What state lends an official platform to hate groups? Why, Arizona, of course.

Normally, I'd save a discussion of an agenda item for a legislative committee agenda for a "coming week" post, but this one rates a quick post of its own.

On Thursday, the Arizona Senate's Border Security, Federalism, and States Sovereignty Committee will meet in SHR109 at 9 a.m.

The agenda for the meeting only contains two bills (thus far, anyway) -

HB2718, House Speaker Kirk Adams' $5 million gift to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, and HCM2002, a postcard to Congress asking that the gray wolf be removed from the Endangered Species List.

If those were the only two items on the agenda, while they are "colorful" and would rate individual mention in the weekly schedule post, that would be it.

However, this is Arizona, where the prevailing attitude at the legislature seems to be "why settle for 'colorful' when you can let your freak flag fly?"

Also on the agenda?  Two presentations to the committee.

One looks relatively innocuous ("relatively" based on this committee's admittedly skewed-toward-batsh_t-crazy standards) - "State of Texas: Border Security Update (powerpoint)".

Assuming the source of the powerpoint is the actual State of Texas, it probably won't be worse than simple propaganda masquerading as an "official" analysis (don't gasp at the impudence - like a significant portion of the Republican caucus of the Arizona legislature, Texas' governor has some strongly secessionist tendencies.)

The other presentation, however, is nothing more than giving a known hate group a taxpayer-funded pulpit from which to spew its bile.

"Glenn Spencer, President of American Border Patrol:  Arizona/Mexico Border -- An Assessment"

When I first glanced at the agenda, I figured "OK, Texas and the Border Patrol" - it'll be a dog-and-pony show, but nothing more than that.

Then I noticed a few discrepancies - *the* Border Patrol is referred to as the U.S. Border Patrol, or maybe "Customs and Border Protection" (its official name); it doesn't have a "President" - the head of the agency is called "Commissioner,"; and "Glenn Spencer" is NOT the Commissioner.

Hmmm....

A quick, but very enlightening search turned up this report on the "American Border Patrol" from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

From the report -

American Border Patrol/American Patrol (the first-listed group was essentially an Arizona extension of American Patrol, which is also known as Voice of Citizens Together) is one of the most virulent anti-immigrant groups around. On the American Patrol website and in self-produced videos, the group rails against Mexican immigrants, accusing them of bringing to the U.S. crime, drugs and squalor and of practicing “immigration via the birth canal.” Mexicans, in the words of group founder Glenn Spencer, are a “cultural cancer” following a secret plan, the Plan de Aztlán, to complete “la reconquista” (the reconquest, or takeover) of the American Southwest, which was once controlled by Spain and/or Mexico.

Glenn Spencer is so colorful in his own right, he rates his own profile from SPLC.


From his profile -

In 2008, Spencer expanded from his usual angry attacks on Latinos to furious, explicitly racist and anti-Semitic tirades. Just before Christmas, Spencer issued a nearly hysterical Web posting entitled "Obama Threatens Nation," in which he described the incoming Obama Administration as "prepared to make a frontal assault on the sovereignty of the United States." In fact, he said, "Barack Obama represents the greatest threat to the United States of America since the Civil War. Brainwashed Americans have just voted to commit national suicide." The same month, Spencer wrote an article on his website with another provocative title: "Is Jew-Controlled Hollywood Brainwashing Americans?" In it, he assured readers that he had Jewish friends but added: "I fear, however, that this small handful of patriotic Americans are far outnumbered by liberal Jews who now have total control over our media."

I know 9 a.m. is early for popcorn, but if you can't make it down to the Capitol Thursday morning, pop some popcorn, point your computer's browser at the lege's website for the streaming video, put your feet up, and enjoy the horror show.

I have to wonder how much the taxpayers of Arizona are paying for this shameful event.  Even if Spencer is travelling from Sierra Vista on his own dime (and there's no guarantee of that), there are costs associated with setting up and holding a legislative hearing.


Later...
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In case you missed it: member of Pearce-associated group arrested for atttempted bombing of MLK Day parade

In January, someone planted a shrapnel-filled pipe bomb along the planned route of a parade commemorating Martin Luther King Day.  The device was discovered by parade workers (you know, some of the public employees that are under such a virulent attack by Koch-fueled Republicans) and defused before it could harm any parade-goers.

This week, an arrest was made in the case.  One Kevin Harpham was arrested for  illegal possession of an explosive device and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

As the Southern Poverty Law Center reports, as recently as late 2004, Harpham was a member of the neo-Nazi/white supremacist group National Alliance.  Because of the secretive nature of such organizations, so far it is unclear how long Harpham was a member before that time, or if he still is a member.

As recently at fall 2006, Russell Pearce, then a state representative, now president of the Arizona State Senate, campaigned for reelection by forwarding emails from...wait for it...

National Alliance.

Of course.

Arizona Legislature week in review

For lege-watchers, it was a colorful week, with a LOT of bad bills gaining passage in one of the chambers, and one going to the governor...

...State Sen. Scott Bundgaard's domestic violence incident kept him in the news all week, as did the fact that he used legislative immunity to avoid arrest.

After issuing some press releases proclaiming his apparent candidacy for sainthood (Catholic variety, not Latter Day variety), Bundgaard took to the Senate floor Monday to pour forth some tears, announce his deep affection for Aubry Ballard, the other person in the domestic violence incident, and request privacy.  Throughout the weekend, Bundgaard's camp hinted/suggested/claimed outright that the incident was due to Ballard's jealousy over his dancing with another woman at a charity event.

That story was blown out of the water when Ballard was interviewed by the media, refuting the spin and handling herself with far more class and aplomb than Bundgaard.

Things got worse when the police released the reports of the incident, including the part where one of the responding officers recommended that Bundgaard face charges after the legislative session is complete.

And then things took a bizarre turn when Senate President Russell Pearce declared that Bundgaard was the real victim in all of this.

Expect more developments in this situation...

...In the first piece of significant good news during this session of the legislature, on Wednesday one of the anti-U.S. government bills, SB1433, went down to defeat in a Senate floor vote.  The bill would have created a legislative committee to oversee the "nullification" of federal laws and regulations.

Alas, the good news lasted all of one day for on Thursday, the sponsor of the bill, Sen. Lori Klein, "moved to reconsider" the bill, and the motion passed.  The bill will be brought back to the Senate floor just as soon as Klein, Pearce, Ron Gould, and the others of their clique have enough votes to secure its passage.

...SB1352, banning municipalities from utilizing photo enforcement systems for traffic laws, failed on a 15 - 15 vote, all nine Democrats and six Republicans opposing.  Could still come back under reconsideration if one of the "yes" votes can persuade one of the "no" votes to move to reconsider the bill.

