CEBV Weekly: March 18, 2024
Governance by tantrum. More terrible ballot referrals. A resurgence of bills that are only mostly dead.
It’s striker season at the Arizona Legislature! It’s often said that no bill is ever truly dead until the Legislature adjourns — and sadly, this week’s report contains plenty of proof of that.
Also called “strike-everything amendments,” strikers are gut-and-replace amendments to introduce new ideas (or revive old ones) which don't even have to be related to the original bill. As this is the last week for bills to be heard in their crossover committee (House bills in Senate committees, Senate bills in House Committees), lawmakers are using the striker tool to revive ideas that have withered somewhere along the traditional path to lawmaking. In at least one case, they are introducing a totally new idea. And for at least four bills, we have no idea what’s coming our way because all the information lawmakers see fit to give us on these bills is the description “government.”
Like any tool, these strike-everything amendments can be used for good or ill. But considering the makeup of our current legislature, most of this week’s crop of strikers is a glut of bad ideas that would actively harm everyday Arizonans. We must make voter distaste of these horrid bills crystal clear.
⏰ If you have 10 minutes: Use Request to Speak on the bills that are new to the Weekly; see “Spotlight” below.
⏰⏰ If you have 20 minutes: Also use RTS to oppose the bad ballot referral bills in committee this week; see “Ballot Referrals” below.
⏰⏰⏰ If you have 40 minutes: Use RTS on all bills in the Weekly.
⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom at 4pm on Sunday for our next CEBV Happy Hour conversation. This week’s guest speaker is Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin. (CEBV is an Indivisible group!) We’ll meet every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of session. Sign up in advance here.
Governance by Tantrum
Two weeks ago, Gov. Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have violated Supreme Court precedent and settled constitutional issues by allowing local police to arrest migrants crossing the border. In her veto letter for SB1231, Gov. Hobbs pointed out the burdens the bill would have created for law enforcement and the courts, as well as the “significant constitutional concerns” that would “mire the State in costly and protracted litigation."
So what have Republican legislators decided to do?
If you picked option D, you’re right! Republican legislators have two more copies of the bill (yes, the same bill she just vetoed), and are moving both through committees this week. When asked why their choice to do the same thing and expect different results doesn’t fit the fabled definition of insanity, Senate President Warren Petersen offered this delusional explanation: “It would be absolutely insane for her to veto the bill again.” Um, why is that, exactly?
Make no mistake: Republicans know they’re in the wrong here. Federal law and the courts have made it explicitly clear that immigration policy and enforcement are the role of federal government, not the states. Even the Legislature’s nonpartisan rules attorneys warned lawmakers that these bills are unconstitutional.
Of course Arizona Republicans want to blame Gov. Hobbs for this instead of laying blame where it belongs: at the feet of Republicans in Congress (who are currently blocking the bipartisan border package and blaming each other for their own inaction). Our state lawmakers are hoping we’ll be suckered in by their tantrum so they can score the cheap political points. Hey, they probably figured it was worth a try.
The two bills are HB2748 (Chaplik, R-3) and HB2821, (Montenegro, R-29). Both 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. Use RTS to OPPOSE.
New to the Weekly
This is your last chance to weigh in on these bills using Request to Speak. More information is available in the “Use RTS” section below.
SB1172, Shope (R-16), would get around assured water supply requirements for subdivisions and allow continued pumping of groundwater without any replenishment. OPPOSE.
SCR1040, Mesnard (R-13), is subject to a striker that would create a sub-mininum hourly wage for tipped employees. The measure comes from the restaurant industry, which also lobbies against minimum wage and sick leave protections for restaurant employees. Unbelievably, they’ve dubbed this bill the "Tipped Workers Protection Act." OPPOSE.
HB2209, Livingston (R-28), is a politicized three-year continuation of the Industrial Commission of Arizona that restricts the agency’s operations. Federal officials say the amendment will cause Arizona’s program to fall below OSHA standards, which could force a federal takeover of Arizona’s workplace safety inspections. Use your RTS comments to ask lawmakers to strip the politicized amendment from the bill. OPPOSE.
