Lege's GOPers hide from public to prepare next salvo against state workers

The Arizona Capitol Times has a story up, written by Luige del Puerto (subscription required) about how the GOP members of the Arizona Senate went behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the ways they plan to remove Arizona's few employment protections for state workers.

Among the "highlights" of the scheme, which is pretty much the same as a scheme she pushed at the end of the 2011 legislative session -

- Removal of merit protection for state employees.  All would serve at the governor's pleasure, essentially turning the state government into one giant nest of patronage and corruption.

- Current employees would still enjoy some protections - until they wanted a pay raise or a change in duties.  To get either, employees would have to waive their protections.

- Supervisors and new employees would have no protections at all, starting immediately.

- The appeals process for employment related decisions and actions would be "streamlined", to put it mildly.  In addition to all-but-eliminating appeals within the state's personnel system, employees who thought a disciplinary action was"capricious" or "arbritrary" would no longer be able to take the matter to superior court.

Combined with their all out attack on the unions representing the state's public sector employees, including teachers, police, and firefighters, the Republicans are set up to turn the state's government employment system into their private "profit center".

Something tells me that when and if the Rs get their way, anybody who wants a state job will be "encouraged" to proffer the appropriate political bribes contributions, or maybe slip the right lobbyist a little brown bag.


Look for the Rs in the lege and Jan Brewer to work out a deal on how to best eviscerate the state's employees..."best" for the Rs anyway...

It must be spring - candidates are just sprouting everywhere

...In CD8 (Tucson), Ron Barber, the long-time district director for Gabby Giffords, is likely to enter the race to serve out the rest of her term.  He seems most likely to enter the race as a placeholder, finishing out the term but not running for a full term of his own.  If that is so, most of the Ds who have expressed interest in the seat will probably forego a run in the special election and focus on the fall election.

...State Rep. Vic Williams (R-Tucson). former state representative Nancy Young Wright (D) and former AZGOP chair Mike Hellon (R)  are running for District 1 spot on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

...The outgoing mayor of Tempe, Hugh Hallman (R), is considering a run for Congress, most likely in the new CD9.  Not exactly breaking news, that.  His interest in higher office is well-known around Tempe, and this particular interest has been talked about for months.

...In other not-exactly-breaking news, freshman GOP congressman Ben Quayle has chosen to run against fellow freshman GOPer David Schweikert in the R primary in the new CD6.  Quayle lives in the new CD9, but that's a competitive district.  CD6 is so strongly Republican, the winner of the primary is likely to be the winner of the general election.

...A number of other folks have filed paperwork for Congress.  I'll call them "minor" candidates, but not out of disrespect.  It only means that I've never heard of them before.  When they show that they have some game (like by gathering enough sigs to gain a spot on the ballot), I'll list them.

...Also, there have been a number of filings for legislative seats.  As the AZ lege is basically "entry level" for politics in AZ, it isn't surprising that I haven't heard of most of them.  It will take some time to research them all.

Expect the candidate filings to accelerate over the couple of months.

Picture of the week: Jobs situation

There are many on the R side of the aisle that urge a vote for their presidential candidate (likely Romney, but the primary/caucus season is still ongoing) because they are "better for jobs and the economy".

Barack Obama has been president for 36 months, entering office in 2009 at the depths of the deepest economic recession/depression since the Great Depression.

Businesses were collapsing everywhere and people (other than the 1%) were losing their jobs, homes, and the lives they had built up over decades of hard work.

By the beginning of 2011, Obama (and the rest of the country, for that matter) was faced with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives that, that for partisan political purposes, was implacably opposed to any ideas or efforts to improve the economic condition of the country.  Or anything else about the country.

In spite of that, the country has seen 23 consecutive months of private sector job growth, and 33 consecutive month of positive trends (meaning there were 10 months of shrinking job loss numbers)

Things aren't perfect, and it will be years before the country returns to "normal" (whatever that may be), but the choice in November will be between one candidate who is working to make things better for the entire country (Obama) and one who has made a career out of generating personal wealth from destroying companies in the most profitable way (in the words of one of his R opponents, "managing the decay").

Barack Obama should be re-elected, and a vote for him isn't just the best choice, it's an easy choice.

The coming week....

First: an apology to readers for not finishing last week's legislative schedule post.  My personal schedule got tight, and these posts take 6 - 8 hours to put together when the lege's committees are going full speed.

