The Democratic Senators of the Wisconsin Legislature: Heroes For Our Time

By now, everyone has heard of the developments in Wisconsin - the Republican governor and legislative majority in Wisconsin is railroading through legislation to bust the public employee unions in Wisconsin, the affected workers - teachers, firefighters, and more - are protesting, and now the entire Democratic caucus of the Wisconsin State Senate has left the state to block the Republicans from achieving the quorum needed to vote on the union-busting measure.

In honor of the 14 Democrats who are standing up for working Wisconsans by standing up and leaving their home state, here's the list -

Tim Carpenter, Milwaukee

Spencer Coggs, Milwaukee











Timothy Cullen, Janesville (no photo available)

Jon Erpenbach, Middleton

Dave Hansen, Green Bay

Jim Holperin, Conover

Robert Jauch, Poplar











Chris Larson, Milwaukee (no photo available)

Julie Lassa, Stevens Point

Mark Miller, Monona

Luther Olsen, Ripon

Fred Risser, Madison

Lena Taylor, Milwaukee

Kathleen Vinehout, Alma

Robert Wirch, Pleasant Prairie










An open invitation to any or all 14 of the Wisconsin Senate Democrats -

On March 26, Arizona's District 17 Democrats are holding our annual "Chili Cook-off" and you are invited.  If necessary, I'll pay the admission fees for all of you, though the blogging budget can't cover airfare.

If you are still people without a home, or even a state, at the end of March, the Democrats of South Scottsdale and Tempe will welcome you with open arms and even feed you.  The quality of the chili recipes is generally very good, even the vegan, but there are probably going to be a couple of entries that you might want to avoid if you don't want your taste buds seared off.  :)

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

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

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

Not by a long shot.

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

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

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

When you find yourself in a hole, the first rule is: QUIT DIGGING!!

However, we all know what the Republicans in the Arizona legislature think about rules...

Winged Victory is the weathervane atop the old State Capitol building (actually, it was the territorial capitol building first) and legend has it that as the desert winds changed, it would turn toward Arizona's future*.

With the Arizona lege's special session passage of HB2001, the massive tax windfall for corporations (and a $538 million hole in the state's finances), Winged Victory has assumed a new pose, one that illustrates the direction the legislature is moving the state toward...

* = Actually, while there is a legend or three surrounding Winged Victory, I don't know what they are.  Let me be clear, this line was crafted for this story.  But it sounds right. :))

Deepest thanks go out to Vince Palermo, a photographer and graphic designer, for his help with turning a concept into the above picture.  His website, Vinceisvisual.com, is here.

Later...

Redistricting update: Redistricting Commission scheduled to select fifth member February 24

The four members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) who have been appointed by the leadership of the Ariizona legislature will meet next week to select a fifth member, an Independent, to fill out the membership of the AIRC and to serve as chair.

The agenda was emailed to me by Jim Drake of the Arizona Secretary of State's office.  Here's a summary:

Date: Thursday, February 24, 2011
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: State Library Conference Room, Ste. 200, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix (go to the Old Capitol and ask for directions to the office of the Director of the State Library; it's on the 2nd floor.)

Once the meeting is gavelled to order, Secretary of State Ken Bennett will administer the oath of office to the four members.  After that, they will interview the five independent candidates individually.  The planned order -

3 - 3:30 p.m. - Kimber Lanning

3:30 - 4 p.m. - Colleen Mathis

4 - 4:30 p.m. - Ray Bladine

4:30 - 5 p.m. - Paul Bender

5 - 5:30 p.m. - Margarita Silva

After the interviews, public comment will be accepted, after which the members will make their selection.  An executive session is possible/likely.

If the four members who have already been appointed cannot agree on the selection of a fifth member, the responsibility for that reverts to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.  Given that the current membership is split between two Republicans and two Democrats, that possibility isn't a remote one.  However, not personally knowing any of the current appointees, I cannot speculate on the likelihood of that occurrence.

The section of the Arizona Constitution covering this is here.

Later...

Governor gambles on cuts to AHCCCS, and is told by the feds that she won the bet...

...but the voters are standing in the way of her collecting on the bet...

On Tuesday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a response to Governor Jan Brewer's request for a waiver of federal "maintenance of effort" (MOE) standards for Arizona's Medicaid program, called AHCCCS.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary K. Reinhart -

Arizona doesn't need federal approval to eliminate 250,000 people from its Medicaid rolls in order to continue to receive federal matching dollars, health officials said Tuesday.

Lawmakers had sought to eliminate coverage for low-income Arizonans to help close a huge budget shortfall, but recently passed federal health reform mandates that states maintain their level of coverage.

In a letter to Brewer today, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the state's entire program comes up for federal reauthorization Sept. 30, and Arizona could simply choose to stop covering the childless adults who Gov. Jan Brewer and legislative Republicans are seeking to drop from the rolls.

