And the 'green' grades are in...

Credit for the heads-up on this goes to the AZ Rep's Plugged In...

Congrats to LD17 State Reps. Ed Ableser and David Schapira for making the honor roll of the Arizona League of Conservation Voters and the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club for their work during the 2007 session of the legislature.

Both scored 100% under the LCV's weighted grading guidelines!

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill slacked off this session, weighing down the overall D17 score by coming in at only 97%.

If only she'd used 'green' crutches while recovering from foot surgery this winter. :))

It was also nice to see that many of the legislators that have received praise here and in other blogs for their fine work in the lege also scored well with the AzCLV (Steve Farley's 100%, for example), while others that have received criticism scored poorly with the AzCLV, too -

Sen. Ron 'Confederate Flag' Gould (R-LD3) .....18%
Rep. Trish 'DUI' Groe (R-LD3).....19%

Maybe it's something in the LD3 water, though if there is, expect Groe and Gould to be OK with that, particularly if some company is making money off of it.

Of course, the same might be said in LD18 -

Rep. Russell 'National Alliance' Pearce (R-LD18).....26%
Sen. Karen 'UFO Sighting' Johnson (R-LD18).....29%

And the district most likely to welcome a toxic waste dump?

LD22, with Sen. Thayer Vershoor (R) scoring 37%, Rep. Andy Biggs (R) scoring 23% and Rep. Eddie Farnsworth scoring 25%.

By comparison, my [least] favorite state senator, Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) did remarkably well, scoring a 48%!

His loyal constituents should take heart though; I have no doubt that Jack will see this score and use it as motivation for next session.

That score will be in single digits faster than you can say 'culture of corruption.'

:))

Note: The AzCLV's legislative scorecard is here; Sierra Club's press release is here.

Tonight's LD17 Meeting

The meeting went a little long, but there was a lot of info available at the meeting.

Highlights -

Maria Weeg, Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party introduced herself and spoke for a while on a number of topics, including efforts to build the party.

Josh Garrett, the ADP's Faith-Based Outreach Campaign Manager talked about efforts to remind the 'religious community, which has been co-opted by the Reps for over 20 years, that Democrats are 'values voters' too, and that issues such as health care, poverty, global warming, and HIV/AIDS are moral issues at least as much as abortion and same-sex marriage.

Victor Aronow of the Arizona Community Media Foundation talked to us about his organization and its drive to obtain a non-commercial educational radio license for the Phoenix area. They need help, both financial and practical (i.e. - join the org or write letters for the FCC license application); contact them through their website (click on the link above), email at info[at]azcmf.org, or call 480.829.5746.


In the legislative update, Reps. David Shapira and Ed Ableser, and Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill talked about the approaching end of the legislative session and the ongoing budget games that the Republicans are playing.

The interesting one there is the cause of the rush to get a budget compromise passed this week, possibly during a marathon session on Thursday.

Apparently, one of the Republican votes that Speaker Jim Weiers was counting on has scheduled a vacation and will be unavailable for two weeks following this week.

You'd think that the House Majority Leader would know better than to do that after last year's session that lasted almost until July...

Who knows? Perhaps for next year's session, the Rep caucus will select a leader with more 'leader' ability.

....OK - probably not; the Republicans seem to be more interested in forming circular firing squads these days. And I'm not complaining about it. :)

Upcoming LD17 events -

Phone banking opportunities for LD17 Dems on Thursday June 7 and 21 to help register new Democratic voters. Contact district chair Doug Mings at dougmings[at]gmail.com.

On June 9, the last District Day of Action neighborhood walk of the summer will be held. Meet at Kiwanis Park in Tempe.

June 13 - Democratic Happy Hour at Gordon Biersch Brewing Company at 5th and Mill in Tempe at 6:30 p.m. Contact Debra Scheff at njdb4[at]aol.com for info.

June 22 - The LD17 Democrats present the film "The War Tapes" at the Escalante Center.

Next meeting - July 3rd, same time and place (7:00 p.m., Pyle Center in Tempe)

July 4 - Volunteers needed for the booth at the July 4th Tempe Town Lake Festival; contact Doug Mings at the above email addy if you are interested in helping out.

Other events announced at the meeting -

June 6 - The Tempe Elementary School District #3 will be holding a public forum on redistricting from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sanchez Administration Building, 3205 South Rural Road.

June 23 - A neighborhood fundraiser for Tempe City Council candidate Corey Woods. From 7 - 11 p.m. enjoy a "buffet dinner followed by a Woods/Kuby pie bake-off!" Contact Lauren Kuby at laurenkuby[at]gmail.com for info.

June 24 - The Arizona Institute for Peace Education and Research (AIPER) is screening the movie Jesus Camp at the AIPER office in Tempe (2510 S Rural) at 5:00 p.m.

One last highlight from tonight's meeting -

The campaign has already started - last week there were a couple of 'anti-Ableser, Schapira and Burton-Cahill' signs up in Scottsdale at the northeast corner of Indian School and Miller. They were apparently put up by the owner of a sign company who was upset that the LD17 legislators didn't vote to legislatively override Scottsdale's ordinance restricting signwalkers.

To the person(s) who posted the signs -

Waaaahhhhhhhhhhh!

Oh, and by the way, Indian School and Miller is in LD8, not LD17.

Good night!

Since the campaign season started early, so has the endorsement season...

The hardest working, wisest, smartest and the best-looking members of AZ's legislative and Congressional membership have proven their superior political acumen once again with their incredibly prescient endorsements of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for the Democratic nomination for President.

[OK, I think that covers my 'butt-kissing' quota for the week, lol.]

From the Business Journal of Phoenix -

Phoenix Congressman Ed Pastor and a number of Arizona Democratic state lawmakers are backing New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's 2008 presidential bid.

{snip}

State Reps. Kyrsten Sinema, Steve Gallardo, Theresa Ulmer and David Lujan and state Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill are also backing Richardson's White House run.

In other AZ-related presidential campaign news, John Edwards will be in Tucson on Thursday (probably 'later today' as you read this) for a Community Meeting.

Location - Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall, 2475 Water St. (Off Tucson Blvd. and Grant Road)
Time - 4:30 pm

Expect Tedski to have the scoop on any endorsements.

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news

Rep. Ed Ableser -

...Ableser sharply criticized the payday loan industry during the House's consideration of SB1446.

From the AZ Daily Star -

"They should be kicked out," said Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe. "Any sort of practice which preys and reaps profit off the unfortunate circumstance of an individual that really has no other place to turn is immoral at best."

...The federal No Child Left Behind act received some attention from him during the House's consideration of SB1300.

Also from the AZ Daily Star -

While not everyone shares [State Senator Karen] Johnson's view, Democrats launched their own attacks on No Child Left Behind as the bill came up for a House vote.

In a long-shot amendment of his own, Rep. Ed Ableser, a Tempe Democrat, proposed divorcing the entire state from the federal mandates and giving up the $600 million.

Ableser called the law the "worst thing to happen to public education in decades," and proposed making up the money with state funds.

While the amendment won some Democratic support, Republicans said the move would be too costly.

...After the prison riot in Indiana last week, private prisons were also in his cross-hairs.

From KTAR.com -

Tuesday's riot by Arizona inmates at an Indiana private prison prompts a caution from Democrat Ed Ableser.

"We need to be very careful about a private industry that actually makes money off of the amount of criminals we produce in this society," he said.

Rep. David Schapira -

...David received a 'bravo!' from the ASU State Press for his DUI bill amendment that would require a breathalyzer ignition lock for those convicted of DUI.

From the State Press -

BRAVO to Rep. David Schapira and his amendment to a DUI bill working its way through the State Legislature. With the representative's changes, the bill would require anybody convicted of a DUI to get a breathalyzer ignition installed on their vehicle. Finally, a punishment that fits the crime. We understand, sometimes it's easy to get into a car after only a couple drinks, but bottom line is, you shouldn't. This way, if you do it once, you definitely won't be able to do it again.

