Arizona legislature: the coming week (part 2)

It's shaping up to be a crazy week at the Capitol.

I'm not talking about the content of some of the bills that will be under consideration (though there will be plenty of hate, tin foil, and bat guano to go around on that front).

Nope, it is the last week that bills can be considered in any committee other than Appropriations, which always leads to a chaotic week at the Capitol.

Add in the fact that they are going for an early adjournment of the session and running bills through the Appropriations committees won't be as viable an option as in other years, and pretty much every committee agenda will be full and/or subject to amendment without notice.

In other words, at the Capitol this week, the one constant will be change.

In light of that fact, and the fact that many of the agendas are incredibly long this week, this post will be done in three parts.

The second part will cover the committee agendas for Monday and Tuesday; the second part will cover agendas for Wednesday.

The third part will cover agendas for Thursday.

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

All House committee agendas can be found here. All Senate committee agendas can be found here.


On the Senate side of the Capitol -

Public Safety, Military, and Technology, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR1.  The two gun bills that were previewed in the first post have been removed.  Still on the agenda: HB2008, further restricting the ability of counties and municipalities to regulate the use of fireworks within their jurisdictions.  The gun bills may be off the agenda now, but continue to pay attention to this one - the bills can reappear at any time.

Finance, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR3.   On the agenda: HB2131, mandating that a court award attorneys fees to a "non-government entity" that defeats the government in a tax adjudication action, and remove the limits on the fees that can be awarded; HB2450, exempting billboard leases from the state's transaction privilege tax (commonly known as "sales tax"); HCR2016, a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution to exempt from taxation the first $2.4 million of value of "business personal property" (i.e. - office furniture, equipment, tools, etc.).  Currently, the AZconstitution sets the exemption limit at $50K; HB2483, a proposal to allow public and charter school to take 20% of undesignated donations received to support extracurricular activities and redirect them to support classroom activities; a striker to HB2325, pertaining to the removal of land from the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD); a striker to HB2383, creating a process for the owners of land in an area annexed by a municipality to de-annex from that municipality.

Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: HB2047, requiring that a DCS worker obtain a supervisor's approval before removing a child from the custody of his/her guardian, except in emergency situations.

Government, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  And the gun bills reappear, along with some tin foil hat/bay at the moon stuff...  On the agenda: HB2055, prohibiting "this state or any political subdivision from using any resource to enforce, administer or cooperate with changes made by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waters of the U.S. An exception is also provided on a case-by-case basis by a vote of the Legislature if in session or by the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House if not in session" (quoting the legislative summary of the bill); HB2058, similar to HB2055, except applying to all federal rules and regulations, not just ones focused on water; HB2063, weakening county employee merit systems; a striker to HB2420, creating an "inspector general" position in the executive branch; HB2431, entering into an interstate compact regarding gun sales (ugly gun bill number one); HB2540, crafting some specific administrative rules for initiative and referendum efforts (it looks like an attempt to incrementally implement some of the voter suppression clauses in 2013's infamous HB2305); HB2320, more guns in public places (ugly gun bill number two); HB2613, essentially barring any political subdivision from expending resources in a way that could be construed as supporting a bond, budget override, or tax election.

Financial Institutions, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  Looks harmless so far.


On the House side of the Capitol -

Judiciary, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  On the agenda: SB1222, an anti-immigrant measure, judicial system-focused; a striker to SB1419, under certain circumstances, allowing a grocery store that is near a school or church to sell liquor.

Federalism and States' Rights, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR5.  Three love letters to the feds opposing national monument designations in Arizona, supporting the ceding of control of rights-of way across federal land to the state, and opposing the reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves into Arizona.

Commerce, Wednesday, 9:30 a.m., HHR1.  On the agenda: a striker to SB1241, barring municipalities from regulating "auxiliary containers" or requiring a business, commercial building, or multifamily property from monitoring or reporting energy usage or efficiency;. a striker to SB1344, relating to lobbyists for cities and towns, requiring them to disclose to the legislature if a member of the body that the lobbyist represents is opposed to the position that the lobbyist is presenting.

Education, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  On the agenda: SB1172, barring school districts and charter schools from releasing student information for the purpose on engaging in political activity; SB1173, micromanaging school bond and override elections.

Appropriations, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  On the agenda: a striker to SB1147, transferring funds from the Nevada operating and resource subaccounts of the Arizona water banking fund to the Arizona water banking authority.