...On Tuesday, Colleen Mathis of Tucson was selected as the fifth and final member of the new Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC).  This coming week, the U.S. Census Bureau will release Arizona's local level data from last year's census, and redistricting will begin in earnest.

...In "this would be funny, if so many of them didn't really believe it" news:  on Thursday, Sen. Sylvia Allen blamed colleges for the rise in street gangs. (thanks to Tedski at Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion for noticing this).

...Late in the week, Senate President Pearce declared that he is "holding" his anti-immigrant bills until the budget is done.  Most observers think that this indicates that A) the budget negotiations between legislative leadership and the governor's office are almost done, and B) the anti-immigrant legislation isn't going away.  Look for the measures, assuming that they actually are held, to start moving again by the end of the month.

Bills passing one chamber and moving across the quad to the other chamber ("interstate compact" bills relate to forming alliances with other states, usually in opposition to federal law in a given subject area):

HB2002, barring school districts from spending district funds to join organizations that attempts to influence an election, passed the House by 40 - 18, 2 not voting.  Party line vote.

HB2191, prohibiting Arizona courts from awarding punitive damages to undocumented immigrants, passed the House on a mostly party line vote (a few Democrats crossed over).  Intended to help Roger Barnett, a southern Arizona rancher who held some undocumented immigrants at gunpoint and was sued for his trouble.  He lost the suit, a development which has upset certain members of the legislature.

HB2577, allowing the legislature to sweep and reappropriate "non-custodial" federal monies, such as block grants, passed the House on a mostly party line vote (a few Democrats crossed over).

HB2710, creating a legislative committee to study transitioning school funding from a per-pupil basis to a system based on "student achievement" passed the House by a mostly party line vote.  It sounds like they are looking for a way to punish already underfunded schools by taking away more money.

SB1334, allowing hunting within city limits, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1521, requiring school districts to implement policies for students with head injuries and school sponsored athletic events, passed the Senate with two dissenting votes, both Republicans (Biggs and Bundgaard).

SB1546, allowing the state to take federally-owned land via eminent domain, passed the Senate by a party line vote.

SB1157, requiring that municipalities can charge only the users of municipal wastewater and trash collection services for those services, not absentee property owners (unless the owners actually contract for the services), passed the Senate on a party line vote.  Bill sponsor Sen. Gail Griffin objects to a bill for "capital" charges that she received on a rental property of hers that is vacant, so she ran this measure.

SB1231, lowering the state's revenue expenditure limit, passed the Senate on a mostly party line vote.  The current limit is 7% of total personal income.  Expenditures have never exceeded or even reached that number; for FY2011, actual expenditures are at 5.95%.  The bill would lower the limit to the previous fiscal year's actual percentage.

SB1403, barring the award of public project contracts being contingent on the use of union labor, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1406, an "interstate compact" bill, to unite with other states to build a fence along the border with Mexico, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1465, prohibiting the state or its political subdivisions from accepting consular ID cards as valid identification, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1525, redefining and limiting municipalities' ability to assess and collect development related fees, passed the Senate 16 - 13, with all nine Democrats and four Republicans opposing.

SB1530, creating a position (unpaid) of State Poet Laureate, passed the Senate.

SCR1024, a legislative postcard to D.C., declaring that the federal government (particularly the EPA) has no jurisdiction over waters that are contained within Arizona, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SCR1025, a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution to bar the use of public funds for political candidates (aka - ending Clean Elections), passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1088, an anti-health care reform bill, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1393, stating that state legislative authority is superior to that of federal authority when it comes to regulating manmade emissions of pollutants in Arizona, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1394, an "interstate compact" bill related to SB1393 above, titled the "freedom to breathe" act, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

HB2153, barring municipalities from adopting a code or ordinance requiring the installation of fire sprinklers in residential buildings of two or fewer units, passed the Senate on a mostly party line vote (two Republicans joined the nine Democrats in opposition).  This one now goes to the Governor for her signature.

The Governor's contact info and web contact form is here.

SB1490, requiring a county to obtain proof of citizenship or immigration status prior to issuing a food service worker card, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1368, defining a "human smuggling organization" and creating related offenses and penalties, passed the Senate with four Democrats opposing.

SB1522, relating to harvested rainwater (rainwater that is captured for future use prior to it reaches a ground channel.  Pushed by former state senator Carol Springer, lobbying for Yavapai County (she's a county supervisor there), which is looking for a way to supplement its dwindling groundwater supply.  Passed the Senate, over the reservations of water professionals, on a party line vote.

SCR1059, a Republican resolution supporting the efforts of Wisconsin Republicans to roll back collective bargaining rights for public employees, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1201, a firearms "omnibus" bill that makes multiple changes to laws related to firearms, passed the Senate on a party line vote.  Innocuous sounding title, but REALLY bad.  Legislative summary here.

SB1286, putting a 60-day time limit on a municipality to approve or deny a permit request.  If no decision is rendered within that time, the permit is deemed to be approved.  Passed by the Senate on a mostly party line vote (four Republicans crossed over).

SB1391, an "interstate compact" bill, relating to minimal firearms restrictions, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1412, making numerous changes to early voting laws, including making possession of more than six voted early ballots for delivery to election officials a class 5 felony.  Aimed at Democratic Party GOTV efforts.  Passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1472, requiring the publication of arguments against (and for) retaining a judge up for a retention election in a pre-election publicity pamphlet, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1590, relating to multiple employers pooling health insurance risk, passed the Senate on a party line vote.

SB1592, an "interstate compact" bill relating to uniting with states that pass laws in opposition to federal health care reform, passed the Senate on a party line vote.


Later...

Summary of Tuesday's Senate Appropriations Committee meeting...

In case you missed it, and given that they were going strong well into the wee hours of the morning, you probably did.

Note:  when a bill description is in quotes, it's quoted from the summary of that bill crafted by legislative staff.

Note2 - I didn't see the discussion for most of the bills because of the late hour, so for the most part, I am not including any of those here.

- SB1611, Russell Pearce's latest attack on people with brown skin.  Passed 7 - 6.  The four Democratis on the committee opposing, as did Republicans Rich Crandell and Sylvia Allen.  Crandall suffers from occasional bouts of decency, so his vote wasn't entirely surprising.  Allen, however, is a close friend and ally of Pearce, and usually is completely on board the nativist train.  Senior moment?

- SB1308 and SB1309, the anti-14th Amendment bills, passed by identical 8 - 5 votes (1308 and 1309).  All four Democrats on the committee, as did Republican Crandall.

- SB1405, turning Arizona's hospitals into immigration checkpoints, passed 8 - 5.  Same voting pattern as above.