HB2504, Biasiucci (R-30), is a broadly worded bill that would ban research and health care institutions from doing genetic sequencing if a piece of the machine was produced in China or Hong Kong. OPPOSE.
HCR2049, Carter (R-15), is subject to a striker from Justine Wadsack (R-17) that would ask voters to ban government from setting goals to reduce vehicle miles of travel. Based on an absurd conspiracy theory that believes the “world government” wants to limit people’s freedom of movement and advance a totalitarian agenda. OPPOSE.
You’re not seeing double: thanks to the magic of strikers, some of these referrals are also brand-new bills. What a terrible way to legislate! This is your last chance to weigh in using RTS. Also consider calling your senator (for House bills) or your representatives (for Senate bills) and urging them not to crowd the ballot with this nonsense.1
SCR1040, Mesnard (R-13), is subject to a striker that would create a sub-mininum hourly wage for tipped employees of up to 25% less than statutory minimum wage. The measure comes from lobbyists for the restaurant industry, which also lobby against minimum wage and sick leave protections for restaurant employees. Unbelievably, they’ve dubbed this bill the "Tipped Workers Protection Act." OPPOSE.
SCR1036, 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. OPPOSE.
SCR1041, 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. OPPOSE.
SCR1044, Gowan (R-19), would make judges in Arizona’s most populous counties appointed until the mandatory retirement age of 70 instead of retained by the voters every 4 to 6 years. If voters pass the measure, the entire judicial retention slate for November would be thrown out, and all the judges would stay in office. OPPOSE.
HCR2032, Jones (R-17), would ask voters to ban voting centers and limit precinct size to 1,000 voters. OPPOSE.
HCR2049, Carter (R-15), is now subject to a striker from Justine Wadsack (R-17) that would ban government from setting goals to reduce vehicle miles of travel. Based on an absurd conspiracy theory that believes the “world government” wants to limit people’s freedom of movement and advance a totalitarian agenda. OPPOSE.
HCR2050, Griffin (R-19), would ban Arizona from restricting devices based on their energy source. Based on conspiracy theories that government is inflating the price of gas to push Americans toward electric cars and trying to ban gas stoves. OPPOSE.
Other than the traditional “trash can appropriations” hearings next week, this week’s agendas mark the last chance for bills to be heard in crossover committees.
Monday
HB2209, sponsored by David Livingston (R-28), is a politicized three-year continuation of the Industrial Commission of Arizona. Matt Gress (R-4) added an amendment to restrict the agency’s operations in an attempt to “keep Arizona from adopting certain Biden administration policies.” Federal officials say the amendment will cause Arizona’s program to fall below OSHA standards, which could force a federal takeover of Arizona’s workplace safety inspections. The bill would also require the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, which Gress chairs, to review Arizona’s job health and safety proposals before they can move forward. If lawmakers don’t act, the Commission will end on July 1. New to weekly. Scheduled for Senate Finance & Commerce Committee, Monday. Use your RTS comments to ask lawmakers to strip the politicized amendment from the bill. OPPOSE.