Hence, the early start on this is meant to ensure that this is done by Monday.  And since I'm going to spend most of Sunday watching or in preparation for watching the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl... :)

Those visiting the Arizona Capitol this week may want to think about wearing body armor - the gun nuts firearms industry lobbyists will be out in force this week.  Lots of gun-related bills on a number of different agendas.


As usual, all agendas are subject to change without notice. 


On the House side of the Capitol -

...Monday at 1 p.m., Rules will meet in HHR4.  Long agenda.  It may take them all of five minutes to approve it.  Preview of coming floor calendars.

...Monday at 2 p.m., Ways and Means will meet in HHR1.  Lots of mischief on this one.  Many of the bills look to carve out tax breaks for special interests.  One lowlight:  a same subject striker to SB1047, increasing the allowable tax credits for contributions to Steve Yarbrough school tuition organizations.  The fiscal note attached to rhe original bill estimates that it would cost the state $4 million in revenue starting in FY2013, but they also low-ball the estimate.  The striker doesn't look to be too different from the original, but I haven't closely looked at the differences.

Note: when a Senate bill reaches a House committee this quickly, the measure is being fast tracked.  In a big way.

...Monday at 2 p.m., Energy and Natural Resources will meet in HHR4.  Short agenda, but one very bad bill - HB2640, allowing hunters to use ammunition magazines of unlimited size.  'Cuz you never know when you are going to miss that jackrabbit with the first 15 rounds.

...Monday at 2 p.m., Education will meet in HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2505, "adjusting" high school academic curriculum standards by added financial literacy to mathematics classes, and free market economics and the history of capitalism to social studies classes (there is a proposed amendment to the bill striking the social studies clause, but don't expect this attempt at propagandizing school curriculums to go away).

...Monday at 2 p.m., Banking and Insurance will meet in HHR5.  Mostly features bills relating to workmen's compensation and unemployment insurance.  HB2519 is a measure intended to make life a little tougher for the unemployed.

...Tuesday at 2 p.m., Government will meet in HHR4.  Included: a same subject striker to HB2168, mandating municipalities with more than 100K residents to implement a process for building permits that would allow builders/developers to "self-certify" their compliance with building codes.

...Wednesday at  9 a.m., Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet in HHR3.  Up for consideration: HB2728, allowing the use of silencers while hunting.  I'd make another "jackrabbits" wisecrack, but combined with the "limitless" magazines bill above, the cynic in me thinks that the intended prey for these hunters is a little browner and a lot taller than the average jackrabbit.  And that isn't something to joke about.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Health and Human Services will meet in HHR4.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Commerce will meet in HHR5.  On the agenda: a striker to HB2606 titled "liquor omnibus" (text not available as yet). "Omnibus" bills often have nuggets of nastiness, so keep an eye on this one.

...Wednesday at 10 a.m., Higher Education, Innovation, and Reform will meet in HHR1. 

...Wednesday at 2 p.m., Appropriations will meet in HHR1.  On the agenda:  Budget presentations from the Department of Corrections and AHCCCS.  Also, HB2736, requiring any state agencies, boards, or commissions that apply to the federal government for any grants or financial assistance greater than $500K to submit the application to the lege's Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) for "review".  I think this bill would set up JLBC, aka the lege, as a gatekeeper between executive branch organizations and federal funding.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Transportation will meet in HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2678, creating a "virtual" driver's license; HCM2004, a memorial (aka - letter to Congress) asking them to stop collecting the federal highway tax, which is dedicated to funding transportation projects, so that states can get their hands on the money directly; HB2358, authorizing the creation of public-private partnerships for the operation of highway toll facilities; and Rep. Steve Farley's HB2046, barring license plate covers or anything else that diminishes the readability of characters on a license plate (hey, I have to include at least one decent bill per week, right?).

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Technology and Infrastructure will meet in HHR1.  On the agenda:  HB2403, the annual attack on newspapers but removing one of their primary sources of revenue - the mandatory publication of legal notices; a striker to HB2417 that would allow government communications that are, by law, required to be in writing to be by email.  I'm not sure, but this measure seems so broadly written that things like legal summonses, court orders, and other court documents are covered by it; HB2647, a Rio Nuevo bill (there are many provisions in this where I don't understand the impact, so I will leave the commentary on this one to the southern AZ experts at Blog for Arizona).

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Judiciary will meet in HHR4.  Long agenda, many bad bills.  Lowest of the lowlights: HCR2005, a proposed amendment to the AZ constitution to mandate that any voter-approved measures that mandate any kind of spending or revenues must be reauthorized every six fiscal years.  Guess the Rs don't like the voters interfering in the drive to destroy Arizona's social safety net.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Agriculture and Water will meet in HHR5.  On the agenda:  HJR2002, surrendering Arizona's rights to a certain quantity of water from the Colorado River to some contractors.

