Arizona Legislature: The coming week, part 2

Because of the length of a few of the agendas, this post covers only committee activities scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.  Monday and Tuesday's activities are covered here.

As usual, all committee agendas, floor calendars, and event schedules are subject to change without notice. Call ahead to confirm plans before travelling to the Capitol based on an agenda, calendar, or schedule cited here.

Notes:

If an agenda is summarized with "looks harmless so far" that only means that nothing on the agenda set off "bat-shit crazy" alarm bells; if the committee in question covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself. And if I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

A hearing room designation of "SHR" means it is a hearing room in the Senate building; "HHR" means that the hearing room is in the House building.

Lastly, this summary is not, nor is it intended to be, comprehensive. Many bills have been covered, but not all of them. Again, if a committee covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself.

Floor activity:  Wednesday's House COW calendar is here and Third Read calendar is here; Wednesday's Senate Third Read calendar is here.

Committee activity:

Senate side of the Capitol -

Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, Wednesday, 8:45 a.m., SHR109.  Looks harmless so far.

Commerce, Energy, and Military, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: SB1380, giving workers' compensation coverage to members of sheriffs' volunteer posses.  Apparently, Joe Arpaio and Paul Babeu (and some of the other county sheriffs in AZ) are afraid that their personal henchmen may get hurt on their unpaid jobs.  And think that real workers and real employers should pick up the tab.

Public Safety, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  On the agenda:  a striker to SB1408 that would allow a valid fingerprint clearance card to serve in lieu of a criminal background check of prospective adoptive parents; a striker to SB1075 that has some awkward and confusing language in it.  I think this is a bad bill designed to benefit those who impound and/or tow motor vehicles for fun and profit, but am not sure.

Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: SB1376, imposing a layer of reporting requirements on "Assisted Reproductive Technology Facilities" (fertility clinics and any facility that deals with embryos).  It's a measure pushed/supported by the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy.  'Nuff said about that one...; SB1438, "Establishes procedures for pharmacists to follow when substituting a prescribed biological product (biologic) for a biosimilar product (biosimilar) before dispensing" (from the lege staff's summary of the bill); SB1442, transferring the section of state law that bans possession or use of medical marijuana in a childcare facility into the section of law that applies to medical marijuana.  Because medical marijuana is voter-protected, this will take a 3/4 vote if it reaches a floor vote; and SB1115 and SCR1002, relating to direct prices for health care procedures.  The related measures are from Rep. Nancy Barto (R-healthcare industry lobbyist with the title of an elected official) and look as if they are designed to undermine the impact of federal health care reform in Arizona.

Finance, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  On the agenda:  SB1383, imposing limits on local district property taxes (a Cap'n Al Melvin special); SB1435, granting a sales tax exemption for "modular data centers"; SB1439, a move to make gold and silver bullion and coins legal tender; and a striker to SB1470, allowing incorporated municipalities to enact a property tax levy to pay for police, fire, and emergency services, under specific conditions and with very specific requirements.

Education, Thursday, 8:30 a.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: SB1293 and SB1444, creating "outcome-based" and "performance based" school funding formulas (serious alarm bells going off with these bills); SB1377, requiring "public and private postsecondary education institutions to annually publish certain information regarding graduation rates, salary ranges and student to staff ratios" (from the lege summary of the bill); SCR1017, a proposal to amend state law affecting Clean Elections that would place an arbitrary limit on funding for the Clean Elections Commission that seeks to provide PR cover for the move by siphoning "excess" funds into state education.  A "two birds, one stone" measure - limits on Clean Elections, which the Rs hate, and ties funding for public ed to an inconsistent source, and the Rs hate education, too.

Judiciary, Thursday, upon the adjournment of the floor session, SHR1.  Looks harmless so far.

Government and Environment, Thursday, upon the adjournment of the floor session, SHR3.  On the agenda: SB1380 (see Commerce, Energy, and Military, above); a striker to SCM1001, urging the President and Congress to gut the Clean Air Act; SB1142, another anti-union measure that goes after payment of union dues through paycheck deductions.  This one goes so far as declaring the situation so dire that it constitutes an emergency.  Really.; a striker to SB1372, making "[k]nowingly entering, traversing or remaining on any private noncommercial real property that is within one hundred miles of the international border with Mexico without written permission from the owner of the property or any other person having lawful control over the property" criminal trespass in the third degree (a class 3 misdemeanor).  I almost want to see this one pass, just for the entertainment value of the "legal" arguments that will be spewed to defend a measure that mandates a different set of laws for a part of the state, based solely on the geographical location of that part; a striker to SB1032, stating that "[a] city or town may not transfer monies from a municipal court to any other department after the adoption of the final budget unless the governing body of the city or town approves the transfer".  It's from Sen. Judy "Birther" Burges.  'Nuff said...


House side of the Capitol -

Commerce, Wednesday, 8:30 a.m., HHR5.  On the agenda: a striker to HB2264, creating tax breaks for certain businesses; and a striker to HB2269, barring law enforcement agencies from using aerial drones.  Except when they want to (aka - get a warrant).

Public Safety, Military, and Regulatory Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2234, making the legal definition of  "firearm" highly specific.  Seems to be a way to create loopholes in any new firearms laws;  HB2433, removing the age limit, currently set at 45 years old, for eligibility for service in the Arizona Vigilante Gang State Guard; HB2554, imposing a statewide regulation of firearms that is less about restricting firearms possession than it is about impeding public safety; HB2600, taking steps to politicize the selection of judges in Arizona; and HB2574, banning the use of aerial drones by municipal, county, or state agencies, or by private persons, without a search warrant for law enforcement agencies or for "lawful purposes".

