. It’s not yet commercially viable on a wide scale, but scientists are working on it. Mirror bill HB2121 is already through committee. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1653, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would require copies of digital ballot images to be made publicly available online. This was recommended by Cyber Ninjas after their failed ballot review. Other than the obvious privacy concerns, including vigilantism, this may only generate more mistrust in our democracy. Not all ballots can be made public, so there's no way a random person could replicate the results of an official election count. Part of a continued wave of efforts to restrict and undermine Arizonans’ freedom to vote. Bennett (R-1) introduced the same bill last year, which Gov. Hobbs vetoed. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1656, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would require counties to keep a chain of custody log for blank ballot paper, tracking from when the ballot paper is received by the county through the end of voting. This is yet another unfunded mandate aiming to solve a conspiracy-theory-driven non-issue. New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1657, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), would allow counties to run pilot programs to test additional methods of verifying the identity of early voters, such as text and email. Moving toward an extra curing step for every ballot is a back-door way of implementing other draconian, conspiracy-theory-driven measure that have failed to pass. As Justine Wadsack (R-17) said in committee: “If we can’t have a fingerprint on every ballot… I like where this is going.” New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1680, sponsored by David Gowan (R-19), would allow anyone to get out of a ticket, and its consequences, by paying a $100 civil penalty. People who paid this fee would be exempt from having the moving violation count against their insurance or toward a suspended or revoked driver license. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1681, sponsored by David Gowan (R-19), would institute a civil penalty of $250 for driving below the normal speed of traffic in the left lane other than to pass or make a turn “on all roadways.’’ That fee is before all of the surcharges the state adds to each ticket, so the end cost could be more than double. As David Farnsworth (R-10) commented in committee before voting no, “I don’t think we should fine people for stupidity.” New to report. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1011, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would ask voters to amend the Arizona Constitution to require that voters be US citizens 18 years or older and to ban reforms such as ranked choice or top-two voting from ever being instituted. Lawmakers already passed a measure last year asking voters to ban ranked choice voting, which will appear on our November ballots. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1019, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), asks voters to enshrine racism in the state Constitution. This culture-war-driven measure would prevent the state from giving minority-owned businesses any preference in state contracts, keep school districts from specifically hiring black or brown teachers in an effort to increase representation, block teachers from discussing inclusion and equity issues that have arisen despite the 14th Amendment, and ban certain content from being taught in schools. This would negatively impact student learning, teacher retention and recruitment, and does nothing to prevent discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity in taxpayer-funded private schools receiving ESA vouchers. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1021, sponsored by Shawnna Bolick (R-2), would ask voters to send child sex traffickers to prison for life sentences with no possibility of parole. The proposal was inspired by a film with ties to QAnon conspiracy theories. Increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime; the certainty of being caught is a vastly more powerful deterrent. Experts say the proposal’s broad, vague and expansive language could accidentally sweep in victims. Lawmakers should dedicate resources to enforcing existing laws and reducing caseloads rather than clogging up our ballots with ineffective measures like this one. See duplicate bill HCR2042, Bliss (R-1), also in committee this week. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1023, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), would ask voters to amend the Arizona Constitution to require cities and school districts hold their elections on general election days only. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1036, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would put an end to “at-large” city council members. The bill would ask voters to change the state Constitution to require that only voters who live in a certain city district be eligible to vote for that district’s council members. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1037, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to repeal charter cities in Arizona with fewer than 500,000 residents. City charters supersede any state law that conflicts with purely municipal affairs. State lawmakers have long hated charter cities, passing numerous laws that preempt city regulations on elections, firearms, immigration, smoking, plastic bag use, puppy mills, sugary drinks, water distribution, regulation of dark money, and so much more. Wadsack introduced the same bill last year (which failed to pass) and said her intent is to get more Republicans elected to the Tucson City Council. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1040, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), would ask voters to allow the Arizona State School Fund (the state land trust from which Prop 123 monies flow) to provide guaranteed financing for district and charter schools, including bonds, overrides and capital financing. This could put the land trust's current ability to fund schools at risk; it also clutters the ballot, making it more likely any potential Prop 123 extension will fail due to voter confusion. Because it would go directly to voters, Gov. Hobbs cannot veto it. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1041, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), would ask voters to change the state constitution to allow anyone to sue to knock a citizen initiative off the ballot on grounds that it is not constitutional. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SCR1044, sponsored by David Gowan (R-19), would change the state Constitution to make judges in Arizona’s most populous counties appointed for life instead of retained by the voters every 4 to 6 years. Retention questions would go to the voters only in limited cases, such if the judge is convicted of a felony. The measure is written retroactively, so if voters pass it, the entire judicial retention slate for November would be thrown out, and all the judges would stay in office. This applies to judges in Maricopa, Pima, Pinal and Coconino Counties, as well as Appellate and Supreme Courts, all of which are part of the constitutionally mandated Merit Selection Process. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2120, sponsored by David Marshall (R-7), would penalize cities and counties if they didn’t spend “enough” on law enforcement. It would deduct state funds from local governments that violate the measure, and redistribute those funds to other cities and counties. This fear-based bill is designed to hamstring efforts to redistribute law enforcement money to address the root causes of crime and poverty, such as education, health care, mental health programs and homeless services. This is the third straight year for the bill, which has failed to pass every year. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2200, sponsored by Tim Dunn (R-25), would allow the state, its cities and counties, and public service corporations to transport groundwater away from the Harquahala Irrigation Non-Expansion Area. These areas are called “non-expansion” for a reason: they’re designed to preserve the viability of existing agriculture in an area where groundwater is the principal source of water and we’re already pumping more than the sustainable limit. This bill would allow additional pumping, and that’s bad policy. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2218, sponsored by Laura Terech (D-4), would ban school districts and charter schools from suspending students for their unexcused absences. It is insensible to force a kid out of school for missing school, especially since it’s harmful to kids’ long-term academic success. A recent study identified over 47,000 suspensions for attendance violations over 5 school years, with Black, Latino and Indigenous students receiving a disproportionate share. Unlike other bills on the same subject, this leaves schools free to manage student attendance in other ways. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
HB2271, sponsored by Barbara Parker (R-10), would create a special vehicle license plate for Religious Educational Institutions. Arizona currently has 101 special plates, with a portion of each purchase going to a different cause. Not only does having so many plates create difficulties for law enforcement, but some of the plates raise money for political groups, such as the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom and the anti-abortion Arizona Life Coalition. Arizona added 8 more plates just last year. When will it stop? Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2375, sponsored by Lupe Diaz (R-19), would preemptively ban cities and counties from establishing any guaranteed income program such as Universal Basic Income. These types of programs challenge the premise that people (especially poor people) can’t be trusted to spend money responsibly and for their own good without supervision. In fact, they do a better job of reaching the poor than means-tested programs. Pilot programs in cities like Denver and Vancouver resulted in decreases in homelessness and increases in gainful employment. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2376, sponsored by Lupe Diaz (R-19), would block private individuals from selling or giving property to the federal government without express permission from the legislature. The idea, also introduced in 2021, seems to be to stop executive actions to set aside land for national monuments. That would not only threaten conservation efforts, but Arizona’s $1.4 billion outdoor recreation industry and local economies tied to that. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2481, sponsored by Barbara Parker (R-10), would strip the requirement that the state legislature take public comment before passing laws. All public bodies would have to “provide an opportunity for public comment in person before any final decision, subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions” — but that would not include the legislature. Parker says she intended the bill to “reform” and update state open meeting law, and that stripping the legislature’s status as a public body was a “technical change.” Undemocratic and shady. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2484, sponsored by Barbara Parker (R-10), would require district and charter schools to prominently post on their websites whether they have a registered nurse. If they don’t, they must either post the health credentials of each person who provides health care services to students, or post that non-credentialed individuals provide health care. Meanwhile, ESA voucher-funded schools don’t have any regulation. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2592, sponsored by Michael Carbone (R-25), would tie Arizona’s 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. Reducing weeks of assistance will force some people to accept jobs that do not match their skill sets and pay less than their prior earnings, which is bad for both workers and the economy. Last year’s sponsor did not consult any economists when writing the bill, which failed to pass. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2748, sponsored by Joseph Chaplik (R-3), would make it a state crime to cross a federal border without the required documentation and give local police immunity to arrest migrants crossing the border. The bill, which echoes Arizona’s notorious SB1070, conflicts with a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling that said Arizona has no right to enforce federal immigration laws and is likely unconstitutional. See duplicate bill SB1231, Shamp (R-29). Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2753, sponsored by John Gillette (R-30), would require the Auditor General to analyze Arizona’s voter registration database to determine whether the Secretary of State's voter registration list maintenance procedures comply with federal law concerning federal-only voters. If the analysis discovers ineligible persons registered to vote, the Secretary of State must notify the appropriate County Recorder and the County Recorder must remove the ineligible voters from the voter registration rolls. In 2004, Arizona enacted a law requiring documentation of citizenship to vote; this was later found to violate the federal Voting Rights Act, so Arizona must allow these voters to participate in federal elections. Hence, we’re the only state with a “federal-only” list. Young adults living on or near college campuses in Arizona are disproportionately affected, and potentially disenfranchised, by “federal-only” voting. Arizona doesn’t need to double down on this failed policy. New to report. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2759, sponsored by Alma Hernandez (D-20), would ban all Arizona colleges and universities from formally recognizing student organizations that support a "foreign terrorist organization." If they refuse, they would lose state funding. The bill is inspired by the recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an issue which cannot be reduced to a sound bite about genocide against the Israeli people. The Palestinian death toll has soared past 25,000, with most of the casualties women and children; the UN calls the scale of civilian killings “heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable” with no end in sight. The issue is complex and does not warrant a blanket ban. This is a weaponized policy that should not be enacted in the heat of a conflagration like the current conflict. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2779, sponsored by David Marshall (R-7), would increase SBE’s instruction requirements on Holocaust education from twice in grades 7-12 to at least 3 full school days. The state should not be mandating curriculum. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2787, sponsored by Rachel Jones (R-17), would allow any elected official (including precinct committee people) to inspect voting equipment while accompanied by an expert of the elected official's choice. This would be an absolute nightmare. New to report. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2793, sponsored by Beverly Pingerelli (R-28), would require district charter school boards to restrict student access to the internet, including social media, and limit students’ use of phones during the school day to only for educational purposes or during an emergency, including during meals, passing periods and recess. Schools should be allowed to set their own policies and not struggle under top-down legislative mandates. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2819, sponsored by Quang Nguyen (R-1), would allow unsupervised minors to carry loaded firearms on private property with parental consent. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2821, sponsored by Steve Montenegro (R-29), would make it a state crime to cross a federal border without the required documentation and give local police immunity to arrest migrants crossing the border. The bill, which echoes Arizona’s notorious SB1070, could conflict with a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling that said Arizona has no right to enforce federal immigration laws. See similar bill SB1231, Shamp (R-29). Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2851, sponsored by Justin Heap (R-10), would drastically tighten and restrict ballot chain of custody standards. Part of a conspiracy theory package of bills predicated on the idea that our elections are somehow being stolen. Gov. Hobbs vetoed the same bill last year. New to report. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2852, sponsored by Justin Heap (R-10), would stop Arizona from participating in ERIC, a multi-state system that weeds out duplicate, deceased or suspicious voter registrations. The ERIC system is one of the strongest safeguards against voter fraud for election officials; there’s no viable replacement. Republican-run states have been abandoning ERIC in the wake of far-right conspiracy theories and struggling to clean voter rolls without it. Gov. Hobbs vetoed a similar bill last year. New to report. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2859, sponsored by Matt Gress (R-4), would create a special vehicle license plate for teen suicide awareness. Arizona currently has 101 special plates, with a portion of each purchase going to a different cause. Not only does having so many plates create difficulties for law enforcement, but some of the plates raise money for political groups, such as the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom and the anti-abortion Arizona Life Coalition. Arizona added 8 more plates just last year. When will it stop? Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2861, sponsored by Judy Schwiebert (D-2), would increase required relocation payments for condo sales, making sure owners get a fair deal if they’re forced to sell to investors. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
HB2876, sponsored by Michael Carbone (R-25), would end no-excuses early voting in Arizona, with exceptions only for the elderly, the disabled, and people who must be out of their precinct on Election Day. Anyone who wanted to vote by mail would have to show documentation of why. The bill would ban voting centers, which allow casting a ballot anywhere in the county (for example, near work or a child’s school), and force a return to a precinct model in which voters would only be allowed to vote at their designated precinct location. Those who try to vote at a different location, as they could do with voting centers, would not have their ballot counted. New to report. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2880, sponsored by Chris Mathis (D-18), would create a special vehicle license plate for Arizona bicycling. Arizona currently has 101 special plates, with a portion of each purchase going to a different cause. Not only does having so many plates create difficulties for law enforcement, but some of the plates raise money for political groups, such as the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom and the anti-abortion Arizona Life Coalition. Arizona added 8 more plates just last year. When will it stop? Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
2024 Session Timeline
Monday, 2/19 Crossover Week begins (most committee hearings are suspended) Friday, 3/22 Last day for a bill to get out of committees in its crossover house (and the last day to use RTS until a budget drops) Tuesday, 4/16 100th Day of Session (the stated end goal; can be changed)
Flag this handy list of contact info, committee chairs and assignments, updated for 2024.
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