Legislative schedule - week starting 1/26/2025

This week, I relearned a lesson - ignore the "fact sheets" generated by the legislature.  I haven't found any (yet!) that completely ignore a significant clause but they will minimize, even gloss over, sneaky bad language slipped into a bill.

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 become a very bad one. 

On Monday, 1/27 

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House and Senate Rules meet in their respective rooms.  On the agendas: many bills.

House Health & Human Services meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: wo presentations and six bills, including HB2179, an attempt by committee chair Selena Bliss to restrict advertising for marijuana and its products.  Because of that pesky Voter Protection Act, this will need a 3/4 vote of each chamber of the legislature in order to pass.

House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: five bills.  All proposed by Rep. Gail Griffin and most/all read as if they were written by an industry lobbyist.

House Public Safety & Law Enforcement meets at 2 p.m.in NNR1.  On the agenda: two bills.  Includes HB2102, barring the transfer of monies from the anti-racketeering slush (my word) revolving (their word) fund to the state's general fund and restricting the actions of the state's AG; HB2221, barring municipalities from reducing funding for police agencies

Senate Federalism meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: two bills.  SB1066 and SB1068, both pertaining to requiring legislative approval for acquisitions of land by foreign entities/governments (1066) or the U.S. federal government (1068).  Both bills are from the fetid mind of committee chair Mark Finchem and so will probably be passed by the committee on a party-line vote.

Senate Finance meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: 12 bills, including some pro-crypto ones.

Senate Finance Committee of Reference meets at 2:05 p.m. or upon the end of the meeting of the regular committee.  On the agenda: no bills, two sunset reviews.

On Tuesday, 1/28 

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House Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: six bills, including HB2450, reducing AZ's already low unemployment benefits.

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: eight bills, including HB2063 and HB2058,  a couple of anti-vaxxer proposals.

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: 10 bills, eight of which were sponsored, and the other two were co-sponsored, by the same person.  And most of the bill read as is they were written by an industry lobbyist.  Coincidence?

House Regulatory Oversight meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: three bills, all bad.

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: four bills, including SB1021, Wendy Rogers' scheme to grant ROTC cadets status as in-state students.

Senate Natural Resources meets at 2 p.m.in SHR1.  On the agenda: six bills, including SB1128, an anti-climate change measure that seeks to shift blame for any changes to air quality in AZ on the Sun and on out-of-state causes.

On Wednesday, 1/29 

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House Government meets at 9 a.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda:  three bills.  Includes HB2099, a Republican scheme to mandate that state's governor and attorney general embrace the hate of aid and abet Cheeto's nativism.  The others look bad, but more conventionally bad, and the Arizona League of Cities of Towns will almost certainly weigh in on them.

House International Trade meets at 9 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda; one bill.

House Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: nine proposals, most bad.

Senate Government meets at 9 a.m.in SHR1.  On the agenda: seven proposals.  All sponsored by committee chair Jake Hoffman, all bad, and all will probably pass committee consideration on party line votes.

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 9 a.m.in SHR2.  On the agenda: six bills 

Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: three bills.

House Ways & Means meets at 10 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: three bills.

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

House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: nine bills.  Mostly bad (what a shock! :) ), but one that may be worthy of support - HB2390, adding candidates for  Justice of the Peace to the list of candidates who can collect nominating signatures online.

House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections meets again upon adjournment of the regular meeting.  On the agenda: one bill.  HB2030, criminalizing the act of stolen valor. Not a bad idea in and of itself, though the penalties may be inappropriate.  If passed and signed by Governor Hobbs, Arizona wouldn't be the first state to criminalize stolen valor.

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

Senate Education meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: six bills, all bad.

Senate Judiciary and Elections meets at 2 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: 15 bills.  Approximately half are very bad, including SB1014,  Wendy Rogers' scheme to legalize silencers.

Senate Public Safety meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda:  15 bills, including SB1143, Rogers' scheme to bar retailers/payment servicers from creating/using categories related to firearms and government entities from creating a list of privately-owned firearms.

On Thursday, 1/30 - Nada.

Legislative schedule - week starting 1/19/2025

Most bills being proposed by the Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature are filled with bile.

Sometimes they try to be subtle and sneaky about it.