Health, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR4.  Seems harmless so far.

Higher Education and Workforce Development, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR1.  On the agenda: a striker to HB2214, creating a tax break for data centers.

Appropriations, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  On the agenda:  My favorite bill of the week (and there are some serious contenders for the title this week): HB2121, appropriating $250K to put a fence/security barriers around the state capitol.  Write your own punchlines.

Judiciary, Wednesday, 8 a.m., HHR4.  Long agenda, a lot of bad bills.  One example: a striker to HB2593, raising or completely removing most campaign finance contribution limits.  Another:  HB2350, requiring that early ballot/PEVL requests be notarized.

Transportation, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2504, impounding vehicles for fun and profit; and HB2579, completely banning the use of photo radar traffic law enforcement in Arizona.

Technology and Infrastructure, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR5.  Looks harmless so far.

Reform and Human Services, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR1.  On the agenda: a same-subject striker to HB2205, barring the use of TANF debits cards at ATMs and point-of-sale terminals in liquor stores, adult entertainment businesses, or gambling establishments.  My favorite part is how they specifically try to tell reservations how to run their businesses. 

Ways and Means, Thursday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  Special meeting, one item on the agenda: HB2519, mandating that county treasurers assign tax liens to third parties under specified circumstances.

Ways and Means, Thursday, 2:10 p.m., HHR1.  Special meeting, many items on the agenda.  Seems mostly bad.  One example: a striker to HB2446, greatly expanding the exemption from property taxes accorded to religious organizations.

Arizona Legislature: The coming week

This initial post covers the activities of Monday and Tuesday only.  We're approaching the deadline for bills to be heard in committee in their originating chamber, so a few of the committee agendas are very long.  I'll update with coverage of scheduled activity for Wednesday and Thursday tomorrow evening...

As usual, all committee agendas, floor calendars, and event schedules are subject to change without notice. Call ahead to confirm plans before travelling to the Capitol based on an agenda, calendar, or schedule cited here.

Notes:

If an agenda is summarized with "looks harmless so far" that only means that nothing on the agenda set off "bat-shit crazy" alarm bells; if the committee in question covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself. And if I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

A hearing room designation of "SHR" means it is a hearing room in the Senate building; "HHR" means that the hearing room is in the House building.

Lastly, this summary is not, nor is it intended to be, comprehensive. Many bills have been covered, but not all of them. Again, if a committee covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself.

Floor activity:

The Senate's Third Read (final passage) calendar for Monday is here; the House's Third Read calendar for Monday is here.


Committe activity:

House side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., HHR4.  Long agenda (50+ bills) to be rubberstamped.  Should take less than 10 minutes.

Ways and Means, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR1. Short agenda (two items) and looks harmless so far.

Financial Institutions, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  Short agenda (two items) and looks harmless so far.  Caveat:  I don't think I quite completely understand what is going on with the two measures, HB2512 and HB2619, or if they are good or bad measures.

Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  Looks harmless so far.  Item of note: HB2584, relating to the creation of renewable energy and conservation districts.  It's from freshman Democratic Representative Andrew Sherwood (LD26).  It's a good measure, and it's from a Democrat, so it has a significantly uphill path to passage.  If you know any of the members of EENR, or have set up a log-in ID for the lege's request to speak system, think about putting in a good word for this measure.

Education, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  On the agenda:  A striker to HB2054, which, if enacted, would allow charter schools to offer preschool programs to children with disabilities.  Also, and the cynic in me thinks that this may be the main point of the measure, it would give charter schools access to the pool of federal money that supports such programs; HB2318, exempting charter and district schools that do not accept federal funds from certain federal regulations.

Insurance and Retirement, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  Lots of bad bills.  On the agenda: HB2006 from Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-right hand).  Under current law, employees of associations of political subdivisions, such as the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, Maricopa Assocation of Governments, and County Supervisors Association, are eligible to be part of the state employees retirement system (ASRS).  Under Ugenti's proposal, new employees of those organizations would be ineligible for membership; HB2173, making changes to unemployment compensation law; a striker to HB2275, lowering the tax paid on most types of insurance (no fiscal note attached, so I don't know how much revenue is involved here); a striker to HB2294 that would make court commissioners ineligible for membership in ASRS; HB2302, making changes to law regarding the payment of premiums for workers compensation insurance; HB2562, making a number of changes to ASRS, mostly to limit membership or benefits in some way; HB2565, Rep. Jeff Dial's proposal to allow insurance companies to forego providing printed policies to their customers.  Instead, they could simply publish the policies on a website; and HB2608, ending the state's Elected Officials Retirement Plan (EORP) and establishing a 401K-style defined contribution plan for electeds who enter office after July 1 of this year.

Government, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  Another long agenda loaded with bad bills. On the agenda:  HB2320 and HB2322, a couple of anti-agency rulemaking measures; HB2533, allowing political subdivisions (cities, counties, etc.) to publish public notices on the internet instead of in newspapers; HB2343, barring public employers from paying public employees for time spent on union activities; HB2527, barring the use as polling places of any facilities that cannot allow Election Day electioneering activities.  It's a way to shrink the number of schools used as polling places and increase the number of churches used as polling places; HB2599, making changes to the state's procurement code (some good, some bad).

Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  Not as long as the other agendas, but just as bad.  On the agenda:  HB2233, mandating that the state's auditor general conduct a "special audit" of all voter-approved and -protected  measures that have been enacted, and to give the results of that audit to the governor and leadership of the lege; HCM2005, a love letter to Congress about fiscal responsibility (apparently, they don't see the irony in a group that sold off the state capitol giving fiscal advice to anyone); HCR2021, imposing TABOR on AZ in the form of a "state expenditure limit"; HCR2033, proposing an amendment to the state constitution that would require that any measure passed by the voters that "authorizes or requires" state expenditures be reauthorized by the voters every eight years.  This proposal would be applied retroactively to all voter-approved measures that authorize or require state expenditures, ever.

Agriculture and Water, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  On the agenda: HB2338, a measure from House Speaker Andy Tobin regarding the establishment of "regional water augmentation authorities".   Pardon my cynicism, but when an ostensibly "small government" Republican pushes for the creation of another governmental entity, the first words that come to mind are "follow the money".  Haven't figured out his angle on this one.  Yet.

Sneak peek of Wednesday's activity:  House Appropriations will be considering HB2121, appropriating $250K to put up a fence and other security barriers around the Capitol.  Guess the folks who want to put up a fence along the entire border with Mexico have set their sights a little lower.  If only the fence was going to be designed to keep them in, instead of keeping us out...


On the Senate side of the Capitol -

Judiciary, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor session, SHR1.  On the agenda: SB1345, barring holders of liquor licenses from possessing, using, or selling synthetic marijuana on licensed premises; SCR1009, Sen. Al Melvin's annual paean to slave inmate labor.

Government and Environment, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor session, SHR3.  On the agenda: SB1348, another proposal to bar compensation of public employees for union activities; SB1349, going after unions by restricting payroll deductions; SB1350, barring contract employees of governmental entitities from going on strike; and SB1403, barring the state or any of its political subdivisions from adopting or implementing "the creed, doctrine, principles or any tenet of the United Nations Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Statement of Principles for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development"

Transportation, Tuesday, 2 p.m. SHR3.  An agenda with a couple of good bills on it.  SB1241, barring teenage drivers from texting or using a cell phone while driving, for their first six months as a licensed driver; SB1393, barring the use of a cell phone/wireless communications device while operating mass transit (buses, trains, etc.)

Elections, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  11 bills on the agenda, mostly bad.  Most, but not all, of them were already covered in this post.

Appropriations, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  Nothing that stands out as really bad, at this point, anyway.


The lege's calendar of non-legislative Capitol events is here.  Highlight:  Tuesday's ALEC Membership Drive dinner on Tuesday.

Republicans and voting "reform": Even when they are trying to be subtle, they're like an elephant in a china shop

During the 2012 election cycle, there were many Republican-initiated moves across the country intended to inhibit or even block voting by groups that tend to not vote for them.

For example, here in Arizona we saw the Maricopa County Elections Department tell Spanish-speaking voters the wrong day for Election Day, the same elections department under-train staff and under-supply polling places in Democratic-leaning areas, leading to ballot shortages and long lines on Election Day, and a suspiciously interminable vote-counting process after the election.

The efforts brought forth a mixed bag of results.

Nationally, Barack Obama won reelection as President, and the number of Democrats in the US Senate surprisingly increased, while the Republicans retained a comfortable majority in the US House.

Locally, Democratic candidates won all three competitive Congressional seats here, and made small gains in the Arizona legislature, while the Republicans now control all statewide elected offices and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe "Bull Connor Jr." Arpaio won reelection comfortably.

Because of the lessons from the 2012 election cycle is that Republicans across the country are attempting to make systemic changes, to impose rule changes at local and state levels, to "stack the deck" in favor of Republican candidates.

In many of the states that tend to vote for Democrats in presidential elections but whose state governments are dominated by Republican, proposals to change the way electoral votes are allocated.  Instead of the current "winner take all" system, they want to change to a system where electoral votes are split between the major candidates, based on things like percentage of the popular vote or by congressional district.  However, no such proposals have been put forth in states that tend to favor Republican presidential candidates.

In other states with state governments dominated by Republicans, they've seen proposals to restrict voting by groups that tend to favor Democrats, all in the name of "reform"..

None of the schemes qualify as "subtle", and all of them have justifiably caused an uproar wherever they've be put forth.

Here in AZ, the Republicans have seemed to learn a bit of a lesson from all of that.

They're still trying to "stack the deck" here, so national Republicans should have no worries about backsliding on the part of the AZGOP.

They're mostly trying to be a little sneaky, even delicate, about it.

Of course, being who they are, their efforts are as sneaky and delicate as an elephant in the proverbial china shop.

Sen. Michelle Reagan (R-Scottsdale), an erstwhile 2014 candidate for AZ Secretary of State, is chair of the state senate's Elections Committee, and she is leading the way on this.  Many of the proposals under consideration here may not have her name on them, but she determines which of them move forward.

One of her own measures, SB1260, has already moved through her committee, passing unanimously.  It raises some of the adminstrative hurdles that have to be surmounted by people attempting to put a referendum or initiative question on the ballot.  However, the changes aren't huge ones, and some of them are (dare I say it?) reasonable.  Hence, its unanimous committee support.

