Arts Funding, Professional Responsibility, Mexicans - Is There Anything That The Reps *Do* Like?

Update time...

In a previous post, I mentioned a bill that Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) planned to hijack with a strike-everything amendment. That amendment would have immunized Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and any other government attorney from professional sanctions for misdeeds committed during the performance of "official duties."

That bill, SB1192, was scheduled to be heard and amended during this past Wednesday's meeting of the House Appropriations Committee. However, it wasn't heard (only ELL funding was) and was apparently dead.

However, a brief check of the agenda for next week's meeting of House Appropriations shows that SB1192 is back up for consideration and will again be subject to a strike-everything amendment.

This time, however, according to the agenda, the amendment will have to do with "abandoned mines safety funding."

A bill addressing abandoned mine safety funding, SB1330, didn't make it out of the Senate. Part of the reason that it didn't make it out of the Senate was the fact that the bill would have funded closure of abandoned mines by stripping all of the money for an arts education program. (EV Trib coverage here)

I checked the lege's page listing all strike everything amendments and couldn't find anything listing that such an amendment has been filed as yet.

Assuming such an amendment is filed, it will be interesting to see if arts funding is targeted again, or if one of the Republicans' other favorite targets for such attacks, such as AHCCCS, will find itself in the crosshairs.

According to the House Clerk's office, House rules governing strike-everything amendments only require that a proposed amendment be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on the 2nd day prior to its consideration. As such under that rule, the text of the amendment may not be available until late Monday afternoon.

[Note - I contacted both the Arizona Commission for the Arts and Arizona Citizens and Action for the Arts. Neither organization had heard about the proposed striker, but were *very* interested and are looking into the matter. Stay tuned.]

More later!