Sometimes they're less subtle.

Sometimes they multitask.

The proposals being considered by committees this week run the gamut.

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, 1/20  

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Nada.  

On Tuesday, 1/21 

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Joint Committee on Capital Review meets at 9:30 in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills, and all items under consideration are part of a consent agenda a will be voted on as a group/one item.

House Appropriations and Senate Appropriations jointly meet at 10 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: no bills.  They'll be receiving Governor Hobbs' budget proposal.

Senate Natural Resources meets at 1:30 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: one bill, and one presentation.  Seems harmless.

House Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: four insurance-related measure that I don't understand well enough to comment on.

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: four bills.   They don't seem tooooo bad (but someone who knows more about this stuff should look at them), but it's still early in the session -- the anti-public schools, anti-books, and anti-teacher stuff is coming.

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: three presentations and two measures.

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: one presentation and three bills.

On Wednesday, 1/22 

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House Government meets at 9 a.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: eight bills, including some very bad ones.  HB2051 would require the governor to appear before the legislature as a supplicant an answer questions posed by legislators; HB2062 seeks to put some anti-trans language into state law.  Not only that, there's a sneaky bad clause in the bill.

I can't make this stuff up.

2062 will be subject to a striker that is the polar opposite of bad, but it's proposed by a Democratic member (Rep, Betty Villegas) so I expect it to fail on a party line vote.  If they even consider it - it isn't even listed on the agenda.

HB2099 would direct the governor and state AG to aid and abet embrace the hate that Cheeto has for immigrants (except the ones he marries); HB2113 seeks to allow Confederate/MAGA flags to be flown on public property.

House International Trade meets at 9 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, two presentations.

House Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in HHR4,  On the agenda: four bills, HB2022, a guns in schools bill that was passed by House Education on 7-5 vote and HB2043, which seeks to narrow the definition of "harassment" by requiring that the harasser *intend* the harass the victim.  It's proposed by Rep. Alexander Kolodin, a practicing attorney, and I expect that one or more have charged with harassment.

House Ways & Means meets at 9 a.m.in HHR3.  On the agenda: one bill.

Senate Health and Human Services meets at 9 a.m. is SHR2.  On the agenda: one industry presentation and two bills.

Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: five bills, including SB1037, John Kavanagh's scheme to financially hamstring boards regulating health care and SB1071, another of Kavanagh's schemes, to impose state-level eligibility disclosure requirements on federal SNAP and TANF programs.

House Appropriation meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1,  On the agenda: two bills.

House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections meets at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: eight measures, all bad, except for one.  Maybe..

House Science & Technology meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: no bills.

Senate Education meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: two bills and two presentations, one from Tom Horne and one from the ED of the State Board of Education.

Senate Public Safety Committee of Reference meets at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda:  no bills, just an audit review of a Transportation Excise Tax in Gila County.

Senate Public Safety meets at 2:10 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: five bills, including SB1060, adding a secrecy provision to administrative investigations of law enforcement officers.

On Thursday, 1/23 

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Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee of Reference meets at 10:15 a.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: no bills, two sunset reviews.

No agenda lists any effort to address the financial boondoggle that is the ESA/school voucher scam program.

Legislative schedule - week starting 1/12/2025

Well. the Arizona lege will be back in session...so it will be necessary to hide the children and small animals.

And to protect democracy from their depredations.

While most agendas are just about introducing committee members and staff, some very bad bills will be under consideration.

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, 1/13 

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House Health & Human Service is on the calendar at 2 p.m. in HHR4, but their agenda states the committee won't be meeting.

House Public Safety & Law Enforcement is on the calendar at 2 p.m. in HHR1, but their agenda states the committee won't be meeting.

On Tuesday, 1/14 

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House Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: no bills; they'll be acting as the Commerce Committee of Reference and conducting a couple of sunset reviews of a couple of executive departments.

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: four bills after they act as the Education Committee of Reference and conduct a sunset review and an audit review.  The bills: HB2022. a guns in schools bill; HB2029, requiring schools to teach internet security/safety practices to students; plus a couple of bills related to the reviews that they are conducting.

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: no bills, just some presentations.

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. is SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills, just a presentation from JLBC.