Less reasonable is her SB1262, which seems to make "minor" changes to campaign finance law regarding recall elections.  It seeks to impose standard campaign finance restrictions on committees and contributors involved in the recall effort before the recall election is officially called (basically, while petitions are being circulated and haven't been submitted and certified).  In an of itself, that's not unreasonable - candidates for office face those limits even before they submit their own petitions.

However, that unfairly tilts the balance toward the elected officials who are the subject of recall campaigns.  The official who is the subject of a recall campaign is automatically on the ballot, so he/she does not have to incur expenses (or solicit contributions to pay for those expenses) before the recall election is scheduled.  The people who support the recall face a campaign limits clock that starts months before that date.  SB1262 has been agendized for the February 19 meeting of Senate Elections.

Also with some superficial merit is her SCR1006.  As written and if approved by the voters, it would amend the AZ Constitution to change the deadline for submitting petitions for ballot questions from four months prior to the election where the question will be on the ballot (for the vast majority of questions, this means the first Tuesday in July) to May 1.  In and of itself, that isn't a bad idea - for ballot questions, there are tens of thousands of pages with hundreds of thousands of signatures to go through and verify, and that's a heavy burden to bear for the professional staffs in the offices of the AZ SOS and AZ's county recorders.  However, while the bill rolls back the deadline to submit petitions, it doesn't similarly roll back the earliest date when signatures can start being collected for ballot questions (24 months before the measure is to be voted on).  In addition, Sen. Steve Gallardo (D-Phoenix) proposed an amendment to the measure which would have slightly reduced the number of signatures required for ballot questions, something that would both address easing the burden on the SOS and county recorders and the reduced time available to collect signatures.  However, when this bill was considered by Reagan's committee, she didn't just oppose the amendment, she used her position as chair to make sure that the amendment wasn't even considered.  Passed by the committee on a 5 - 2 vote. 

Note to readers:  Don't consider the presence of a Democrat on a bill's list of sponsors to be a sign that the bill may be a good one.  Sen. Robert Meza (D-Phoenix) has signed on to a number of these bills.  They're still crap.

And with a veneer of merit that's measured in microns (millionths of a meter):  Reagan's SB1416 and SCR1019.  Those are related measures that would require that signatures needed for proposed ballot questions and by new parties seeking direct ballot access be collected from at least five counties (not unreasonable) and that at least forty percent of the signatures be collected from counties other than Pima and Maricopa.  Both measures are agendized for the February 19 meeting of Senate Elections.

Which doesn't sound too bad, until you think on it for oh, about a tenth of a second, and remember that 75% of the state's population is in those two counties, as are more than 74% of the state's registered voters.

In addition to placing a statistical overemphasis on rural voters for the purpose of gaining access to the ballot for potential ballot question and new parties, her measures would elevate the financial and logistical hurdles for the folks behind ballot questions/new parties.

That all pales next to her striker, or strike-everything amendment, to SB1003 that seeks to make returning an early ballot by someone who is not an immediate family member a felony.  This directly attacks the many Democratic-supporting campaigns and organizations who do just that as part of their "get out the vote" efforts.

The amended SB1003 passed Senate Elections on a party-line vote.

Tom Prezelski (Tomski?) of Rum, Romanism and Rebellion offers his take on Reagan's efforts to "reform" voting and elections here.

Steve Muratore of Arizona Eagletarian has more info on developments related to some of the bills mentioned in this post here.

Julie Erfle of Politics Uncuffed offers her observations on one of Reagan's measures here.


And Reagan is one of the more "reasonable" and "professional" members of the Republican caucus of the legislature.

By comparison, Rep. Jeff Dial (R-Chandler) has proposed HB2568.  His measure starts off by changing the nominating signature requirements for candidates in a way that favors Republicans statewide, and favors majority party candidates in districts dominated by a single party.  Under current law, the number of signatures required for a candidate to be nominated to a party's primary ballot is based on a percentage of the relevant party's registered voters in the area to be represented by the office up for election.  He proposes to cut the required percentage to one-third of the current level, but to increase the "denominator" of the equation by approximately three times by making the total number of voters in the district the base.

For example, if under current law, if a candidate of party X is running in a district with 10,000 voters, 3000 of whom are registered in party X needs signatures from 1% of his party's voters to get on the ballot, 30 signatures would be needed.  Under Dial's proposal, he'd need 1/3 of 1% of 10,000, or 33, signatures.

In an example where the district has 10,000 voters and party X has 5000 registrants, the required number of signatures would go from 50 down to 33.

Statewide, partisan registration percentages are approximately 36% Republican, 30% Democratic, 0.16% Green, and 0.73% Libertarian.

In short, Dial's scheme would make it easier for Republicans statewide and in most legislative and Congressional districts to get on the ballot and, except for the few Democratic-dominated districts, more difficult for Democrats to get on the ballot.  On the other hand, Greens and Libertarians would be completely blocked from ballot access.  Partisan nominating petitions must be signed by members of the relevant political party, and Dial's proposal would raise their signature requirements to a number greater than the number of members of those parties.

And that is the "less bad" part of Dial's proposal.

Part of his proposal would mandate removal from the permanent early voters list (PEVL) anyone who lives in a home whose ownership is transferred by a "trustee's deed of sale" (aka - foreclosed).  People who haven't moved as a result of the foreclosure would be forced to re-register to vote and ask for an early ballot twice before before they could receive a ballot.