In other words, the feds didn't grant a waiver so much as tell Brewer if she waited until the end of the federal fiscal year, she could just make changes without the need for federal action.  Brewer's almost-gleeful press release on the announcement is here.

Now Brewer faces two related problems with her effort to kick poor people off of AHCCCS -

1.  The affected population (people with an income of up to 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) isn't covered by a federal dictate or because of a decision by Arizona politicians, but because the voters *overwhelmingly* approved Proposition 204 in November 2000.  The income eligibility standard is voter-protected and cannot be overridden by Brewer or the legislature.  Historically, voters in Arizona have been loathe to overturn measures that were previously approved by the voters themselves, especially when a proposal to do so is pushed by the legislature.

2. If she convinces the legislature to refer this to the ballot, she (and they) will have to deal with the PR nightmare of explaining how the state cannot afford to help Arizona's poorest residents at the same time they're railroading through a bill to give tax gifts to corporations and the wealthy that will eventually cost Arizona taxpayers more than $500 million per year. 

Jan and her clan are going to have to some serious tapdancing on this one if they hope to cash in on the bet that they've made against the lives of Arizona's most vulnerable.

2012 Congressional Speculation

With Senate candidate speculation running wild across Arizona (Flake in, Shadegg out, Arpaio flirting, Democrats waiting until summer to see what happens with Gabrielle Giffords' recovery), now folks are starting with speculation regarding possible Congressional runs.

Some of the names so far, mostly in a run for Jeff Flake's seat (CD6) sort of way, but not really, since redistricting could make the current CD6 a totally different district (with a couple of other committees thrown in for good measure) -

Republican Kirk Adams, speaker of the Arizona House, from East Mesa

Republican Russell Pearce, president of the Arizona Senate, from Central/West Mesa

Republican Scott Smith, Mayor of Mesa

Republican Chuck Gray, former state senator from LD19 (East Mesa), close to Pearce so probably won't jump into the race if Pearce actually runs

Republican Jay Tibshraeny, current Mayor of Chandler,  former state senator, and previously considered an heir-apparent for Flake's seat if Flake moved on/out.  Redistricting could affect his decision to run/not run (that caveat could apply to almost every possible candidate, so consider it applied for each one)

Republican Rich Crandall, current state senator from East Mesa.  Crandall, Adams, and Gray are all from the same district, LD19, but they aren't close friends by any stretch and could easily end up knocking each other off, helping Smith (if he jumps in)

Republican Gabriela Saucedo Mercer has opened a committee to run against Democratic incumbent Raul Grijalva in CD7.  Haven't heard of her before this and don't know much about her.  However, if she's a serious candidate (and not just a fringe tea party type), we'll know more later in the year
Republican David Schweikert has opened a reelection committee for his seat

Democrat Harry Mitchell hasn't ruled out a run for a rematch with Schweikert, looking to reclaim the seat he formerly held

Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, like Mitchell a former member of Congress, may also run again

Republican Hugh Hallman, Mayor of Tempe, has ambitions for higher office, but any run for Congress will depend on redistricting and which other candidates jump in

Democrat Neil Giuliano, former Mayor of Tempe and former Republican, could also jump in, especially if Mitchell decides against a run.  I don't know how close he and Giuliano are, but Mitchell is the political force of nature in Tempe, so his decision will affect that of the other potential candidates

Democrat Phil Gordon, current Mayor of Phoenix whose term expires this year.  Noted for his ambition and his Phoenix-based campaign machine, if he doesn't go for the Senate seat, is seen as likely to pursue a Congressional run.  Of course, he could go for Governor in 2014, or for McCain's Senate seat in 2016, or...? :)

Republican State Senator Rick Murphy, a former (and future?) Congressional candidate, has opened a $500 Threshold Committee for a run at the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board.  Someone like Murphy standing for a public school committee slot is like someone like me standing for chair of the AZGOP.  Except that I don't want to kill off and bury the AZGOP, just help defeat them at the ballot box


There will be other names out there once the new district maps are drawn, and once the field for the soon-to-be open U.S. Senate seat sorts itself out.

Later...

Redistricting Update: Linda McNulty, lawyer from Tucson, appointed to AIRC

Senator David Schapira, leader of the Democratic caucus in the Arizona Senate, today announced his selection for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) via Facebook -

... I am pleased to announce I have selected Linda McNulty as the final legislative appointment to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Linda is an exceptionally qualified individual, and Arizonans will be well-served by her appointment to the IRC.

McNulty's application for the AIRC is here.

Special Session hiccup

Nothing major, but the special session hasn't gone totally smoothly for the Republicans.  Instead of completing passage of their corporate tax giveaway bill today, they're only going to go through Committee of the Whole (COW) today (for proposed amendments).