...Schapira was quoted in an article about how lobbyists for the liquor and restaurant industries are marshalling their forces in the fight against his amendment.

From the AZ Daily Star -

Schapira, the bill's sponsor, also rejected the idea of drunk driving being
a mistake.

"They're making a mistake that in many cases results in the death of someone," he said.

One point of contention is that the devices ensure more than legal sobriety: Schapira said the Motor Vehicle Division has these set so a car or truck will not start if the driver's blood-alcohol content is 0.04 or higher, half the 0.08 DUI threshold. But Schapira said he doesn't see that as a problem.

"I don't think it's asking too much to say that someone who has been driving drunk should not have a BAC of (more than) 0.03 for a year after their conviction," Schapira said.

...David's fashion sensibilities were uncovered by Daniel Scarpinato, the Daily Star's intrepid political reporter, in his "Political Notebook" column -

And speaking of [State Rep. Steve] Farley, it looks like he's part of a group of male lawmakers who share fashion tips at the state Capitol.

During a recent meeting, Farley was looking colorful in a red shirt and tie, when Tempe Democrat David Schapira (at 26 during the November election, he's the youngest member of the Legislature) got on him for wearing horizontal stripes against vertical ones — a fashion no-no, according to Schapira.

"He's getting much better," Schapira said of Farley.

...In other, non-MSM, news, Rep. Schapira announced his new website, DavidSchapira.com. It's a great source for information pertaining to the lege and his activities there, as well as for contacting him to get involved.

Note: after some in-depth investigation (OK, it was a Google search :) ), I found Ed Ableser's site, too.


Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill -

...She was vocal in her support for HB2443, a proposal to "require owners of offroad vehicles to pay a new fee for the privilege of operating them anywhere on public lands or roads."

From the EV Tribune (also the source of the above quote) -

But Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, who bought an ATV for her son, said not everyone believes in no responsibility to help pay for state programs that maintain trails and police the rural areas to ensure riders don’t destroy habitat.

From the Yuma Sun article written by the same author, Howard Fischer -

Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, said charging off-road vehicle users makes sense.

"I guess the alternative is we could adequately fund our parks,'' she said. "And then all of us could be paying for these trails.''

Note: the bill failed in the Senate, with 14 voting in favor and 13 against, but under Senate rules, 16 votes are needed to pass legislation.

Note: Since they seem to be getting their personal websites up and running, this will probably be the last "LD17 Legislators in the News" compilation post. These will become unnecessarily duplicative.

Plus, this session of the lege is nearing its end. :)

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news

It took a full reformat, but at least temporarily, the computer is working, so back to our regularly scheduled posting. :)

Rep. David Schapira -

...Schapira received a lot of notice (ok, it was mostly the same article run in a lot of places :) ) about passage of his amendment to a DUI bill that would require those convicted of a DUI to have an ignition interlock in their car for a year.

Quote from the EV Tribune:

Schapira said it will help prevent people from becoming the victims of drunken drivers.

"It takes that decision away from the individual who's been drinking and makes an objective determination of whether they’re capable of driving their car when they may or may not be able to make that determination on their own at their given state of intoxication," he said.

...He was also mentioned, but not quoted in a article about Step It Up 2007 event at ASU. (EV Trib)


Rep. Ed Ableser -

...Ableser was mentioned in this week's Political Insider column in the AZ Rep; specifically, his contribution to the annual softball game. He wasn't quoted in the column, but was in this one tidbit:

Ableser would later suffer the softball indignity of working the pitch count until he earned a walk. We're talking slow-pitch here, folks.

Ummm...having played softball, I can tell you that the true softball indignity is not a walk. It's a strikeout.

...He was quoted in an ASU State Press article about a proposal to build a new, modern building for the state lege.

Quote:

The proposals were developed with student input and focused on being green-friendly, [dean of the ASU College of Design] Reiter said.

It would be important to set a precedent for sustainability with the new building, said Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Scottsdale/Tempe.

"If we were going to build a new campus, we need to show that our capitol is going to be the front-runner on green technology and sustainability," he said.

...Ableser was also mentioned, but not quoted, in the articles cited in the Schapira section of this post.

It was a quiet week in terms of MSM coverage for Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill.

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news...

It's been a couple of weeks since the last one of these, so it's time for a new one. Plus there's actually some MSM love for the LD17 folks to report about. :)

Rep. Ed Ableser -

...From this week's Political Insider in the AZ Rep:

Young legislator gets straight up with older dudes . . . Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, is one cool dude. As one of the youngest members of the Legislature (age 29), he brings a certain street cred to the usually staid body.

Witness his verbal displays during a caucus meeting Tuesday: He talked about "capping" people when discussing a gun bill and sent a "shout out" to Rep. Ray Barnes for his work on an air-quality bill.

...In a letter to the editor published in Saturday's AZ Rep, state Sen. Jim Waring (R-LD7) took issue with Rep. Ableser's vote (as well as those of Democratic Reps. Tom Prezelski and Steve Farley) against harsher prison sentences for DUI offenders.

...He was also mentioned in an AZ Daily Star article concerning the House's passage of a bill legalizing the reconstruction of Summerhaven, a community in a forest on Mt. Lemmon that has twice been destroyed by fire. For reconstruction to proceed, legislation is needed to waive legal requirements for an assured water supply.

Rep. Ableser argued for some restrictions, but those were defeated.

From the article:

Ableser sought to add a requirement that the exemption would be allowed only if the county has adopted a specific building code for the "wildland-urban interface" designed to mitigate the damage from wildfire "basically to protect themselves from this upcoming fire season and future wildfires."

But Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, whose district includes Summerhaven, said the requirement is unnecessary.

Paton also led the battle against a second Ableser proposal to grant the exemption, but just once. "If you want to rebuild after a second wildfire ravages your community, that probably is telling you something that maybe you're not supposed to be building in one of the deadliest areas that's prone to wildfire," Ableser said.

...Ed was also mentioned in an April 3rd article from KTAR.com on the differences between the Democrats' and the Republicans' ideas for addressing gang activity in Arizona.

To summarize -

Republicans - Longer prison sentences, aka "Round 'em up and lock 'em up. For a verrrrry long time"

Democrats - Address some of the underlying reasons that people join a gang, aka "Teach gang members the skills needed to survive in society."

From the article:

Tempe's Ed Ableser supports more funding for helping gang members when they're released from prison. "Prisoners that will be released within six months and giving them social skills, working on job integration, and job skills and job training, even job placement."

Rep. David Schapira -

...He was quoted in an April 5th article in the AZ Daily Wildcat (U of A's paper) about a march by students for more financial aid.

From the article:

Several lawmakers spoke out at the event, including Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, who is a former Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University student and also brought a megaphone to help students chant.

"Financial aid is extremely important," Schapira said. "I see it as one of my biggest jobs down here to fight for affordable higher education."

...In an AZ Rep article, Rep. Schapira was also mentioned as one of the signatories of a letter from some legislators to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors asking for an investigation of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas for his office's release of an undocumented immigrant who later murdered his cousin.

...An EV Tribune article about the lege's Republican leadership plan to fight a federal judge's decision that the state still isn't adequately funding English language learner (ELL) classes.

aka - "the Flores case".

From the article:

They pointed out the lawsuit was filed in 1992, and it has been seven years since another federal judge first ruled the state isn’t meeting its obligations.

Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, said failure to provide more funds for English instruction programs hurts more than students who come to school speaking another language. He said school districts, which must make these students proficient, have been robbing money from other programs.

For example, he said Tempe Union High School District is weighing whether to stop offering special programs for "gifted" students.

"We know it's extremely important to make sure that our best and brightest students are educated and prepared to become leaders of this country someday," Schapira said. "Those kids ... are suffering."