HB2405, sponsored by John Gillette (R-30), would allow county recorders to make a person’s voter registration inactive if they have reasonable cause to believe the voter provided fraudulent or incorrect registration information. This circumvents processes which are already working and could violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Scheduled for Senate Elections Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2474, sponsored by Alexander Kolodin (R-3), would make it harder to circulate petitions to form a new political party, including putting time limits on signature validity and requiring petition circulators to register with the Secretary of State’s office. The No Labels and Green parties recently qualified for the Arizona ballot; the Patriot Party recently failed to qualify by just 3,000 signatures. Unaffiliated voters are now Arizona’s largest registered political bloc; lawmakers should not make it harder for these voters to form like-minded organizations. Scheduled for Senate Elections Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2504, sponsored by Leo Biasiucci (R-30), limits insurance coverage for genetic sequencing, human organ transplants and post-transplant care for companies associated with a “foreign adversary.” This is defined as a list of countries that includes China and Hong Kong. Not only is this an issue best dealt with at the federal level, but some of the bill’s language would prohibit research and health care institutions from doing genetic sequencing if a piece of the machine was produced in China or Hong Kong. New to report. Scheduled for Senate Finance & Commerce Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2661, sponsored by Ben Toma (R-27), would bar the sale of computers, smart phones and tablets in Arizona if they don’t include a filter that would block children from accessing “obscene content.” The bill would hold the manufacturer criminally liable if they fail to do so, with fines ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Under the bill, Arizonans would automatically see a filter, and those who turn it off would be legally liable if a minor accessed content on their device. The measure appears to be the brainchild of an anti-LGBTQ activist who is most famous for trying to marry his laptop in protest of same-sex marriage. Obscenity filter bills have been filed in at least 8 other states; a similar bill was also introduced in Arizona in 2022. Scheduled for Senate Finance & Commerce 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 Senate Transportation, Technology & Missing Children, 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 Senate Transportation, Technology & Missing Children, Monday. OPPOSE.
HCR2032, sponsored by Rachel Jones (R-17), would ask voters to ban voting centers and limit precinct size to 1,000 voters. The voting center model allows voters to cast a ballot anywhere in the county — for example, near work or their child’s school — instead of being tied to a single precinct location, and has nearly eliminated the need for provisional ballots. Returning to a precinct model would raise the question of whether counties can find enough poll workers. This is at least the third year in which Arizona’s Republican-led legislature has attempted to ban voting centers. Because this bill would go directly to voters, Gov. Hobbs cannot veto it. The same bill content is also moving as a non-referral, HB2547. Bennett told Axios he opposes, meaning the measure is likely dead. Scheduled for Senate Elections Committee, Monday; Bennett is vice chair of the committee. OPPOSE.
HCR2049, sponsored by Neal Carter (R-15), is subject to a striker from Justine Wadsack (R-17) that would ask voters to ban government from setting goals to reduce vehicle miles of travel. Reducing vehicle miles burns fewer fossil fuels and extends road life, which is good for the state. Based on an absurd conspiracy theory that believes the “world government” wants to limit people’s freedom of movement and advance a totalitarian agenda. Scheduled for Senate Transportation, Technology & Missing Children, Monday. OPPOSE.
Tuesday
SB1041, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would require the Arizona Department of Water Resources to issue a groundwater savings certificate for development with a gray water system. This appears to be another way around assured water supply requirements for subdivisions. OPPOSE.
SB1151, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would allow public schools to post and read aloud the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Right now, public schools are prohibited from including religious and partisan materials. Kern says he intends the bill to stop “the progressive slide in our country.” The legislature’s nonpartisan rules attorneys have said this bill may violate the First Amendment, which bans government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion." Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SB1172, sponsored by TJ Shope (R-16), would allow landowners who have a grandfathered right to irrigation in an active management area (an area of heightened regulation because of lack of water) to keep a credit to that water for non-irrigation use. This specifically gets around assured water supply requirements for subdivisions and allows continued pumping of groundwater without any replenishment. New to Weekly. Scheduled for House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, Tuesday. 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 lawmakers’ lax regulation of Arizona groundwater, rural wells are already drying up. Scheduled for House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SB1583, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would require each public school in Arizona to give parents an overview of the ESA voucher program, including award amount and approved expenses; a list of charter schools located a “reasonable distance” from the school; and several pages of information on “Arizona’s school choice options” for the parent to sign. The school would be required to keep a copy of the signed disclosure in the student’s file and to assist any parent who wants to switch schools after reading the pamphlet. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SCR1040, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), is subject to a striker that would ask voters to amend the Arizona Constitution to create a sub-mininum hourly wage for tipped employees of up to 25% less than statutory minimum wage. Employers would have to show records that the employee received not less than the minimum wage plus $2 for all hours worked. The measure comes from lobbyists for the restaurant industry, which also lobby against minimum wage and sick leave protections for restaurant employees. Unbelievably, they’ve dubbed this bill the "Tipped Workers Protection Act." Scheduled for House Commerce Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
