Senate Judiciary Holds Anti-14th Amendment Bills

...but this isn't over yet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We are the future."

Some pics -

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

Kyrsten Sinema during the discussion

Just a few of the many media representatives watching the hearing

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

The protest outside the Senate building

Steve Gallardo

AZGOP: Going after the children

Just a quick hit as I'm sitting in the Senate gallery waiting for the floor session to start...

Not only are Arizona's Republicans (in the persons of Senate President Russell Pearce and his accomplices in the lege) going after brown-skinned children with their anti-14th Amendment/birthright citizenship bills (to be heard in Senate Judiciary later today, the real reason I'm down here today), they are working on indoctrinating white-skinned children with their ideology.

When I arrived in the Senate gallery, Sen. Don Shooter was addressing a group of children who were here on a class trip. 

One of the children asked "can the Governor tell the President what to do?"

Shooter responded "we'd like that" then went on to explain his view of the relationship between the states and the federal government as one where the state governments are the parents of a wayward child called the federal government and like many parents, sometimes there is a need to bring that child to heel (my paraphrase, not a quote.)

And when asked if he had any friends in the Senate, he answered "only the ones with elephants on their desks.

....On a related-to-the-Senate-Judiciary note:

There was a small protest outside the Senate when I arrived, protesting Russell Pearce and his bigoted agenda.  There were perhaps 50-60 protesters, and more than 20 were small children.

There were at least a dozen uniformed police officers (mostly DPS and Capitol PD) flanking the protesters, which is 11 - 12 more than is normally in evidence here, unless there is a LARGE protest (meaning 1000 or more folks.)

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

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

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

House committee highlights/lowlights this week -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Later...

The coming week: Legislative Edition. Chapter 1 - Arizona Senate

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

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

Senate committee highlights/lowlights this week (mostly lowlights) -

- Rules will meet on Monday in Caucus Room 1 upon adjournment of the Senate floor session.  Long agenda, lots of bad bills, rubber stamp, short meeting.

- Natural Resources and Transportation will meet on Monday in SHR109 upon adjournment of Rules.  Bad bills:  SB1334, OK'ing hunting within city limits; SB1335, OK'ing hunting at night (for "varmints"); SB1388, adding the provision that incorporated municipalities can regulate the sale of consumer fireworks within city limits (currently, they can only regulate the use of same within city limits) and restricting Maricopa County from regulating use in unincorporated areas except "during times when there is a reasonable risk of wildfires in the immediate county."

- Judiciary will meet on Monday in SHR1 upon adjournment of Rules.  This one is nearly *all* ugly, even though a few bills were removed from the agenda (and even those were bad).  On the agenda: SB1201, a firearms "omnibus" bill.  Rather than attempt to explain all of the bad in this one, just read the summary compiled by legislative staff;  SB1308, directing the governor to enter into a neo-Confederate alliance with other states that create a 2nd class birth certificate/non-citizenship for immigrants law such as would be created by the following bill on the agenda...SB1309, the nativists' anti-14th Amendment bill; SB1465, barring the acceptance of consulate-issued ID cards as valid identification; SB1469, greatly expanding someone's ability to kill another person and escape justice with some sort of "defense" claim; SB1490, barring counties from issuing food service worker cards unless the recipient proves his citizenship/"authorized presence" first; SCR1025, a proposed amendment to the AZ Constitution ending Clean Elections; SCR1034, the secession-by-any-other-name/"nullification" screed declaring that Arizona doesn't have to follow any federal laws or rules it doesn't like.

- Education will meet on Monday in SHR3 upon adjournment of Rules.  There's some bad here, but it doesn't even come close to the level of bad on Judiciary's agenda.  This agenda includes:  SB1422, changing procedures relating to school closures, including removing a requirement for a public meeting before any such closure; SB1263, with all sorts of changes to education-related law, including allowing for a shorter school year; SB1554, mandating that the Arizona Department of Education contract with a private insurer to provide personal liability insurance for teachers.

- Veterans and Military Affairs will meet on Tuesday in SHR3 at 9 a.m.  Looks quiet so far.

- Banking and Insurance will meet on Tuesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m.  Looks quiet, but some of these are very technical and might warrant a looking-over by someone who has more expertise in these areas than I do.