The bill is still expected complete passage tomorrow...

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

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

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

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

However, on the positive side -

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

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

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

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

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

Little victories...


Pics from the day -



Chief Justice Berch at the Judiciary Committee meeting

Sen. Steve Gallardo at the SB1405 press conference

Arizona "Copper Chopper" in honor of Statehood Day

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

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

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

WOW - birther bill dies in committee

Quick hit-

The first bill heard in Monday's Senate Judiciary Committee, SB1526, was a "birther" bill.  Sponsored by the committee chair, Sen. Ron Gould, it looked to have easy sailing through committee, but led by Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Steve Gallardo, the committee turned the bill back.

Republicans John McComish, Adam Driggs, and Rick Murphy joined Sinema and Gallardo in questioning the expansiveness of the bill and voted against it.

The bill isn't "dead" until the end of the session (it can come back as a strike-everything amendment to another bill at any time), but this is a stinging defeat for Gould.

I'd say he has a sour look on his face, but that's normal for him.  :)

Seriously though, he doesn't look happy.

More later...

Special Session called for later today

Nothing has been posted on the Governor's website and no bills have been posted on the legislature's website, but a special session will "organize" at 1:45 p.m.

The scope of the call for a special session only includes corporate tax cuts, but nothing that addresses the deficit (other than making it bigger).

More later...

Giffords update: She's talking!

From AP, via Yahoo! News -

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords can walk while holding onto a cart, mouth the lyrics to easy songs and have simple conversations, according to family, staff and her doctors.
Mark Kelly said in an interview broadcast Monday on NBC that he can ask his wife questions and she can respond.

"The communication is coming back very quickly," he said.

She has progressed from speaking single words to short conversations in just a few days.  This is GREAT news for her and for anybody who cares about her.

Stay tuned...

Republicans running wild in D.C. - IOKIYAR rules the day

If you have a few minutes (50 or so) and appreciate subtle farce, take a look at this video of Congressman Anthony Weiner taking U.S. House Republicans to task for failing to follow their own rules when introducing new legislation.

When the GOP took over the House of Representatives earlier this year, they made a big show of enacting a rule that requires that a member who introduces legislation must cite the section of the Constitution the specifically grants to Congress the power to legislate in that area.

When the Republicans introduced H.R. 358, one they have named the "Protect Life Act," they were in such a rush to appease a certain segment of their base that they sort of neglected to make the proper citation.

And Congressman Weiner didn't give them a free pass on their hypocrisy.  :))



Later...

Legislative update: special session likely this week

As reported by KPHO and elsewhere, and confirmed by other sources, Governor Jan Brewer is likely to call a special session of the state legislature to pass a package of corporate tax cuts.

According to one source who has seen a preliminary version of the package, it will cost the state $500 million to $800 million and isn't paid for, so more massive budget cuts, probably to K-12 education, will be needed.

The 49th Arizona Legislature (2009-2010) had nine "special" sessions.  The 50th Arizona Legislature (2011-2012) looks to be on pace to eclipse that mark.

More details as they become available...

The Coming Week, Legislative Edition - Chapter 2: The AZ House

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

Like last week, the committee schedules for the coming week are so full (and so *bad*) that this will be a split post. In addition, committee agendas are so full, that I could easily have missed something important. If a committee covers an area of interest to you, check out the agenda to make certain nothing is slipping through.

The House's schedule is up now; it seems quieter than the Senate's, but there are still a number of bad bills up this week.

Note: there are a number of "strike-everything" amendments (aka - "strikers") on this week's agendas, but no text is available for many of them as of this writing. I'll note where one is on the agenda, even if the exact nature of the amendment isn't yet known.

Note2 - an "HHR" designation on a meeting room indicates a "House Hearing Room."

In House committee activity this week -

- Rules will meet on Monday at 10 a.m. in HHR4.  Long agenda, rubber stamp.

- Ways and Means will meet Monday at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  As with Senate Finance, most of the bills are so subtle it would take someone with more time and knowledge than I have to properly summarize them here.  However a couple of the measures do stand out - a striker to HB2166, relating to the property tax classification of low income multifamily housing; HB2597, a bill to reduce the corporate tax rate to 5.4%, paid for by repealing corporate tax credits.  This one is sponsored by Democrats, hence it is fiscally responsible and has almost no chance of passing; a striker to HB2279, relating to "insurance tax credit; renewable energy"; a striker to HB2289, relating to "municipal taxes; real property rental".

Let me be clear on this agenda - there are a *lot* of bad bills here, but they are the kind that damage the state's fiscal stability for years, not the kind that get coverage on MSNBC or Dailykos.  Watch these bills.