...His latest column was published in the Tempe community edition of the AZ Rep. He used it to take the Republican leadership in the legislature to task for tactics they use to suppress dissent and criticism in the lege.

From the column:

...We elect these types of leaders, the charismatic and well-spoken communicators, but passion is not rewarded at the Legislature. When members of the Legislature stand up to voice their concerns and the concerns of their constituents, they are commonly chastised and told to hold their tongues.

{snip}

My fellow representative from District 17, Ed Ableser, is commonly a victim of such censorship. He is known for being very outspoken on important issues like mental health, higher education and criminal law.

When he speaks out on these issues at the Legislature, he is often stymied or cut short by other legislators.

The entire column is a great read; in fact, when combined with Rep. Steve Farley's weekly email updates, they present an informative insider's view of the workings of the legislature. I strongly recommend signing up for Farley's email list.


Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill had a quiet couple of weeks in terms of MSM coverage.


Note: The Senate and the House play each other in a softball game on Tuesday at the Pera Club in Tempe. Scheduled start time (according to the lege's website) is 5:00 p.m.

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news...

In case anybody noticed (and based on the lack of comments on the subject, no one did notice :) ), I skipped last week's compilation post because there was nothing to compile.

This week, there is.

Rep. Ed Ableser -

...On Friday, the AZ Capitol Times had a story about a deal in the lege over a bill to restrict payday lending operations. Ableser was quoted in the Capitol Times article -

Ed Ableser, D-17, said. “If we can protect the individuals who use these services…and make sure no one capitalizes on their hard [financial] times," {courtesy Google}

As is standard for the AZ Capitol Times, the article is behind their firewall; subscribers can log in.

An accessible article from the AZ Daily Star is here. No quotes from Rep. Ableser, though.

...On Thursday, KTAR.com posted a piece with quotes from various legislators regarding their opinions of mandatory jail time for extreme DUI offenders.

From the piece -

Tempe's Ed Ableser thinks the House should get smart about crime prevention. "I believe it's time we stop going down this road of being big, bad and dumb on crime and start taking a smart approach to crime."

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill - a quiet week as far as MSM coverage went.

Rep. David Schapira -

...He was featured in Sunday's AZ Rep "Political Insider" column.

Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, had uttered only four words about a bill on teacher certification fees Thursday when Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Bob Robson cut him off from the speaker's seat:

"This bill is terrible," Schapira said.

Apparently, calling a bill "terrible" while Robson is at the helm crosses the line.

"We need to stick to terms of collegiality here," he said, chastising the young Democrat for impugning the sponsor of the bill and his motives.

The article went on to describe an example of Rep. Robson treating Steve Gallardo, Democratic Whip, in a manner that was something other than "collegial."

On that note, we'd like to point out that the best zinger delivered during the heated debate over the immigration measure earlier Thursday was delivered by Robson himself from the floor. In a back and forth with Rep. Steve Gallardo, Robson said in his velvety baritone: "Mr. Gallardo, I don't suppose you know what truth or fiction is in certain respects."

Gotta love shameless hypocrisy.

...His latest column for the Tempe community edition of the AZ Rep was published on Saturday.

It focused on education in Arizona and the need for the state to retain its best teachers.

The closing paragraph -

I have committed as the defining principle of my work at the Legislature to make Arizona one of the greatest states in our nation. If we continue to lose the best and brightest minds to other states and other professions, we will have failed. To be the greatest state in the greatest nation, we must focus our energy on education.

Later!

A very cool day...

...and no, I'm not talking about the weather (90+ degrees).

Today I was privileged to spend most of the day with Bob Mings (former D17 Dems chair and father of the current chair) as we shadowed Rep. David Schapira during his day at the legislature.

Bob and I arrived at the lege at around 9 (a remarkably easy drive - Bob knows his Phoenix commute) and met up with David.

We spent the first part of the visit on a brief tour, with David introducing us to various members of the lege in the halls.

After that, we sat in his office (small, but he's made it very functional) as he explained various aspects of the legislative process. For instance, I didn't know that "third read" was also "final passage"; I had thought they were separate. We also got to witness a lobbyist (I'm sure he has a different job title) from Tom Horne's office try to persuade David to support a bill that he had reservations about. Also of interest was watching him work to find a way to spring his HB2206 (Teacher Shortage Student Loan Program) from being held in the rules committee with the other bills that have appropriations attached to them. There's a glimmer of hope, but only a glimmer. It's pretty near impossible for a Democratic-sponsored bill that has an appropriation attached to it to get past Speaker Jim Weiers.

No matter how good the bill is, or how cost-effective the expenditure.

[Personal note: This is just my opinion, but how did we elect as Superintendent of Public Instruction someone who hates public education? ...Yeah, I know - he had an "R" next to his name on the ballot. Still... :( ]

After that, we spent 90 minutes or so in the Democratic caucus as various bills were discussed. In many cases, the caucus meeting is the first place that a lot of members hear about the bills that they will be voting on soon. Given that, between the House and Senate, more than 2000 bills, resolutions, and memorials were introduced this session, the caucus is a vital tool for legislators.

And that number doesn't even include "strike everything" amendments.

Lunch was courtesy of the March of Dimes. One of the bills they have been lobbying for is HB2156, a bill to fund a folic acid education program targeted at women of childbearing age.

Note: During lunch, we saw Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill. Her recovery from surgery is progressing - she's out of the wheelchair and into a walking boot and crutches. Whooo hoooo!

We also saw the other LD17 legislator, Rep. Ed Ableser, throughout the day. He stopped by to talk with us for a while; but like the other legislators there today, he was very busy trying to raise support for good bills and opposition to bad bills.

After lunch was today's third reading calendar of 23 bills.

Most passed without much discussion on the floor; by this point in a bill's life, most of the members have formed an opinion of it. There were, however, a few interesting moments.

HB2498, a bill that was originally a 'technical correction' to Clean Elections; after a strike-everything amendment from Kirk Adams, it is now a bill designed to destroy Health Care Group (HCG). HCG is a part of AHCCCS for employees that are self-employed, working for small businesses, or are working for 'political subdivisions.'

Yes, the Republicans want to kill a program that benefits small businesses. Who'da thunk it??

Strong opposition to this bill from the entire Democratic caucus as well as some Republicans was enough to make the Republican leadership pull the bill from the agenda - they didn't have enough votes to get it to pass and they want more time to twist the arms of their caucus members.

Also skipped, and I'm not sure why, was HB2708, a bill to change tax valuation tables for property used for natural gas fired electric generation facilities. I don't know all of the background of this bill, but it reeks of 'special legislation' - legislation designed to benefit one company. Special legislation is illegal, but that detail is easily dealt with by simply crafting a bill that doesn't name a company but is worded in a way that only one company could possibly qualify.

A disappointment was the passage of HB2757, a bill that allows health insurance providers to exclude coverage for certain services that are currently mandated by statute. Among the services that health insurance providers could exclude under this bill?

Maternity coverage for mothers who are giving up their kids for adoption.

The bill passed 32 -25; every Democrat present voted against it, every Republican voted for it (there were 3 members absent.)

Even someone at partisan as me doesn't think that *every* Republican in the House is this heartlessly corrupt. There had to be some serious arm-twisting in the Republican caucus to gain passage of a bill this rancid.

The highlight of the day was the defeat of HB2382, a bill to raise the fees that teachers have to pay for state-mandated certification tests. Apparently some in the House didn't think that underpaying and overworking teachers was enough of a knife in the back; they thought a bill that twisted the knife was appropriate.

When we (Bob and I) were sitting in Rep. Schapira's office and walking in the hallway with him, this was one of the bills that he discussed with other reps. His hard work paid off, as the bill was defeated on a 26-31 vote.

The bill could still come back as a strike everything amendment to another bill, but this was a victory worth savoring a little.