- SB1407, requiring school districts to collect data on students who cannot prove lawful residency in the U.S. and district, and requires districts to forward the info to the state.  Passed 8 - 5.  Same voting pattern as above.

- SB1519, completely repealing AHCCCS, Arizona's Medicaid program.  Passed 8 - 5.  Same voting pattern as above.

- SB1380, mandating drug testing for welfare recipients, passed 9 - 3, 1 not voting.  Three Democrats opposed, and one (David Schapira) was out of the room when the vote was taken.

- SB1115, ending the Arizona Board of Regents, who oversee the state's universities, and replacing the Board with Boards of Trustees for each individual campus, passed 9 - 4.  Party line vote.

- SCR1014, related to SB1115, removing from the Arizona Constitution language regarding the Board of Regents.  Passed 9 - 4.  Party line vote.

- SCR1045, completely policizing the selection of Arizona judges by removing language in the AZ Constitution requiring professional evaluations and screening by the Arizona Bar Association for the attorney candidates for the various judicial selection commissions in Arizona.  Passed 9 - 4.  Party line vote.

SB1141, "Requires parents, or persons who have custody, of a child who will attend a public, private or charter school to provide verifiable documentation of Arizona residency, and requires school districts and charter schools to maintain the documentation", passed by a 9 - 4 vote.  Party line vote.

- SB1497, gives "Arizona Constitutional and statutory rights of public agencies to the legal entities created through intergovernmental agreements."  Passed 9 - 4.  Party line vote.

- SB1589, further privatizing the operations of MVD.  Passed 9 - 3, one not voting.  Three Democrats opposed, Kyrsten Sinema out of the room when the vote was taken.

- SB1540, "Establishes the removal or defacing of political mailers, handouts and flyers as a class 2 misdemeanor and requires a condominium and planned community to allow door to door political activity."  Passed 11 - 2, Aboud and Cajero Bedford dissenting.

- HB2016, updating language regarding budget reports.  Passed 12 - 1, Aboud dissenting.

- SB1013, tranferring the Arizona Capitol Police, currently a part of the AZ Department of Administration, to the Department of Public Safety.  Passed 11 - 0, 2 not voting.  Schapira and Cajero Bedford were out of the room when the vote was taken.

- SB1113, barring "existing licensed facilities operated by the state or contracted with the Department of Economic Security (DES) to provide intermediate care facilities for mental retardation services for developmental disability members", passed 13 - 0.

- SB1353, "Repeals state photo enforcement and adds an assessment of $10 on every civil penalty or fine resulting from a citation issued by a peace officer for a traffic offense. Requires a municipality to use monies to supplement funds available for the purchase of protective armor, electronic stun devices and other safety equipment." Passed 13 - 0.

- SB1583, updating the membership of the state nursing board.  Passed 13 - 0.

- SB1039, creating a "home certificate program" relating to trust deeds and housing finance.  Complete legislative summary here.  Passed 13 - 0.

Of course, one should not forget the passage of the most vital bill of the entire legislative session, one that is key to the future success of the entire state.

SB1610, declaring that the Colt Single Action Army Revolver is the state's official firearm.  Passed 9 - 4.  Party line vote.  I saw the debate on this one.  The Democrats didn't actually object to the content of the bill, just the fact that is was being considered while the Republican majority refuses to address the real problems facing the state.


...Whew!!

Seriously, we should all thank the four Democratic members of the committee, Senators Aboud, Cajero Bedford, Schapira, and Sinema, as well as the committee and facility staffers who stayed throughout the entire proceeding.  Contrary to some of the evidence, there are still a few dedicated public servants in Arizona.

Pearce's latest anti-immigrant screed passes committee

After more than two hours of discussion, and by a 7 - 6 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved SB1611, Russell Pearce's latest effort to one-up last year's SB1070.

The four Democrats on the committee, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, David Schapira, Paula Aboud, and Olivia Cajero-Bedford, were joined by Republican Sens. Sylvia Allen and Rich Crandall, in voting against the bill.

The Crandall vote wasn't surprising as he voted against the anti-14th Amendment bills earlier in the evening, but I have no idea where Allen's vote came from.  She's normally on board with all of the nativist garbage.

The debate was long and mostly involved Sen. Sinema going over the bill page by page with Pearce, the bill's sponsor, and pointing out everything that was wrong or just sloppily-written.

When Pearce wasn't resorting to "the law is the law and we must enforce it" to buttress his arguments, he was 'pooh-pooh'-ing concerns that the language of the bill might have some unintended consequences with statements like "it's a great spin" when Sinema brought up the point that Pearce's bill would penalize small children for crimes that they cannot legally be liable for because of their age).  He was similarly dismissive of concerns that his bill would cause abused women to be turned away from domestic violence shelters if they didn't have proper documentation.  He also tended to simply avoid answering questions that he didn't like.

He also tended toward hyperbole instead of verifiable facts - consular-issued ID cards are the "greatest threat to homeland security" and citing "facts" and statistics of dubious veracity in support of his position.

Allow me to sum up his position:

Those darn Mexicans!!

I wish I could write more, but I'm tired and I'm ticked off.  It's 11:30 p.m.  The Approps meeting is still going strong. It's time for bed.

Anti-birthright citizenship bills pass Senate committee

By matching 8 - 5 votes, the Senate Appropriations Committee today passed the two anti-14th Amendment bills, SB1308 and SB1309.  The closest thing to a surprise vote was from Republican Sen. Rich Crandall, who voted against both bills.

Before readers start calling him a "moderate" or a "RINO," rest assured, he's neither of those things.

He just isn't a cross burner, either.

More later...

Some pics from the early part of the day at the Legislature

The Senate Appropriations hearing is underway, and I am in the overflow room (SHR1).

They haven't gotten to the "good" bills yet, but here are a few pics from earlier in the day -

The targets of Russell Pearce's bills...

Senate hearing room cordoned off by police, who moved the gathered crowd, mostly opponents of the bills on the agenda, into another room.

One of the few pro-Pearce protesters.  His mouth was loud, but he didn't really get a rise out of anybody.

Just the truth...

The labor rally in support of the workers in Wisconsin

Motorcycle Day at the Capitol.  Not relevant to anything in Senate Appropriations, but I like the picture.

The crowd in the overflow room.  The capacity is 140, and they need to open up two additional rooms to handle the overflow from the overflow.

Legislators Catherine Miranda and Albert Hale at the Latino Caucus' press conference on the anti-immigrant bills.

Russell Pearce in 2011: trying to outdo his 2010 anti-immigrant screed

AZ Senate President Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) is attempting to out-SB1070 last year's SB1070, the bill that became the law that both powered and rode the wave of nativist sentiment sweeping across large portions of the country (and not coincidentally, the law that the utterly unqualified Jan Brewer used to gain an elected term as governor of Arizona.