- Appropriations will meet on Tuesday in SHR109 at 2 p.m.  Another bad one.  On the agenda:  SB1231, SB1408, SCR1019, and SCR1026, all relating to mandating lower limits on state appropriations/expenditures.  All are tea party favorites.

- Public Safety and Human Services will meet on Wednesday in SHR3 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda:  a possible strike everything amendment to a Russell Pearce-introduced "technical correction" bill, SB1012.  The striker's subject is "fingerprint clearance cards; citizenship status"; SCR1056, an Al Melvin postcard to every county and municipality in the state urging them to utilize inmate forced labor for some of their public works projects.

- Government Reform will meet on Wednesday in SHR1 at 9 a.m.  Almost as bad as Monday's Judiciary agenda.  Items: SB1322, mandating the privatization of virtually all municipal services in cities with a population of more than 500K (definitely Phoenix, probably Tucson, possibly Mesa); SB1325, inhibiting labor unions from engaging in any political activity; SB1329, barring public employees from engaging in any sort of political activity, including lobbying, during "the employee's hours of employment."  This seems to be targeted at agency and governmental lobbyists who advocate for their employers as part of their job functions and at teachers, many of whom had dared to participate in protests at the legislature; SB1339, repealing *all* agency rules unless they are enacted by statute; SB1345 and SB1347, mandating limits on the number of municipal employees and their compensation in cities with a population of more than 500K; SB1365 and SCR1028, barring payroll deduction for political advocacy without an annual authorization from the employee; SB1409, mandating that all government publications and documents be written in English; SB1420, mandating that school districts put placement of special needs students out to competitive bid, instead of placing them in a school/facility that serves their needs; SB1525, mandating all sort of requirements/restrictions on municipal development fees (this one should really be analyzed by someone who understands the subject better than I do).

- Commerce and Energy will meet on Wednesday in SHR109 at 9 a.m.  On the agenda:  SB1363, "protecting" employers from union activity.

- Healthcare and Medical Liability will meet on Wednesday in SHR1 at 2 p.m.  Some seriously bad bills on the agenda:  SB1246 and SB1265, doing all sorts of things to limit a woman's right to obtain an abortion, and SCR1017, "honoring" the fake pregnancy care centers that the anti-choice types use to deceive desperate women.
- Water, Land Use, and Rural Development will meet on Wednesday in SHR3 at 2 p.m.  On the agenda:  SB1319, a bill to require goverrnmental entitities that acquire property by whatever means must sell off an equal amount of property and SB1470, repealing all county water authorities.

- Economic Development and Jobs Creation will meet on Wednesday in SHR109 at 2 p.m.  Looks quiet so far.

- Border Security, Federalism, and States Sovereignty will meet on Thursday in SHR109 at 8 a.m.  All bad bills.  On the agenda:  SB1392 and SB1406, new Confederacy/"interstate compact" bills regarding gray wolves and a border fence, respectively; SB1393 and SB1394, declaring that Arizona has supreme authority to regulate greenhouse gases; SB1546, proclaiming Arizona's "right" to seize federally-owned land under eminent domain; SB1342, authorizing the Arizona Rangers to engage in border security/anti-immigration activities upon proclamation of the governor.

- Finance will meet on Thursday in SHR1 at 9 a.m.  Most of these are beyond my understanding, but one that stands out is SB1221, freezing until 2030 the amount of revenue the state is required to share with municipalities at the 2009-2010 level.


Highlights of other Capitol events:

- From 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the ALEC membership drive and reception will be held at Morton's on Camelback Road.

In case you missed it...

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not exactly helping the credibility there, Mr. Speaker.


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


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

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

Later...

LD17's David Schapira on Horizon

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

The discussion has been posted to YouTube by KAET.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

AZ Politics: Old politicos don't go away, they just get appointed to a commission

I am *such* a  geek sometimes.  Tonight, I took a moment to check out a couple of legislative committee agendas posted for meetings next week.

One *really* caught my eye - Senate Judiciary, scheduled for Monday in SHR1 upon adjournment of the Senate Rules Committee.

The agenda for that meeting just chock full o'ugly bills - anti-immigrant, anti-federal government, pro-gun, pro-deadly force - but details on those can wait for the regularly-scheduled weekly schedule post, probably going up on Saturday or Sunday.

What probably shouldn't wait, however, is a discussion of the two executive nominations, both for the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.