All in all, it was a great day. David was a great host - he was patient and informative, and he always included us in what was going on (hey, it's called "shadowing" for a reason. :) ).

If any of you have the opportunity to do something similar, DO IT. It's a great experience, and for those of you in the blogging business, seeing some of the 'mundane' activities that go on at any legislature (i.e. - caucus meetings, committee meetings, etc.) can only enhance your understanding of the subject you write about.

Good night!

P.S. - When I said that the highlight of the day was the defeat of HB2382, I fibbed a little.

One thing I neglected to mention was that David obtained floor privileges for Bob and I, and then introduced us at the start of the Third Reading Calendar.

That was seriously cool, and a complete surprise.

Thanks Rep. Schapira!!

Later!

Tonight's D17 meeting...

Tonight's meeting at the Pyle Center in Tempe was an informative one - Sandy Bahr of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club was there and she gave us an update on legislative efforts to help/hinder conservation in Arizona.

Note: The AZ Sierra Club's March 2, 2007 Legislative Update is here.

She started off by thanking us for sending a friendly delegation to the lege. (Hey, we're pretty happy about it, too. :)) ) The current legislature is much better regarding conservation than it was even a few years ago. Back then, much of the legislature was indifferent or even hostile to conservation efforts. While there are still a number of bad bills each year, including this one, the Club and other conservation groups can muster enough support to beat back the worst ones.

One of the ongoing legislative problems facing the Sierra Club is House Speaker Jim Weiers and his choices of committee chairs. Some are actively hostile to any conservation measures and kill or gut any good bills in committee; still others are simply "arbitrary" and capricious enough to bury a bill just because a sponsor ticked off the chair in a previous session.

Tuesday, March 20th is Environmental Day at the legislature from 9:00 a.m. until noon on the House lawn. If you are interested, contact Sandy Bahr at 602.253.8633 or sandy.bahr[at]sierraclub.org.

Also of interest is a public meeting that ADOT will be holding regarding public transportation options. The Phoenix-area meeting will be at Burton Barr Library in Phoenix on March 13 (next Tuesday). If you are interested in details, go to the ADOT website or contact Sandy at the number/email addy above. For some reason, the ADOT page with the details stays blank for me. I'll have to check the settings on my firewall/pop-up blocker.

Sandy spoke for close to 30 minutes and answered questions; in addition, she stayed for the entire meeting and talked to anyone who stopped by afterward.

...In other happenings, Kathy Schwartz spoke briefly about a bill in Congress, HR328, the District of Columbia Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act of 2007. In short, the bill strives to correct one of the greatest inequities of our current political system - while the District of Columbia houses the federal government, its residents have no voice in Congress. The bill would add two members to Congress, one to represent D.C. and one in Utah (for partisan balance).

...Later, Rep. Ed Ableser and Rep. David Schapira gave a brief legislative update.

David stated that "money" bills (those that have spending associated with them) are being held in their originating chamber. So far, it's fair - all such bills are being held, not just those sponsored by Democrats.

They also announced that while budget negotiations have started, in a move similar to his tactic last year, Jim Weiers has excluded Democrats from the process

Ed noted that while all of his bills are dead, he (and some other Democrats) have been successful in attaching some floor amendments added to other bills.

They closed by noting that the Democratic caucus is stronger than ever; they're sticking together on big bills, while some cracks are starting to show in the Republican front. Some of the moderate Reps are acting and voting in a manner that's, well, *moderate.*

...To a loud round of applause, Corey Woods announced his campaign for Tempe City Council, and will be holding a fundraiser next month. This wasn't exactly shocking news, but it is finally 'official'. Whooo hoooo!

...Kelly Steele of the D17 Issues Committee announced that the committee will be trying something new - periodic forums regarding different topics. Some (all??) of the forums will be done in partnership with other LD orgs. Details about locations and dates will be forthcoming, but the topics for the first few meetings include healthcare and immigration.

...Lauren Kuby demonstrated the new LD17 Democrats website, www.ld17dems.org. It includes pages/links to register to vote, to contact our D17 officers, to our elected officials, and to DONATE money to a very worthy cause.

Hope I wasn't too subtle there. :))

...There's some other stuff, but it's mostly calendar items, and since there are a lot of them this month, I'll do a separate calendar post.

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news...

Another week, another weekly update...

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill:

She was featured in an AZ Rep article about a proposal to include Hopi and other Native American Code Talkers on a commemorative postage stamp; she supported the proposal to include all Code Talkers, even non-Navajos. The proposal failed 15 -13.

From the article -

Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, asked her fellow senators to include all Native Americans in the stamp; otherwise, she said, it would be "historically incorrect."

"There were Native Americans from many tribes who contributed to this," she said.

Rep. Ed Ableser:

He was in an AZ Daily Star article about a legislative proposal (HB2097) to jail anyone caught with 5 fake IDs.

From the article -

Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, said the problem with the legislation is it also sweeps in those who he feels should not end up in prison.

Ableser said there are some clubs in his community which only admit people at least 18 years old.

He envisioned a situation where someone age 16 or 17 might get fake IDs for five friends to be able to get into those clubs.

"I don't think that deserves a one-year jail sentence," Ableser said.

Note: At first glance, the bill didn't seem *too* bad, but then I read the part where it removes all discretion from the judges handing down the sentence in cases covered by the bill. While I think Rep. Ableser's example is kind of weak, he's right - this is a bad bill.

Rep. David Schapira:

In the AZ Rep's most recent "Political Insider" column, Rep. Schapira's protest over the House Republicans' adjournment of the House last week when they realized they were running out of votes (a number of the Reps in the House had other committments). He was upset over the fact that he had had to cancel other plans to attend a session that was expected to be a long one, and protested the Republican move by remaining at his desk for nearly two hours.

From the article (emphasis mine)

So he stayed put and threatened to do so until the bills were heard. He lasted two hours, catching up on e-mails and other work on his laptop computer and rebuffing the pages' offer to bring him a catheter.

I'm betting those were Republican pages... :))

...He was also featured in an AZ Rep column by Carol Peck, concerning the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, an advanced curriculum for academically ambitious high school students.

From the column -

"IB is a great example of a partnership between a private organization and public schools that help our students strive for excellence," said state Rep. David Schapira, an IB graduate and former teacher in the program.

...I also know that he was part of at least a couple of other pieces in the Tempe community edition of the Rep, but I can't find online links to the pieces.

Apparently he will be writing a regular column concering legislative affairs; this week's (published Friday, March 2) was titled "It's not always Legislature's role to solve a problem." (I can't guarantee that he chose the headline; frequently, editors do that no matter what the author thinks of it. Just ask Sam Coppersmith at Liberal Desert. :) )

This column concerned the uproar over the effect that raising the minimum wage had on the developmentally disabled community. If I can find a link to it, or maybe persuade him to send the text to me in an email, I'll post it.

Good night!

LD17 Legislators in the news...

Rep. Ed Ableser:

...Most of Ed's coverage was a leftover from last week's furor over his amendment to ban truck mudflaps with obscene or hateful images. In terms of the legislature, the amendment was an interesting moment, but only a moment. However, it hit the AP wire and received nationwide coverage that lasted well into this past week.

...There was also some residual coverage of a letter that he and some other Democratic legislators wrote to President Bush opposing the troop surge in Iraq.

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill:

...She also received residual coverage, though hers concerned Thayer Vershoor's attempt to remove any semblance of free speech from the state's public classrooms.

Rep. David Schapira:

He had some fresh coverage this week, though one of the articles was a rehash of stuff covered earlier.

...He was mentioned, but not quoted, in an article about the efforts of some teachers as they lobby the lege for higher pay.

From the article:

Kathy Ray,a first-grade teacher at Mesa's Salk Elementary and a regional representative with the Mesa Education Association, told Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, that her first full-time teaching salary in 2003 was less than what she made in 1993 selling cosmetics.

