Dear Cheeto: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

I'm not a fan of the "open letter" format, but as I'm never going to meet Cheeto (at least, I hope not), so I'm going with it here.  Maybe someone in his circle will read it to him.

Dear Cheeto,

First from AP -

Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in New York hush-money criminal case

Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15 hush-money criminal trial, making a fallacious claim about his daughter and urging him to step aside from the case.

In a social media post, the former president suggested without evidence that Judge Juan M. Merchan was kowtowing to his daughter’s interests as a Democratic political consultant. He also made a claim — later repudiated by court officials — that she had posted a social media photo showing Trump behind bars.

Ummm...two points here -

1. Don't involve family.  Even if the target of your bile  treats you fairly (and I expect that this one will), it'll tick off a lot of other people. .Even some of folks who support you might lower their opinions of you (OK - probably not.  They're thoroughly besotted.  But some undecided voters...)

2. If you're going to criticize someone else's children, yours better be better.  They're not.  Not even close.

Me

Short attention span musing - democracy isn't for dilettantes edition

- If, in 2019, someone told me that our election center should nicknamed "Fortress Democracy." I would have laughed.

Then 2020 happened.

From AP -

Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its top officials are going on offense

The room sits behind a chain-link fence, then black iron gates. Guards block the entrance, which requires a security badge to access. The glass surrounding it is shatterproof.

What merits all these layers of protection is somewhat surprising: tabulating machines that count the votes during elections in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The security measures are a necessary expense, said the county recorder, Stephen Richer, as Arizona and its largest county have become hotbeds of election misinformation and conspiracy theories that have led to near continuous threats and harassment against election workers.

[snip]

The false claims, promoted by prominent Republicans such as presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, have driven protesters to rally outside vote-counting centers and to patrol drop boxes. The claims have fueled death threats against election workers and their families and prompted top election officials to quit across Arizona.

The battleground state also has become a target for attacks from election meddlers and other bad actors who repeatedly attempt to hack or disable the state’s electronic systems, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said.

- It seems that throwing ideological bombs is preferable to actually, you know, governing.  At least it is for certain people..

From The Independent (UK) -

Marjorie Taylor Greene insists she doesn’t want ‘chaos’ after second threat to oust House Speaker

Marjorie Taylor Greene has defended her bid to oust Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson - after threatening to do so in January - and insisted that she was not seeking to throw the government into “chaos”.

The Georgia representative and other far right members of the House opposed the $1.2trn federal spending package that passed Congress this past week, and claimed that it was full of wasteful spending.

She denounced Mr Johnson as “willing to do the bidding of [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer”.

[snip]

Ms Greene denied that the House’s paralysis is due to far-right conservatives, or the second effort to oust a speaker in six months.

“Those people stepping down early and leaving, are the ones leaving us at risk of the Democrats controlling the majority, not me,” the congresswoman said.

She's not the only GOPer in the House who is ticked at Johnson over the budget deal.

- It seems redundant to make a deep fake video about a dilettante, but it sure can be entertaining.

From Arizona Agenda, written by Hank Stephenson -

Hey Agenda readers!

We have a very special announcement today. 

To our great surprise, Kari Lake, the former newscaster turned political candidate and frequent subject of our derision, offered to film a testimonial about how much she likes the Arizona Agenda. 

[snip]

At least, did you spot it before she told you?

Or — like most people that we’ve shown this to — did it take a second for your brain to catch up even after our “Deep Fake Kari Lake” told you she was fake?

 

Many commentators/outlets have bemoaned the effect of deep fake videos on politics.

My concern is the effect of AI-generated videos on credibility; nobody will be able to believe what they see.

And while I believe that the destruction of credibility, especially institutional credibility, is an end goal of MAGA types, it will go far beyond politics.

Can you say "reasonable doubt"?

Legislative schedule - week starting 3/24/2024

Many bills that died during the legislative session are coming back as strikers this week, and I presume, going forward until the lege adjourns sine die.

There's also a lot a sneakiness on committee agendas this week.  I expect that to continue until sine die, too.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 3/25 

-

House Appropriations meets at 1:30 p.m.in HHR1.  On the agenda: 12 bills, eight with proposed strikers.  Most are attempts to resurrect bills that didn't make it through the legislative process.  Lots of propaganda and bad government here, both in the basic bills and the proposed strikers.  However, the one looks to be the most interesting is Rep. David Livingston's proposed striker to SCR1010.  If passed, coming to a ballot this fall would be his plan to give legislators a pay raise by tying their salaries to the rate of inflation.  While this seems sneaky and underhanded and I oppose it for that reason, I am in favor of increasing legislative compensation.  I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for"...and Arizona pays its legislators garbage.