- One is Robert L. Burns, and while that is a rather common name, it's also the name of the recently-retired Senate President.  His term of office ended less than a month ago, and he's already up for appointment to the relatively high profile Appellate Court Appointments Commission ("high profile" because I've been writing about them recently :) ).

- The other nomination is that of James A. Hartdegen.

For those readers who are unfamiliar with the name, Mr. Hartdegen was a state representative in the 1980s and early 1990s, rising to chair the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

He was also one of the politicos caught up in the AZScam scandal and was indicted in 1991.  He later took a plea deal and was sentenced to probation.  More background here, courtesy the Phoenix New Times.

Other familiar names recently considered by one or another Senate committee -

- Randy Pullen, now former chair of the AZGOP, whose nomination to the Arizona Housing Finance Authority, was considered by Senate Commerce and Energy on Wednesday ("today", as I'm writing this).  Pullen was also an officer of the national Republican Party.  They're now $23 million in debt (relevant because Pullen is nominated to the Housing Finance Authority).

- Robert Dalager, an attorney who used to be a senior Senate staffer, was the subject January 24 of a Senate Judiciary hearing on his nomination to the Commission on Trial Court Appointments, Maricopa County.

- Kevin Tyne, formerly Jan Brewer's Chief of Staff, had a Senate Natural Resources and Transportation hearing on his nomination to the directorship of Arizona Department of Weights and Measures (January 24).


A complete list of boards and commission with gubernortorial appointments here.  List of current vacancies here.

Many, but not all, appointments are subject to Senate approval.

Later...

Redistricting Update: Second appointment - Jose Herrera

Earlier today, State Rep. Chad Campbell announced via a Facebook posting, that he has selected Jose Herrera of Maricopa County as his appointment to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC).

Because House Speaker Kirk Adams also selected someone from Maricopa County, both Senate President Russell Pearce and House Democratic Leader David Schapira must select from candidates who reside outside of Maricopa County.

The list of available candidates is here, with an update here.

Pearce has to select either Benny White or Richard Stertz, both of Pima County.

Schapira has seven potential selections - Eric B. Henderson (Navajo County), Linda C. McNulty (Pima County), Lawrence C. Mohrweis (Coconino County), William G. Roe (Pima County), Mark D. Rubin (Pima County), Jimmie D. Smith (Yuma County), and Marshall A. Worden (Pima County).

Both can select a nominee from the pool of Independent candidates, but neither is expected to do so.  It should be noted that the "geographical diversity" requirement applies to the first four selections, regardless of partisan affiliation (or non-affiliation).  Four of the five Independents are from Maricopa County, while only one is from another county, specifically Pima.

As such, only one Independent nominee could be selected by one of the legislative leaders, even in the unlikely event that one of them was inclined to think "out of the box" with their choice.

The applications of all of the applicants to the AIRC, not just the nominees, can be found here.

Russell Pearce is now on the clock...

"A cult didn't sever my spine"

In the wake of the revelation that people who admit that they can't pass a background check yet can still walk into a gun show in Arizona and buy the same gun and clip that was used in the Tucson mass shooting, Sen. Steve Gallardo introduced SB1586, closing the infamous "gun show loophole."

Today, victims and families of victims of gun violence gathered with Gallardo at the State Capitol to support Sen. Gallardo and his proposal.

Clockwise from top left: Sen. Steve Gallardo, Gerry Hills, Jennifer Longdon, and Jose and Guadalupe Guzman











The numbers presented by Sen. Gallardo and Hildy Saizow, President of Arizonans for Gun Safety, are frightening (AZ is 10th in number of firearms exported to other states that were later used in crimes, and 13th in rate per 100K population; AZ is 7th in gun-related deaths, and 6th in gun related killings).

However, as frightening as the numbers may be, that fright is dwarfed by the heartbreak of the tragedy of gun violence -

Jennifer Longdon told of how she was paralyzed by random gunfire in 2004, during an incident that also left her fiancee with brain damage.

Jose and Guadalupe Guzman told the story of their son, Guillermo Rodriguez, killed in 2005 during a robbery at a Subway in Phoenix.

Gerry Hills, a Republican and a board member of Arizonans for Gun Safety, whose brother, a Michigan police officer, was killed by someone who obtained guns despite a having documented history of mental illness.

James Hinckley, shot and paralyzed during an argument when he was 17 with another teenager.