...Another article with a mention but not a quote was a Business Journal piece about the lege's passage of a bill that would penalize deadbeat dads (and moms!) by suspending drivers and business licenses of parents who are 6 months or more behind in their child support payments.

From the article:

Supporters included the Democratic House caucus, House Minority Leader Phil Lopes and state Reps. Dave Schapira and Chad Campbell...

Still haven't figured out why Lopes, Campbell, and Schapira were named specifically after the article stated that the "Democratic House caucus" supported the bill.

All three are Democrats.

...There was a good article in the AZ Rep about how, during the campaign, Schapira met a woman with colon cancer who would have benefitted from a cancer screening, but her insurance company didn't cover them.

From the article:

She found out about her condition only when she started having digestive problems because her health insurance company did not pay for preventative cancer screenings.

Schapira's empathy for the woman's situation is rooted in his own experiences with cancer: He was born with a skin-cancer tumor on his face, and all four of his grandparents had the disease.

In response, Schapira, a Democrat from Tempe, wrote a bill that would require insurance companies to cover various cancer screenings once patients reach a certain ages.

"It fit right in with my legislative agenda," he said.

It would benefit the 8 percent of insured people whose insurance companies do not pay for cancer screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopy exams, he said.

Note: the bill, HB2086 has apparently died in the House Health Committee without a hearing. It hasn't been heard, and isn't on the posted agenda.

Harry Mitchell's District Office grand opening

On an absolutely beautiful Sunday afternoon, in front of more than 200 friends, family members, supporters, and other well-wishers, Harry Mitchell cut a ceremonial ribbon, marking the official opening of his district office in Scottsdale.

(Actually, the total attendance may have been a little higher - there was a constant stream of visitors touring the new office, and it was hard to keep track of the number.)

On the stage, and in the crowd, was a bipartisan cross-section of elected officials from the district. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard was there, as well as the mayor or vice mayor of each city or town in CD5 (Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Mesa, Chandler) and a significant number of city council members from each one, too. In addition, the legislators from LD17, Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill, Rep. David Schapira, and Rep. Ed Ableser, were present, as were some other state legislators.

Thankfully, the speeches were few and short. :)

After an honor guard from the Marcos de Niza High School JROTC program led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, Scottsdale's mayor Mary Manross opened with some brief remarks before giving way to AG Terry Goddard.

With a smile, Goddard noted that we were witnessing history in the making -

Harry Mitchell, the "personification of Tempe" was actually in Scottsdale.

After getting that hearty laugh, Terry was smart enough to give way to the guest of honor, the oldest freshman in Congress, Harry Mitchell.

Harry spoke of how he truly felt like a freshman, "oldest" or not, when he first visited the Capitol as a member of Congress. Going to work in a building that, in some ways, is an art and a historical museum, could be a little overwhelming at first. He quickly settled in, however, getting to work helping to pass Congress' 1st Hundred Hours agenda.

He thanked his family and supporters, noting that the only way anybody can be successful is with the help of others.

He called the location of his office at one of the most recognizable corners (Scottsdale and Camelback) in the middle of the district as a signal that he wants the office (and, by extension, he and his staff, too) to be accessible to the entire district, from Fountain Hills to Ahwatukee.

Again, the easiest directions to the office are: take Loop 101 to Indian School Rd., proceed west on Indian School to Scottsdale Rd, turn north on Scottsdale. Staying in the right lane, follow Scottsdale to Camelback, the office is on the southeast corner. Parking can be accessed from either Camelback or Scottsdale Roads. The office is in Suite 335, the phone number is 480.946.2411.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was seeing Lauren Kryder, formerly volunteer coordinator for Harry's campaign. She's moved to the Valley and is working with Kelly Ward at a new organization, The Project for Arizona's Future. The Project is a non-partisan non-profit group "dedicated to educating Arizona voters about key issues and increasing their participation in the political process."

Right now, their chosen issues of interest are effectively managing growth, strengthening education and improving access to health care, especially for kids.

According to Lauren, one of the ways the Project is setting about to achieve their goals is to let people know what the Legislature (and their legislators) is doing.

Sounds kind of like blogging, only organized and with a specific goal in mind. :))

The group's website, azfuture.org, is here.

Good night!

LD17 Legislators in the news...

Another week, another summary of MSM coverage of the LD17 delegation to the lege...

Rep. David Schapira:

The AZ Daily Wildcat (U of A's paper) had an article concerning the passage by a joint legislative committee of a university budget proposal, but turned down some specific funding initiative, including some proposed by Schapira.

From the article by Djamila Grossman:

PHOENIX - Members of a joint subcommittee adopted a university budget proposal for 2008 but voted down several attempts to further increase the funds yesterday.

One motion that failed would have allocated more than $60 million for retention, math and science initiatives, retention programs and several university medical programs.

A scaled-back motion on math and science initiatives by the same representative, Tempe Democrat David Schapira, also failed.

{snip}

Schapira said he had hoped the motions would pass the committee, especially the $3 million for math and science incentives.

The money could be used to fund one of his bills that would pay students' tuition and fees if they accept jobs in districts with a teacher shortage, he said.

"It has a lot of bang for the buck," Schapira said. "For $3 million, we can educate another 500 to 600 teachers a year."

Rep. Ed Ableser:

Ableser had an active week, in terms of MSM coverage, though he wasn't quoted a lot.

Most of the coverage concerned a bill to regulate the height of mudflaps on vehicles, and an amendment that Ableser proposed to outlaw "obscene or hateful" images on them.

The amendment failed to pass, but has generated a lot of buzz in the "oddball" news sections of many papers/media outlets.

...One of those was FoxNews. In a move typical of FoxNews, Ableser's amendment was mentioned in a column with talking urinals.

...From WMTW in Maine (but it's from the AP wire):

Tempe Democrat Ed Ableser sponsored the amendment. He said he'd seen a splash guard that used a derogatory term for black children and said he wanted to make sure that people with hateful motives didn't inflict them on others.

...In the AZ Rep's weekly Political Insider column on Sunday, Ableser was given a small mention in the section concerning Arizona Capital Television, a CSPAN-like broadcast of the activities of the AZ legislature. It's under the control of Jim Weiers, so some Democrats expressed concerns about possible partisanship in the programming and coverage.

Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, wondered if the proceedings would be edited.

...Ableser was also mentioned in a Tucson Citizen article on the committee passage of a bill that would grant tuition waivers to family members of fallen members of the armed services.

From the article -

The rewritten bill would also require that the tuition waiver only be applied after "federal financial aid or benefits" had been exhausted.

Committee member Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, said he was worried the new wording would deny the tuition waiver to recipients of federal education aid, such as a Pell Grant.

Murphy said he would work on that section of the bill before it's heard on the House floor to ensure that only the benefits based on a parent's status as a veteran would affect the tuition offer.

"The intent was specifically to say that the waiver was to bridge the gap between veterans benefits and not to supplant any other financial aid," he told the committee.

After Murphy's explanation, Ableser said he was confident that the bill's language would be revised so it would not cause more harm to fallen military members' families.

...In an op-ed piece, also in the Tucson Citizen, Rep. Ableser is cited (in a complimentary way) for proposing a bill to rein in payday lenders.

"Primary sponsors of the most far-reaching House bill include Democrat Edward Ableser of Tempe and Republican Pete Hershberger of Tucson.

That bill, which includes a repeal of the 2000 legislation, describes existing payday storefronts as "public nuisances." "

The piece was written by Kelly Griffith, deputy director of the Southwest Center for Economic Integrity, and Don Carson, vice president of the nondenominational Little Chapel of All Nations.

...A third piece in the Citizen (three mentions in the Citizen, but none in his hometown paper, the East Valley Tribune? What's up with that? :) ) talks about his criticism of Russell Pearce's mandatory flag law that requires a American flag in every public classroom.

