CEBV Weekly: June 19, 2023
I lived through the longest legislative session in state history and all I got was this newsletter
It’s official: Arizona is now living through the longest legislative session in state history. Both the House and the Senate are adjourned until 1:15 PM on July 31 — that’s their fifth extended recess this session, and this time it’s for almost seven weeks.
What happened this week? And what can we expect going forward?
Prop 400
This week, Republicans introduced a new “our-way-or-no-highway” Prop 400 bill and forced it through both chambers along party lines. SB1246 ignores hundreds of public meetings and stakeholder input in favor of MAGA anti-light rail ideology, and would set up two ballot measures: one for roads and buses, another for light rail. The bill now goes to Gov. Hobbs for her veto, which she has already promised.
Incredibly, Republicans also want to stop a light rail extension to the Capitol which was approved by voters 20 years ago and is already under construction. House Speaker Ben Toma (R-27) told reporters the light rail extension is “asinine,” the “stupidest thing” he’s ever heard, and “like rubbing our faces in it.”
We’re also rolling our eyes at the persistent, petulant whining from the MAGA right that it was the other parties, not them, who were rigid and unwilling to compromise. Even as Jake “from Troll Farm” Hoffman (R-15) decried “ultimatums and take-it-or-leave-it posturing from the 9th Floor,” David Livingston (R-28) issued lawmakers his own ultimatum with take-it-or-leave-it posturing: “This bill is it. We don’t have another option.” As they say, every accusation is a confession.
Of course, there is always another option: talk of a citizen initiative has already started. A bipartisan group of mayors issued a public statement condemning Republican lawmakers for “spouting the half-truths of fringe special interests,” and vowing, “If no solution is reached, we will have no choice but to pursue another avenue to get this before voters.” Gov. Hobbs acknowledged an initiative is “not the best option,” but the political consultant who's expected to run the campaign told media he thinks the "business community will step up" to pay for for the collection of the many, many signatures needed to put that initiative on the ballot.
Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman says mayors feel "an absolute sense of anguish” over the MAGA stonewalling and obstinacy. We don’t doubt that. This affects not only Maricopa County, which stands to lose out on billions of dollars in transportation funding, but the rest of the state, which would have to compete with Maricopa County for federal dollars (we all know who’d win that fight). But frankly, it’s about time they felt some anguish over Arizona’s sad state of affairs. Our state has been suffering for years under a broken, dysfunctional state government that caters to extremists instead of serving its own citizens. Now, finally, that pain has directly touched local lawmakers and business leaders.
“Gov. Katie Hobbs and Republican and Democratic mayors made more than 30 concessions to try to win over Republican support. All of them, and the business community, should be thinking about whether it’s time to also get involved in next year’s legislative races.” — Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts
The Prop 400 saga has served to highlight the glaring fact that our state desperately needs a more reasonable legislature. These mayors and business leaders won’t pound the pavement themselves for signatures, of course, as we’ve all done so many times before. But perhaps Prop 400 will push them into action to help change the makeup of our legislature. Arizona would be better off for it.
Another lawmaker bites the dust
After the housing proposal he’d been working on for a year (which was on the verge of passage as recently as Monday) fell apart due to a lack of support from his own party, Steve Kaiser (R-2) took his toys and went home. He not only resigned his seat, he even deleted his Twitter account.
Kaiser says he plans to focus on “creating center-right policy solutions.” We question this premise: even the most cursory look at his bills (serving school privatizers and the gun lobby, clawing back help for out-of-work Arizonans, anti-science attacks on vaccines) reveals he’s not a centrist. But then there’s no room in the current Republican Party for his brand: it has been overrun with hate speech and Christian supremacy. A recent survey found only 10% of Americans identify with that ideology — but among self-identified Republicans, that percentage jumps to over half. Democracy needs at least two sane political parties in order to function, and we currently only have one.
Kaiser’s former seat is now one of the hottest prospects to break the MAGA stranglehold on the Arizona Legislature. We’d heard plenty of rumors that the “Freedom” caucus planned to primary Kaiser from the extreme right, and true to form, two-time failed Congressional candidate Josh Barnett (who’s made international news for sticking his foot in his mouth) has already filed to run. So has current House representative Judy Schwiebert, a former Indivisible group leader and the top vote getter in that district in both 2020 and 2022.
Bottom line: If a state Senate that actually respects mainstream Arizona values wasn’t within reach before, it definitely is now.
Ballot referrals
Lawmakers have advanced two more amendments to the Arizona Constitution to our ballots next November. The first is HCR2039, which originally would have required the legislature to reauthorize all of Arizona’s emergency declarations every month (even when out of session), putting federal relief funding in jeopardy. Lawmakers amended it this week to apply more narrowly to the governor’s special powers during a state of emergency rather than ending states of emergency themselves. They also stripped out all language relating to floods or fires. This is a major victory. The bill is still bad, but it’s no longer a flaming dumpster fire. Each of you who reached out to Ken Bennett (R-1) with your opposition, pushing him to negotiate these amendments, deserves kudos for helping make that happen.