Senate Natural Resources meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1. On the agenda: no bills, just multiple presentations, mostly from industry lobbyists.

On Wednesday, 1/15 

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House Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: no bills; it's meeting as the Committee of Reference and conducting a couple of sunset reviews.

Senate Government meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: three bills.  SB1013 would impose a requirement on municipalities and counties that would mandate that the council/board overseeing that entity pass a fee increase by a 2/3 majority.  The bill was proposed by Senate President Warren Petersen, so it'll pass. SB1015, from Wendy Rogers (R-bigot), would bar municipalities and counties from placing a tax or fee on blockchain technology.  SB1039 is John Kavanagh's annual effort to put a minimum time limit bon how long HOA's have to keep a recording of a meeting.

Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills.

Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency Committee of Reference meets at 9:10 a.m. (or upon the adjournment of the regular committee) in SHR109.  On the agenda:  no bills; a couple of sunset reviews.

House Ad Hoc Committee on Election Integrity and Florida-Style Voting Systems meets at 1 p.m.in HHR4.  On the agenda: no bills, just a discussion of inflicting Florida-style election practices on Arizona.

Senate Education meets at 3 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: Two bills and some presentations about education funding in AZ.  The bills - SB1021, Wendy Rogers' move to have ROTC students classified as "in-state" students and SB1028, John Kavanagh's proposal relating to high scool graduation requirements.

Senate Judiciary and Elections meets at 3 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: one bill, and it's BAD.  SB1011 from Warren Petersen (and co-sponsored by most of the Rs in the state senate) is the latest anti-democracy effort to place restrictions on early voting.  My guess is that Petersen plans to run for Congress as a MAGA candidate or is angling for a spot in the Trump administration.

Senate Public Safety meets at 3 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills, just a presentation.

On Thursday, 1/16 

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House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee of Reference meets at 11 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: no bills, just a sunset review (interestingly, both this committee and Senate RAGE.COR will be conducting a sunset review of the Arizona Exposition and State Fair Board). 

On Friday, 1/17 

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Senate Health and Human Services and House Health & Human Services Joint Committee of Reference meets at 9 a.m.in HHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, just five sunset reviews and one special audit.

Legislative schedule - week starting 1/5/2025

Next week will be pretty quiet at the state legislature, but not entirely so.  The legislative session starts the following week, so activity will pick up then.

However, that's subject to change.  It's best to keep an eye out for changes.

Monday, 1/6 thru Thursday, 1/9 - Nada

Friday, 1/10 - Senate Government Committee of Reference meets at 10 a.m.in SHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, just a sunset review/propaganda-fest about the Arizona Governor's Regulatory Review Council.

As the committee is chaired by Jake Hoffman and vice chaired by Wendy Rogers, there may be some drool involved.

Actually, if you attend the meeting, wear some hip waders. :)

Legislative schedule - week starting 12/29/2024

It's a holiday week, so nothing is on the schedule right now.

However, that's subject to change.  It's best to keep an eye out for changes.

Also, I expect legislative activity at the Capitol to pick as we get closer and into the 2025 session.

Legislative schedule - week starting 12/22/2024

It's a holiday week, so nothing is on the schedule right now.

However, that's subject to change.  It's best to keep an eye out for changes

Also, things will change as we get closer to the new session of the legislature.

Legislative schedule - week starting 12/15/2024

 Well, the election is over, so activity at the Capitol is picking up.

Admittedly, there's only three meetings scheduled at this point, and they're all scheduled for Wednesday, but that's three more than are on the schedule for Christmas week.

However, that's subject to change.  It's best to keep an eye out for changes.

On Monday 12/16, Tuesday, 12/17, and Thursday, 12/19 - nada.

On Wednesday, 12/18 -

Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) meets at 9:30 a.m. in SHR109. On the agenda: 12 items, eight of will be considered en masse as part of consent agenda item.  The four items that they will actually consider: reviews of items involving the AZ SOS and AZ AG.  As both offices are headed by Democrats and the "reviews" will take place in executive session (fewer witnesses that way), I'm guessing that there will be less considering and more "raking over the coals" going on. The other two item will be public and involve DEQ and AHCCCS/DES.  As John Kavanagh chairs this committee, he will probably focus making sure no trans people are helped by these agencies.