He has introduced this year's SB1611.

Among other things, it...

...removes all consideration of federal law when determining eligibility for federal benefits...

...mandates a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail for using a false ID to obtain employment...

...mandates that if an undocumented immigrant is caught driving a vehicle, that vehicle will be forfeited to the state...

...mandates that if an undocumented immigrant is caught driving a vehicle, he/she must serve at least 30 days in jail, no matter what...

...mandates that if an undocumented immigrant is caught driving a vehicle, he/she must pay for all of the costs of his/her incarceration...

...bars school districts from admitting students who can't demonstrate "lawful presence" in the district (this one conflicts with federal law), and severely limits the documents that are acceptable proof...

...bars students from being homeschooled unless they prove "lawful presence" with the same documents as above...

...mandates indefinite suspension of all business licences of employers who don't use the E-Verify systems, even if there aren't any other violations of law involved...

...mandates that issuance of a title to an automobile is contingent on proof of lawful presence in the country...

...mandates that all applicants for any public housing must prove lawful presence before their applications are accepted...

...mandates eviction of any resident of public housing who allows an undocumented immigrant to reside in their unit...(so if your minor child, or elderly and ailing parent can't prove their immigration status, they're on their own)...

...mandates that any police officer lose his/her AZPOST certification (basically, the equivalent of a professional license for police officers.  No AZPOST certification = no job) for any officer "who refuses to uphold the United States and Arizona constitutions and enforce the laws of this state."  No word on what will happen if an officer refuses to enforce an Arizona law that has been found to violate the U.S. Constitution.  Under this clause, he would lose his/her job no matter what he did.

...mandates that consular ID cards cannot be accepted as identification by the state or any political subdivision (this one has been floating around in one bill or another for a few years now.  What if a consular official is stopped by the police?  Under this provision, he/she has no way to prove his/her right to access consular premises...


Of course, the committee will be hearing the [cue up the sarcasm] *the single most vital piece of legislation of the Senate* - at least it must be, since the budget hasn't been balanced, the school system hasn't been firmed up, and an adequate permanent water supply hasn't been guaranteed for the state, but they are considering...

SB1610.

That one answers the most profound question of our time - "What is the official firearm of Arizona?"

After the bill's enactment, the official firearm of Arizona will be the Colt Single Action Army Revolver.

Whew!  Now we can all rest easy tonight.

/sarcasm


The meeting to hear this bill, and the other *really* bad bills, will be held Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  Arrive early, as seating is limited and the room is sure to be packed. 

Arizona Republic coverage of this, from Mary Jo Pitzl, is here

Arizona Capitol Times coverage, from Luige del Puerto, is here.

It never stops: the birthright citizenship and turning hospitals into immigration checkpoints coming back already...

While this will be covered as part of the regularly scheduled "Coming Week" post that will go up on Saturday or Sunday, but we need to get out a heads up on this to as many people as possible.

The two birthright citizenship bills (SB1308 and SB1309) and the hospitals/immigration checkpoints bill (SB1405) may have failed to gain committee approval the last two weeks (getting pulled from each agenda they were on before the committees voted on them), however, Russell Pearce, Ron Gould, and the rest of the nativists in the lege haven't given up. 

Not by a long shot.

While most Senate committees have completed their work on Senate bills for the session and aren't meeting next week (once the House passes some bills and sends them over to the Senate, committee meetings will start up again), Appropriations will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR109 to consider those three bills, as well as SB1519, a measure from Sens. Andy Biggs and Ron Gould that would end Medicaid (AHCCCS) in Arizona.

Note for Thursday, 2/17/2011 - nine House committees are meeting, including many that don't normally meet on Thursdays.  It looks as if the House is trying to cram through as many bills as possible before the deadline for the chambers of the legislature to consider bills originating in their own chamber.

I didn't see anything that truly stood out as *bad*, but I only did a quick scan and could have missed something.  Check out the list here.

Birther bill rebuffed; bill to turn hospitals into immigration checkpoints held

Monday wasn't a "good day" at the legislature (too many bad bills *did* pass committee), but it could have been far, far worse.

On the negative side - Center For Arizona Theocracy Policy bills targeting the judiciary passed committee (SB1472, SB1482, SCR1047), as did SB1466, a Lester Pearce-pushed bill to give a JP control over prosecutions in his/her courtroom (he's Russell Pearce's brother and a Maricopa County Justice of the Peace).  Also passed were SB1467 (barring educational institutions from enacting or enforcing a policy against carrying a concealed weapon on campus) and SB1469 (expanding the justifications for using deadly force).  Also passed:  SB1471, SB1473, and SB1412, changes to election laws that would serve to suppress the vote (especially 1412).

And that was all before I left the meeting, after more than three hours.  There were more bad bills on the agenda.

However, on the positive side -

SB1526, Sen. Ron Gould's "birther" bill, was defeated on a 3 - 5 vote when three Republicans on the committee expressed strong reservations with the bill, especially with clauses in the bill regarding ballot eligibility for presidential candidates that are far more stringent than those in the U.S. Constitution.

SB1481, Gould's plan to expand the size of the Arizona Supreme Court to seven justices (from the current five) failed when Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch testified that she was surprised by the bill, not least because no one had spoken to her about the scheme.

SB1405, the plan to turn hospitals into immigration checkpoints, was held/pulled when committee chair Gould realized that the 75+ members of the public present in the hearing room were there to oppose the bill, and like the anti-14th Amendment bills last week, he may not have had the votes to pass a bill that is this extreme.

Lastly, the two anti-14th Amendment bills, SB1308 and SB1309, have been reassigned to the Appropriations Committee and were scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, but that agenda was revised Monday, pulling the two bills.

Not a perfect day, not by a long shot, but for the first time in a while, it was only a "bad" day, not a "shameful" one.

Little victories...


Pics from the day -



Chief Justice Berch at the Judiciary Committee meeting

Sen. Steve Gallardo at the SB1405 press conference

Arizona "Copper Chopper" in honor of Statehood Day

Dr. George Pauk at the formal press conference on SB1405, speaking on behalf of the Phoenix Urban Health Collective

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Sen. Ron Gould speaking before the Judiciary Committee meeting

Dr. George Pauk, speaking at an impromptu press conference outside the legislature on the effects of SB1405

Governor Jan Brewer's first jobs action: The "Full Employment For Lawyers" Initiative

From AP, via the Arizona Republic -

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she plans to file a counter-lawsuit against the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws.

Brewer says her claim will be filed in the federal government's challenge to Arizona's new enforcement immigration law.