...The House's Third Read (final approval) Calendar is here.  Nothing that appears to be too controversial.


On the Senate side of the Capitol -

...Monday at 1 p.m., Rules will meet in Senate Caucus Room 1.  As with the agenda before the Rules committee in the House, the agenda is long and best serves as a preview of floor calendars for the rest of the week and early next week.

...Monday at 2 p.m. or upon adjournment of the floor session, Natural Resources and Transportation will meet in SHR109.

...Monday at 2 p.m. or upon adjournment of the floor session, Judiciary will meet in SHR1.  The nastiest agenda of the week.  Up for consideration: SB1304, removing the ability of counties and municipalities to pass laws restricting or barring the discharge of firearms within a quarter mile of an occupied structure (you know, like a house); SB1448, making is OK to pack heat in a public building if access to that building is not restricted by a cop or security guard; SB1474, the annual "guns in schools" bill; SB1479, a bill with too many provisions to summarize quickly here, but it's another in the pro-gun/anti-society group of gun bills this year; and SCR1021, a proposed amendment to the AZ constitution to end Clean Elections.

...Monday at 2 p.m., or upon adjournment of the floor session, Education will meet in SHR3.  Lowlight:  SB1443, creating state mandated standards for teacher performance pay (heavily weighted toward scores on statewide tests).

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

...Tuesday at 2 p.m., Banking and Insurance will meet in SHR3.  On the agenda:  at least a couple of bills that Sen. Nancy Barto is shilling for the health insurance industry.

...Tuesday at 2 p.m., Appropriations will meet in SHR109.  Looks fairly quiet right now, but that will change as budget time looms.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Government Reform will meet in SHR1.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Public Safety and Human Services will meet in SHR3.  On the agenda: SB1364, further easing regulations of fireworks in Arizona and barring municipalities and counties from crafting stronger regulations; SB1365, allowing licensed professionals to engage in unprofessional behavior without repercussion if they cite religious beliefs as justification for those actions; would also allow people and businesses to breach contracts if they cite religious beliefs; includes a clause that would bar public bodies, including the state's courts and judicial branch boards and commissions, from refusing to nominate or appoint someone to a position because of his/her religious beliefs.  Directly aimed at the Arizona Commission of Appellate Court Appointments.  In late 2010, when the Commission was screening applicants for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, one of the members of the judicial commission expressed reservations about an applicant because of the applicant's belief that church and state shouldn't be separate.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Commerce and Energy will meet in SHR109.  On the agenda: SB1510, messing with the state lottery.

...Wednesday at 2 p.m., Water, Land Use, and Rural Development will meet in SHR3.  Best summary for this agenda:  Why don't they just name this committee the "Senate Anti-Enviroment Committee"?

...Wednesday at 2 p.m., Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform will meet in SHR3.  Lots of Nancy Barto-pushed bills for the health insurance industry.

...Wednesday at 2 p.m., Economic Development and Jobs Creation will meet in SHR109.  One bill on the agenda thus far: SB1301, creating a tax credit for "community development entities" certified by Jan Brewer's Commerce Authority.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Finance will meet in SHR1.  Analogous to the Ways and Means Committee in the House, and like that committee, focused on carving out exemptions for special interests.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Border Security, Federalism, and States Security will meet in SHR109.  The agenda is short on items, but as is the pattern for this committee, long on lunacy.  On the agenda:  SB1332, which directs the federal government to surrender all federal lands in the state to Arizona by the end of 2014 or those lands will be subject to state taxes (ummm, yeaaahhhh.  Good luck with that one.); SB1358, creating a legislative committee to "neutralize" any federal laws that it doesn't like (ditto).


...The lege's events calendar for the week is here; the Arizona Capitol Times' Capitol Calendar is here.

Pearce throwing in papers to run for state senate seat: He's baaaaack...

From the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Jeremy Duda -

Recalled former Sen. Russell Pearce is eyeing a return to the Capitol.

Pearce, who was ousted in a historic recall election in November, filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office on Jan. 30 to run for the Senate in the new District 25.

In the article, Pearce is indirectly quoted (from this article from Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services) as saying this is not a guarantee that he will run, that the paperwork was only a "technical" matter. 

However, given the arrogance of Pearce and his supporters, I expect that he will have to be defeated two or even three times before he (and they) start to get the message.