Joint Committee on Capital Review (JCCR) meets at 9:45 a.m. or upon adjournment of the JLBC meeting in SHR109.  On the agenda:  six items, five and half of which will be considered en masse as part of consent agenda item.  What will be considered in public are a couple buildings under construction as U of A.  Kavanagh chairs this one too, so trans people will probably be mentioned here, too.

House Committee on International Trade meets at 10:30 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: this looks to be a pro forma meeting.

Legislative schedule - week starting 12/8/2024

 Well, the election is over, so activity at the Capitol is picking up.

Admittedly, there's only two meetings scheduled at this point, but that's two more than happens during most weeks between legislative sessions.

However, that's subject to change.  It may be best to keep an eye out for changes.

On Monday, 12/9 and Thursday, 12/12 - Nada.

On Tuesday, 12/10 -

Joint Legislative Audit Committee meets at 9 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: Six items, including some about certain audits of certain schools/programs.

On Wednesday, 12/11-

Senate Government meets at 1 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, but is this was a hockey blog, I'd say the committee chairman Jake Hoffman is dropping his gloves and facing off with AZAG Kris Mayes,  Except that unlike a hockey fight between two participants looking each other in the eye, Hoffman will be launching his haymakers from behind a shield made up of Phoenix firefighters.

The committee will be looking into allegations of discriminatory practices by the Phoenix Fire Department and seeking the blame Mayes.  

One of the presenters: an attorney from the Goldwater Institute, a conservative lobbying group.

 

Legislative schedule - week starting 12/1/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at the legislature at this point.  

However, that's subject to change.  It may be best to keep an eye out for changes.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/24/2024

There's one meeting scheduled for Thanksgiving week.

Joint Ad Hoc Study Committee on Water Security meets Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: presentations, mostly from industry representatives, about water department (Arizona Department of Water Resources) rules regarding water in AZ.  Since industry loyalists Sine Kerr and Gail Griffin are co-chairs of this committee, the people of Arizona should expect to be stuffed, cooked, and served up on a platter.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/17/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at the legislature at this point.  

However, that's subject to change.  Last week, I reported that no meetings were on the schedule.  And at the time, that was true.  

However, the Joint Committee on Capital Review (JCCR) met on Wednesday, so keep an eye out - right now, there's nothing scheduled, but something could be placed there at a moment's notice.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/10/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at the legislature at this point.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/3/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at the legilature at this point.   

Election Day is Tuesday.

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/27/2024

As of this writing, there's only one meeting at the legislature scheduled for this week

On Monday, 10/28 and Wednesday, 10/30 and Thursday 10/31 - Nada.

On Tuesday, 10/29 -

Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Study Committee on Water Security meets at 1 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: presentations and a discussion about active management areas (for water) and the assured water supply program.  Given that certain members of the committee are industry apologists (hey, it's nicer than referring to them as employees of industry lobbyists), I expect this committee, and the legislature as a whole, to protect industry interests.  Water for people?  Not as important as water for industry.

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/20/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at this point. 

There *is* something scheduled for the 29th, but that will be covered in next week's post.

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/13/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at this point. 

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/6/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at this point. 

Legislative schedule - week starting 9/29/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at this point. 

Legislative schedule - week starting 9/22/2024

With only one meeting scheduled, it's shaping up to be another relatively quiet week at the Capitol.

On Thursday, 9/26

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Vulnerable Adult Study Committee meets at 10 a.m. in SHR1. There's no bills on the agenda, so they're hearing and discussing a presentation from the state's Auditor General (an entity of the Rs in the legislature) on "Examining the Delivery of Services to Vulnerable Adults in the Arizona Adult Protective Services System,"

Legislative schedule - week starting 9/15/2024

There's actually some legislative activity this week (maybe not much, but it's still activity) -

I'm as shocked as you.

On Wednesday, 9/18 -

Joint Legislative Audit Committee meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  No bills on the agenda, but of the six items, two involve the Arizona Department of Child Safety, one involves the Arizona Adult Protective Services System, and one involves federal money to schools.  I expect this meeting to be an anti-society propaganda-fest.