Last Week at the Legislature
Sunday, April 9, 2023
Hi Friend,
We just completed week thirteen 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 the next one!
Judy
Representative Judy Schwiebert, LD2
jschwiebert@azleg.gov
Happy Easter, Passover, and Ramadan to All Who Celebrate!
All Day Monday
Special Appropriations Meeting
The Appropriations Committee is generally the last one to finish our business each session, and that last meeting, like the one held last Monday, April 3, is called Trash Can Appropriations for a reason. Since it's the last chance for a bill to be heard, we hear all kinds of them whether or not they involve expenditures. This session, we spent all day hearing about 16 bills. Here are some of them, how I voted, and the results.
SB1001 (Kavanaugh) pronouns; biological sex; school policies
This culture war bill would ban teachers from using a student's chosen pronouns without written parental permission. It ignores the fact that many students do not feel safe coming out to their parents, and that 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Arizona seriously considered suicide in the past year. The least we can do is to help young people, whatever their gender or background, feel safe at school. This bill also further politicizes teachers and drives too many from the classroom. I voted NO, but it passed 9-6 along party lines. See the moving vote explanation from my colleague Representative Lorena Austin here on Twitter.
SB1170 (Hoffman) ballot drop boxes; requirements; appropriation
This bill wold prohibit country recorders from allowing voters to use outdoor drop boxes unless they are under 24 hour video surveillance that includes night vision filters and motion activated markers, and a publicly available live feed. In the meantime, voters can drop off their ballots at a mailbox anytime without being spied on. This bill is grounded in the repeatedly disproven false accusation that there was something nefarious about the last election. I voted NO, but it passed along party lines.
SB1102 (Livingston) transportation excise tax; Maricopa County
Starting in 2018, 32 stakeholders from cities, tribal entities and Maricopa County spent four years planning a continuation for the Prop 400 transportation plan for our region originally approved by voters twenty years ago. As one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, we need to plan ahead. The Maricopa Association of Government (MAG)'s plan incorporated the most urgent transportation needs including highways, surface roads, and transit, including light rail. They were prepared to put their proposal before county voters to approve the continuation of the 1/2 cent sales tax required to proceed with the plan. However, Maricopa is the only county required to get pre-approval from the legislature before putting any measure before their own voters. Last year, the plan passed through both chambers, but at the last minute, Governor Ducey vetoed the bill in a politically motivated trade-off about an unrelated issue. Republican and Democratic mayors across the county were understandably enraged! This session, the one-seat Republican majority has taken it upon themselves to re-work the plan based on their own political agenda, including prohibiting any funds for light rail and adding other requirements to the bill. We should not be mucking around in MAG's carefully constructed plan. I voted NO, but Approps Chair Livingston persuaded enough committee members to vote YES so that they could keep it alive to negotiate changes. It passed 8-6.
SB1225 (Shope) tobacco; vapor products; alternative nicotine
This bill markets itself as a way to stop the growing use of tobacco/nicotine/vaping among our young people, when in reality, it's backed by big tobacco and tobacco retailers to ensure that any effective measures to prevent addiction among our youth will NOT be taken. It pre-empts cities from being able to ever pass any sales or marketing ordinances to protect kids from getting hooked on tobacco. And instead of requiring a license and consequences for retailers selling nicotine products to minors, it creates a meaningless registry with no fee, license or compliance checks, so there's actually no way to catch bad actors. Rather than creating fines on retailers for selling to underage consumers, and eventually even eventually lose their license to sell tobacco products, it expands the petty offense kids get when buying, leaving them with a lifelong record, and it slaps the minimum wage store clerks with huge fines of $1,000, $2500 and then get them fired from their job. Arizona is one of just a handful of states that doesn't require a retail license to sell tobacco, so in January, I co-sponsored HB2747 with my colleague Rep Laura Terech to do just that. On this sneaky, dishonest HB1225I voted Heck No. Fortunately, HB1225 was defeated 3-12. I will persist and try again next session to get meaningful legislation heard and passed.
House Floor Votes
This past week we considered legislation from the Senate, including the following Republican-sponsored bills since as I've noted previously, while Democrats have plenty of great ideas about education, water, housing and other urgent issues, it's rare indeed for any of our bills to even receive a hearing.
As you will see, rather than spending our valuable time on the important issues Arizonans face much of the legislation we're hearing from Republicans is focused on divisive culture war issues. Watch for many of these bills to justifiably receive Governor Hobbs' VETO stamp.
Tuesday
SB1005 (Kavanaugh) unjustified actions; parental rights.
Prohibits a court from granting attorney's fees to a government official or entity for claims related to the fundamental rights of parents. I voted NO because I’m concerned that this policy would encourage many potentially frivolous lawsuits against school districts - and cost taxpayers money. Passed along party lines 31-28.
SB1109 (Rogers) prohibited weapons; muffling device; repeal
As Representative Jennifer Longdon explained in her no vote, the use of muffling devices creates a safety issue in mass casualty events. In the investigation of the Las Vegas shooting, authorities found that muffling devices contributed to additional additional casualties . The crowd could not hear gunshots and so had no idea what was happening as people were collapsing around them. Also, law enforcement could not tell where the shooter was because there was no flash of a gunshot. This bill is NOT in the best interest of the public, and in fact makes our communities much less safe. While Rep Gilette countered this is a hearing safety measure, Rep Terech pointed out that the potential for hearing loss does not outweigh the safety of our community. I voted NO, but the bill passed 31-28.