Wednesday
SB1056, sponsored by Warren Petersen (R-14), would ban city and town councils from raising taxes or fees without a two-thirds supermajority vote. A similar provision in Arizona state law has made it nearly impossible to fund our state’s many needs and priorities. This top-down move would hamstring our cities with the same problem. Scheduled for House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1092, sponsored by Warren Petersen (R-14), would allow people to deduct losses in foreign currency trades and from cryptocurrency off their taxes. Spurred in part by a false narrative that the government plans to control its citizens through US currency. Losses in crypto can be very substantial; bills like this encourage wild financial speculation at taxpayer expense. The magnitude of the cost of this policy is unclear. Scheduled for House Ways & Means Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1213, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would penalize cities such as Flagstaff and Tucson for voting to set a higher minimum wage than the state’s. It allows individuals and corporations to deduct from their taxes some of the difference between the local and state minimum wages. These tax credits would then be deducted from the revenues the state is supposed to share with cities. Any unused tax credits could be rolled over for five years. Depending on how many companies take the credit, it could deplete a community’s entire state funding. This aims to punish cities for providing a living wage for their residents, as well as preempting local authority. The sponsor introduced a similar bill last year, which failed to pass and would have cost cities $127 million in FY 2026 alone. Scheduled for House Ways & Means Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1286, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would require all district schools to close on primary and general election days, and district schools (but not charter or ESA voucher-funded schools) to offer their gymnasiums as polling places. Teachers would be required to attend inservice training and banned from taking a vacation day, presumably to keep them from working the polls. Arizona and the nation are already struggling to find enough election workers; it makes no sense to legislate a ban on teachers doing their patriotic duty — to say nothing of the disruption this would cause to families. Part of this year’s GOP package of bills to make wide-ranging, harmful changes to Arizona elections. Gov. Hobbs vetoed a similar bill last year. Scheduled for House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Wednesday. 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 bill’s cost is unclear. The same bill failed to pass last year. Scheduled for House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1357, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), would move the signature affidavit on an early ballot to be inside the envelope for “privacy purposes.” The bill does not contain an appropriation for the cost of redesigning ballot materials, which would be substantial. Voting rights officials have not indicated the current setup, which is also used by multiple other states, poses any problem. Scheduled for House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Wednesday (failed last week with Alexander Kolodin (R-3) joining all Democrats). OPPOSE.
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 House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Wednesday. 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 House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Wednesday. 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 House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Wednesday. 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. Scheduled for House Ways & Means Committee, Wednesday. 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 House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday. 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 House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Wednesday. 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. As one columnist opines, “It’s as if the people running the Legislature haven’t liked the initiative process since 1912, when Arizonans gave women the vote.” Scheduled for House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SCR1044, sponsored by David Gowan (R-19), would change the state Constitution to make judges in Arizona’s most populous counties appointed until the mandatory retirement age of 70 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 House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2095, sponsored by Barbara Parker (R-10), would expand the school tuition organization (STO) voucher program to students in foster care. STOs, or "Arizona's first vouchers," are dollar-for-dollar tax credits to private schools that result in significantly less money for public schools. The bill is estimated to cost the state half a million dollars annually (these estimates historically run low). Since the STO voucher program's creation, Arizona’s general fund has lost out on over $2.1 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, our state's public school funding remains in the bottom 5 nationwide, even after recent investments. Gov. Hobbs vetoed this bill last year. Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. 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 Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. 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 (in fact, the House’s nonpartisan rules attorneys explicitly say so). Gov. Hobbs has already vetoed one copy of this bill: SB1231, Shamp (R-29). Scheduled for Senate Military Affairs, Public Safety & Border Security Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2759, sponsored by Alma Hernandez (D-20), would censor pro-Palestinian student organizations by banning 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. One attorney says the bill is unconstitutional. Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday - HELD on 3/13. 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. The House’s nonpartisan rules attorneys warned lawmakers the bill is unconstitutional. Gov. Hobbs has already vetoed one copy of this bill: SB1231, Shamp (R-29). Scheduled for Senate Military Affairs, Public Safety & Border Security Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
Thursday
HB2310, sponsored by Travis Grantham (R-14), attempts to define “grooming” in statute, and would ban “distributing photographs that depict a person’s sex organs” — essentially making it a felony to teach a health class. State law already covers the behaviors in the bill; we don’t need another statute, especially one that would carry other consequences. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday. OPPOSE.