If he does actually run (and I think that he will run for *something*, but for now, I'm presuming that he is going to run for the senate), because the maps of the new legislative districts place his house in the new LD25, he will face current Sen. Rich Crandall.  Crandall is often referred to as a moderate Republican in the media, but he is the guy who is pushing a bill in the lege to allow Arizona's schools to opt out of the federal free/subsidized lunch program for poor students.

In other words, calling him a "moderate" Republican says a *lot* about where the Arizona GOP is located ideologically these days, but it doesn't really say much for Crandall.

Anyway, Pearce's candidate committee information is here.

More candidate updates and other stuff...

...First, the "other stuff" -

On a sad note, Michael D. Ryan, the highly-regarded former Arizona Supreme Court Justice, passed away on Monday.  His funeral services will be held Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church on Central Avenue in Phoenix at 3 p.m.  Services will be preceded by visitation at 2 p.m.  As a veteran (a hero, actually), his body will probably be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

Calling him "highly regarded" is an understatement.  He is one of the reasons that the Arizona Judicial branch is the branch of Arizona government that is respected across the country for its professionalism, in many ways because it now reflects the professionalism, diligence, and fairness that he brought to it as a prosecutor, Superior Court judge, and finally, as a Supreme Court justice.

My condolences go out to his family, friends, and colleagues.


...Now for the "candidate" stuff -

...State Rep. Matt Heinz (D-Tucson) has announced his candidacy for the CD8 seat recently vacated by the recovering Gabby Giffords.  He is a likely candidate for the special election in June (though he has said that he will support Giffords staffer Ron Barber if Barber runs in the special) and a definite candidate in the regular election in November.  Because he is in the last year of his term in the lege, he won't have to resign under Arizona's "resign to run" law.

He may be the first candidate to jump into the race, and is the first state legislator to jump in, but he won't be the last, on either count.

Note:  State Sen. Frank Antenori (R-Bully) has announced that he will run for the seat in November.  I'm not sure about his plans for the special election.

...Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock has announced that he will not seek reelection.  He has been fighting the effects of a sex scandal involving his wife, his daughter, and an underaged boy.  He was already facing a strong GOP challenger, but this should open up the race completely.

Resignations, plants, and rumors: Candidates update

...Confirming rumors of long standing, Andrei Cherny has resigned as chair of the Arizona Democratic Party to run for Congress in the new CD9.  He joins State Senator David Schapira and Kyrsten Sinema in the field pursuing the Democratic nomination.  No paperwork is up on the FECs website, but his campaign website is already up (bare bones, but it's there).  His entry muddies up the race somewhat.  Rumored results of recent polling (in other words, take this with a grain of salt) point toward Cherny not being able to win a three-way race, and it looks like he would be unlikely to defeat Sinema straight up.  He trails but is closer to Schapira.  It will be interesting to see in which direction his attacks are aimed.

...As for the Congressional seat recently vacated by the recovering Gabby Giffords, there's an email circulating saying that Tim Sultan, a former candidate for Congress and the lege and an active member of the Democrats of Greater Tucson, is going to jump into that race.  As of last week, he was still officially just "considering" the move, but the email makes it sound like a done deal.

...One John Rowan has entered the race for the Democratic nomination for Maricopa County Sheriff.  He's touting himself as a "conservative Democrat".  Given that the job of county sheriff in any county in any state should filled by a non-ideological professional, it was a little surprising to read about Rowan's proclamation of his ideological position.  However, becomes less surprising when one finds out that until recently, Rowan was a registered Republican.

His organizational paperwork is here.  He is serving as both his own committee chair and committee treasurer.

...In Scottsdale, Virginia Korte, a long-time presence in the business community, has opened a committee for a run, not at mayor as was rumored, but for city council.  Her campaign co-chairs are Carolyn Allen, a retired state senator, and Jim Bruner, a former Maricopa County supervisor.

The coming week, part 1

Due to the lateness of the hour, this post will cover only Monday's schedule at the Arizona Capitol.  A post on the rest of the weeks schedule will go up Monday night.  I'm not going into a lot of depth here tonight, so if an agenda or committee covers an area that you are interested in, click on the agenda and check out the rest of the bills...

All agendas and their specifics, including but not limited to, times, places, and bills to be considered, are subject to change without notice.

Note:  All rooms beginning with an "HHR" prefix are in the House of Representatives building; "SHR" indicates the room is in the Senate building.