Which explains some of the stinky nuggets that the AZ state legislature produces.

On Tuesday, 3/26 

-

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: 10 bills, with two proposed strikers.  Some propaganda here but the paean to "sneaky" is Sen, John Kavanagh's proposed striker to HB2270.  It has the innocuous-sounding working title of "homeless; fund; audit."  But it's much more than that.

Among (many) other things, Kavanagh's proposed amendment would create a crime for someone to "intentionally be present in a drug-free homeless service zone to sell or transfer dangerous drugs or narcotic drugs."  A person convicted of such would be ineligible for suspension of sentence, pardon, probation or any early release except under some specified circumstances, and parole doesn't seem to be one of them.

It would also require that all facilities that serve homeless individuals or victims of domestic violence to post sign designating them as "drug-free zones" (guessing that this measure will be supported by Republicans who rail against gun-free zones) and would also require hotels that serve both homeless persons and the general public to post signs that say "THIS BUSINESS IS BEING USED TO HOUSE HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS ALONGSIDE THE GENERAL PUBLIC. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ALL GUESTS KEEP HOTEL DOORS LOCKED, SAFELY STORE THEIR BELONGINGS AND REPORT ANY HEALTH OR SAFETY CONCERNS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT."

Kavanagh *really* hates the homeless.

Actually, his hotel sign may have some merit, if it has a few words changed and goes up in places in addition to certain hotels.

"THIS BUSINESS CATERS TO LEGISLATORS  ALONGSIDE THE GENERAL PUBLIC. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ALL MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC KEEP DOORS LOCKED, SAFELY STORE THEIR BELONGINGS AND REPORT ANY HEALTH OR SAFETY CONCERNS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT."

On Thursday, 3/28 

-

Senate Judiciary meets at 9 a.m.in SHR1.  On the agenda:  no bills, just one executive nomination to consider.

That's soooo Cheeto: Tell a lie and then sue others for telling the truth

From Politico (emphasis added by me)-

Trump laments $464M judgment, sues ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation

Donald Trump on Tuesday posted a string of complaints lamenting the “practically impossible” $464 million he is unable to obtain a bond for in the civil fraud judgment against him, the day after hitting ABC News and George Stephanopoulos with a defamation lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.

The former president’s lawyers said in a Monday court filing that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility,’” including “approaching about 30 surety companies through 4 separate brokers.” Trump’s inability to pay raises the possibility that the state attorney general’s office could begin to seize his assets unless the court agrees to halt the judgment while the former president appeals the verdict.

[snip]

“Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision,” Trump wrote. “ … I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

Trump’s assertion that he needs to post hundreds of millions of dollars “for the right to appeal” is wrong. He can appeal the judgment without posting any money — and indeed, he already has begun the appeals process.

[snip]

Trump’s rants over his legal issues in New York come after he sued ABC News and Stephanopoulos for defamation Monday over a March 10 airing of “This Week.” The anchor said on air that Trump had been found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll during a heated interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

Legislative schedule - week starting 3/17/2024

Friday is the last day that bills can be heard in committee, though there are ways around that restriction (bills can still be considered in the respective chambers' Appropriations committees.  Other committees can meet to consider bills, but they'll need the permission of the respective chamber's Rules committees/head.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 3/18 

-

House Health & Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: 15 bills.

House Land, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: seven bills, including a proposed striker for SB1410, relating to the interstate transfer of marijuana and its products.  Requires a 3/4 vote to pass.

House Land, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs meets upon the adjournment of the first LARA meeting in HHR3.  On the agenda: one bill, SB1403, which, with certain exemptions, would bar a "foreign principal" from a designated country from owning land in AZ.  The report containing the list of countries is here.

House Military Affairs & Public Safety meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: 11 bills, including a proposed striker for SB1196.  There two, related but different, strikers listed; I think that I've linked to the one that will be considered, but the other one is here.  Includes SCM1040, a love letter to Congress urging the creation of a Space National Guard.

House Military Affairs & Public Safety meets at upon the adjournment of the first MAPS meeting. in HHR1.   On the agenda: one bill.