SCR1015, on the other hand, is still a flaming dumpster fire. Spurred on by the libertarian Goldwater Institute and anti-initiative Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Republican legislators are asking voters to hamstring their own voices. Ballot measures would have to collect signatures from a percentage of voters in each of Arizona’s 30 legislative districts: 10% for initiatives, 15% for a constitutional amendment. This would allow the most extreme area in the state to veto measures that have broad support, spelling doom for our initiative process. We all must work hard to defeat it at the ballot next November.
Your tax dollars at waste
While they're officially in session, lawmakers receive per diem even if they don't go to the Capitol once. From their last floor appearance to their next one, journalist Brahm Resnik calculated they’re pocketing an estimated $400,000 of our tax dollars. That’s for two days of work.
Arizona’s legislature was designed to be part-time, in session just 100 days of the year. Citizens set lawmaker pay at just $24,000 a year back in 1998 and have repeatedly refused to raise it. With no other assets or income, that salary is low enough to qualify our lawmakers for food stamps. If we want a legislature that truly serves Arizona, and to attract representatives who more closely mirror Arizona demographics, we’ve got to pay them a living wage. But having them stay in session, do nothing, and pocket per diem checks for it definitely isn’t the way to do that.
What’s next?
Republican legislative leadership says they’re sticking around to allow the Senate to hold confirmation hearings on Gov. Hobbs’ appointees. That line smells like BS; they’ve had months to hold those hearings. We put far more stock in the rumors that Senate Republicans in particular want some perceived leverage over Gov. Hobbs, or at least an ability to respond to any actions she takes over what should be the interim.
Toma also told press he doesn't plan to schedule votes on any more bills this session. We hope that holds — though we’ve already heard that, when the legislature reconvenes on July 31, Ken Bennett will try yet again to resurrect his twice-failed ballot images bill.
In the meantime, the longest session in state history is creating headaches for the staff tasked with chaptering bills into law. With the exception of emergency-clause bills (like the recent Rio Verde solution) and the budget, which gets its own effective date, nothing passed this session can go into effect until 90 days after sine die (a fancy Latin term indicating lawmakers are adjourning for good).
We feel these staffers’ pain. The solution is, of course, to work as hard as we can to create a more reasonable legislature in 2024.
⏰ Legislative wrap-ups. Will session ever end? Maybe not, but we’re moving ahead anyway. Sign up for our Legislative Session Wrap-Up on June 25 (HERE) or June 29 (HERE).
⏰⏰ Our Zoom Happy Hour is on. Please join us this Sunday at 4 PM. We won’t have any special guests, just a thorough rundown of the Legislature’s actions and a frank discussion of what’s next.
This legislature is profoundly unserious, continuing to ram through stacks of bills that range from ridiculous to horrifying.
Vetoes: Friday, June 16
SB1026, Kavanagh (R-3), threatens school funding by prohibiting organizations that receive state tax dollars from hosting “drag shows” to entertain people under 18. Violators would lose state funds for 3 years. The definition is broad enough to include school plays or pep rallies. Likely unconstitutional.
SB1028, Kern (R-27), would reclassify drag performances as “adult cabaret” (historically limited to strip shows) and ban them from anywhere a minor may be able to see them, affecting everything from drag story hours for kids to performances of Cabaret, Rent and Peter Pan. A first violation would carry to up to 6 months in jail; a subsequent violation would be a felony.
SB1030, Kern (R-27), would mandate that counties change their zoning laws to define businesses that hold “drag shows” as adult-oriented, and would also ban the beloved Sunday drag brunch.
SB1611, Kern (R-27), would ban companies from doing business with government unless they promise they will not "discriminate" based on political affiliation or social or environmental values, which could cost Arizona millions.
SB1698, Wadsack (R-17), classifies drag shows as "dangerous crimes against children" in the same category as bestiality, child sex trafficking, second-degree murder, and sexual assault. A family viewing of “Mulan” or “Hairspray” would be a class 4 felony, punishable by 15 years in prison and a requirement that the adult register as a sex offender. Likely unconstitutional.
HB2722, Griffin (R-19), would allow county elections officials to hand count all of the ballots for any election. Elections advocates testified that such a move would put ballot security at risk, create counting errors, and damage voter confidence, seriously undermining election integrity.1
HB2786, Heap (R-10), would require school boards to notify parents of recommended or funded "training opportunities" for teachers or school administrators, on the grounds that that social-emotional learning, diversity, equity and inclusion somehow conceal nonexistent "critical race theory" in public school.
CEBV is tracking over 20 bills that still await transmittal to the governor’s desk, which means these vetoes likely won’t be the last.
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Unlike the others, this veto doesn’t appear in the Legislature’s official bill tracking system, but multiple credible news sources are reporting a veto, so we’ve included it.