On the House side of the Capitol -

Rules will meet at 1 p.m. on Monday in HHR4.  Long agenda, and mostly, but not completely, non-controversial.  Most of the measures will appear on a floor agenda later in the week.

Ways and Means will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday in HHR1.  Lots of mischief on this agenda, much of it focused on gutting or completely ending the state's capital gains tax.

Energy and Natural Resources will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday in HHR4.  Some "red meat" kind of bills on the agenda, mostly of the "federal government is bad" variety.

Education will meet at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  Some bad bills on this agenda, but the "highlight" of the agenda is a presentation on "Biblical Literacy and Academic Achievement" by an academic hired gun from California.

Banking and Insurance will meet at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  Short agenda that looks to be pretty harmless.


On the Senate side of the Capitol -

Rules will meet upon adjournment of the floor session in Senate Caucus Room 1.  Long agenda.

Natural Resources and Transportation will meet at 2 p.m or upon adjournment of Rules in SHR109.  The agenda looks short and relatively harmless.

Judiciary will meet at 2 p.m. or upon adjournment of Rules in SHR1.  Some very bad bills on this one.  The worst:  SB1241, mandating that weapons and explosives used in crimes that are forfeited must be sold off by the confiscating entity within a year, and removes local influence over the process.  Note:  it is already a requirement in Arizona that such confiscated items be sold and not destroyed.  This measure would add a time requirement.

Education will meet at 2 p.m. or upon adjournment of Rules in SHR3.  Short agenda, and not too bad. Yet.  It's early in the session, though.

Andy Tobin taking the lead in the Republican fight against independent redistricting

...and the fun part is:  he wants the voters to pay $8 million for the privilege of subverting their own will...

Rep. Andy Tobin (R-Paulden), the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, has introduced HB2710, HCR2051, HCR2052, HCR2053, and HR2005.  If passed, they would mandate a special election in May where the voters would be "asked" to amend the independent redistricting provisions in the Arizona constitution.

HB2710 would call the special election.

If passed by the voters, HCR2051 would take the "independent" out of "independent redistricting commission".  It would take the current 5-member Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC), where no political hacks are allowed (meaning no party precinct committeemen, or PCs.  Full disclosure:  I'm a Democratic PC, so I can call PCs "hacks." :) ) and turn it into a cesspool of hackery, with 12 politically-appointed members.  It would also remove the requirement under current law that there be an Independent member of the AIRC.  In addition, it would remove the requirement that the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments screen the applicants.

[start sarcasm] Obviously, as the judicial branch of government in Arizona is the only branch the receives, or is even worthy of, respect for its professionalism, so it shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the redistricting process. [end sarcasm]

If passed by the voters, HCR2052 and HCR2053 would scrap the the legislative and Congressional maps, respectively, in favor of maps drawn by Tobin.

HR2005 is a resolution where the legislature (or to be realistic, the Republicans in the legislature) pledge to base their maps on the scribblings and the electoral alchemy of the Republicans' own Andy Tobin.

It's "alchemy" because Tobin is trying to turn the iron clauses of the Arizona constitution into a golden opportunity for job security for the Capitol's elected Republicans.

Even more infuriating than Tobin et. al.'s open contempt for the will of the voters (we are the ones who created the independent redistricting process specifically to take it away from legislators interested only in serving their own self interests above all else) or even the best interests of the people of Arizona (we are served best by public officials who have to answer to the entire electorate in their districts, not just a few partisan extremists) is his plan to have the voters pay (subscription required) more than $8 million for the special election/Hail Mary pass.  On top of that, Tobin has defended (subscription required) the secrecy that shrouded his drawing of the maps that he wants to implement, and the use of a taxpayer-funded employee of the legislature, John Mills, to aid him in his quest to overthrow the voters' independent redistricting process.

An interesting two-step for someone who has criticized the AIRC for spending too much money (expenses incurred in part to deal with the litigation stemming from previous attempts to subvert the process by elected Republicans) and has complained that the AIRC's dozens of meetings and hearings with hundreds of hours of testimony isn't transparent enough.

Note: in this context, "interesting" is a synonym for "hypocritical."  In case you couldn't figure that out on your own. :)

Of course, Tobin's scheme pre-supposes that...

a) the other Republicans in the lege go along with Tobin's scheme (IMO, highly likely);

b) the voters go along with Tobin's scheme (IMO, less likely, but given that a special election would be a low-turnout affair dominated by partisan GOTV efforts, definitely possible); and

c) the US DOJ goes along with Tobin's scheme (IMO, highly unlikely given the secrecy and deliberate exclusion of minority groups specifically and the public in general from the crafting of his maps).


