Last Week at the Legislature
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Keeping You Informed
We just completed the third week of the Arizona legislature's 56th session, and the decisions made there about our schools, water, housing, healthcare, taxes, and other policies will affect all of us. It's my great honor to serve as your representative on the House Education, Appropriations, and Sub-Appropriations Committee on Budgeting and Finance. Here's a brief recap of what happened last week and a couple of important bills coming up in committee this coming week, too.
Preventing Gun Violence in Arizona
This past week it was a privilege to meet Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action; Patricia Maisch, survivor of the Gabby Giffords shooting in Tucson; and constituents from our neighborhood including Maya Zuckerberg, Janae McClane, Jeannette Damask, and Kyle Clayton who urged me and other legislators to enact public safety laws that can help save lives.
In an average year, 1,155 people die by guns in Arizona alone and the state has some of the weakest gun laws in the country Gun violence costs Arizona $15.9 billion each year,,, of which $253.2 million is paid by taxpayers.
Neighbors from Mom Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety urged us to pass what I believe most Arizonans see as common sense measures including
HB2177 removing concealed weapons carry permit from people convicted of a felony
HB2179 prohibiting firearm possession by people convicted of domestic violence and those with restraining orders.
HB2192 holding adults responsible if they do not safely secure their firearm with a civil penalty when the gun is not in their possession
My Affordable Housing Bill Will be Heard This Week
The increase in rent in Arizona is alarming. In fact, we have one of the sharpest rent increases in the nation, causing many seniors as well as working families to lose their homes. So I introduced consumer protection bill HB2161 that says a landlord, in a twelve-month period, may not increase the rent more than 5% plus the cost of living - or 10 percent, (whichever is less) unless substantial improvements have been made.
I'm pleased to report that it will be heard in the Regulatory Affairs Committee this Wednesday at 2 pm, the first step in bringing it to the House floor for a discussion and vote. Your voice is important! I encourage you to email the members of the committee with your opinion - and stories of unaffordable rent increases.
They are Rep Laurin Hendrix, (chair) LHendrix@azleg.gov, Rep Cory McGarr (vice-chair), CMcarr@azleg.gov, Rep Nancy Gutierrez (ranking member) nGutierrez@azleg.gov, Rep Flavio Bravo FBravo@azleg.gov, Rep Alma Hernandez AHernandez@azleg.gov, Rep Kevin Payne KPayne@azleg.gov, and Rep Michele Pena MPena@azleg.gov.
You may also wish to use the Request to Speak program (RTS) to register your opinion. Your thumbs up or thumbs down and comments then become a part of the public record. Get help creating an RTS account and learn about other bills up for discussion Sunday morning's CEBV Weekly.
An AEL Bill Will Be Heard in the Education Committee This Week
With less than a month before our schools are pitched into the disaster of the Aggregate Expenditure Limit or AEL (the outdated 1980-era spending limit on schools), I was encouraged in this past Thursday's Sub-Appropriations Committee meeting to hear all legislators, school board members, and Supt Horn agree that the legislature should override it as soon as possible.
CALL TO ACTION: Add your voice to the chorus of Arizona citizens demanding action. You can find out more about how to do that in this week's Save Our Schools Weekly Report.
Just to review, last June, we passed a bi-partisan budget that invested more than $1.2 Billion in K-12 education. However, schools have not been able to spend it because the AEL limits what they can spend.
Gov Ducey promised to call a special session to address this urgent issue, and when he delayed, 190+ school superintendents of all political parties from across Arizona urged him to take action last September. Still, he failed to act. So, this session, many of us immediately signed on to multiple bills that would override it for the AEL for this year - AND others that would allow voters to permanently fix it.
If the legislature doesn't override or fix that cap, Arizona schools stand to lose $1.3 Billion, causing an unnecessary crisis that would even close many schools in March. In the meantime, it's causing needless anxiety for our schools, teachers, parents, and students. Schools in our own LD2 community stand to lose
Deer Valley Unified School District - almost $47 Million
Glendale Union High School District - over $26 Million
Paradise Valley Unified School District - almost $43 Million
Washington Elementary School District - over $29 Million
Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC) - almost $10 Million
This coming Tuesday HCR 2001 to override the cap for this year will be on the Education Committee agenda. That's the first step in ensuring that schools can legally spend the funds the legislature already approved. If passed, the bill will then go to a second committee, then to the House floor where we must get 40 votes to pass it before going to the AZ Senate for approval.
It’s simple. If legislators intended to honor the appropriations made last June in the FY2023 budget, we'll vote to override the AEL. If we don’t honor our commitment, then we have bigger problems. How can anyone have faith in a legislature that doesn’t honor its own decisions?
The One-seat House Republican Majority Changed the Rules This Week
The past week in the state legislature resulted in a fundamental change in the way we conduct state business. Republicans, holding onto the slimmest of majorities, (31-29 in the House, and 16-14 in the Senate), effectively changed the rules of business to silence bipartisan progress and debate on the floor.