Senate Elections meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 11 bills, including a proposed striker for HB2497.  The agenda looks to be mostly propaganda.

Senate Finance and Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda:15 bills, including HB2504, allowing insurers to not pay for genetic sequencing, organ transplants, etc., if a "foreign adversary" is involved and HB2661, mandating that all tablets and smartphones manufactured after 1/1/2026 that filter out "obscene" material for minors. I initially thought that this bill was pure propaganda...but as I was writing this a TV ad came on for a company that provides devices that do just this.  To many members of the lege this is just political propaganda; to others, it may be corruption.  To me, it's evidence that many legislators are capable of multi-tasking.

Senate Transportation, Technology and Missing Children meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: nine bills, including a proposed striker to HCR2049.  It, like much of this agenda, is pure propaganda.  On the plus side, this agenda includes a bill about missing children, which is kind of rare for this committee.  HB2479 seems to be about requiring DCS to do what it does in response to reports of abducted, missing, or runaway children...only quicker. There is a clause at the end of the bill that looks to be about enabling corruption -

Legislators get to decide if someone is following the laws crafted by the legislators themselves, and will siphon public funds into private pockets in response.

Hmmm...

On Tuesday, 3/19 

-

House Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: five bills, three of which have proposed strikers.  While one seems bad, the really bad one is a proposed striker to SCR1040, a scheme fronted by Rep. Justin Wilmeth to allow employers to pay tipped employees 25% less than the mandated minimum wage.

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: two bills; both are propaganda.

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: six bills, including two with proposed strikers.  Both seem bad, but the one for SB1242 would siphon public money into private pockets.  Both these and the other bills on the agenda read as if they were written by industry lobbyists.

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: 11 bills, including HB2506, mandating that people acting as agents of a "country of concern" register with the state's AG.

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 12 bills.

On Wednesday, 3/20  -

House Judiciary meets at 8:30 a.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: Lots of ugly. 13 bills, including SB1687, expanding the definition of drive by shooting.

House Government meets at 9 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: seven bills.  Lots of usurping of municipal authority here.

House Ways & Means meets at 10 a.m. is HHR1.  On the agenda: eight bills. mostly running the gamut from pure propaganda, thru conduits for corruption, to simply bad government.

House Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: six bills.

House Municipal Oversight & Elections meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: nine bills, mostly propaganda.  My personal favorite (that's sarcasm, folks) - SCR1044, removing term limits from judges subject to specific term lengths or retention elections, with specified exceptions.

House Regulatory Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: five bills.

House Transportation & Infrastructure meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: nine bills.

Senate Education meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: four bills, including HB2095, expanding eligibility for STO scholarships (school vouchers).

Senate Military Affair, Public Safety and Border Security meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: eight bills, including two with proposed strikers (text not available as of this writing.)  The one that raises the most red flags has a working title of  "military; public safety".  This agenda has lots of propaganda on it, including two bills to make undocumented immigration a state crime, HB2748 and HB2821.

On Thursday, 3/21 

-

Senate Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: eight bills. including two with proposed strikers.  The texts aren't available as of this writing, but one has a working title that raises red flags - "elected officials."  Lots of propaganda on this agenda.

Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water meets at 9 a.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: two executive branch nominations and 17 bills, three with proposed strikers  (texts not available as yet).  All bills read as if they were written by industry lobbyists.

Senate Government meets at 1 p.m. or upon adjournment of the other committees in SHR1.  On the agenda: 21 bills. Includes HB2591, barring public entities and public power entities from entering into or renewing contracts with persons or companies that utilize forced labor or "oppressive child labor."  I don't disagree with the sentiment but have to ask -

Would this impact companies controlled by Cheeto or Vanky?

Cheeto actually *likes* the RNC. Imagine what he'll do to the USA if he returns to the White House.

From Politico -

Bloodbath at RNC: Trump team slashes staff at committee

Donald Trump’s newly installed leadership team at the Republican National Committee on Monday began the process of pushing out dozens of officials, according to two people close to the Trump campaign and the RNC.

All told, the expectation is that more than 60 RNC staffers who work across the political, communications and data departments will be let go. Those being asked to resign include five members of the senior staff, though the names were not made public. Additionally, some vendor contracts are expected to be cut.

Cheeto's gambit is not without historical precedent.

Legislative schedule - week starting 3/10/2024

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 3/11 

-

House Health & Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: 11 bills, including a couple of pure propaganda bills - SB1407, expanding the religious exemption for employer required vaccines and SB1511, an anti trans bill.