HB2328, sponsored by Kevin Payne (R-27), would relax regulations on food trucks. Payne, who owns a food truck, sponsored the same bill in 2019 and again in 2023 (when Gov. Hobbs vetoed it). The bill could lead to nuisances such as noise, along with gray water, trash and grease, being dumped in neighborhoods. The legislature’s extremely lax conflict of interest rules say that, if more than 10 people would benefit from a law, there is no conflict. That means a lawmaker like Payne can sponsor a bill about food trucks and vote on it. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Thursday. 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 Senate Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, Thursday. 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 Senate Government Committee, Thursday. OPPOSE.
HB2593, sponsored by Michael Carbone (R-25), would require state agencies and other organizations that receive public records requests to acknowledge the request and notify the requester of the expected date the request will be processed. Willful or bad-faith noncompliance would be subject to civil penalties of up to $5,000. The public records process is rife with red tape and often stacked against private citizens; this would help. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Thursday. SUPPORT.
HCR2050, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to ban Arizona, its cities and counties, and its public schools from restricting devices based on their energy source. This could be based on any number of conspiracy theories, for example, that government is inflating the price of gas to push Americans toward electric cars, or that government is trying to ban gas stoves. Scheduled for Senate Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, Thursday. OPPOSE.
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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 representatives and senator as indicated.
SB1060, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), is a watered-down version of a measure from last year (which Gov. Hobbs vetoed) that allows partisan observers inside the voting process on behalf of federal candidates, including during the setup process when other observers and the public are not permitted, in the name of “transparency.” State candidates would not be permitted this “transparency.” Allowing partisan candidate representatives this backstage access muddies a cleanly working process and could weaken confidence in our state’s elections. Scheduled for House 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 House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1153, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would restrict Arizona agencies from creating rules that would increase regulatory costs by more than $500,000 over 5 years after implementation. The Legislature would instead be required to enact legislation to ratify the proposed rule into law. Although the far right says it will "rein in unelected bureaucrats," this shortsighted measure would kneecap Hobbs and Mayes' ability to regulate unaccountable, wasteful spending. A prime example is Arizona's universal ESA voucher program; parents who use the program are complaining about the payment processor, ClassWallet, and a different vendor could cost easily that amount or more. Gov. Hobbs vetoed this exact bill last year; in committee, the sponsor could not answer how many rules this would impact but said "it shouldn't matter." Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1182, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), is a shower-only version of last year’s “bathroom bill” that would ban trans kids from using the showers at school that align with their gender identities. Anyone who “encounters” a trans person in a shower area could file suit against public schools. A federal court found that these policies violate the US Constitution and Title IX, so in addition to being monstrously cruel and creating harm from continued anti-trans rhetoric, this would open Arizona to a host of lawsuits at taxpayer expense. Polls show that Americans from every political ideology and age group oppose anti-trans legislation. Gov. Hobbs vetoed last year’s bill. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1187, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would require public schools in a district that has a bond or override election on the ballot to be polling places "only if other nearby appropriate government buildings are unavailable," voiding the available space and child safety exemptions currently in statute. No external entity knows better for local schools than their own staff; state lawmakers should not be mandating this decision for them. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1190, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would create a special license plate for community college enrollment. 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.
