CEBV Weekly: May 29, 2023
Has our Republican majority gotten the tantrum out of their system?
The Legislature has been recessed since May 15 — that’s an eternity during legislative session — and in that time, staff has methodically been transmitting the flotilla of bad legislation passed that day up to Governor Hobbs’ desk. Fortunately, she isn’t willing to play along.
Here are some of the bills Gov. Hobbs has vetoed in just the last 10 days:
SB1001, Kavanagh (R-3), banning teachers from using a student’s chosen pronouns without written parental permission (yet also letting teachers misgender students regardless of parental permission if they claim religious reasons)
SB1011, Kavanagh (R-3), making municipal elections, like mayors and city councils, partisan beginning in 2024
SB1105, Carroll (R-28), requiring elections officials to immediately tabulate early ballots brought to the polls on Election Day, bypassing the signature verification process — and also breaking the chain of ballot custody, harming election integrity, and creating an “unimplementable” nightmare for elections workers
SB1234, Rogers (R-7), banning photo radar against fervent opposition from public safety experts, leading to more dangerous roads and more collisions
HB2094, Payne (R-21), relaxing regulations on food trucks (sponsored by someone who owns a food truck)
HB2108, Livingston (R-28), setting up punitive red tape for unemployment recipients, including required reporting to DES if they refuse a “suitable” job offer
HB2305, McGarr (R-17), forcing elections officials to allow political operatives to observe signature verification for ballots, giving them access to view voters’ personal information
HB2308, Jones (R-17), banning the Secretary of State from overseeing an election in which s/he is a candidate, because of a false conspiracy theory that Katie Hobbs somehow faked her 2022 win
HB2309, Jones (R-17), banning Arizona from complying with US law if it doesn’t match Arizona law, violating the “supremacy clause” of the US Constitution
HB2502, Gress (R-4), forcing courts to retroactively apply child support for pregnancies, in an attempt to give fetuses the same legal rights as people
HB2545, McGarr (R-17), banning the governor from issuing any public health emergency declaration for more than 7 days, though emergency declarations must be in place before we can receive federal funding
HB2757, Toma (R-27), allowing Arizonans to vote out of district for appeals court judges who don't represent them in an attempt to dilute the vote and increase retention
The Legislature passed nearly all of these bills along straight party lines with only Republicans in support. Hobbs is now up to 99 vetoes, a clear indication of just how out of step our legislative majority is with reality.
There are so many pressing matters facing Arizona: our water future, wildfires, affordable housing, transportation, the public education funding and teacher retention crises — and they’re all clearly expressed priorities of Arizona voters. Instead, the ruling party at our legislature is focused on passing bill after ridiculous bill that will go nowhere other than the governor’s garbage can.
News flash for lawmakers:
Arizona voters simply do not care about banning “critical race theory” or controversial topics, hacking away at our tax base, or attacking voting by mail.
Only 23% of Arizona voters agree that our elected leaders are focused on the issues that matter most.
It begs the question: what exactly do Republican legislators think they’re doing? Have they gotten the tantrum out of their system? And what will they focus on next session?
⏰ If you have 15 minutes: Browse Simon Rosenberg’s Substack, The Hopium Chronicles, to prepare for our online interview with him on Wednesday, May 31.
⏰⏰ This weekend: Due to the Memorial Day holiday and the Legislature’s continued recess, we aren’t holding our CEBV Happy Hour this Sunday, and we are uncertain whether we’ll have more during June. The Legislature will reconvene on June 12, so watch your email for announcements. If there are any significant actions, we’ll catch up with a Happy Hour on June 18.
⏰⏰⏰ Look ahead: The best 60 minutes of the coming week will be our Conversation with national political strategist Simon Rosenberg, at 6 pm on Wednesday, May 31, on Zoom. Pre-registration is required (HERE).
⏰⏰⏰⏰ Will this ever end? Sign up for our Legislative Session Wrap-Up on June 25 (HERE) or June 29 (HERE).
Use Request to Speak. Our elected officials need to know what we think!
Use our website. Civic Engagement Beyond Voting’s website features tons of resources, including a RTS training video that’s 5 minutes well spent.
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