CEBV Weekly: February 3, 2025
#AZLeg Republicans are hellbent on disenfranchising voters. It's time to speak out.
On Monday, the House will hear in committee a mirror version of the Senate president’s “voter disenfranchisement bill” that would limit early voting. The proponents’ goal is to fast-track the bill and get it on the governor’s desk by this Wednesday. Republican leadership seem to be doing all they can to ensure a veto (the “legislative findings” section of the bill alone1 contains blatant disinformation), and we’ve heard that if Gov. Hobbs does indeed veto it, they've threatened to put an “even worse” bill on the ballot.
This proposal would eliminate voters’ current right to drop off our ballots at the polls on Election Day. More than 250,000 Arizona voters just exercised this right in November. Two weeks ago, CEBV explained this stinker of an idea in our Weekly, and nothing’s changed. This bill would still create massive Election Day lines, limit voting access, disenfranchise many voters (including rural, tribal, disabled and elderly people), cause mass confusion, and hinder voters from dropping off their ballots. And outside the proponents’ tiny bubble, it’s wildly unpopular. Polls show that a whopping 84% of Arizona voters want to continue to be able to drop off their mail ballots at polling places on Election Day without having to wait in line.
As we warned two weeks ago, we’ve been here before, and the politicians involved paid the price. Those pushing this policy would do well to understand that voters see casting their ballots as their right. They don’t like lines. And any effort to force them to wait will likely be met with swift backlash.
Our job now is to make that known, as loudly as possible. See the “What Can I Do?” section below for actions you can take.
Are you sick of arrogant politicians who think they know better than the voters who elected them? You’ll love this: state lawmakers, undeterred that we rejected their bad idea just a couple of months ago, are trying to bring it back.
HCR2038, sponsored by Alex Kolodin (R-3), is a close copy of Prop 315. This idea, shot down by voters in November 2024, would have restricted Arizona agencies from creating rules that would increase regulatory costs by more than $500,000 over 5 years after implementation. The Legislature would have instead been required to enact legislation to ratify the proposed rule into law.
This would not only kneecap our state government's ability to regulate spending, but it's a direct slap in the face of voters who literally just rejected this idea. Our policy director recently spoke to the Arizona Capitol Times, highlighting the arrogance and futility of the move: “Falling back on the length of the ballot or voter confusion is arrogant. It’s saying I know better than my own constituents, and that’s not what we send people down there to do.” CEBV also pointed out that cluttering up our ballots (again) with something that has already been both vetoed and rejected by voters is not a good use of anyone’s time.
HCR2038 is scheduled to be heard in the House Regulatory Oversight Committee on Tuesday. Use RTS and contact the members of the committee to OPPOSE.
⏰ If you have 10 minutes: Use Request to Speak to oppose HB2703; contact the members of House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections to ask them to vote NO in committee. Then reach out to your own senator and representatives to ask them to vote NO when the bill reaches the floor.
⏰⏰ If you have 20 minutes: Use Request to Speak to oppose HCR2038; contact the members of the House Regulatory Oversight Committee to ask them to vote NO.
⏰⏰⏰ If you have 30 minutes: Also use Request to Speak on the other bills in committees this week. Refer to the information, links and talking points in this Weekly to craft your own comments to lawmakers.
⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 45 minutes: Contact House Appropriations Committee chair David Livingston (R-28) at dlivingston@azleg.gov or 602-926-4178 to ask him to put universal school meal bill HB2213 on an agenda. (He only has two more opportunities to do so.)
⏰⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom for our next CEBV Happy Hour conversation. This week, in addition to our usual state legislative rundown, we’ll meet with new lawmakers Lauren Kuby and Brian Garcia (D-8). We’ll discuss their impressions and priorities as new legislators and ask their thoughts on getting things done in the toxic pressure cooker that is the state Capitol. Happy Hour meets every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of legislative session. Sign up in advance here.