Wonder how many teachers will have to be laid off or how many more transplant patients will have to die to pay for Jan's (and her clan's) bigotry?

Anti-14th Amendment/Birthright Citizenship update: Bills transferred to friendlier committee

On Monday, the Judiciary Committee of the Arizona Senate failed to move two nativist-written and -sponsored anti-birthright citizenship bills.

On Tuesday, Senate President Russell Pearce withdrew the bills from Judiciary to the Appropriations Committee for consideration (SB1309 and SB1308).

They are scheduled for consideration there on Tuesday, February 15 (next Tuesday) at 2 p.m. in SHR109.

The bills are expected to find a far friendlier reception in Appropriations than in Judiciary. 

While there is some overlap between the memberships of the two committees, it's an overlap that favors passage.

On the Judiciary Committee, Ron Gould and Andy Biggs are the chair and vice-chair respectively; on Appropriations, they switch jobs. 

Both favored the bills.

In addition, Judiciary member Rick Murphy is also on Appropriations, and he favored the bills at Monday's hearing.

Opponent Adam Driggs and (likely) opponent John McComish are NOT on Appropriations, so their voices and their votes won't be heard Tuesday.

Instead, the Republicans hearing the bill will be:

Sylvia Allen, Russell Pearce's close friend and ally
Andy Biggs, who has already made it clear that he wholeheartedly supports the bills and a cosponsor of both
Rich Crandall, a very conservative Republican who has occasional bouts of sanity
Ron Gould, who is known for celebrating the 4th of July by flying a Confederate flag in his backyard and is the originating sponsor of both measures
Lori Klein, who started the latest dustup over legislators carrying guns at the Capitol and a cosponsor of both measures
Al Melvin, who is a cosponsor of both measures
Rick Murphy, who is also a cosponsor of both measures
Don Shooter, another cosponsor and Kool-Aid drinker (and purveyor)
Steve Smith, yet another cosponsor of both measures

The Appropriations Committee is larger than Judiciary (13 members vs. 8), so it will need at least seven votes to pass, but by my count, at least seven members are sponsors/cosponsors, and Sylvia Allen is expected to vote whatever way Russell Pearce wants her to (to be fair to Allen, she appears to be a "true believer," not a tool...not exactly a marked improvement, that).

That leaves Rich Crandall, who though known for occasionally not being a total ideologue, doesn't let sanity or decency get in the way of a safe political future.  He voted for SB1070 last year.

The bottom line:  SBs 1308 and 1309 will pass Appropriations by an 8 - 5 or 9 - 4 vote.

The brightest spot in all this?  Kyrsten Sinema, who eloquently and strongly debunked the nativists in the Senate Judiciary hearing, is also a member of Appropriations.  She will be joined by fellow Democrats Olivia Cajero Bedford, Paula Aboud, and Senate Democratic Leader David Schapira.

See you Tuesday, and bring your popcorn...

Senate Judiciary Holds Anti-14th Amendment Bills

...but this isn't over yet.

Before a packed meeting room, the Judiciary Committee of the Arizona Senate listened to well over two hours of testimony regarding SB1308 and SB1309, the anti-14th Amendment/birthright citizenship bills proposed by Sen. Ron Gould, the committee's chair.

Anybody who watched the proceedings, in person or over the internet, was treated to a mindnumbing showcase of constitutional law knowledge and ignorance.

The lead actor in that part of Monday's political theater was one John Eastman, a law schoo dean from California.  Dr. Eastman's biography boasts of his clerkship for US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  He also regularly weighs in on things like torture, school vouchers, expansive Presidential power, and more, always supporting the "conservative" position.  In short, he was an out-of-town ringer brought in by Gould and Pearce for just this event.

Eastman droned on for well over 90 minutes, basically arguing that everyone of the "interpretations" of the 14th Amendment over the last 140+ years was wrong and that his "interpretation" was the correct one.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema served as the main counterpoint to Eastman's misinformation, drawing on her own intelligence and legal knowledge to successfully refute Eastman's arguments.  Republican Senator Adam Driggs, a lawyer too, also pushed back against Eastman.

I'm not recounting the discussion in it entirety because it was too long and technical for me to follow closely, but friend of mine who works in the justice system was watching, described Eastman's arguments as erroneous (OK, a different word was used, but in the interests of keeping this post family-friendly... :) ).

The video of the meeting will eventually be posted on the legislature's website here (look for Senate Judiciary on 2/7/2011).

While I can't completely summarize the legal arguments between Sinema and Driggs on one side and Eastman on the other, I can list some of the better quotes of the meeting -

"The bills would have no effect unless the federal government takes steps" - Gould (then why waste the taxpayers' time and resources with this crap)

"I'm the 'Clarence Thomas' of this committee - I don't ask many questions" -Sen. John McComish

The bills "could shame our state" - Jennifer Allen of the Border Action Network

The proposals would "create multiple generations of children without a nation, a community" - Dana Naimark of Childrens Action Alliance

Three children, ages 11 and 12, spoke on behalf of other children and future children in opposition to the bills.  Also opposed were representatives of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In fact, every person who testified Monday *except* for the ringer brought in by Gould and Pearce was opposed to the bills.

Just about the only tactic that Gould et. al. used today that worked was letting Eastman go on and on while keeping dissenters on a strict time limit.  By the time many of the opposing witnesses were called to the podium, they had left the meeting due to the late hour.

However, that didn't change the basic math for Gould - out of eight members of the committee, three were clearly going to vote against his measures (Democrats Sinema and Steve Gallardo, and Republican Driggs) and one was wavering (Republican McComish) leaving both dead on a 4 - 4 ties.  His "hold" of the bills allows him to both save face and allow him, Pearce, et. al. to twist some arms behind the scenes to wrangle the votes into line or even to pull the bills from that committee and assign it to one with a more pliable membership.

The quote of the day, and possibly highlighting the reason that Gould and company are so scared of immigrants, came from 12-year-old Kathleen Figueroa -

"We are the future."

Some pics -

Ron Gould, and *yes* that is a tea party sticker on his state computer...

Kyrsten Sinema during the discussion

Just a few of the many media representatives watching the hearing

One of Gould's fellow nativists, Rep. John Kavanagh, made a personal appearance to check in on the proceedings

The protest outside the Senate building

Steve Gallardo

The coming week: Legislative Edition. Chapter 2 - Arizona House

As usual, all info gathered from the website of the Arizona Legislature or other internet sources, and subject to change without notice (and given the time of year, expect changes)...
Normally, the committee schedules of both the House and Senate are combined into one post. However, the week, and probably for the next few weeks, committee agendas are incredibly full. In the interests of keeping this manageable, there will be a separate post for each chamber this week and any future weeks where necessary.