Wednesday
SB1021 - Kavanaugh attorney general; legislature; legal challenges. Requires the Attorney General (AG) to defend all laws passed by the legislature and signed by the governor against all legal challenges. This bill is unconstitutional since it violates the separation of powers, and is politically motivated. I voted NO, but it passed along party lines, 31-27.
1139 Hoffman government investments; products; fiduciaries
Would prohibit the State Treasurer or any other county or city fiduciary from taking into account any environmental, social, political, ideological or other benefits or goals when making investment decisions. County Treasurers wrote that they are concerned that this bill will open us up to more challenges that our good-faith business decisions were actually secretly motivated by “social or environmental goals. I voted NO and bill failed when Rep Cook explained his NO vote asking why we would take away the treasurer’s ability to make the most money she could for the State. The bill failed 28-30.
SB1145 Hoffman student activity fees; conscience exemption
Requires the Board of Regents (ABOR) to allow students to request an exemption from the university activity fee if they are a veteran, recently married, or object to the fee on religious or moral grounds. But there is no definition for "recently" in the bill. Also, there is already a process for students to request an exemption. Students themselves determine how the fees will be used, and that revenue is essential to paying for the speakers and programs they choose. Universities are centers for free speech and they should remain so. In fact, I'm proud that Arizona's public universities have earned the highest rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of students and faculty members at America's colleges and universites. I voted NO on this blll, and urge everyone committed to free speech to do so as well. Republican Representatives Cook and Livingston voted NO with Democrats, and the bill failed, 28-30.
SB1251 Shamp working animals; restrictions; prohibition
The bill would pre-empt the authority of cities, towns, and counties to protect animals and their communities. SB1251 is part of a national campaign by the Cavalry Group, which was formed to protect large-scale dog breeders in the Midwest. The goal of this legislation is to prevent restrictions on animal use industries such as rodeos, puppy mills, carriage horses, dog and horse racing, and fur farms. I share the concerns expressed by the Animal Defense League of Arizona, the Humane Voters of Arizona, and many of my constituents. I voted NO, but it passed along party lines.
Highlights of Last Week
Monday on a Break from Appropriations
I took the chance to go upstairs to the Democratic caucus meeting room to say hello to members of Equality Arizona that advocates for the rights of the LGBTQ community and to NARAL, a strong supporter of reproductive rights. Thank you all for being there - and for the donuts.
Tuesday We Proclaimed This the Week of the Young Child
The Teachers Caucus in the Arizona House of Representatives proclaimed this week the Week of the Young Child—a time to celebrate Arizona's children, families, and the early care and education workforce that does the essential work of teaching young learners!
Special guests Teera Allen, child care director (fifth from left), and Delia Sandoval, preschool teacher (fourth from left), joined AzAEYC's Dr. Eric Bucher (third from left) for the reading of the proclamation at the state capitol with Teachers Caucus members Representatives Jennifer Pawlik, Judy Schwiebert, Nancy Gutierrez, and Laura Terech (from left to right).
Our Teachers Caucus comprises current and former Arizona educators with many years of service with infants through elementary school age all the way up to college students. We were proud to celebrate #WOYC23 with these vital educators. Check out the proclamation www.azaeyc.org/woyc.
Wednesday with Corazon at the Capitol
It was truly a joy to meet with the young people of Corazon and learn about their vision of dignity and respect for all. Whatever a person’s faith or no faith they are working to find unity in taking action grounded in their values.
Wednesday with the Carpenters
Thank you to Reps Sandoval & Gutierrez as well as the Southwest Carpenters for inviting me to the labor town hall last night! I was pleased to be in conversation about how we can support union workers.
Thursday with Local Small Restaurant Owners
Thursday I met with Akhil Yelle, owner of Hyderabad Rasoi, an Indian restaurant at 3510 E. Bell Road. He explained that he's been doing a good business there for four years, but this past year he lost $50,000 in revenue because of people who are selling Indian food out of their backyards with no health inspections, paying no taxes, and generally having no overhead. He asked, "Why am I paying taxes and having inspections when these other people can just undercut me?" Good question. My office is reaching out to the Maricopa County Health Department for some help, but this is why I voted NO on SB1162 and it was ultimately vetoed by Governor Hobbs.In the meantime, if you all want some delicious Indian food, I hope you'll try out Hyderabad Rasoi!
Next Week
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.
"No other way to say it: ESA Vouchers are bankrupting Arizona.... Unaccredited private schools and vendors are popping up all over the state like mushrooms. The Department of Education, now wholly controlled by pro-voucher special interests, is rubber-stamping unfettered spending on "educational" expenses like chicken coops and home gyms."
Click here for this week's Civic Engagement Beyond Voting Weekly Report to learn about bills on every issue that will be in committee this week and how to take action to support or oppose them.
"I am filled with hope and optimism. From all the infuriating events of the past week/year/decade, I think we're seeing an awakening...."