On the other hand, Tobin's proposals are so sloppily written that it makes me wonder if this is more about posturing for his caucus or for the inevitable redistricting-related lawsuits than anything else.

As written, HCRs 2052 and 2053 appear to be mutually exclusive.  They each propose to amend the same part of the Arizona constitution by inserting identically labelled clauses.

From HCR2052

From HCR2053









Now, I'm just a layman with no advanced (or even beginning-level) legal education or experience, but it seems any credible attempt to amend the Arizona constitution would at least be correctly written, especially as it comes from putative subject matter experts such as Tobin and his "associate" Mills.

However, given that Tobin's maps guarantee him a safe district, credibility may not have been a consideration in Tobin's scheming, just ensuring his continued seat on the West Washington Gravy Train.

As near as I can tell, the measures haven't been agendized for committee consideration as yet, probably because they haven't been assigned to any as yet while they await for the Speaker to "first read" the bills and assign them to committee.  The timing of that and the specific committee that they are assigned to is completely within the Speaker's discretion and is often subject to the vagaries of the relationship between the introducing sponsor and the Speaker.

In this case, I expect the measures to be formally introduced, First Read, and assigned to committee on Monday.

Something tells me that Rep. Andy Tobin is on good terms with Speaker Andy Tobin.  :)


Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services has coverage here, via the East Valley Tribune.

AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona has his take here.

Steve at Arizona Eagletarian offers his take here.

The Democratic caucus of the Arizona House of Representatives has a statement from Rep. Chad Campbell, House Minority Leader, here.

Wendy Rogers talking up a run for Congress

According to a little birdie (meaning a source I can't name, but who I trust) Republican Wendy Rogers, late of a losing campaign for state senate (she challenged and lost to David Schapira in 2010), was at a Republican LD meeting this week talking up a run for Congress in the new 9th Congressional District.

Apparently, she is still so ticked at Schapira for defeating her once, she wants to give him a chance to do it again (Schapira is already running in CD9)...

Anyway, the rumor looks spot on - while her paperwork isn't on the FEC's website, her legislative campaign website has been reborn as a Congressional campaign site.

Arizona: The place where free speech goes to die...

By now, everyone has heard of the Republicans', led by Tom Horne and John Huppenthal, banning of Tucson's Ethnic Studies program, and of the Tucson Unified School District topping that by banning the books that were part of the curriculum (as well as many more).

The Republicans didn't and don't approve of anything that contradicts their ideological stance that all brown people are bad.

By now, most Capitol watchers have heard of the decision by the Legislative Council, the group tasked with directly overseeing Capitol operations, imposing new restrictions on free speech and protests at the Capitol.  While there are a number of provisions, basically the Department of Public Safety (what Arizona calls its state police agency) will now shut down any protest or gathering deemed as too loud or disturbing by the Speaker of the Arizona House, the President of the Arizona Senate, or the head of the Legislative Council's staff (all Republicans, or working for Republicans).

The Republicans didn't and don't approve of anybody criticizing them within their hearing. 

Now comes the latest outrage - they plan to bar public input on the state's budget.  On Tuesday, two of the agencies that represent two of the biggest chunks of the state's budget gave presentations to the Senate Appropriations Committee.  The committee chair, Sen. Don "Tequila" Shooter (R-Yuma) forbade public testimony on the subject.  That went so well (for him and the other Rs on the committee, anyway), he now plans (subscription required) to impose the same barrier when the Senate takes up actual budget proposals.

The Republicans didn't and don't approve of anyone who stands up and calls them out for their moves to steamroll the state's schools and middle and working classes.

To top it off, while they oppose and wish to suppress any and all speech that they disagree with, they have no problem with *mandating* speech that they like. 

Witness HB2041, requiring a high school course on "free enterprise".  Students would have to pass the course before they could obtain a high school diploma.  Based on the text of the bill, the curriculum requirements could have been written by Ayn Rand (though more likely, it was written by a Goldwater Institute or ALEC hack.  Especially since Ayn Rand has been dead since 1982 or so ).

Welcome to Arizona, where the people are free to express...whatever the Republicans, particularly those in the legislature, are OK with.

The coming week...part two...

Yesterday, the Arizona House; tonight, the Senate and other stuff...

...Tuesday at 9 a.m., Veterans, Military, and Government Affairs will meet in SHR3.  Fairly quiet.