In addition, there are *so* many bills up for consideration this week, that I don't have time or space to cover them all. If you've got a particular area of interest, please read the pertinent agenda(s) to ensure you know about all of the bills you care about.

House committee highlights/lowlights this week -

- Rules will meet on Monday in HHR4 at 1 p.m.  The agenda is a long one and mostly OK.  However, bad or good, this committee is a rubber stamp and the meeting will be a short one.

- Ways and Means will meet on Monday in HHR1 at 2 p.m.  On the agenda:  a striker to HB2207, micromanaging the purchasing policies of the Maricopa Integrated Health System; HB2338, placing more stringent limits on county-level secondary tax levies (i.e. - library, jail, health care districts); HB2503, reducing the income tax rate for the poor and downtrodden...corporations ($200 million to $250 million per year); HB2504, phasing out the state's capital gains tax ($369,000,000 worth of state revenue in 2008); HB2557, imposing a 300% sales tax on medical marijuana (sponsored mostly by Democrats, not sure how this one will fare.  If the Rs on the committee vote for the measure, they'll be supporting a higher tax, if they oppose it, they'll be seen as protecting marijuana.  Hmmm.... :) ); HCR2006, drastically raising the tax exemption limit for business personal property.

- Energy and Natural Resources will meet on Monday in HHR4 at 2 p.m.  On the agenda: HB2485,
mandating that if a governmental entity acquires previously privately-owned land, it must sell and equal amount (in terms of value) of land it already owns.

- Education will meet on Monday in HHR3 at 2 p.m. or upon recess of the floor session.  On the agenda:  HB2419, micromanaging schools' employment decisions by mandating that K-8 schools each hire a phonics reading coach that meet certain criteria.  Oh, and all costs for this mandate would be covered by the schools.  There's another, more technical, bill involving JTEDs (Joint Technical Education Districts) on the agenda, HB2237.  Not sure if this is bad, good, or housekeeping.

- Banking and Insurance will meet on Monday in HHR5 at 2 p.m.  Looks quiet so far.

- Government will meet on Monday in HHR4 at 2 p.m.  On the agenda:  HB2077, requiring all federal agencies to register with a county sheriff and pay a fee before conducting any sort of operations in a county;

- Employment and Regulatory Affairs will meet on Tuesday in HHR3 at 2 p.m.  No bills on the agenda thus far.

- Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet on Wednesday in HHR3 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda: HB2366, mandating that communications with public officials be "anonymized" before the contents of the communications are made part of the public record.

- Higher Education, Innovation, and Reform will meet on Wednesday in HHR2 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda:  \HB2565, protecting devoutly religious students at the state's universities and community colleges from reality if reality is in conflict with their deeply-held (or not-so-deeply-held) religious beliefs.

- Health and Human Services will meet on Wednesday in HHR4 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda:  HB2384, an anti-choice measure and HCR2034, "honoring" the faux pregnancy care centers that seek to deceive desperate women looking for accurate and complete information regarding their health care.

- Commerce will meet on Wednesday in HHR5 at 10 a.m.  On the agenda: HB2536, removing the requirement that dog racing facilities actually hold dog races, allowing them to go over to simulcast-only operations.

- Appropriations will meet on Wednesday in HHR1 at 2 p.m.  Highlight (and perhaps one of the few of the week in either chamber):  HB2227, declaring that money given as a gift or bequest to a state agency isn't part of the states's General Fund and cannot be swept and appropriated by the legislature unless such is specifically allowed by the giver.

- Transportation will meet on Thursday in HHR3 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda:  HB2003, barring public agencies from imposing or collecting any emergency service response fees, with certain exceptions, including ambulance services.  Not sure how bad this bill is, but since Rep. John Kavanagh is behind it, it probably targets Mexicans.  I just haven't figured out how.  :)

- Judiciary will meet on Thursday in HHR4 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda:  HB2304, an "elections omnibus" bill.  Some of the provisions include: requiring that non-resident petition circulators register with the secretary of state's office (though the language is so broad that it might be construed as to require that *all* petition circulators register with the SOS, allowing candidates with an "exploratory" committee to collect signatures and contributions (call this the "Huppenthal Provision"), allow candidates to transfer excess campaign funds to their officeholder expense accounts (not sure how this provision would affect Clean Elections money, of which surplus is supposed to be returned to Clean Elections).

- Agriculture and Water will meet on Thursday in HHR5 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda:  HB2339, reducing commercial and agricultural property taxes.


Later...

In case you missed it...

...Rep. Bob Robson (R-Chandler) has announced the end of his political career.  Not in so many words of course, but it's over.

From Brahm Resnik of 12News, on AZCentral.com -

A Republican legislator is warning that the governor's proposed budget cuts would drive the state's jobless rate up to 11 percent, and says his party needs to consider tax increases to fix the budget.

State Rep. Bob Robson of Chandler tells me on "Sunday Square Off" this weekend that Gov. Jan Brewer and lawmakers need to consider the broader impact of their cuts. Robson says communities like Flagstaff would be hit especially hard by cuts to the Medicaid system. He is the only Republican on record questioning the extent of Brewer's proposed cuts.

That kind of apostasy guarantees any Republican a primary challenge in his next election, if not outright threats of violence.  Robson is from LD20, the same area that recently saw a mass resignation of officers of the local Republican Party because of threats from other Rs who thought the officers weren't *conservative* enough. 

The former chair, Anthony Miller, had the audacity to support fellow Republican John McCain for U.S. Senate last year.


...Still continuing in Tucson is the trial of Shawna Forde, a famous and violent member of the Minutemen.  She is facing murder charges is the killing of 9-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father Raul.  Forde and her accomplices allegedly broke into the Flores' home and proceeded to execute them and shoot Brisenia's mother, Gina Gonzalez.  After she was shot, Gonzalez pretended to be dead to avoid another bullet.

Forde and her accomplices were seeking money and drugs to steal to fund their anti-immigrant activities.  They didn't find any in the Flores/Gonzalez home.

If convicted, Forde could face the death penalty.  Her accomplices will be tried in March and June.

This story has been all but ignored by the mainstream media in Arizona, with a little coverage in Tucson, the home of the trial.  However, even there, the main daily there, the Arizona Daily Star, has done only minimal coverage and has mostly buried what little they have done.

One of the joys of the internet is that people are no longer entirely dependent on the MSM for information about stories that the corporate masters running MSM organizations would prefer didn't exist.


...ABC News recently aired a "Candid Camera"-style segment filmed in Tucson where producers staged a situation where an actor playing a security guard harassed Hispanic-looking patrons (who were also actors).  The object of the piece was to study the responses of bystanders to situations of ethnic profiling.  Video here on Youtube.