With a newly elected Democratic governor, this week the majority forced through their new last-minute divisive rules that will
shut down debate of bills without adequate time to hear important points
allow the Speaker to veto any bill with his vote alone
allow the Speaker to sue the Governor
delete public records after just 90 days, hiding important communication from voters
With my constituents in mind, I protested these changes on the floor,
"I was elected to represent Democrats, Republicans, and Independents from my district. In fact, the thing I hear most at the thousands of doors I’ve visited is a desire for people to work together. I agree. My life as a teacher and leader in our community has taught me over and again how working together is the best way to solve our challenges in a way that works for everyone.
I have been proud to work across the aisle on so many issues, including with my seatmates Representative Wilmeth and Senator Steve Kaiser because Arizonans gave us a mandate for common-sense solutions with transparency. These rules instead stoke division."
We must respect Arizonans who are demanding that we work together on the urgent issues we face, not diminish anyone's voice for the sake of power. I look forward to continuing to be your voice in the legislature.
Last Week's Appropriations Committee
Our committee is hearing a number of reports from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) and different departments to provide more detail on Gov Hobbs' budget proposals. This past week we heard from the School Facilities Division now under the AZ Department of Administration (ADOA).
They explained Governor Hobbs' Budget Proposal would increase what has been the annual appropriation of $16.7 million for repairing and replacing crumbling school facilities to $332 million next year. For years, the facility needs of schools, especially in rural or urban underserved areas have been ignored, leaving students in unsafe buildings. This long overdue one-time amount would cover the repair as well as new construction determined necessary by School Facilities board inspectors.
Gov Hobbs Executive Budget Proposal
Gov Hobbs budget offers a vision of what an Arizona for Everyone looks like and outlines the governor's priorities for the state. However, both chambers of the legislature will be hard at work to edit this budget and insert their own ideas.
Arizona faces many urgent issues which are addressed in this budget. Last week I focused on Education priorities. This week, I will focus on Health & Housing. Future newsletters will address Government That Works, Natural Resources, Corrections, Water, and Public Safety.
Governor Hobbs is prioritizing strategies that lower costs and help every family across the state thrive. The Fiscal Year 2024 budget addresses rising housing prices and everyday expenses. The budget makes critical investments to protect the health and wellness of all Arizonans.
Highlights include:
● $463.5 million and $115.8 million in federal fund expenditure authority to utilize year three of federal funding given directly to AHCCCS and DES respectively for home and community-based services programs
● $257 million for AHCCCS program caseload growth and unwinding of federal Covid-19 policies
● $150 million deposit into the Housing Trust Fund to assist families and individuals who are currently or at risk of becoming unhoused
● $50 million General Fund set-aside for a refundable child tax credit for low-income families beginning tax year 2023
● $24 million to make feminine hygiene products tax exempt
● $20 million to expand the income eligibility cutoff for the KidsCare program from 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 300 percent of the federal poverty level
● $16 million to make permanent a TPT exemption for infant diapers
● $9.7 million to address an Arizona State Hospital staffing shortfall
● $11.5 million to fully fund the adoption subsidy for adoptive parents, backfill federal funding, and implement the Positive Parenting Program
● $6.1 million in ongoing funding to augment existing Title X dollars to provide expanded family planning services to low-income women, doubling the current amount provided to women in Arizona
● $14.6 million to reduce caseloads for Adult Protective Services
● $4.4 million to make permanent federal funds to increase Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP) Provider Rates
● $2.5 million to expand the Healthy Families AZ program for voluntary home visits to families that are at high risk of abuse or neglect, adding capacity for additional 300 families
● $2.7 million for Medicaid enterprise system modernization
● $200,000 in ongoing funding for pregnancy services that are inclusive of all options and support personal choice
Special Events
(Clockwise from top) I love our community colleges. They are truly our neighborhood pipeline to provide workforce training that benefits students of all ages as well as employers. So it was really fun to visit with faculty and students from the ten community colleges around the state this past Wednesday at the Community College Workforce Day at the Capitol, including a visit with our very own Paradise Valley Pumas.
On Thursday morning, we had a press conference to introduce a bill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that says simply that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." While we have made great strides toward equality for women, there is no substitute for having our equality in the foundational document of our nation. Thank you Representatives Laura Terech and Nancy Gutierrez, former National Organization of Women (NOW) chapter presidents in Phoenix and Tucson, for your leadership on the bill this year.
On Friday, I visited the beautiful new Lucid Motors factory in Casa Grande where the company is manufacturing their electric vehicles. Legislators from both sides of he aisle got a tour of the impeccably clean robot-filled factory that already employs almost 4,000 people. Some of us even got to sit in the driver's seat of one of the vehicles. Our test drive that took us from 0-60 in two seconds was stunning.
Great Sources
Ever feel like you're not hearing about news from the legislature that is affecting you? Here are some great sources. Check them out!
Civic Engagement Beyond Voting's "The Weekly". Last year lawmakers introduced over 1,700 bills. The sheer volume of information can be overwhelming. That's why founding editor Melinda Merkel Iyer created the CEBV Weekly, a condensed, easy-to-follow overview that highlights notable bills each session. Sign up here to get her updates by email every Sunday morning during the session.
The Arizona Mirror is also one of my favorite online publications. It's an independent, nonprofit news organization working to connect public policy with the people it affects.