...Tuesday at 2 p.m., Banking and Finance will meet in SHR3.  Fairly quiet. (caveat:  There are bills on this short agenda that I don't understand, so they may be sneaky bad bills.)

...Tuesday at 2 p.m., Appropriations will meet in SHR109.  Presentations but no bills.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Public Safety and Human Services will meet in SHR3.  There are a few adoption/child custody-related measures that don't appear to be too bad (perhaps not coincidentally, two of the measures are sponsored/cosponsored by Democrats) and SB1114, slightly weakening Arizona's requirements for ignition interlock devices in the cars of DUI violators.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Government Reform will meet in SHR1.  Relatively quiet, though there are a few measures related to HOAs and to planned communities.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Commerce and Energy will meet in SHR109.  A few executive nominations, a few bills, and a presentation from Freeport McMoran.

...Wednesday at 2 p.m., Water, Land Use, and Rural Development will meet in SHR3.  Another quiet one.

...Wednesday at 2 p.m., Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform will meet in SHR1.  Executive nominations, a presentation, and a couple of bills.  Highlight:  SB1032, an anti-health care reform/anti-federal government "health care compact bill".

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Finance will meet in SHR1.  Looks relatively quiet.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Border Security, Federalism, and States' Sovereignty will meet in SHR109.  As with last year, this committee looks like it will have the most ideologically pure, and purely batty, bills.  Nuggets up this week:  SB1081, giving county boards of supervisors the authority to declare a state of emergency in national forests and contract out logging of those forests; SCR1008, a concurrent resolution related to SB1081; SB1083, creating and funding the "Arizona Guard", a state-sanctions "border security" force (aka - an anti-brown people vigilante force).


The House and Senate floor calendars are here.

This week's Capitol events calendar is here; Arizona Capitol Times' Capitol Events calendar is here.

Later...

The coming week...

Well, it's time to watch your civil rights and hide the children and small animals - the lege is back in town.

Actually, they've been back for a couple of weeks now, but I've been busy and the first couple of weeks are mostly dedicated to getting organized.  Most of the bills that move through committee this early in the session tend to be pretty non-controversial (though that's not always true, it's close enough for now).

So for the first schedule post of the year:

On the House side of the Capitol -

...Monday, the Rules Committee is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. in HHR4.  The agenda is a long one.  It may take them all of five minutes to approve it en bloc.  The long Rules agenda this early in the session may be an indication that the lege is planning on an early exit this year, mostly so they can ramp up their election campaigns as soon as possible.

...Monday at 2 p.m., the Ways and Means Committee will meet in HHR1.  Highlights:  HB2212, raising the revenue threshold that must be met before tax-exempt organizations are required to file a state income tax return; HB2123, Rep. Steve Court's proposal to establish a committee to study and recommend ways to end the state's income tax and go to a system where the government's revenue would be based almost totally on a regressive sales tax.

...Monday at 2 p.m., the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will meet in HHR4.  There are two bills on the agenda currently.  Both have Democrats as the lead prime, or originating, sponsor (Reps. Chad Campbell and Matt Heinz).  As such, while the measures may pass this committee, they almost certainly won't go any further.  In the AZ lege, most proposals from Democrats go nowhere fast - unless an R decides he/she likes it and proposes a duplicate proposal, with the R's name as the lead sponsor.

...Monday at 2 p.m., the Education Committee will meet in HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2171, a plan to repeal the Public School Information Hot Line Program and the School Safety Clearinghouse Program; HB2180, creating a "pilot program" for basing school funding on student test scores and other criteria.

...Monday at 2 p.m., the Banking and Finance Committee will meet in HHR5.  Highlight:  Rep. Jack Harper's HB2079, proposing to make it easier for mortgage loan originators to obtain a mortgage broker's license.  The measure looks to be a self-serving one.  From Harper's Twitter page -

The other measures may qualify as "sneaky bad", but none are as entertaining as anything proposed by Harper.

...Tuesday at 2 p.m., Employment and Regulatory Affairs will meet in HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2264, a proposal to return the employer/employee contribution percentages into the state government retirement fund to 50/50.  It was changed to 47/53 last year, but now the Republicans want to change it back.  Not sure why yet, but my cynicism is running wild on this one.  This would be the decent and honorable thing to do, and the majority in this legislature doesn't do "decent and honorable."  Waiting for the other shoe to drop here...

...Wednesday at 9 a.m, Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet in HHR3.  Highlight (so to speak):  HJR2001, a mish-mash of 2nd Amendment and anti-UN rhetoric from Jack Harper and Sen. Ron Gould.

