CEBV Weekly: June 9, 2025
How to leverage lawmakers' budget stalemate. Urging Gov. Hobbs to veto a dangerous bill. Analyzing the bits of legislation still alive.
Hello! Monday marks Day 148 of legislative session; do you know where your lawmakers are?
Stalemate intensifies. As a handful of lawmakers continue negotiating a budget with the governor behind closed doors, we’re hearing the stalemate continues and tempers are high. House and Senate Republicans don’t agree with each other on how to allocate the tiny pittance that remains after the destruction that universal vouchers and tax cuts have wreaked on our state. House Republicans not only don’t agree among themselves, but have split into three factions. And some are pushing to revive the destructive, maligned “slush fund budgeting” concept used in 2023, wherein each Republican caucus and the governor are given a pot of money to spend according to their wishes.
Returning June 16. Current plans have both chambers returning to public work on June 16. Supposedly, they’ll introduce budget bills then, with a goal of passing them to the governor’s desk by June 20. Based on what we’re hearing, that budget could fail. It could get pushed through one chamber first in an attempt to create pressure on the other. Or it could crash and burn entirely.
The ask. This chaos means opportunity. Now is the time to contact your own state senator and representatives. Push them to refuse any tax carve-outs (including the stadium billionaire giveaway) and to focus on reinvesting Arizona’s current pittance into public priorities that lawmakers cut last year, such as public schools, universities and roads. Remember, if you’re not at the table, you’re probably on the menu — and as Shirley Chisholm once said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
Bills still out there. By popular demand, we’re debuting this tracking list of bills that remain alive. Any of these could be revived and passed in these waning days of session. Our priority for each bill is based on not just the bill’s dangers, but its chances of passage, as well as the likelihood that Gov. Hobbs will veto it (or, in the case of HCR and SCR referrals, the fact that she can’t). Your voice is crucial for helping to keep these bad ideas from menacing our state.
Tools like the one we used to build this tracking list are expensive. Help us fund our work with a donation. Every cent will go toward our work.
⏰ If you have 5 minutes: Directly contact Gov. Hobbs’ office at 602-542-4331 and engage@az.gov to request that she veto HB2867. See the “Spotlight” section below for more on how to do this.
⏰⏰ If you have 10 minutes: Also directly contact your own state senator and representatives and push them to refuse any tax carve-outs (including the stadium billionaire giveaway). Ask them to focus on directing Arizona’s current pittance toward public priorities that lawmakers cut last year, such as public schools, universities and roads.
⏰⏰⏰ If you have 20 minutes: Also directly contact the four House lawmakers who voted YES on HB2867 this week to express your disappointment. See the “Hall of Shame” section below for more.
⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 30 minutes: Also directly contact Gov. Hobbs (602-542-4331 / engage@az.gov), along with your state senator and representatives, and ask them to oppose billionaire tax handout HB2704. See the May 26 Weekly for more info, refer to the May 12 Weekly for a list of specific lawmakers who need extra attention, and remember: Hobbs being responsive and accountable to her base (us) will improve her re-election chances for 2026. If you’ve already done this, do it again! Sustained pressure is needed to make our voices heard.
⏰⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 45 minutes: Also choose one bill (or more) off CEBV’s tracking list of legislation that is still alive, and directly contact your state senator and representatives to oppose it.
⏰⏰⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom for our next CEBV Happy Hour conversation. After our usual state legislative rundown and budget updates, we’ll hear from Ashlyn Jones of Contest Every Race on the importance of running for local office. Happy Hour meets every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of legislative session. Sign up in advance here.
Urge Gov. Hobbs to veto HB2867
This past week, the Legislature advanced a bill that would ban public schools from teaching, promoting, funding or training students in "antisemitic conduct,” putting teachers at risk of losing their homes and livelihoods with a now-weaponized definition that even its creator says state legislatures shouldn’t be using. The bill now awaits Hobbs’ signature or veto.
Unfortunately, despite the outcry surrounding this terrible bill, it is not guaranteed that Gov. Hobbs will veto it. She needs to hear from us, and requesting a veto is easy! Just contact Gov. Hobbs’ office at 602-542-4331 or engage@az.gov. Introduce yourself as a constituent, cite bill number HB2867, and request a veto using the following talking points:
Weaponized definition. HB2867’s definition of antisemitism includes “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour.” Unfortunately, this definition has been twisted and weaponized by some to label any criticism of Israel as antisemitic. Over 100 human rights groups, including numerous Jewish organizations and groups located in Israel, have petitioned against the definition on grounds that it is being misused. Even Ken Stern, an expert on antisemitism who helped to draft the definition 20 years ago, says it was “never intended to be a campus hate speech code” and now advocates against its legal use, saying it has been used as “a blunt instrument to label anyone an antisemite.”
Encourages censorship. HB2867 defines "antisemitism" in part as creating "a hostile educational environment." This is coded language for avoiding any discussion that deals with thought-provoking or difficult subjects, and that encourages censorship. In Arizona, our educational environments should promote robust classroom discussion and critical thinking, and students must explore complex issues to be prepared for a complex world.
Attacks teachers. HB2867 specifies personal liability for teachers, and would allow students and parents to sue for damages. This would create a chilling effect on teachers who educate students about the region's complicated history or current events, for fear of frivolous or malicious lawsuits. It would also put teachers at risk of losing not just their certifications, but their personal assets, even their homes, simply for defending themselves against allegations that they taught antisemitism.
Overreach. Though HB2867’s supporters were repeatedly asked for examples of K-12 teachers in Arizona schools who provided antisemitic instruction, they could or would not provide any. The best they could come up with was a Palestinian flag displayed in the window of a Tucson school — an issue the Hobbs administration signaled it would veto, as Gov. Hobbs rightly has “higher priorities, like housing costs and funding for public education, rather than regulating what banners are and are not appropriate.” As spokesman Christian Slater pointed out earlier this session, “Legislative Republicans should join (Hobbs) in that work instead of focusing on ridiculous and superfluous flag bans.”
And as long as we’re on the subject of HB2867… did we mention that four House Democrats voted for it?
One of our tasks is to hold our allies accountable. This section calls out those who support harmful bills. We ask them to heed and do better.
👎 Seth Blattman (D-9), Alma Hernandez (D-20), 👎 Consuelo Hernandez (D-21) and 👎 Lydia Hernandez (D-24) for voting YES on HB2867 on the House floor. This bill would put teachers at risk of losing their assets, including their homes, if they are found to have taught or promoted “antisemitism” using a weaponized definition that even its creator says shouldn’t be used to make law. The bill has been sent to Gov. Hobbs for her signature or veto. Contact Blattman at sblattman@azleg.gov or 602-926-3996; Alma Hernandez at ahernandez@azleg.gov or 602-926-3136; Consuelo Hernandez at chernandez@azleg.gov or 602-926-3523; and Lydia Hernandez at lhernandez@azleg.gov or 602-926-3553.
2025 Session Timeline
Monday, 6/30 Last day to pass a budget before state government shuts down
Flag this handy list of contact info, committee chairs and assignments:
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