Last Week at the Legislature
March 31, 2024
Hi Friend,
Welcome to Last Week at the Legislature, my weekly report to you on what's happening in your State House and how I'm representing our community.
At this point in the session, we have completed all our committee meetings. The final one was Appropriations this past Monday. Going forward, we'll be focused on creating a budget.
However, the next fiscal report won't come out until April 11, and I believe Gov Hobbs' idea to wait to receive those numbers before proceeding with the budget is wise.
So, in this season when so many are celebrating spring, new life, and hope, it feels like a good time to pause and recognize some of the things that brought me hope this past week. I hope they inspire you, too.
Judy
Representative Judy Schwiebert, LD2
jschwiebert@azleg.gov, JudySchwiebert.com, 602-935-0468
Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day
On Monday I was so happy to recognize National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day by reading a proclamation on the House floor and introducing guests from United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona (UCP). It's located in our very own LD2 and serves children and adults with a variety of disabilities.
Thank you to Valerie Pieraccini, their VP of Operations & Innovations, for the recent tour of their wonderful program that helps people lead a life without limits. CP is the most common childhood motor disorder, and I was inspired to learn that early detection at three months can impact the trajectory of a life.
Everyone was invited to wear green, the color for CP, and in honor of the occasion, we even got the facade of the Executive Tower lit green that night.
Thank you to the bipartisan group of legislators - those pictured below and more, for honoring our visitors from UCP by sporting something green.
Moms Demand Action at the Capitol
I was also inspired this week to meet with Moms - and Dads demanding action on gun safety. They are turning their pain into purpose by demanding common sense protections from gun violence. I was proud to be a co-sponsor of Rep Longdon's bill, HB 2233 or "Christian's Law" requiring safe storage of guns, and honored to meet with the parents of Christian and Jeremiah, boys who innocently went to sleepovers where they were shot and killed. This legislation went unheard this year, but I continue to hope - and work as hard as I can to make sure it gets a hearing next year.
Sustainable, Green Building
As part of Architects Day at the Capitol, I appreciated the chance to meet with representatives from the Arizona chapter of the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Thank you so much to them all for their ideas on important steps we can take to make buildings - and life more sustainable here in Arizona. I look forward to working with them and others to support these changes.
Labor Town Hall
Together with several colleagues from the legislature, I really enjoyed listening and responding to questions from many labor brothers and sisters at the Carpenters' Hall this week. Thank you for sharing their really important questions about the cost of housing, the water shortage crisis, and the wage theft that must be addressed to keep our communities safe and thriving.
We're On the Ballot!
Thank you to everyone who helped us gather signatures to get on the ballot! Because of you, this Wednesday Stephanie and I turned in over 1500 signatures EACH to the Secretary of State's Office to qualify for November's ballot (more than 3 times the minimum). We are both honored and humbled to serve you, our community and state.
Arizona Needs YOU!
Are you sick of the divisive culture war attacks on our freedom to vote, freedom to make our own decisions about family planning, freedom to choose the books we read and more?
Let's elect an Arizona legislature focused on the real issues we face like the teacher, affordable housing, and water shortage crises; keeping our families safe from gun violence; and reducing healthcare and other costs.
We can create an Arizona where everyone gets their chance to thrive. But ONLY with YOUR HELP!
The two most important things to do right now are
Join a Community Canvass. We're knocking doors and getting petition signatures to qualify for the ballot as we listen to fellow voters who want a legislature committed to addressing our shared priorities. Use this link to find a day and time that works for you. We'll buddy you up with someone experienced. We need door knockers and drivers.
Donate to our campaign. We need everyone's help to pay for the staff, literature, and other advertising that are essential to winning this competitive race.
Visit OUR NEW LD 2 Campaign office at 1524 W. Bell Road (in the Discount Tire parking lot, next to the Liberty Tax office). You can still sign school board candidate and the access to abortion petitions there - or make phone calls or write postcards. Also, a notary is available at our office every Friday in April from 3-5 pm.
This November, LD2 and LD4 in North Phoenix will determine the majority in the legislature!!
Make your Voice Heard Next Week!
Read the latest Weekly from Melinda Iyer at Civic Engagement Beyond Voting here. The Spotlight section listing all the ballot referral measures that remain alive in 2024 is a good reference point. (Ballot referrals are especially popular this year with extreme Republicans as they try to skirt the Governor's common sense veto pen.) Also, please use this Subscribe button or the big blue one on their newsletter to receive it directly in your email.
Read the latest Weekly Education Report from Save Our Schools here. In addition to other information, you'll see that Superintendent Horne and the Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) rejected proposed (and desperately needed) changes to the ESA Voucher Handbook which would have provided basic guardrails to ensure more responsible use of taxpayer funds, including limiting the purchas of "luxury items" with state voucher funds.
Nominate a Community Builder!
As a lifelong member of our community, I'm so grateful to the many people and local businesses who make it such a great place to live. That's why I'm excited to be partnering with the Bell Road Business Alliance and Stoke Interactive to recognize many of the local Community Builders in our neighborhood.
Check out our website at LD2NPCB.com to learn more about past recipients and nominate your favorite locally owned businesses or nonprofits in LD2. I'm honored to a part of recognizing them in this way for the vital role they play in making our community the safe, thriving, unique place it is.