HB2568 was held by the House Judiciary Committee during its February 14 meeting.

Of course, it's not just Reagan and Dial -

- Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) has HB2527.  Current law covering polling places allows electioneering activities outside of a 75-foot buffer zone outside the actual area where voting takes place.  The same law allows for certain exceptions where "emergency conditions" exist that make electioneering problematical.  The exceptions tend to be school facilities.  Ugenti's proposal would remove the part of the law that allow for exemptions to the electioneering allowance, meaning that the buildings would have to allow electioneering, or not serve as polling places.

A bad bill, but it shows a sort of subtlety for which AZ Republicans aren't known.

Passed by the House Judiciary Committee by a party-line vote.  Next up:  House Government.

- Sen. Chester Crandell (R-LD6 ) has SB1274.  Currently, early ballots can be returned by mail at any time, so long as they are received by the county elections department by the time polls close on Election Day (7 p.m.) or they can be dropped off at any polling place in the county on Election Day.  Crandell's proposal would remove the ability of voters with early ballots to drop them off at a polling place.  In addition, the ballots would have to be received by the Elections Department by 7 p.m. on the Tuesday the week BEFORE the election. 

Agendized for the February 19 meeting of Senate Elections.

- Rep Carl Seel (R-Birtherland) has HB2350.  Currently, a voter who want to be on the PEVL or simply to receive an early ballot for a single election simply complete and sign the appropriate request form.  Seel's proposal would raise the hurdle that voters need to climb over by requiring that signatures on such forms be notarized first.  In addition, any people who are currently on the PEVL would be removed from the list if they don't send in a notarized request form within two election cycles (four years).

- Seel also has HCR2013.  Currently, the state constitution mandates that a primary election be held for most elected offices.  Seel's proposal would change that to allow closed party caucuses to nominate candidates to the general election ballot.  "Closed" means "no independents allowed".

- Rep. David Stevens (R-Sierra Vista) has HCR2008.  Currently, the state constitution mandates that elections for most offices be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.  Stevens' proposal would amend the state constitution to mandate that "a candidate who wins the primary election for that office and who has no write-in or other opposition for that office at the general election shall be deemed and declared the winner of the general election."END_STATUTE""

The change would not apply to candidates for federal office.  However, it is written so broadly and vaguely that a shamelessly partisan/enthusiastically efficient election official (your choice about which term you prefer) would have cover for bypassing the election and simply declaring a favored candidate the winner.


Many, even most, of these measures won't pass...initially.  However, until the legislative session is over, the language from any of these bills can be air-dropped into another bill in the form of a striker at any time.  This is a situation that requires ongoing vigilance.

And active memories. 

All of the people who are pushing the above "reforms" will be going before the voters in 2014; that offers a perfect opportunity to advise them of the error of their ways.

It's early, but candidates for 2014 are already starting to line up

...In significant news, in Scottsdale, anyway, Bob Littlefield, member of the Scottsdale City Council, formed an exploratory committee for a run at a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives.

He's term-limited on the City Council, so he will not be able to run for reelection to the Council in 2014.  However, his interest in a legislative seat doesn't directly set up a primary challenge against one or both House incumbents in his district, LD23.

The current state senator there, Michele Reagan, is "exploring" a run at the AZ Secretary of State's office next year, opening that seat.

One of the current state representatives, John Kavanagh, is "exploring" a run for the senate seat currently held by Reagan, opening his seat (presumably, the other LD23 House incumbent, Michelle Ugenti, is going to run for reelection to her seat).

Now, Littlefield is "exploring" a legislative run of his own.

"Exploring" is in "quotes" because in most cases, it is a facade, a false front of sorts.  The exploring label is meant to shield the users from the state's "resign to run" law.  That law requires that current officeholders who aren't in the last year of their terms to resign from their office once they begin to run for another office.  Most of the time, that law is ignored with the use of none-too-subtle subterfuges like the "exploratory committee", and a lot of winks and nods.

Littlefield is thoroughly conservative but has earned a reputation as a straight shooter (meaning that he's direct and to the point).  However, he's not a "bay at the moon" type (actually, he can be a little impatient with that type), so there will be a primary here from one or more other candidates.  

Obviously it's early and things could change, but he is probably the biggest "name" who can be expected to jump into that race.  Joe Arpaio lives in the district, but he seems unlikely to resign as Maricopa County Sheriff to take a chance on a run at a seat in the lege.  Jus' sayin'...

The steepest learning curve for him will be learning the differences between a municipal campaign and a legislative campaign.  Municipal campaigns tend to be focused on practical issues, while legislative campaigns, especially is safe Republican districts, tend to be focused on ideological issues.

...Speaking of "bay at the moon" types, Rep. Carl Seel (R-Birtherland) has opened an exploratory committee for a 2014 run at a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission.  If elected, he'll fit in well with the bunch that's on the ACC now in that he'll place ideological whims over real world facts.

...One of the Republican targets of tea party ire in late 2010/early 2011 was Sophia Johnson.  She was a newly-elected officer of the LD20 Republican Party who was caught up in the mess created when tea party elements of that district objected to the fact that their district party elected an African-American chair, Anthony Miller.  Miller and Johnson (and I believe, others) ended up resigning their positions because of the toxic, even threatening, atmosphere and the situation ended up in court. 