House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: five bills, including SB1146, an anti animal vax propaganda bill.

House Military Affairs & Public Safety meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: 10 bills, including a proposed striker to SB1196, allowing the use of first responder flashing lights under specified conditions.  Also includes SCR1042, a love letter from Arizona's legislative Republicans to Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressing support for his craven (and homicidal) anti-Mexican acts.

Senate Elections meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: four bills, almost all propaganda.

Senate Finance and Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: one presentation and 14 bills, including a proposed striker to HB2199.  Most of the propaganda will be in the presentation - a lobbyist for cryptocurrency will be giving it.

Senate Transportation, Technology and Missing Children meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: eight bills, including HB2545 and HB2546, exempting vehicles built after 2018 from emissions testing and HB2586, making commercial entities liable for damages for providing "material harmful to minors" without also performing a "reasonable", but unspecified age verification process.

On Tuesday, 3/12  -

House Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: five bills. 

House Education meets at 2 p.m.in HHR4.  On the agenda: four bills, all bad.

House Natural Resources, Energy and Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: two bills that read as if they were written by an industry lobbyist.

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 12 bills, including HB2502, requiring SNAP recipients participate in, with certain exceptions, a work training program.  One of the exceptions?  Working already.  Also includes HB2503, barring DES from granting waivers to that requirement and HB2621, stipulating that states are responsible for securing their borders with another country.

On Wednesday, 3/13 

-

House Judiciary meets at 9 a.m.in HHR4.  On the agenda: six bills.

Senate Government meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 14 bills; at least half of the agenda is propaganda of the anti-Maricopa County, ant-UN, anti-affirmative action, anti-federal government variety...actually, anti any level of government other than the state legislature and pro-hatred.

House Government meets at 10 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: seven bills.  Two or which are pure propaganda and five of which (including the two) are simply bad government.

House Ways & Means meets at 10 a.m.in HHR1.  On the agenda: three bills.

House Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: three bills, including SCR1020, an example of the legislature trying to get around the governor by abdicating their budgetary duties.

House Municipal Oversight & Elections meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda:10 bills, mostly propaganda.

House Regulatory Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: 11 bills, at least five of which fall under the "bad for society/buttress corporate profits" heading

House Transportation & Infrastructure meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: six bills, including SB1299, increasing the requirements that municipalities (and others) must meet in order to designate a traffic light-controlled intersection as a "no right turn on red" one.

Senate Education meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: four bills and two presentations.  Tom Horne is slated to give one of them, so it should be a colorful one.

Senate Military Affairs, Public Safety and Border Security meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  17 bills, including HB 2506, barring people from acting as foreign agents for "countries of concern," unless they're registered with the Attorney General. As Russia is listed as one such country, certain members of the lege may have to register.

On Thursday, 3/14 

-

Senate Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 13 bills, including HB2843, expanding the definition of "premises" for the purposes of self-defense.

Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water meets at 9 a.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: 21 bills, including HB2628, working title "department of environmental quality; omnibus".  Omnibus bills always worry me, and this one seems sneaky bad.  There are a few clauses that appear to be worrisome, like the one that repeals section 49-257 of AZ law, which concerns the applicability of federal definitions regarding the underground injection control program in the safe water drinking act.

On Friday, 3/15 

-

Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee meets at 10 a.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, but there will be much propaganda spewed here.  The committee membership includes Congresscritters Eli Crane and Paul Gosar, AZ state legislators Sens. Janae Shamp, TJ Shope, and Rep. Steve Montenegro, and Peter McCullough, a cardiologist who's a noted trafficker in Covid lies.  And if that rogues' gallery isn't convincing of the propagandistic purpose of this misuse of public facilities and funds, the chosen acronym for this committee (NCSWIC) is a QAnon invention.

Know what the most "liberal" thing about Texas is? Their definition of "disaster."

Wonder if Ted Cruz has bought some tickets to a resort?

From KXAN in Austin -

Travis County issues disaster declaration ahead of total solar eclipse

Travis County said it would take emergency measures ahead of the total solar eclipse set to take place in exactly one month.

The declaration was in anticipation of large crowds, increased traffic and strains on first responders, hospitals and roads related to the eclipse. Travis County Judge Andy Brown issued the declaration.

The total eclipse will miss AZ, but not everywhere else.  

