Last Week at the Legislature
Hi Friend,
We just completed the ninth week of the Arizona legislature's 56th session, and the decisions made or not made there 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 recap of what happened last week and a preview of next week.
Judy
Representative Judy Schwiebert, LD2
jschwiebert@azleg.gov
Crossover Month Continued This Week
Usually, there's one week in which bills passed on the house or senate floor cross over to the other chamber for consideration. This year, it's become a crossover month, but we have begun to see a few senate bills in our house committees.
One bill we heard this past week in the House Education Committee was SB1564 from Senator Kaiser (LD2-R). It would allow private school students using vouchers to try out for public school teams. I heard strong objections from parents who emphasized that families can choose any school to attend, but if they're choosing voucher/ESA's for a school that doesn't provide team sports, that is part of their choice. I believe that sports and other extracurriculars are a part of the community building experience with other students at their school. I voted NO. Students attending a public school should not lose their spot on a team to someone who doesn't even attend their school.
On the House floor, we voted on many bills including HB2561 to force Scottsdale and Maricopa County to provide water to Rio Verde Foothills residents. Water is of course vital to all Arizonans from people on Native lands who still don't have access to running water to now folks in Rio Verde. But this bill does NOT provide a workable solution. Maricopa County, which doesn't have a water department should not be forced permanently into that business by statute. And wildcat builders should not be given free rein to continue building in areas without a sustainable water supply. We will continue to work with stakeholders to amend the bill - or even find a better solution without need of the legislature.
AZ State House Bill Counter
As of Friday, March 10, 2023
249 Total number of bills transmitted to the Senate
12 Total number of Dem bills transmitted to the Senate
4 Total number of Dem bills with the 16+ Republican votes the Senate President is requiring for them to be heard in that chamber
24 Total number of bills ready for 3rd Read House Floor Vote
5 Total number of DEM bills ready for 3rd Read Floor Vote (including my constituent bill, the bi-partisan HCR2037 honoring the Assyrian New Year)
Dem Bills Passed with Over 16 Republican Votes This Week
Congratulations to the following Democratic State House Representatives whose bills were transmitted to the Senate with over 16 Republican votes this past week. Unofficial rules made up by the majority say that bills must have at least 16 Republican votes in order for Senate President Peterson to place them on a committee calendar. An additional 8 Democratic bills were passed with a majority, but fewer than the new rule requiring 16 Republican votes.
Representative Jennifer Longdon's HB2171 passed 45-15 allowing a memorial to murdered journalist Don Bolles to be placed in Wesley Bolin Plaza.
Representative Amish Shah's HB2564 passed 58-0-2 allowing a hospital physician to dispense twelve-hours of opioid medication if the hospital is not within 50 miles of a twenty-four hour pharmacy.
Representative Stacey Travers' HB2670 passed 53-5-2 requiring all state administrative units to provide veterans with the website address and contact information for the Arizona Department of Veterans' Services and the Be Connected Program.
Representative Melody Hernandez HB2717 passed 60-0 including 911 dispatchers in the definition of a first responder so that they can receive licensed counseling for traumatic events.
Bills Not Yet Heard are Likely Dead for This Session
As someone who brought my lifelong practice of working together to get things done for people, it's been frustrating to repeatedly run into the brick wall of Republican culture wars. My colleagues in the Democratic caucus and I have introduced hundreds of bills to address the urgent issues Arizonans face including the water, teacher, affordable housing shortage, and need for better healthcare - including mental health and addiction treatment, but the opportunity for hearing those bills has now passed. You can see a list of the bills I have sponsored or co-sponsored at this link.
I've also been proud to co-sponsor bills with colleagues like Rep Jennifer Longdon and Rep Laura Terech to make our schools and communities safer for all of us, but have gone unheard.
This session more than ever, the focus in the legislature has been on attacks against students, teachers, and our fundamental freedoms to make choices about our own bodies, what we read, and how we vote. We've heard multiple demands for accountability for already transparent public schools while shoveling hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to completely unaccountable private school vouchers.
We will be addressing these bills and any amendments for the balance of the legislature. However, our most important - and really ONLY job as a legislature is to craft a budget for the state. We will have the chance to prioritize spending through the budget process. Of course, that will take cooperation - Republicans and Democrats MUST work together for the benefit of all Arizonans.
Like all the governors before her, Governor Hobbs released what is called her Executive Budget back in January. I shared that budget in previous newsletters, but you can view her priorities here.
Thank You, Gov. Hobbs for Stopping Bad Bills!
I'm grateful to have Governor Katie Hobbs as a backstop for some of these terrible bills, but we should be sending her good bi-partisan bills on the urgent issues we all face. This past week she vetoed SB1305, another anti-critical race theory bill that addresses a non-existent problem and does nothing to address the very real teacher shortage crisis we face. A new poll says voters think Governor is doing a good job.