At the expense of the school system.

Concerning HB2468, a bill to ease some of the financial burden of the flag law has on schools -

"I feel this is a perfect example of this body jumping to extremes too quickly and playing politics with symbols of our government that shouldn't be played and used for political measures," said Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe.

{snip}

Ableser said he agrees that schools should display the flag properly and that students should recognize its importance. But he said lawmakers should think about the impact when passing such legislation.

"I believe that this bill is just one of the many we'll probably see as the unintended consequences of this body mandating other smaller districts on what they should or shouldn't do in terms of infrastructure or classroom accessories," Ableser said.

...The Business Journal of Phoenix had an article about state legislators who oppose the war in Iraq and their efforts to voice their opposition.

"A group of Arizona legislators will send the letter to Bush opposing the troop surge, worrying it will not help curb sectarian violence and will result in more causalities.

State Rep. Ed Ableser of Tempe and Kyrsten Sinema of Phoenix are among the Iraq war opponents at the state Legislature. The state move follows passage of a U.S. House measure that voices opposition to the troop escalation."

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill:

...Sen. Burton-Cahill was mentioned in an article about Sen. Thayer Verschoor's bill to stifle free speech in classrooms. The bill would bar "any instructor in a public school or college from advocating or opposing a political candidate or one side of a social, political or cultural issue that is part of a partisan debate."

From the article -

Also, in a class discussion about global warming, Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, said the bill seemingly would require teachers to include information to support the argument that global warming does not exist.

"I think something like this would be challenged by any student who believes there's not enough time or consideration given to their perspective," she said.

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news

Another weekend, another edition of LD17 legislators in the MSM...

Representative Ed Ableser:

Ed was mentioned in a few stories this week -

There was one in the AZ Capitol Times on February 9th titled "Bill would plug lobby 'pool' loophole" about his bill to restrict the influence of lobbyists at the lege. I don't subscribe to the Capitol Times, so I can't get past their firewall to read the article, but it can be found here after you log in to the site. The bill is HB 2644.

On edit: thanks to Zelph's comment, I was able to access the article.

Quotes from the article -

"There's always been a perception on the part of the public between lobbyists expenditures and what the members do," House Minority Leader Phil Lopes, D-27, said.

That notion was the impetus behind H2644, says Rep. Ed Ableser, D-17. The bill will severely restrict the ability of lobbyists to purchase gifts for lawmakers, and would also limit entertainment and travel costs for non-educational events.

"This is an attempt to take away the Jack Abramoff-type of lobbying that occurs on the national level and some of the things that we’ve seen on a local level," he said, referring to the infamous congressional lobbyist at the center of a high-profile scandal in 2005.

The article can be found here. I'm sure the Capitol Times will find a way to defeat this work-around, but that's OK with me - I don't really want to infringe on their copyrights, and they don't usually publish articles of interest to Democrats anyway.

Though that may change when the Democrats are in the majority in the Lege. :)

End edit.

On the same subject, John MacDonald, a professional lobbyist, featured Ableser in his column for the AZ Rep, published on Sunday, February 11.

From the column:

State Rep. Ed Ableser, a bright and earnest Tempe lawmaker, is the main sponsor of a bill that would enact new restrictions on gifts from lobbyists.

"I was pretty much shocked at the influence lobbyists have on some members of the Legislature," said Ableser to reporters on Monday.

"Bright and earnest"??

Ed is certainly both of those things, but I have a feeling that Mr. MacDonald means it in a "yeah, you're bright and earnest, but so is a Boy Scout, kid. Now go away and let the adults talk about adult things" sort of way.

Ableser was also in an article on February 8 in the ASU State Press covering a bill (SB 1160) to alleviate tuition hikes at state universities.

From the article (emphasis mine) -

These concerns will be addressed as the bill moves along, said Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe/Scottsdale.

"I signed on because I wanted to be able to influence it," Ableser said, who co-sponsored the bill. "Tuition increases are extremely hurtful for students in Arizona.

"If the bill were to make it to the House, there would be changes, including covering incoming freshmen, Ableser said.

"It's hard to see what it's going to look like," he said of the bill.

For Ableser, the bill is more about financial aid and forcing the state to better fund the universities, he said.

"The students shouldn't have to be burdened with the bulk of the bill," he said. He would add an amendment for a large amount of financial aid, Ableser said.

"If that's not there, I think we have no business asking students to pay," he said.

The concerns mentioned in the quoted section refer to the fact that the ASU student government is opposed to the bill in question because the bill wouldn't help out-of-state students or incoming freshmen.


Rep. David Schapira was mentioned in a couple of articles about his bill HB2206, the Teacher Shortage Student Loan Program. Both the AZ Daily Star and AZ Daily Wildcat (U of A's student paper) featured an article written by Djamila Grossman.

From the article -

"I was just tired of seeing classrooms without teachers," said Tempe Democratic Rep. David Schapira, sponsor of HB 2206 and a former high school teacher.

"I was tired of seeing huge class sizes and schools not able to find teachers."

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill had a quiet week, in terms of MSM coverage anyway.

Later!

Tonight's LD17 Meeting...

It was a fairly quiet meeting (we actually finished on time. Whooo hoooo!) tonight at the Escalante Center in Tempe.

Mark Manoil, chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party, spoke to the assembled group for a few minutes.

He covered about how the 2008 coordinated campaign has already started, with the focus on registering voters, finding and training PCs, and recruiting candidates. He also noted that the state party (AZDP) is going to be very aggressive in its voter registration efforts, too.

He also discussed some of the goals of the county party as we enter the 2008 election cycle (yes, it *has* already started. {groan} :) ) One of the general goals is to raise the county party's visibility; since Maricopa County is the home of the state capital, and hence, also the headquarters of the state party, it can be very easy for MCDP's profile to be overshadowed by the state party's. The county party is also looking at the very successful regional organizing efforts of the GEMDEMS to try and export their success to other areas of the county.

He was well-received by the audience, and, in a move that is unusual for guest speakers at just about *any* meeting that I've ever been to, he stayed and listened through most of the meeting.

Next up, Joaquin Rios, president of the ASU Young Dems, gave a brief update on their activities. Their highlight is the fact that very soon (within a week or so) they'll be hiring a Executive Director.

A *paid* ED.

Yup, they're moving into the big-time.

Much of the his and the group's other activities revolve around organizing, especially at ASU's other campuses and the local community colleges.

In the legislative update portion of the agenda, Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill sent her regrets, but was unable to attend tonight's meeting due to her ankle surgery last week.

Rep. Ed Ableser talked about the eye-opening fact that came to his attention this week: If a bill at the legislature isn't heard in committee by the end of next week, it's dead for the session.

Between the two of them, Ed and Rep. David Shapira have had all of 1 bill heard so far.

[More on this subject in a later post.]

He talked about how his signing on as a sponsor of Rep. Kyrsten Sinema's HCR2011 bill outlawing civilian patrol groups (i.e. - The Minutemen) has brought him to the attention of the Aryan Nation and other white supremacist groups. He's even received some threatening emails, though not as many as Rep. Sinema.

He's also having a good week for ticking off other people - he annoyed Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman by amending a bill that he (Hallman) supported. Apparently Hallman didn't like having a sunset clause added.

Hallman's a Republican. Let him be ticked off.

Rep. David Schapira talked about how his HB2206 (Teacher Shortage Student Loan Program) passed the Higher Ed committee and is now assigned to the Appropriations committee where committee chair Russell Pearce has said he will allow the bill to be heard.

David also talked about the great feeling that he had as a cancer survivor to be part of Cancer Awareness Day at the capitol. He also said it was wonderful to have 50 or 60 other cancer survivors walking the chambers of the lege supporting his HB2086, a bill that would require that cancer screenings be covered by medical insurance.