From NASA -

According to TimeandDate.com, AZ will see a partial eclipse starting at 10:08 a.m., peaking at 11:20 a.m.., and ending at 12:35 p.m. 

Sen. Sinema says "goodbye" to the people of Arizona

Maybe the people of Arizona should advise her to not let the door hit her in the ass on the way out.

From CNN -

Kyrsten Sinema announces she is retiring from the Senate

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent, announced Tuesday she will leave the Senate at the end of her term this year, a move that will shake up the battle for control of the chamber in November and remove a key player who has been central to major negotiations in Congress.

Sinema has been an influential yet polarizing figure in the Senate and has frequently worked to broker compromise between Democrats and Republicans. In announcing her decision not to seek reelection, the Arizona senator said, “I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now.”

The headline should be rewritten as "Kyrsten Sinema has figured out that she has no way of getting re-elected".  Or maybe as "Kyrsten Sinema has realized that getting tens of thousands of nominating signatures in less than a month is an unrealistic task."

Of course, "independent" just means (allegedly) "for sale to the highest bidder," while "polarizing" means "she's despised only by people who who have seen her in action."

While many folks have said that her "retirement" helps Ruben Gallego, I think it helps presumed R nominee Kari Lake more - a few months ago, she polled closer to Gallego when Sinema wasn't considered.

It will be interesting to see a poll taken after Sinema's announced withdrawal.

Legislative schedule - week starting 3/3/2024

 

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 3/4 

-

House Municipal Oversight & Elections meets at 1 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: one bill, and in a change of pace for this committee, it seems to be relatively non-controversial and not election denier propaganda.

Senate Elections meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda:  11 bills.  Remember what I wrote about the House MOE agenda?  Not true here.  Includes HB2719, a proposal to limit when municipal (and other political subdivision) bond elections can be held and requiring a minimum voter turnout then for that election to be valid.

Senate Finance and Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: a presentation and 20 bills, including HB2477, designating Pluto as the official state planet.  Pluto still isn't a planet.  The agenda also includes HB2042, this year's version of last year's infamous "tamale bill."

Senate Transportation, Technology and Missing Children meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: three bills.

House Health & Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: a presentation and four bills.

House Military Affairs & Public Safety meets at 2 p.m.in HHR1.  On the agenda: four bills, including SB1025, a proposal to make it a DUI when having a BAC of greater than .04 or higher  when driving or it physical control of a vehicle for hire.  This seems redundant as police and prosecutors in AZ already have a CYA clause in AZ law to enforce.  From ARS 28-1381 (emphasis added by me) -

A. It is unlawful for a person to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle in this state under any of the following circumstances:

1. While under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, a vapor releasing substance containing a toxic substance or any combination of liquor, drugs or vapor releasing substances if the person is impaired to the slightest degree.

2. If the person has an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more within two hours of driving or being in actual physical control of the vehicle and the alcohol concentration results from alcohol consumed either before or while driving or being in actual physical control of the vehicle.

3. While there is any drug defined in section 13-3401 or its metabolite in the person's body.

4. If the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle that requires a person to obtain a commercial driver license as defined in section 28-3001 and the person has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more.

On Tuesday, 3/5 

-

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: three bills, including HB1477, a proposal to create a Grade Challenge Department in the Arizona Board of Regents if a student feels that they received a bad grade in a course due to political bias.

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: four bills, at least two of which read as if they were written by industry lobbyists.

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: four bills.

On Wednesday, 3/6 

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House Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: eight bills, some bad.  Includes SB1628, a proposal that purports to be anti-discrimination that actually enshrines it and SCR1007, a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit public entities from entering into a contract worth more than $100K with a company unless it provides a written certification that it doesn't discriminate against a firearm entity or a firearm trade association.

Senate Education meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: a presentation and nine bills.  Includes a proposed striker for HB2373 (text not available as of this writing) and HB2793, requiring school boards to create rule and policies regarding student access to the internet when that access is provided by the school and to limit the use of wireless devices by students during the school day.

Senate Military Affairs, Public Safety and Border Security meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: five bills.

On Thursday, 3/7 

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Senate Judiciary meets at 9 a.m.in SHR1.  On the agenda: two bills.

Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water meets at 9 a.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: three presentations and six bills, including HB2097, basically deregulating the use of "gray water" by rich people or those who live in rural settings (the "residential lots of two acres" clause merits that description).

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Budgetary Funding Formulas meets at 10 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: one presentation and no bills.