Erica Sander, Ms. Wheelchair Arizona, shot multiple times and paralyzed in 2003.


I was going to go with one of Sen. Gallardo's quotes as the title of this post, but when one of the reporters present asked the group how they would respond to critics of their position when those critics say that the threat posed by guns is no greater than the threats that are posed by certain ideas, books or even cults, a better option presented itself.

As gun violence survivor Jennifer Longdon pointed out,


"A cult didn't sever my spine."


Arizona Republic coverage, written by Alia Beard Rau, here.

KPHO (Phoenix Channel 5) coverage, from Elizabeth Erwin, here.

KSAZ (Phoenix Channel 10) coverage here (it's a Fox affiliate, and I hate to link to anything Fox, but it's got video, slanted though the story may be)

Pics from the day -

Jennifer Longdon

Gallardo and Hills

James Hinkley and Erica Sander

Saizow, Jose Guzman, Guadalupe Guzman, Hills, Longdon

The newest plank in the platform for Arizona Republicans: Disdain.

The Republicans of Arizona inhabit such a rarified area of our mortal coil, that they've developed a curious attitude toward those of us who have to deal with day-to-day issues that are rather more "mundane."

Some might call that attitude "detached", but I would call it "disdainful."

- They've got nothing but disdain for voters, seeking authorization to override Prop 204 and the requirement to provide AHCCCS coverage for Arizonans with income up to 100% of the federal poverty level...

- They've got nothing but disdain for poor, sick people (somewhat related to the above, and thanks to Donna at Democratic Diva for spotting and highlighting this).

Speaking on KJZZ's (NPR) Here And Now, Eileen Klein, Governor Jan Brewer's Chief of Staff  (starting at approximately the 6:45 mark of the audio archive) -

 ...we need to be using our resources in areas like education and other areas that can help build and grow our state, to make our state more competitive for the long run and unfortunately, while those services are helpful to people in areas like medicaid, they aren't doing anything to help contribute to the growth of the state...

Poor people dying for lack of appropriate medical care, like transplants, aren't worthy of consideration; corporations holding their hands out for targeted tax cuts, well, they aren't just supported, they're fast-tracked.

- They've got nothing but disdain for those, like Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of the City of New York, who have criticized Arizona for making it so easy for people like Jared Loughner to obtain semi-automatic pistols with high-capacity magazines.

Video of how easy it is -



Republican Governor Jan Brewer's response (from Howie Fischer of Capitol Media Services, via the Arizona Daily Sun)?

Gov. Jan Brewer is defending Arizona laws that allow the sale of firearms at gun shows without a background check and forbid cities from imposing such requirements.


"We believe our laws are fair and just in the state of Arizona,'' the governor said Monday.

Her comments come on the heels of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg releasing videos Monday taken by undercover agents at a Phoenix gun show just 15 days after the Tucson shootings. There, Arizona private investigators hired by New York City were able to purchase weapons not only without a background check but, at least twice, after admitting to sellers they probably would not pass.

Brewer said she had not seen the videos. Nor had she seen Bloomberg's comments.

But the governor said the laws are "something that the Legislature and I decide.''

Last year Brewer signed legislation making Arizona only the third state in the nation to let anyone carry a concealed weapon without a state permit, training and a background check. But Brewer said Monday she remains open to further liberalizing of the state's gun laws.

"I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment,'' she said.

Apparently, she is such "strong proponent" of guns, that she doesn't let a few dead bodies outside Tucson Safeway get in the way of her slavish devotion to the NRA's blind dogma.


Welcome to Arizona, the place where many residents want to build a wall to keep Mexican out, but may soon be the place where neighbors want to build a wall to keep Arizonans in.

First member named to the new Independent Redistricting Commission: Scott Freeman

From an announcment from Kirk Adams, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives -

House Speaker Kirk Adams announced today his selection of Scott Freeman to serve on the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.


“Mr. Freeman is exceptionally qualified for this important role. I am confident he will execute his responsibilities honestly, fairly and with the input of the public in mind,” Adams said.

Freeman, a Phoenix resident and a director at Fennemore Craig, holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from Arizona State University. Freeman focuses his practice on litigation matters, including complex products liability, personal injury, and commercial cases. Among other clients, he has represented manufacturers of light truck and passenger tires as well as manufacturers of after-market alternators and starter motors in several state and federal trial and appellate courts. He has appeared in trial courts in Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, New York, and Illinois.