...Wedneday at 9 a.m., Higher Education, Innovation will meet in HHR1.  Highlights:  HB2349, a move to add institutions of higher education to the list of places where possession and use of medical marijuana is barred.  The voter-approved (and protected) medical marijuana mandate already lists pre-K to 12 schools as places where medical marijuana is barred but does NOT list higher education facilities; HB2383, Rep. Eddie Farnsworth's Measles Protection Act proposal to bar the state's universities and community colleges from requiring that applicants receive immunizations as a condition of enrollment/admission.

...Wednesday at 9 a.m., Health and Human Services will meet in HHR4.  The agenda is fairly long and filled with items that are either non-controversial or that I don't completely understand.  If your area of interest is covered by this committee, examine the agenda and then look into an bills that interest you.

...Wednesday at 10 a.m., Commerce will meet in HHR5.

...Wednesday at 2 p.m., Appropriations will meet in HHR1.  The agenda is short.  Highlight:  HCM2007, pleading with the US Congress that they pass a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Transportation will meet in HHR3.  Highlight:  HB2512, a ban on texting while driving.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Technology and Infrastructure will meet in HHR1.  Highlight:  HB2403, the now-annual proposal to end the requirement that public notices (articles of incorporation, etc.) be published in a newspaper by allowing the notices to be published on the internet.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Judiciary will meet in HHR4.  On the agenda:  HB2385. a measure regarding campaign finance reporting for corporate "independent" expenditures; HB2386, a bill to limit the liability of corporations for asbestos-related claims.

...Thursday at 9 a.m., Agriculture and Water will meet in HHR5.  For some reason, HCR2007, a proposed amendment to the AZ Constitution declaring state sovereignty over pretty much everything, has been assigned to this committee; HJR2002, a resolution to allow the state's director of water resources to "forbear" Arizona's rights to a certain part of its Colorado River water allocation.  I freely admit that I don't understand this one, but given that 1) we live in a desert and need every drop of water we have and 2) legislative Republicans are behind this bill, it may be a case of Arizona's future being sacrificed in order to benefit somebody's campaign contributors.

Yes, I'm a cynic.  :)


On the Senate side of the Capitol -

It's getting late, so I will have to write up that half of the week on Monday night.  The Senate's committee schedule is here.  Monday's schedule includes meetings of the Rules, Judiciary, Education, and Natural Resources and Transportation Committees.



...

Breaking: Giffords retiring

A year after she was was shot through the brain in an attack that claimed the lives of six people and wounded 13 other people, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has announced that she is stepping down from Congress this week.

Message from Giffords -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAetv47b-Eg


This will necessitate a special election to fill her seat for the remainder of her term.  The winner of that special election will then have to run again in November for a full term.

More details on the candidates for the race(s) as they make themselves known.  Expect a slew of former and current state legislators to look at the seat.


Let me say this:

We will miss her deeply, and I hope her stepping back from public life isn't for long.

David Schapira makes it official: Next stop, Congress

State Senator David Schapira (D-LD17) ended weeks of speculation Tuesday when he announced that he is running for Congress in Arizona's new 9th Congressional District.

His focus, both personally and politically, has been, is, and will be on education and economic issues.

One of his motivations for running for a Congressional seat is to see that the coming reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind act is handled properly.

Schapira has been a legislator since 2007, serving two terms in the Arizona House before winning a seat in the Arizona State Senate in 2010.  He is also now serving as the captain of the Senate Democrats' softball team Democratic caucus (hey - there's nine of them, and I'm not too proud to go for the obvious punch line :) ).

In addition to that, currently he is a member of the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board.

Even before his first election, Schapira was already a public servant, working as a high school teacher.

In addition to his legislative duties over the last few years, he has been a small business owner and an instructor at Arizona State University.

Schapira was born in west Mesa and lives in Tempe with his wife Rosemary and their two daughters.

His campaign website is here.

A few pics from his announcement event Tuesday night -

In case you're more of a visual learner.

Schapira greeting some supporters (OK, family :) )

Rosemary Schapira introducing her husband

The next Congressman from Arizona, and the first from Arizona's 9th District, speaking to the crowd of supporters (crowd's the right word, too - more than 150 people attended)

Schapira and his friend and colleague, Representative Ed Ableser

Schapira talking to Tim Palmer of Tempe










My favorite two pics from the night aren't of the people (though there were many great people there), but it is of the cake from Honeymoon Sweets in Tempe -

Before

After :))