Democracy
SB1152, sponsored by David Gowan (R-19), would restrict early ballot distribution by setting it to begin 21 days before the election, instead of the current 27 days. Ballots would be mailed out no later than 18 days before the election, down from the current 24-day deadline. This places extra burdens on already overstaffed, under-resourced county elections departments. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1243, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would force public bodies such as school boards to hold their “open calls to the public” at the beginning of the meeting before conducting official business. This is a direct attack on local control. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
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 Judiciary and Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2649, sponsored by Steve Montenegro (R-29), would affirm the Legislature’s belief in the importance of the Electoral College for presidential elections. We disagree. The Electoral College is no longer a constructive force in American politics; it’s time to move to direct popular election of presidents. Scheduled for House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee, Wednesday. 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 House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2703, sponsored by Laurin Hendrix (R-14), is yet another bill that would require early ballots to be returned by the Friday before Election Day. Voters who tried to return their ballots after that would be forced to show ID, sign an affidavit, and cast a new ballot in person. The bill also forces principals to allow their schools to be used as polling places, creating potential issues relating to child safety and available space. Scheduled for House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HCR2038, sponsored by Alex Kolodin (R-3), is a close copy of Prop 315, shot down by voters on the 2024 ballot. The measure would ask voters to ban Arizona agencies from creating rules that would raise regulatory costs by more than $500,000 over 5 years (a very small amount in the government world) and to instead require the Legislature to enact legislation to ratify the proposed rule into law. This would not only kneecap our state government's ability to regulate spending, but is a direct slap in the face of voters who literally just rejected this idea. Scheduled for House Regulatory Oversight Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
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Education
SB1007, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would retroactively extend the deadline for Arizona’s public school tax credit to be used for broader purposes, such as school meals, health care supplies, playground equipment and shade structures. That ability expired June 30, 2024. This flexibility will benefit local schools. Scheduled for Senate Finance Committee, Monday. SUPPORT.
SB1036, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would expand an existing law that bans cities, counties and school districts from using taxpayer dollars to convince voters to cast their ballots a certain way. Any Arizona resident could file suit, and if they win, that resident would get a $5,000 taxpayer-sponsored reward. The sponsor says he's looking to encourage these lawsuits to combat what he sees as an increasingly prevalent problem, and isn't concerned about frivolous suits. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1255, sponsored by Shawnna Bolick (R-2), would require each school district and individual public school to post on its website information on students’ race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age that is meant for the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. Schools would also have to complete a new survey on bullying, fighting and harassment. Public schools are already subject to many laws covering discrimination and bullying, making this an excessive overreach. Meanwhile, kids at ESA voucher-funded schools have no such protections. Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1269, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would let district and charter school boards allow volunteer school chaplains into schools to provide support, services or programs to students. The bill does not specify what the chaplains' roles would include, set any training or certification requirements, or require that students from a range of faith traditions be accommodated. Most credentialed chaplains are not qualified to address the needs of public school students and cannot replace trained school counselors or other student support staff. The ramifications for tracking people's religious affiliations alone are dangerous. Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2670, sponsored by Rachel Keshel (R-17), would require public schools to include fetal development, reproductive and pregnancy instruction in their 7th- and 8th-grade health curriculum, with an individual opt-out provision. Currently, Arizona is one of only two states that mandates parents must opt their kids in before public schools can teach sex education at any level. How are teachers to explain pregnancy and fetal development to students whose parents don’t agree to allow them to hear the rest of the conversation? This unfunded mandate puts a significant burden on already overstretched and under-resourced schools, and transparently politicizes teachers in the process. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
LGBTQ+
HB2438, sponsored by Rachel Keshel (R-17), 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. This bill would create new obstacles for people seeking to update their birth certificates even as the courts have deemed existing obstacles unconstitutional. Scheduled for House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
Water
We’ve done our best to cover this topic in plain language, but there’s no getting around some of the technical terms. For background, we recommend The Water Agenda, a new weekly newsletter from the folks at the Arizona Agenda. Here’s the first issue. We also recommend Beau Hodai’s excellent 3-part series in the Cochise Regional News about how Rep. Gail Griffin has for years stonewalled effective water management in Arizona.
SB1114, sponsored by Tim Dunn (R-25), would require the Arizona Department of Water Resources to approve a Certificate of Assured Water Supply if an applicant agrees to reduce the remaining volume of groundwater by 15%. This creates another way around assured water supply requirements. Scheduled for Senate Natural Resources Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
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2025 Session Timeline
Monday, 2/3 Senate bill introduction deadline
Monday, 2/10 House bill introduction deadline
Friday, 2/21 Last day for a bill to get out of committees in its originating house
Monday, 2/24 Crossover Week begins (most committee hearings are suspended)
Friday, 3/28 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, 4/22 100th Day of Session (the stated end goal; can be changed)
Monday, 6/30 Last day to pass a constitutionally mandated state budgetFlag this handy list of contact info, committee chairs and assignments, freshly updated for 2025.
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To read the lunacy for yourself, scroll to the end of the bill and look for the section marked “Sec. 9. Legislative findings”