“I am honored that Speaker Adams has entrusted me with the great honor of serving on the Independent Redistricting Commission,” Mr. Freeman said. “The work of this commission is vital to our democracy, and I promise to serve the people of Arizona with dedication and fairness in all of my work and decisions. I look forward to working with other members of the commission as we get about this important task.”

Freeman's application for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is here.

Now on the clock: House Democratic Leader, Rep. Chad Campbell.  After his choice is named, Senate President Russell Pearce and Senate Democratic Leader David Schapira will make their selections.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Later...

North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Area: Community Involvement Group Meeting

The Community Involvement Group (CIG) for the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site (NIBW) will hold a meeting next week in Scottsdale to discuss ongoing cleanup activities related to the groundwater contamination in the NIBW (roughly, the borders are the Salt River on the south, Chaparral Road on the north, Pima Road on the east, and Scottsdale Road on the west).

Participants will include representatives of the EPA, ADEQ, City of Scottsdale, SRP, Arizona American Water, the "participating" companies (aka - the companies responsible for the contamination and its clean up) and concerned members of the community.

Meeting details:

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (Stage 2 – Main Floor)

7380 E. Second Street, Scottsdale
 
Agenda: 
 
Indian Bend Wash Five-Year Review Status

Overview of NIBW Groundwater Data
Miller Road Treatment Facility Long-Term Measures Workplan & Schedule
Questions & Answers
 
For more information contact

Vicki Rosen, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator
(415) 972-3244 or rosen.vicki@epa.gov

Or

Felicia Calderon, ADEQ Community Involvement Coordinator
(602) 771-4167 or calderon.felicia@adeq.gov

 
Background on the NIBW can be found here and here.
 
Later!
 

The coming week - legislative edition

As usual, all info gathered from the online sources (mostly the website of the Arizona Legislature) and subject to change without notice.

Note: calling an agenda "quiet" doesn't mean that there aren't any bills on the agenda, only that there aren't any that twig the partisan radar.  If a committee covers areas of concern to you, check out the agenda and the bills on it, for they may actually be important to you.

Note2:  "SHR" indicates the the meeting will take place in a Senate hearing room;  "HHR" indicates a House hearing room.

Committee hearings this week:

On the House side of the Capitol -

- Energy and Natural Resources will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. on Monday in the ASU Decision Center, 21 East 6th Street, Suite 126A, Tempe.  They will be receiving a presentation titled "Energy 102 for State Legislators."

- Rules will meet at 1 p.m. on Monday in HHR4.

- Ways and Means will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday in HHR1.  Most interesting measure on the agenda:  HCR2006, something from Rep. Jack Harper to drastically increase the value of business personal property that is exempt from taxation.

- Energy and Natural Resources will hold its regular meeting at 2 p.m. on Monday in HHR4.  Looks fairly quiet to me, but folks interested in state parks, game and fish, or other outdoor activities may want to take a look at the agenda to see if there is anything of interest to them.

- Education will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday in HHR3.  One bill on the agenda right now:  HB2421, mandating increased financial reporting requirements for school districts.

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

- Government will meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in HHR4.  On the agenda:  HB2152, reducing county-level recordkeeping (not sure what this one is really about); HB2471, demanding documentation that a federal mandate doesn't violate the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution before the state legislature will appropriate any money to comply  with it; HB2537, giving the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate the authority to use legislative resources to fight legal challenges to last year's SB1070.

- Environment will meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in HHR5.  The single bill on the agenda looks harmless, but the committee will receive a presentation from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on "Arizona Border Trash Impact."

- Employment and Regulatory Affairs will meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in HHR3.  Looks quiet so far.

- Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2478, mandating to Pima and Maricopa counties how much they will pay for health care for children and prisoners in the custody of the county.

- Higher Education, Innovation, and Reform will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in HHR2.  No bills on the agenda at this time; one presentation scheduled.

- Health and Human Services will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in HHR4.  This may be the big hearing of the week.  The agenda contains HB2416, the first big anti-choice bill of the session (but probably not the last).  Also up this week: HB2443, nibbling away around the edges of a woman's right to choose an abortion by outlawing the nonexistent practice of race or sex-selection abortions.

- Commerce will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday in HHR5.  Looks quiet so far.