Other highlights from the meeting included announcements of a number of upcoming events in the area:

...The Arizona Advocacy Network is hosting a forum titled "Creating a Just Immigration Policy" on Thursday, February 15 at Grace Lutheran Church on 3rd St. in Phoenix.

...Charlie King and Karen Brandow are performing at the University Presbyterian Church on East Alameda in Tempe on Friday, February 16 at 7:30 p.m. The show is to benefit the Arizona Community Media Foundation. Tickets are $15 in advance ($18 at the door) and are available at Changing Hands Bookstore (Rural and McClintock in Tempe) or through the AZCMF.

...On Monday, February 19, the Nucleus Club is hosting a lunch buffet with speakers Dan Saban, former (and perhaps future?) candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff and former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, Mike Gravel. The event is at the Phoenix Country Club, with the buffet starting at 11:30 and the program starting at noon. Contact the Nucleus Club at 480-460-3817 for more information.

...Next LD17 Dems meeting: Tuesday, March 6 at the Pyle Center in Tempe. Info exchange at 6:30 p.m, meeting at 7.

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news...

Pretty quiet week in terms of MSM coverage of the LD17 legislators, with Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill and Rep. Ed Ableser not getting any love from the AZ Rep, EV Trib, et. al.

Rep. David Schapira did get a couple of mentions, though:

...The Tucson Citizen and ASU State Press/Web Devil carried the same article on the passage of his HB2206, the Teacher Shortage Student Loan Program bill.

From the article -

"I was a high school teacher, and to look at the classroom next to me that was empty and had a sub every day ... is to know that there's definitely a shortage in Arizona," Schapira said. "To me (introducing the bill) seemed like sort of a common-sense thing to do."

The article was written by Brian Indrellunas for the Cronkite News Service.

...Schapira was mentioned in an East Valley Tribune article highlighting the discussion at the lege about increasing the use of private prisons.

From the article -

To deal with the crowded conditions, Arizona has been sending prisoners to other states at a premium, which Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, said hurts taxpayers. The cost per day to house an inmate jumps from $53 to as much as $70 if the inmate is sent to another state.

...If you see Sen. Burton-Cahill, wish her a speedy recovery from the recent work on her ankle.

It's hard to kick tail at the Capitol on a bum foot. :)

...Reminder: Progressive Lobby Day at the Legislature is tomorrow, Tuesday February 6th.

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the news, week ending January 21

Rep. Ed Ableser:

...He was mentioned in an AZ Rep article about some of the less-mundane bills introduced by various legislators. His HB2536 would require that egg-laying hens not be confined in a cage/hold that "does not allow the egg‑laying hen sufficient space to fully extend its limbs without touching the sides of the living space."

Quote from the article -

"For a chicken to not even be able to extend its wings, that seems counterintuitive to what a chicken is made to do," Ableser explained.

...Last Monday, Dick Foreman, one of AZCentral.com's "Plugged In - Southeast Valley" bloggers, wrote a piece complimenting Rep. Ableser for his support of a move by local community centers that work with the disabled to deal with the impact of the new minimum wage.


Rep. David Schapira:

...On Tuesday, The Verde Independent carried Howard Fischer's article about David's HB2206, the bill that would create the Teacher Shortage Student Loan Program. (This topic was mentioned in last week's LD17 Legislators post.)


Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill:

...On Thursday, The Verde Independent carried another Fischer article about her support of Sen. Carolyn Allen's SB1032, a bill that would add some protection from lawsuits to emergency rooms and ER workers. (This topic was mentioned in last week's LD17 Legislators post.)

Later!

LD17 Legislators in the press

Note: I'll try to do future editions of this post on a weekly basis, but this one will cover anything since the first of the year that I haven't already covered.

Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill:

...The AZ Daily Star quoted her in support of Sen. Carolyn Allen's (R-8) SB1032 (link to Senate fact sheet). Among other things, the bill creates a partial lawsuit shield for ER doctors.

From the article -

And Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, said it is "a step that will help" the shortage of emergency-room doctors.

The bill was heard before the Senate Health Committee last week, and passed 6 -1, with Sen. Burton-Cahill voting to pass.

...She was also mentioned in an AZ Rep article about East Valley legislators.


Rep. Ed Ableser:

...The EV Tribune had an article about both LD17 reps on Sunday. It's basically a "start of the session" piece, but it's still interesting.

From the article -

"Very few public servants talk about water because it’s not an emotional issue,"he says. "But science is showing us if we don’t do something now, we’re going to be in a dire situation 15 years from now."

...He was mentioned in a column in the Ottawa Sun. Columnist Jordan Michael Smith was writing about the trend of politicians taking their messages online, including to sites like YouTube.

From the column, right after mentions of Howard Dean and Barack Obama -

And Arizona state Senator Ed Ableser, a Democrat, posted on his YouTube site a video of a day in his life, which showed him playing football and jogging.

I'd recommend reading more, but be warned - that's the only mention of Ed or any other AZ politician.

...He's also mentioned in the AZ Rep's East Valley legislators article.


Rep. David Schapira:

...Like the other LD17 legislators, he's mentioned the AZ Rep's East Valley legislators article.

...He's also a big part of the EV Tribune article today.

From the article -

"I’m working on six bills," he says over a bagel platter at Chompie’s in Tempe — a favored haunt, which he might use as a field office. "If lobbyists want to have lunch with me, they can come out here, spend their money in Tempe," he chuckles.

...The EV Tribune also has an opinion piece written by Le Templar supporting Rep. Schapira's HB2206, the Teacher Shortage Student Loan Program.

...The AZ Daily Star has a news article about the same proposal, written by Howard Fischer. The article also mentions Governor Napolitano's (and Rep. Schapira's :) ) proposal to raise the minimum salary for a teacher to $33,000 per year.

The Daily Star's website allows comments on individual articles; there's one comment for this one.

The author of the comment doesn't like the idea - because it doesn't go far enough. In fact, the author calls $33K an "insult."

That attitude may actually bode well for the bill's passage by the lege - the Republicans in the lege seem to take advantage of every available opportunity to insult public school teachers.

Later!

Bill submittals for LD17 legislators

Friday bonus blogging here - I had to stay home from work today due to a cold.

Argghh!...hack...cough...sniffle.

:)

I was going to do a post on the bills sponsored or co-sponsored by our LD17 legislators, but the last time I looked in, Rep. Ed Ableser had two bills; he's got a few more now.

Like almost 90 more.

So this post will be about the bills for which the LD17 legislators, Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill, Rep. Ed Ableser, and Rep. David Schapira are the "primary" sponsors, not just "co-sponsors."

Sen. Burton-Cahill's bills:

HB2493 - relating to tax credits for energy production equipment.
HB2538 - sales tax exemption for non-profit housing; specifically for organizations that build single-family homes for sale to families "whose household income is less than eighty per cent of the median family income of this state." Sounds like it applies to organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
HR2541 - the bill concerning insurance parity for mental health care, mentioned in a previous post.
SB1110 - a bill establishing and appropriating small assistance payments for grandparents who become foster parents to a grandchild (kinship foster care).
SB1113 - a bill requiring the use of low water landscaping in new subdivisions.

Rep. Ableser's bills:

HB2086 and HB2087 have already been covered in a previous post.