Join Our New Internship Team
I'm excited to announce that the LD2 Democrats are partnering with our neighbor LD4 Democrats to create an internship program for high school students! The 10-week internship starts June 4th and runs through August 13th!
This program is a great way to learn more about local policy and strategies for voter engagement! If you are interested, please contact Tyler Kowch at nvdemsaz@gmail.com!
In LD2 Local News
Thanks to ThrivePhoenix.org
I received an email from Nina Poole of Thrive Phoenix this week celebrating the positive activity they've done to help clean up Bell Road over the past 6 weeks. She reports that they have removed debris and vegetation, power washed the underpass on Bell Rd and I-17 and seen quick police response to activity at 1735 W. Bell Rd (the old Chase Bank). Thank you!
ThrivePhoenix.org is a non-profit worth knowing about. Their mission is to offer a hand-up to people needing hope, provide individualized assistance and inspire people to thrive. To that end, their Walk It Out initiative provides 5,000 pairs of shoes to foster children twice per year, and Project 1751 adopts major roads between I-17 and Hwy 51. Their goal is to clean up the street, become a resource center connecting families to existing AZ state services, assist the homeless to find opportunities and encourage business to return. Contact them here to find out how you can plug in.
Next Week
Call to Action! From Civic Engagement Beyond Voting (CEBV) and Save Our Schools Arizona
This week we'll be hearing many bills that will impact all our lives. I invite you to learn more about those from these two great grassroots organizations. They'll help you learn how to contact your legislators to give them your input.
Click here for this week's CEBV's Weekly to learn about bills on every issue that will be in committee this week and how to take action to support - or oppose them. From CEBV:
"The bill deadline is looming down on lawmakers. If the Senate bills below aren't heard in House committee, or House bills in Senate committee, by March 24, they're considered dead for the year. Legislative leadership is choosing to advance these horrifying pieces of legislation in order to keep them alive in the face of that deadline... Contact your senator or representatives directly, as applicable, on the bills you care about.""
Click here for this week's Ed Report from Save Our Schools to learn more about the really bad education bills that will be in committee this week and how to contact committee members as well as your legislators to oppose them. From Save Our Schools:
"We applaud Gov. Hobbs for vetoing SB1305, Sen. Mesnard’s culture war-driven education attack bill. This bill would have damaged educators’ ability to teach accurate history in the name of eradicating nonexistent indoctrination from Arizona’s K-12 schools — it had no business becoming law. Republican lawmakers are crying foul, but voters wish they’d just move on. It’s time for the legislature to focus on the K-12 issues Arizona voters actually care about — like reducing the $4.5 billion/year classroom deficit and addressing the ever-worsening educator retention crisis."
Highlights of Last Week
Monday's Call for Censure
Click above to watch Representative Stahl-Hamilton explain the need for the censure.
Tuesday with YMCA's Youth & Government Program
Together with Representative Patty Contreras and other legislators, I enjoyed talking with young people from YMCA's Youth and Government program. These really impressive young people are part of a great program in which every October students get to draft a bill, and in December they come together on the House Floor to debate and pass them in mock legislation. Our future is bright with these young people ready to take our place.
Wednesday with Aliento
I really appreciated the chance to listen to college students from Aliento, the youth-led organization of Dreamers and their allies who are advocating for more just policies in Arizona. Thank you to Luisa, Dolce, and Natalie for sharing some of their top priorities. They'd like to see dreamers eligible for AZ Promise Scholarship, occupational licenses, and driver's licenses. They'd also like to see us repeal English only requirements to help students from all over the world better learn, and to see us provide more much-needed mental health services for students.
... and with Oral Health Coalition
Rep. Laura Terech and I really appreciated the chance to meet with Casey Uber and Dr. Elieza Yonan about the vital need and benefits of ensuring everyone has access to oral health.
My Thursday Celebration of Women's History Month
It was my honor to celebrate Judy Heumann, the towering Disability Rights Advocate who passed away at the age of 75 just on March 4, 2023. Ms. Heumann had an Arizona connection, often visiting her brother Rick who served on the Chandler City Council.
After contracting polio as a toddler left her in a wheelchair, she went on to break barriers for people with disabilities, and rose to international leadership in the Clinton and Obama administrations. Rejecting cliches about disability as a tragic experience, she said, "Disability only becomes a tragedy for me when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives––job opportunities or barrier-free buildings, for example. It is not a tragedy to me that I'm living in a wheelchair."
Click above to learn more about Ms. Heumann!
On Friday I Gave Tours of the State House to Students
I really enjoyed giving a tour of the State House to students from Ironwood High School and their sponsors. They had great questions!
.... and to a special needs class pictured below from Paradise Valley High School. Thank you all for visiting!