- Appropriations will meet at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in HHR1.  Highlight of the agenda (and it may actually be a "highlight"): HB2227, specifying that money donated to an agency isn't subject to reversion to the state's general fund.  This one may be rooted in the minor scandal that erupted when the lege swept all available funds from the state parks system, including a $250K bequest from a Danish immigrant.  It would serve to prevent similar sweeps in the future, unless the giver specifically authorizes its general use by the state.

- Transportation will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday in HHR3.  Looks quiet thus far.

- Judiciary will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday in HHR4.  Looks quiet thus far.

- Agriculture and Water will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday in HHR5.  Looks quiet thus far.


On the Senate side -

- Rules will meet upon adjournment of the Senate floor session on Monday in Caucus Room 1.

- Natural Resources and Transportation will meet upon adjournment of Rules on Monday in SHR109.  Looks quiet thus far.

- Judiciary will meet upon adjournment of Rules on Monday in SHR1.  Looks quiet so far.

- Education will meet upon adjournment of Rules on Monday in SHR3.  The only bill on the agenda is SB1263.  It has the innocuous title of "schools; administrative tasks; reduction" but it's far more than that.  It reads like an "omnibus" measure.  One of the big clauses would be to allow a school district to have a school year that is shorter than the current 180 days if the district schedules daily sessions so that the new school year has the same number of minutes as the 180-day year.  Which doesn't sound *too* bad, until further research turns up a proposed amendment from the originator of the underlying bill, Sen. Rich Crandall, that would delete the entire section of the law that defines the length of the school year, including the new definition.

EDIT TO CLARIFY: Upon further reflection, I may be misinterpreting the meaning of the proposed amendment referenced above. It seems more likely that its purpose is to remove the proposed changes from the bill, not to removed the affected section of the law from the law entirely. Later today, I'll make a couple of phone calls seeking more info on this.
End Edit...

- Veterans and Military Affairs will meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday in SHR3.  Looks quiet so far.

- Banking and Insurance will meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in SHR3.  Looks quiet so far.

- Appropriations will meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in SHR109.  Quiet, except for budget hearings for AHCCCS and the state's universities.

- Public Safety and Human Services will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in SHR3.  Two bills pushed by the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy on the agenda:  SB1187, mandating an "education" program designed to delay and discourage couples from divorcing (nothing in it that encourages healthy marriages, only longer bad marriages), and SB1188, mandating that married couples (only a man and a woman) have priority over all other domestic arrangements in adoptions.

- Government Reform will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in SHR1.  On the agenda: SB1222.  This one would remove from AZ law any identification/immigration status requirements for public assistance that conform to federal law, instead mandating that recipients of federal public assistance in AZ adhere to AZ standard of proof of immigration status.

- Commerce and Energy will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in SHR109.  On the agenda:  SB1178, proclaiming that the federal government has no regulatory or legal jurisdiction over Arizona commerce, and criminalizes the enforcement of federal laws and regulations upon such commerce.  Oh, and they'll be considering the executive nomination of Randy Pullen, former chair of the AZGOP, for another term on the Arizona Housing Finance Authority.

- Water, Land Use, and Rural Development will meet at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in SHR3.  Agenda contains SCR1015 and SCR1024, two measures asserting that the federal government has no jurisdiction over water Arizona-located water.

- Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform will meet at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in SHR1.  Looks quiet thus far, though a presentation from Dr. Peter Rhee of the University Medical Center in Tucson is also on the agenda.  Dr. Rhee was one of the doctors, perhaps the highest-profile one, who work on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the other survivors of the recent mass shooting in Tucson.

- Economic Development and Job Creation will meet at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in SHR109.  Looks quiet so far.

- Finance will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday in SHR1.  6 bills on the agenda; 5 are for business/corporate tax cuts.  Perhaps this committee should be renamed as "De-finance."

- Border Security, Federalism, and States Sovereignty will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday in SHR109.  On the agenda:  SB1214, authorizing and directing the governor to enter into alliances with other states that oppose health care reform, and SCR1016, calling for a federal Constitutional convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to require that any increase in the federal debt requires approval from a majority of state legislatures.

- Various subcommittees of Appropriations will meet at 9 a.m. on Friday for budget hearings.  Agendas here, here, and here.
 
 
 
Events at the Capitol (and environs) this week here and here (courtesy the AZ Capitol Times)