HB2169 - Appropriates $5,000,000 from the state's general fund to the university student financial aid trust fund.
HB2175 - Appropriates $2,500,000 to DES for domestic violence shelters.
HB2176 - Appropriates $1,500,000 for homeless services.
HB2206 - Appropriates $1,500,000 for the teacher shortage student loan program mentioned in a previous post.
HB2246 - would require that the appeals board in DES (I think it's DES) produce a "clear and accurate" record of its proceedings, and make available transcripts when necessary, at the department's expense.
HB2249 - Child support enforcement.
HB2278 - Repeal of the death penalty [I really like this one. :) ]
HB2281 - Concerning erroneous convictions and civil recourse available to those persons who have been erroneously convicted.
HB2307 - Regarding tax deductions for Prime Contractors involved in university improvements.
HB2324 - Concerning emergency operation plans as they pertain to pets and service animals.
HB2335 - Increases the state's urban revenue sharing fund to (eventually) "15.8 per cent of the net proceeds of the state income taxes for the fiscal year two years preceding the current fiscal year."
HB2353 - Imposes a .04% surcharge on criminal and civil fines and penalties, and transmits the funds collected to the law enforcement animal protective gear fund; in addition, adds causing the injury or death of a law enforcement animal to the list of aggravating circumstances to be considered during sentencing.
HB2417 - Establishes a center at ASU to "to collect, maintain and provide access to information on elections" and election-related information.
HB2425 - Protects employees' rights to organize into unions and other collective bargaining units, and also protects employees and union organizers and their families from intimidation and other harassment. [YES!!]
HB2533 - Would require sellers of real property to notify buyers in writing whether the state has determined that the property has an adequate water supply.
HB2534 - Would require that municipalities' general plans include a water conservation element.
HB2535 - More water supply requirements for land divisions.
HB2536 - Would make it unlawful to house an egg-laying hen in a space that doesn't allow the hen "to fully extend its limbs without touching the sides of the living space."
HB2537 - Prohibits animal testing when a scientifically-valid alternative exists. The prohibition does not apply to animal tests performed to comply with state agencies/regulations, federal law, or for medical research.
HB2538 - sales tax exemption for non-profit housing; specifically for organizations that build single-family homes for sale to families "whose household income is less than eighty per cent of the median family income of this state." Sounds like it applies to organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
HB2539 - Regulations for payday loan operations. About freakin' time.
HB2540 - Allows tax abatements for permanent improvements "constructed on land owned by and leased from an [government] agricultural improvement district."
HR2541 - the bill concerning insurance parity for mental health care, mentioned in a previous post.
HR2542 - Rollback of income tax rate cuts for the highest tax bracket - from 4.54% to 4.79%.
HCR2011 - A concurrent resolution concerning immigration opposing civilian patrols and calling on the U.S. government to adopt immigration law reforms that are sensible, respectful of and fair towards all persons, and....oh, why bother? This is moderate; therefore it doesn't have a snowball's chance in Phoenix of passing the AZ lege.
HCR2016 - A proposed amendment to the state constitution limiting the number of measures that the legislature can send to referendum for any given election. This one will tick off Jack Harper, who'd rather limit the right of the people to send measures to the ballot, not the legislature.
HCR2029 - Arizona DREAM Act, stating that, regardless of immigration status, a person who entered the state as a minor would be considered as an 'in-state' resident, presuming the person is otherwise qualified for such status.
HCR2030 - A proposed constitutional amendment stating "the right of employees to bargain collectively by and through a labor organization shall not be denied or abridged."

Rep. Schapira's bills:

HB2086 and HB2087 previously discussed.
HB2206 - Appropriates $1,500,000 for the teacher shortage student loan program mentioned in a previous post.
HB2276 - Concerning emission standards for new cars and and for commercial vehicles.
HB2335 - Increases the state's urban revenue sharing fund to (eventually) "15.8 per cent of the net proceeds of the state income taxes for the fiscal year two years preceding the current fiscal year."
HB2355 - Concerning tax credits and charitable organizations' financial reporting.
HB2356 - Adds "breastfeeding an infant" as a reason someone may be excused from jury service; also calls for employers to provide reasonable time and private space for breastfeeding employees.
HB2358 - Makes the hate-crime status of a misdemeanor an aggravating circumstance in sentencing.
HB2532 - Removes the part of the statute that exempts the State of Arizona (as an employer) from minimum wage requirements. [Just a minor change; I'm sure there won't be any screaming from the Republicans on this one. Really. Trust me. :))]
HB2534 - Would require that municipalities' general plans include a water conservation element.
HB2535 - More water supply requirements for land divisions.
HB2538 - sales tax exemption for non-profit housing; specifically for organizations that build single-family homes for sale to families "whose household income is less than eighty per cent of the median family income of this state." Sounds like it applies to organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
HCR2029 - Arizona DREAM Act, stating that, regardless of immigration status, a person who entered the state as a minor would be considered as an 'in-state' resident, presuming the person is otherwise qualified for such status.

Later!!

LD17 Dems meeting, 9 January 2007

Highlights of last night's meeting, held at the Pyle Center in Tempe:

Randy Camacho (thanks to Tedski for the heads-up on Mr. Camacho's website), candidate for chair of the ADP, stopped by. He spoke to people before the meeting, and was introduced to a round of applause.

All three of our elected legislators, Senator Meg Burton-Cahill, Representative Ed Ableser, and Representative David Schapira, attended and gave brief updates on their activities at the lege.

Senator Burton-Cahill spoke about the "sense of change" that is permeating the Capitol - 45% of the House members and 43% of the Senate membership are now Democrats. The days of Jim "Fundraiser" Weiers wholly ignoring the Democrats and their constituents are over.

[Personal note: But not as over as they will be in 2 - 4 years when the Republicans become the minority party in the Legislature. ]

Her focus will be on health care issues, including prescription drug prices. Unrelated to that, she currently has co-sponsored bill HB2092, a bill that would excuse active duty military personnel from jury duty.

Representative Ableser spoke about his trip to Washington state last week, noting that Arizona is fortunate to have had the foresight to enact Clean Elections.

He is working on a mental health parity (for insurance purposes) bill, as well as increasing financial aid to students. As a member of the House Environment committee, he is also working on a number of environmental issues.

Representative Schapira talked about he and Ed and other legislators fighting the massive tuition increases proposed by the state's universities, a fight that took place even before they took their oaths of office.

The fight was partially successful - tuition is increasing, but not nearly as much as the management of the universities wanted.

He also spoke of two of the bills that he is working on that address issues near and dear to him -

Teacher minimum salary and teacher loan forgiveness.

Under his proposal, a teacher's minimum salary would be $33,000.

The teacher loan forgiveness program would forgive the student loans for teachers that agree to teach in 'shortage' districts (i.e. - districts that really need the help) on a year-for-year basis. Each year worked in such a district would result in the forgiveness of one year's loans.

The program is expected to cost $1.5 million per year for 300 participants.

He thinks that the bill has a good chance of passage - it has bipartisan support because it's a "forgiveness" program, not a "grant" program; in addition, at $1.5 million, it's relatively inexpensive.

Other highlights:

The new chair and vice-chairs gave short presentations about themselves (bio-type stuff) as a way of introducing themselves to the district in a non- "campaigning for a district officer" sort of way.

New chair Doug Mings also gave a presentation about the election results that makes a good case for considering LD17 a "Blue" district in spite of the Republican registration advantage -

Congressman Harry Mitchell won every precinct in LD17. Even Laura Knaperek's. :))

Governor Napolitano won every precinct in LD17. Whooo hooo!

Attorney-General Goddard also won every precinct in LD17. Not a shock here - he took every one in 2002, too.

If LD 17 decided things (and maybe our Reps should propose an amendment to the state constitution for just that. :)) ), Jim Pederson would be our U.S. Senator, Rano Singh would be our state treasurer, Jason Williams would be our Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Mark Manoil and Ric Boyer would be Corporation Commissioners.

It was a very illuminating presentation, to say the least.

Anyway, the next meeting is Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m in the Escalante Community Center in Tempe.

Other stuff:

Tonight, the Scottsdale Planning Commission is considering two proposals to restrict temporary political signs, including one that places severe limits on signs placed on private property.

It should be a...ummm...."colorful" meeting. Hope to see you there.

5:00 p.m., City Hall Kiva.

Later!!