Not so predictably, but heartening, was the reaction of many of the unknowing bystanders who stood up to the fake "security guard."

However, the unfortunately predictable has been the Republican response, who have uniformly denounced the piece as "false," "a hoax," and more, even though the entire story was openly presented as staged.

The best (in an ironic sort of way) of the denunciations was in a press release from Kirk Adams, the Republican Speaker of the Arizona House.

Over the course of the press release, he demands an apology and a retraction and he hits all the right wing rhetorical high points (i.e. - "East Coast media elite media") but the best part is when he referred people to a video of the piece, not at ABC News or even Youtube (where ABC News has uploaded the video), but instead to *Breibart.tv.*

The same "Breitbart" who was caught in 2009 manufacturing an actual hoax.

Denouncing as a hoaz something that was never presented as fact by referring people to someone who has been proven to present lies as fact? 

Not exactly helping the credibility there, Mr. Speaker.


...Astronaut Mark Kelly, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' husband, today announced that he is resuming training to command the next flight of the space shuttle, its last.  It is scheduled to launch in two months (April 19), and Kelly and the rest of us are hopeful that the recuperating Congresswoman will be able to attend the launch.


...The State Bar of Arizona has filed an 82-page complaint against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and former assistant county attorneys Lisa Aubuchon and Rachel Alexander.

There's nothing really new in it for anyone who has been following the mess that longtime observers (not so) affectionately refer to as "business as usual" in Maricopa County, but it's nice to see Thomas et. al. move one step closer to disbarment.

Later...

LD17's David Schapira on Horizon

State Sens. David Schapira (D-LD17) and Ron Gould (R-LD3) appeared on KAET's Horizon Tuesday to discuss Gould's anti-14th Amendment bill, SB1309.

The discussion has been posted to YouTube by KAET.

Arizona is an "outlier on the low end"? Color me so not shocked.

As the US Census Bureau releases local data to various states for redistricting efforts (Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Virginia this week, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland next week), they're holding a number of press conferences.

Wednesday, Dr. Robert M. Groves, Director of the Census Bureau discussed "the upcoming release of state redistricting data products."

The transcript of the presentation is here; a .pdf of the Powerpoint slides is here.

As the data for Arizona hasn't been released yet, I didn't expect much from the presentation other than to provide a little background for when AZ data *is* released.  However, my ears perked up when the following slide was presented -

This slide (page 6 of the presentation .pdf) shows how much actual state census counts varied from pre-census estimates based on demographic analysis.  The estimates were actually pretty close -

- In 34 of 50 states, the actual counts were within +/- 1% of the estimates, and 46 of 50 states were within +/- 2%.

As you can see from the graph, the margin of error spread was pretty balanced, but the interesting point (for AZ readers, anyway) is that the one state where the actual count was more than 2% less than the estimates was, of course, Arizona (page 9 of the transcript .pdf).  In AZ, the actual count was 4% less than the estimates.

When asked by a reporter from the Arizona Republic (Ron Hansen) about the variance, Dr. Groves didn't have an explanation or even speculation, saying only that they're looking into it and that they'll have more information when they have more information, specifically on local level variances and explanations.

However, I'm not a trained statistician (as if you hadn't noticed :) ), so I will be happy to engage in a little speculation.

I think there are three main reasons for the variance - fear, hatred, and economics -

1.  SB1070 and the related anti-immigrant hysteria.  Many immigrants either have left the state or simply avoid contact with public officials (such as census workers) as much as possible.  Even legal immigrants fear the harassment that comes from contact with emergency and public service personnel.

2.  The hatred of the federal government that has taken hold of the Arizona GOP and its adherents.  Many people simply refused to respond to either the mailed surveys or when actual workers were sent out to "fill in the gaps."  They don't hate state or local governments, because in most of AZ, those are run by people who are "good ol' boys," just like them.

While the reasons may have differed, a significant part of AZ's population self-selected themselves for undercounting.

3. The cratering of Arizona's economy seems to have led to an significant outflow of residents.  Anybody who canvassed neighborhoods for any candidate in the 2010 election noticed a huge number of empty homes.  This may not seem to be purely political, but as more people watch the Republican majority in the legislature and the rest of the state government focus on tea party issues/corporate giveaways while ignoring the state's economic and fiscal crises, it shouldn't be surprising that many have just given up hope of making a good life for themselves and their families.

That trend seems to have been accelerating over the last 18 months or so, and may have skewed the estimates - people that were here when the estimates were formulated weren't when the Census Bureau conducted the physical count.

We'll see what happens when the local level data for AZ is released (personally, I expect an outcry of "we wuz robbed!" from the RW blogosphere).

All local level data will be released by the end of March (a statutory deadline).  However, the exact date for the release of Arizona's data hasn't been announced yet.

Each week, the Bureau will announce which states' data will be released the following week.  After that, the data will be shipped to the states' leaders (i.e. - the governor and caucus leaders in the legislature).  Once the receipt of the data by the leaders is confirmed, the data will be released to the general public and media, generally 24 hours after the state leadership gets it.

Eventually, the data will be available via FTP download here and on the Census Bureau's American FactFinder page here.


A related blog post from the Population Resource Center is here.

If you've got brown skin in Arizona, don't get injured or sick.

...Last week, in their war on brown people, the nativists in the AZ lege opened up a new front, targeting children.  Now, they're going after the sick and injured...

During the 17th, 18th, and even 19th centuries, when the British Navy ran short on recruits to man their ships, they would send out "press gangs" to scoop up the able-bodied but unwary off the streets and even off of merchant ships to meet their quota of new "recruits."

Well, the nativists of Arizona are following the British practice, only instead of having press gangs roam the streets, countryside, and decks of private ships, they have the Arizona Legislature at their disposal.

Their latest effort to drag unwilling participants into their war on brown people is SB1405 -

36-415. Hospital admissions; proof of citizenship, legal residence or lawful presence; immunity

A. Before a hospital admits a person for nonemergency care, a hospital admissions officer must confirm that the person is a citizen of the United States, a legal resident of the United States or lawfully present in the United States. The admissions officer may use any method prescribed in section 1-501 to verify citizenship or legal status.

B. If the admissions officer determines that the person does not meet the requirements of subsection A of this section, the admissions officer must contact the local federal immigration office.

C. If the hospital provides emergency medical care pursuant to federal requirements to a person who does not meet the requirements of subsection A of this section, on successful treatment of the patient the admissions officer must contact the local federal immigration office.