Now Johnson is in Avondale, and has opened a committee for a run at the AZ House in the new LD19.

I met her while covering that mess, and she was one of the nicest people that I have met while writing this blog.  Wrong on pretty much every political issue, but that's part of politics.  If you can't handle civil disagreement, stay away.  Disagreement is no excuse for incivility.

I don't wish her victory in the race (hey, I *am* a Democrat :) ), but I am glad that she wasn't intimidated and scared off of political activism by the ugliness of the LD20 situation in 2010/2011. 

One thing that is necessary for our democracy to continue to work (or if you are a cynic like me, to begin to work again) is for people with spines to step up and become, and remain, involved, regardless of their political stripe.

Today, we can count Johnson as one of the ones who have stepped up.

Genie and Hector Zavaleta: Decades of love, decades of inspiration

During my few years of political activism, there have been few constants -

In 2006, George W. Bush was the President of the US, and the US was an international joke.

In 2013, Barack Obama is President, and the US is back to having some international respect and credibility.

In 2006, JD Hayworth was the representative in Congress for my area.

In 2013, Kyrsten Sinema is the representative in Congress for my area.

In 2006, the vast majority of voters in AZ voted by trotting down to their local polling place and casting their ballots.

In 2013, most voters cast their ballots by trotting down to their mailbox.

In 2006, Arizona was part of the punchlines of some of the jokes that punctuated political discussions.

In 2013, Arizona is part of the punchlines of most of the jokes that punctuate political discussions.

OK, that last is more the continuation of a steady decline than an actual change, but you understand. :)

One of the few true constants, and perhaps the truest one, has been the activism for others, and inspiration to others, of Genie and Hector Zavaleta.  They've been working to improve their community and inspiring others to do the same, for more than five decades.

They've been (deservedly) honored many times by community groups; now they've been honored by the local newspaper with a feature article on them, and their deep love and respect for each other.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Kerry Fehr-Snyder -

 

Genie and Hector Zavaleta have been married for 54 years, largely, they say, because they have fought for others, not with each other.

 

As Valentine’s Day approaches, their’s is not the traditional Cupid’s arrow-through-the-heart story, yet their message of love and respect is universal.

 

The longtime Tempe activists have been helping others since they got married in 1958 in San Antonio, and devoted the first year of their marriage to Migrant Ministry of the National Council of Churches.

I don't normally actually recommend reading a full article in the AZ Republic, even if I link to some here.  However, this one is easily worthy of a full read.

Hector and Genie Zavaleta are two of the best people that I've ever had the privilege of knowing, and I've known a bunch of very good ones.

More on the Zavaletas and their history here, courtesy Chandler-Gilbert Community College, and here, courtesy Presbytery of Grand Canyon.

Arizona legislature: The coming week

As usual, all committee agendas, floor calendars, and event schedules are subject to change without notice. Call ahead to confirm plans before travelling to the Capitol based on an agenda, calendar, or schedule cited here.

Notes:

If an agenda is summarized with "looks harmless so far" that only means that nothing on the agenda set of bat-shit crazy alarm bells; if the committee in question covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself. And if I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

A hearing room designation of "SHR" means it is a hearing room in the Senate building; "HHR" means that the hearing room is in the House building.

Lastly, this summary is not, nor is it intended to be, comprehensive. Many bills have been covered, but not all of them. Again, if a committee covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself.

Floor activity:

The House has posted Monday's Third Read (final passage) calendar here and Tuesday's Committee of the Whole, or COW, calendar, here.  COW is where committee amendments to bills are approved and floor amendments can be proposed.  Also, actual debate can take place here. 

Committee activity:
On the House side of the Capitol complex -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., HHR4.  This is an exercise in rubberstamping, but serves as a preview of upcoming floor activity.

Ways and Means, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  "Highlight" of the agenda: HB2544.  Complete text of bill:

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 9, chapter 4, article 8, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 9-499.17, to read:

START_STATUTE9-499.17. Prohibited municipal taxes and fees

Except as provided in titles 35 and 42, a municipality shall not levy or assess a municipal-wide tax or fee against property owners based on the parcel or on the size or value of the owner's real property or improvements to real property, for any public service provided by the MUNICIPALITY.

Alarm bells, loud alarm bells, here.

Financial Institutions, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  On the agenda: HB2489, allowing certain corporations to issue bonds to finance student loans.  Rep. Jeff Dial (R-financial scammers) is the lead sponsor on this one.  'Nuff said...

Education, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  On the agenda: Many bills, but the one that inspires the most head-scratching is HB2217, creating an "Extraordinary Educators Special License Plate", proceeds from which will go to an "Extraordinary Educators Trust Fund".  Dial is fronting this one too; apparently it's a "feel good" substitute for adequately funding education in Arizona.

For the record, there are more than 60 "special" license plates in AZ (partial list here); another one isn't needed.  Authentic support for education is.

Insurance and Retirement, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  Mostly bad.  Example:  HB2238, proposing a backdoor way of limiting the damages that can be collected in a civil action by the victims of bodily injury or wrongful death.

Government, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  Looks harmless, but I'm not sure what the tea party types are trying to do with HB2235, requiring "that upon wage payment, state employees must receive a summary of the employee’s earnings, withholdings and employer paid taxes and benefits."  Seems redundant with current paycheck wage statements.

Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  Looks to be basically harmless so far.