SB1288, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would tighten requirements for how electronic ballot tabulators are tested prior to elections. Arizona already requires logic and accuracy testing for its tabulators, which are already open to the public, though voters rarely attend. The bill falls short on specifics, and counties (which administer elections) have multiple concerns with it. Another conspiracy-theory-driven measure that has no business becoming law. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1330, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), removes the word “drop box” from elections statute, replacing it with “container” or “ballot box.” This could enable restrictions on drop boxes themselves and even the process of mail-in voting. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1366, sponsored by Shawnna Bolick (R-2), would add blockchain (related to cryptocurrency) to Arizona’s “regulatory sandbox.” That program offers limited access to Arizona's market to test innovative financial products or services or other innovations without obtaining a license or other authorization. This would essentially deregulate a volatile playground for the mega-rich. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1369, 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 newly created survey from the Arizona Department of Education on bullying, fighting, harassment and other school safety issues, which ADE would post on their website. Public schools are already subject to many laws covering discrimination and bullying, making this an excessive overreach. Meanwhile, bills to expand these protections to kids at ESA voucher-funded schools are going unheard. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1406, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), would require the Arizona Medical Board to give licenses to practice medicine to international graduates who have not completed an accredited US residency. Currently, this is not allowed anywhere else in the US. Doctors’ groups oppose the bill as a safety and quality issue. Libertarians in Arizona have long degraded professional standards in the name of “cutting red tape”; last year, Koch-backed libertarian group Americans for Prosperity pushed a similar bill, which failed to pass. Scheduled for House 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 House 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.” Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1473, sponsored by Anthony Kern (R-27), would force state agencies to repay 1% of their annual budget in fines for every 30 days they are late in filing audit reports. The bill is driven by a misplaced belief that government is wasteful and lazy. In committee, Kern stated that school boards are misusing and abusing taxpayer funds, that agencies are “thumbing their nose” at audit enforcement, and “if we take away some of their budget, that will light a fire under their rear end.” Yanking funds from Arizona’s chronically underfunded state agencies will only worsen their ability to file on-time reports. Scheduled for House Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
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 House 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 House 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. Passed House 3rd + Hernandez ACL, one other. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2232, sponsored by Jennifer Longdon (D-5), would add “on-track equipment” to railroad crossing safety statutes, thus requiring that vehicles stop for this equipment. Scheduled for Senate 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 Senate 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 Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2389, sponsored by Alexander Kolodin (R-3), would ban the sale of any motor vehicle in Arizona if it can be remotely shut off by someone not the owner of the vehicle who does not have a physical key. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is working to develop "passive" driver alcohol detection, using sensors that measure alcohol in a driver's skin or breath, as potential new standard equipment in new vehicles to prevent alcohol-related accidents and deaths. Alcohol-related crashes kill over 10,000 people every year nationwide. Opposition to the plan seems to center on the misbelief in a right to drive while drunk. (Driving is a privilege; the US Constitution guarantees a right to travel, but not the right to drive.) Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2442, sponsored by Steve Montenegro (R-29), would ban emergency use immunizations from being required for school attendance. There are no scientific grounds to justify this bill; in fact, scientific reviews praise the emergency use authorization process. Gov. Hobbs vetoed the same bill last year. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2545 and HB2546, sponsored by Rachel Jones (R-17), would exempt all vehicles manufactured after 2018 from vehicle emissions testing. The bills are virtually identical except that each uses a different attempt to exempt the changes from federal EPA air quality requirements, neither of which will stand up in court. The EPA says vehicle inspection and emissions “help improve air quality by identifying cars and trucks that may need repairs.” They also save consumers money on fuel in the long run. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2586, sponsored by Tim Dunn (R-25), 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." See also SB1125. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2788, sponsored by Rachel Jones (R-17), would ban Arizona, its cities and counties, and its public schools from adopting the UN goals for sustainable development. These goals include tackling substantive issues such as extreme poverty and hunger, quality education, gender equality and climate change. Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
2024 Session Timeline
These “deadlines” are highly flexible and can be changed or waived at any time with a simple majority vote.
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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Why are we telling you to call your senator for House bills and your representatives for Senate bills? At this point in legislative session, bills are being heard in the opposite chamber from where they were introduced. See this flowchart for more.