- Energy and Natural Resources will meet Monday at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda:  HB2006, Jack Harper's plan to allow firearms within game refuges; a striker to HB2485, relating to "government land; private land; study"; HCM2002, a postcard to the feds asking them to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list.

- Education will meet on Monday at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2002, barring school districts from expending money to join an organization that attempts to influence the outcome of an election or advocates for/against proposed legislation (aimed squarely at the Arizona School Boards Association); a striker to HB2219, relating to "study committee; unification; consolidation" (creating a committee to reduce the number of school districts and/or schools in those districts); HB2301, mandating that school districts use at least half of their "maintenance and operations" funding for classroom employee salaries and allows districts to use "soft capital" money for "any lawful purpose" ("soft capital" is things like books and desks and such and is the first thing that is cut in any down year); HB2419 and HB2420, related bills requiring school districts to hire and retain phonics-certified reading teachers for K-3 (aka - micromanaging schools); HB2710, creating a committee to study ways to implement an "outcome-based" system of funding education in Arizona.

- Banking and Insurance will meet on Monday at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: HB2221, creating the Bank of Arizona, backed by taxpayer monies.

- Government will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  Long agenda.  Highlights/lowlights:  a striker to HB2064, relating to "dilapidated building; definition"; HB2140, limiting the ability of landlords to put firearms-related clauses in leases/rental agreements; a striker to HB2204, allowing municipalities to engage in regulated gambling without entering into a tribal-state gaming compact, and that any municipality that does so won't receive any revenue sharing money; a striker to HB2308, making February 14, 2012 a legal holiday called "Arizona Centennial Statehood Day"; a striker to HB2500, relating to "political signs; public right of way"; HB2644. barring municipalities, counties, or state agencies from accepting money for a construction project if those funds are conditioned on giving a preference to union labor for the project; a striker to HB2720 relating to "classification; vicious animal assault'.

Environment will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda:  a striker to HB2136, establishing a state agency fee commission to study, you know, fees assessed by state agencies; a striker to HB2538, barring prevailing wage (Davis-Bacon) policies for public works projects; HB2665, weakening enforcement of environmental regulations.

- Employment and Regulatory Affairs will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: a striker to HB2165, reducing the length of time folks are eligible for unemployment benefits (from 26 weeks to 16 weeks);  a striker to HB2423 relating to the AZ Attorney General's Office entering into contingency fee contracts with private attorneys; a striker to HB2541, relating to "medical marijuana; employer monitoring"; and the big one, HB2726, Speaker Kirk Adams' "reform" of the state's public employee pension plans (legislative staff-written summary here, proposed amendments here, here, and here).

- Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: HB2077, requiring any federal agency to register with a county's sheriff and pay a fee before operating in that county; HB2583, stating that if someone commits an act of violence and then calls for emergency services, their statements (in the 9-1-1 calls) aren't admissable in court or are public records subject to release; HB2677, imposing a fee/tax on money transfers to locations outside of the country.  It's aimed at Mexican nationals sending money to their families in Mexico, but it's written so broadly that the corporate business lobby may weigh in against this one.

- Health and Human Services will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: a striker from HB2099, relating to "hospice care; restoration" to AHCCCS (from Rep. Matt Heinz); a striker to HB2210, relating to "information; health insurance claims; disclosure" (no text available); a striker to HB2211, relating to "inpatient evaluation or treatment" (no text available).

- Commerce will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda:  HB2080, regulating "high volume internet sellers".  Aimed at users of EBay and similar sites.  Probably pushed by lobbyists from "bricks and mortar" retailed, sponsored by Jim Weiers; HB2191, also from Jim Weiers, lowering the education requirements for someone to receive a cosmetologist's licence; HB2550, Weiers' scheme to bring back payday loans by another name ("small installment loans); HB2584, removing the legal prohibition barring an employer or insurer from requiring that a patient be treated by a specific provider (titled "workers' compensation; directed care").

- Appropriations will meet on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda:  HB2577, allowing the legislature to "sweep" and reappropriate "non-custodial" federal monies; HB2707, relating to "general fund revenue limit".  Seems designed to encourage the transfer of state functions to other levels of government, but this one is wordy and should be studied by people with more expertise in this area.

- Transportation will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: HB2555, removing the ability of municipalities and other political subdivisions to regulate taxis within their jurisdictions.  Soon-to-be breaking news: SpikeTV announces their newest 'reality' TV show - "Demolition Derby: Sky Harbor Airport".

- Technology and Infrastructure will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda:  a striker to HB2114, relating to "large scale computing study" (no text available).

- Judiciary will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR4.  Looks quiet so far, but there are a couple of bills where I'm not entirely certain about their intent.

- Agriculture and Water will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR5.  Looks quiet so far, but bills like HB2312 and HB2314 could be sneaky bad and may warrant examination later in the week.

Later...