Agriculture and Water, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  Looks harmless, but some of these impact very specific areas, areas with which I am not overly familiar (wastewater districts, flood control districts, etc.)

Public Safety, Military, and Regulatory Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m, HHR3.  Looks relatively quiet, but keep an eye on HB2392, making all but the name and address of the defendants subject to orders of protection or injunction confidential and not subject to public disclosure, unless ordered by a court; HB2389, a bill with the subject of "peace officers; omnibus".  Looks harmless, but with the lege, the word "omnibus" is sometimes synonymous with "ominous"; HB2459, a large bill that looks to be a cleanup of law regarding justice courts.  I've been told it was requested by the justice courts themselves and it looks harmless.

Health, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR4.  Looks harmless so far.

Higher Education and Workforce Development, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR1.  On the agenda:  HB2333, Rep. Steve Montenegro's proposal to bar student or university organizations who receive funds from tuition or fees from contributing any money to political committees; a striker to HB2419, subject "financial aid study; public university" (no text available as of this writing); and HB2489 (if it makes it out of Financial Institutions above), allowing corporations to issue bonds to finance student loans.

Commerce, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR5.  On the agenda: HB2532, Rep. JD Mesnard's proposal to bar the Arizona Corporation Commission from ever enacting any regulation of internet services.

Appropriations, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  On the agenda: HB2285, trying to sneak some of the fiscal limitations of the already thoroughly discredited TABOR movement through the backdoor.

Transportation, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  On the agenda: HB2032, a measure sponsored by Democratic representatives Catherine Miranda, Lupe Contreras, and Lydia Hernandez that would specify that a federal work authorization document constitutes proof of legal US residency for applicants for Arizona driver's licenses (good bill, but my prediction: it fails on a 2 - 4 party-line vote); a striker to HB2183, subject "third party vendors" (text not available as of this writing); and HB2477, a tea party proposal to all but completely bar photo radar enforcement on any state highway, even the smaller ones that frequently do double duty as the main surface street through various municipalities in rural AZ.

Technology and Infrastructure, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR5.  On the agenda: HB2165, a measure that would completely bar public libraries from releasing records that might identify specific users of specific library services or materials.  In principle, not something I oppose, but the language curiously removes an exception for situations involving a court order, which potentially places library personnel in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation where they could face jeopardy if they don't obey a court order, but face criminal charges if they do (the statute in question makes giving out such information a class 3 misdemeanor); HB2241, text - "Any records, proceedings, applications and permits relating to telecommunications services provided by a public service corporation and the construction and location of lines, equipment and plants used for telecommunications services on or along public streets or highways or on private property are not public records, are exempt from title 39, chapter 1 and are not subject to disclosure".  Gotta love government-sponsored business secrecy...; HB2483 and HB2533, relating to changing publication requirements for various types of public notices.  Currently, most public notices (meeting announcements for governmental bodies, legal notices, etc.) must be published in newspapers.  This would change that requirement to a website.

Reform and Human Services, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR1.  Looks harmless so far.

Judiciary, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR4.  On the agenda:  HB2156, a broad but not quite complete ban on the use of any "public resources" to influence an election; and HB2218, making it a class 6 felony to deliberately expose someone to an STD, including HIV.


On the Senate side of the Capitol:

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., Caucus Room 1.  This is an exercise in rubberstamping, but serves as a preview of upcoming floor activity.

Judiciary, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor session, SHR109.  It seems to be mostly harmless so far.

Government and Environment, in a joint meeting with House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources, Monday, upon adjournment of both of the respective floor sessions, SHR1.  They are meeting jointly to hear a raft of anti-EPA presentations.

Government and Environment, Monday, upon adjournment of the joint meeting, above, SHR1.  On the agenda: SB1302 and SB1365, making changes the rules affecting planned communities, and SCR1012, a "love letter" to the EPA telling them to butt out of efforts to fight haze and other air pollution in Arizona.

Elections, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  On the agenda:  Some very bad bills, including a striker to SB1003, making it a felony for someone other than a voter or a member of the voter's immediate family to return a voter's early ballot.  Specifically aimed at organized Democratic and Democratic-leaning efforts to collect and return the ballots of Democrat-supporting voters; and SB1264, raising the administrative barriers faced by supporters of initiative/referendum or recall movements.  Current law requires that petitions "substantially" comply with requirements, meaning that minor technical errors in form or language might not be enough to disqualify petitions.  The proposal from Sen. Michele Reagan, would specify that any petitions from citizen-based movements would have to "strictly" comply with requirements, meaning that even something as trivial as a misplaced comma could be used to disqualify petitions.

Bills that aren't so bad:  SB1335, barring an AZ Secretary of State cannot be part of a candidate's campaign (other than his/her own) if that candidate is running in an election that is under the purview of the SOS (state lege, statewide, or federal offices); and a striker to SB1336 relating to a penalty to certain large, but non-compliant, independent expenditures (from Sen. Robert Meza, a Democrat from Phoenix).  Seems hyper-specific enough to be utterly ineffectual.

Appropriations, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  On the agenda: SB1285, taking money disbursed to the states from the federal government to help fund education for students from low-income families to pay for publicizing education options geared toward students from financially comfortable families.

Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR109.  On the agenda: SB1465, easing the rules somewhat on "solid waste facilities".