D. A hospital that complies with the requirements of this section is not subject to civil liability.

Jennifer Bonnett, Executive Director of the Arizona Public Health Association (AZPHA), says that the AZPHA doesn't have a position on this particular bill as yet, but noted that they have a "longstanding tradition" of opposition to measures that raise barriers to health care.

I've also got a call out to the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association seeking comment.  The bill is new enough that they don't have one yet, but promised to look at the measure and get back to me shortly.


Later...

It may be time to start a 'secession bill' pool* for the Arizona Legislature

I've written a few posts listing some of the nuttier bills proposed by the legislature, and this one is going to be similar.  I'd feel like I was in a rut, but they keep on serving up new material to work with.

Unfortunately.

This was something I noticed while writing this earlier post.  It seems to be all the rage this session for Republican legislators to propose one or more anti-federal government/pro-new Confederacy bills.

To whit (with numbers of sponsors/cosponsors signed on to the bills as introduced, and where the bill is in the process, and, once assigned to committee, all bills are assigned to the Rules Committee of their respective chambers, so that hasn't been included in the status summary):

HCR2015, pushing for a U.S. Constitutional convention for an amendment to require a vote of a majority of state legislatures to raise the federal debt limit.  35 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, and assigned to House Judiciary.

SCR1016, same as above.  13 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to Senate Border Security, Federalism, and States Sovereignty, Second Read.

HB2561, denying citizenship to children of non-U.S. citizens, in violation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 27 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

SB1309, same as above.  11 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

HB2562, directing the governor to enter into compacts/alliances with other states that create the second-class, separate-but-unequal, sort of citizenship/birth certificates that intend to go around/violate the 14th Amendment.  28 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.  Lots of "/"s in this description.  :)

SB1308, another 2nd class birth certificates/citizenship interstate compact/new Confederacy bill.  11 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

SB1214. similarly directing the governor to enter into compacts with other states to ally with them over fighting health care reform and access to health care coverage for all citizens.  9 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to Senate Border Security, Federalism, and States Sovereignty, Second Read.

SB1391, a "firearms freedom" compact bill, for forging alliances with states with firearms laws that are just as gun fetishist as Arizona's.  5 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

SB1392, an interstate compact bill for gray wolf management.  7 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.  Possibly the least bad of the "new Confederacy" bills, but it will probably be amended if it ever gets a committee hearing.  Not that I'm a cynic or anything.  :)

SB1394, an interstate compact/new Confederacy bill to allow alliances with other states with "freedom to breathe [polluted air]" laws (see SB1393 below).  5 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

SB1395, an interstate compact bill attempting to create an multistate organization separate from the federal Endangered Species Act to handle wildlife management.  8 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

SB1406, an interstate compact/new Confederacy bill to create an alliance of states for the purpose of constructing a fence along the border with Mexico. 8 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

HB2472, allowing for the taking of federal land under eminent domain.  3 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to House Judiciary and Government committees.

HB2313, another eminent domain taking of federal land bill.  2 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to House Judiciary, Second Read.

HB2471, saying that any federal mandate *must* have a statement of how that mandate is a federal responsibility and will pass any Constitutional challenge before the legislature is allowed to enact a law or appropriate funds to further that mandate.  5 sponsors/cosponsors.  First Read, assigned to House Government and Appropriations, Second Read.

HB2459, creating a special "Don't Tread On Me" commemorative license plate for tea party types.  2 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to Senate Transportation and Appropriations, Second Read.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to House Judiciary, Second Read.

HB2288, mandating that all of the states airports abandon the Transportation Security Administration and contract with private companies to handle all airport security operations.  15 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to House Transportation, Second Read.

HB2070, creating a state-sanctioned and -armed military force that is separate and outside of the national command authority.  5 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to House Military Affairs and Public Safety and Appropriations, Second Read.

SB1178, stating that all Arizona-centered commerce is not under the jurisdiction of the federal government, and making is a criminal act for a federal agent/employee (class 6 felony) or state agent/employee (class 1 misdemeanor) to enforce any federal law, regulation, rule, etc. in violation of SB1178.  10 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to Senate Border Security, Federalism, and States Sovereignty (passed 5 - 2) and Commerce and Energy, Second Read.

SB1328, stating that if a federal employee or elected doesn't have to comply with a particular federal law or rule, no Arizona citizen has to comply with that law or rule.  1 sponsor (Antenori).  Introduced.

SB1393, stating that the state legislature's authority to regulate greenhouse gases supercedes federal authority.  The authors call this the "freedom to breath" law.  I call it the "freedom to breathe [polluted air]" law.  11 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.

SCR1015, declaring that Arizona has the sole authority to enact any law or regulation over "non-navigable" waters in the state.   7 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced, First Read, assigned to Senate Water, Land Use, and Rural Development, Second Read.

SCR1024, similar to above.  1 sponsor (Griffin).  Introduced, First Read, assigned to Senate Water, Land Use, and Rural Development.

SCR1034, a postcard to to the feds demanding that they stop enacting laws and regulations that certain members of state legislatures don't approve of.  8 sponsors/cosponsors.  Introduced.


A lot of the above measures look to be inspired/directly drawn from model legislation crafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing industry front group (login required to view specifics, and I don't have such a login) or some other front group.  Others looked to be pulled directly from the head (or some other body part) of one or another legislator.


Here are the opening odds on selected particular legislators introducing a secession bill sometime during the 50th Arizona Legislature (meaning this year or next year):

Sen. Sylvia Allen: 5-2
Sen. Ron Gould: 3-1
Rep. Carl Seel: 3-1
Sen. Russell Pearce: 7-2
Rep. Jack Harper:4-1
Sen. Andy Biggs: 5-1
Rep. Judy Burges: 5-1
Sen. Frank Antenori: 7-1
Other Senate leadership Rs: 7-1
Other rank-and-file R House members: 10-1
Other rank-and-file R Senate members: 11-1
Other House leadership Rs:25-1
House Speaker Kirk Adams: 50-1 (he's one of the few down there who is acting like the adult in the room, and the other members of House R leadership are mostly following his lead, or are at least quieter about their nuttiness)

Any Democrat in either chamber:  No line, though D Sen. Robert Meza is a cosponsor of one of the "interstate compact" bills (the "border fence" one).  I just don't see any D drinking the Kool-Aid, or Meza drinking more than the sip he has already taken.

It's going to be a long and ugly session, and they haven't even gotten to the budget yet.


* - For any law enforcement folks who might be reading this and think that the title is a solicitation for unlawful gaming or something similar, it's just something us writers have in our bag of tricks. 

It's called a "metaphor." 

It means that I think the political scene in Arizona has declined far enough that the question isn't *if* one of the Republicans in the legislature will call for Arizona's secession from the United States, but *when.*