Commerce, Energy, and Military, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR1.  On the agenda:  a striker for SB1301, subject "wineries, microbreweries, licenses" (no text available as of this writing); SB1380, extending workers' compensation coverage to the volunteer members of sheriffs' posses; and SB1368 and SB1369 that make changes to employment law that seem almost technical in nature, but the bills are fronted by Sen. Gail Griffin (R-Hereford), who's not known for her interest in simple, "good-governance" proposals.

Public Safety, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  On the agenda: SCR1016, a dog-whistle measure that proposes amending the state constitution to say that the people of Arizona can nullify any federal law.

Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  I think it is harmless, but I don't quite understand the necessity, or impact of SB1438, allowing pharmacists to substitute one "biological product" for a prescribed "biological product", under certain conditions.  Not saying this is a bad bill; I just truly don't understand what's going on here.

Finance, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  On the agenda: SB1289, allowing the formation of road improvement and maintenance districts where parcels of lands may be taxed based only on the existence of the parcels, not the size or value of the parcel; SB1243, Sen. Al Melvin's proposal to exempt some unnamed but specific insurance-providing organization from regulation; and some other bills whose effect I don't understand well enough to explain.

Education, Thursday, 8:30 a.m., SHR109.  On the agenda: lots of bad, including SB1285, again (it's on Tuesday's agenda for Senate Appropriations too), taking money disbursed to the states from the federal government to help fund education for students from low-income families to pay for publicizing education options geared toward students from financially comfortable families; and SB1363, expanding "empowerment scholarship accounts" (school vouchers by any other name).

The lege's calendar of event's at the Capitol is here.

OK. What practical joker put me on a GW Bush mailing list?

Found this letter from Laura Bush (we're close friends, trust me :) ) in the mail this week -

In it, she writes about my past "generous support" for her and her husband, the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.

After a little flattery/filler, she then hit me up for a donation for the George W. Bush Presidential Center, complete with the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Just a couple of points here:

I've never supported George W. Bush - he exhibited no redeeming qualities as president or in any part of his public life.  While I never liked someone like, say, Ronald Reagan, I could find something nice to say about the guy.  For instance, Reagan could deliver a joke, and deliver it well; Bush would mispronounce any words in the joke that were more than six letters and/or two syllables long.  And that's the best thing that I can find to say about him.

Also, a donation to help fund a library that will best contain and convey the words and wisdom of George W. Bush?  How much money does it take to buy a couple of lawn chairs and to set them up in front of the magazine rack at the Crawford, Texas Walmart (the nearest one is actually in Waco, but that's close enough for someone who got through life on legacy admissions and gentlemens "Cs")?

Seriously, the Bushes could go to George's "friends" in Big Oil, and those friends could pay for the bestest presidential library ever, and do it out of petty cash.

Laura Bush doesn't seem to be evil or anything like that, but she should stop wasting what little public credibility and respect she has on fronting for her husband.

And yes, I am fully aware that she almost certainly didn't write the letter.  However, it went out under her name, and there doesn't seem any sort of scandal brewing over this being unauthorized, so it is hers.

Do NFL contracts have morality clauses?

...because the heretofore widely-respected Larry Fitzgerald, star wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, spent the weekend associating with a rather unsavory character -

From AZFamily.com (the website of KTVK-TV, Channel 3 in Phoenix), written by Dennis Welch (emphasis mine) -

While most Arizonans watched the Super Bowl at home Sunday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was hanging out in New Orleans with some big stars and the so-called “Party King of Scottsdale.”

Brewer was in the Big Easy with her son, Michael Brewer, Arizona Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald, actor Edward James Olmos and Scottsdale business man Jason Hope.

Arizona Legislature: The coming week...

As usual, all committee agendas, floor calendars, and event schedules are subject to change without notice.  Call ahead to confirm plans before travelling to the Capitol based on an agenda, calendar, or schedule cited here.

Notes:

If an agenda is summarized with "looks harmless so far" that only means that nothing on the agenda set of bat-shit crazy alarm bells; if the committee in question covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself.  And if I missed something significant, please leave a comment letting me know.

A hearing room designation of "SHR" means it is a hearing room in the Senate building;  "HHR" means that the hearing room is in the House building.

Lastly, this summary is not, nor is it intended to be, comprehensive.  Many bills have been covered, but not all of them.  Again, if a committee covers an area of interest to you, check out the full agenda yourself.

Floor activity:

...As of this writing, no floor calendars have been posted, but those are usually posted the day before, or on the actual day of, floor activity.

Committee activity:

Senate side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., Caucus Room 1.  This is a exercise in rubberstamping; the entire meeting should take less than 10 minutes, but the agenda will serve as a preview of floor activity later in the week.

Judiciary, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor, SHR1.  Looks harmless enough, but SB1234 may bear watching.  If enacted, it would allow the use of monies in the County Attorney Victim Compensation Fund for purposes other than the current requirement of "medical, counseling and funeral expenses and lost wages of crime victims."  What concerns me is the vagueness of the change.  There isn't anything in the measure that could prevent or even slow down a corrupt county attorney turning the Victim Compensation Fund into a personal slush fund.  [Begin sarcasm] Not that we've *ever* had a corrupt county attorney in Arizona. [End sarcasm]

Government and Environment, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor, SHR3.  Not so harmless.

First up, something that in and of itself is harmless, but speaks of a "priorities" problem: a striker to SB1139 that would declare the third Saturday in July to be the "State Day of the Cowboy".  Not a legal holiday, so it would have no practical effect in the real world, but not something that needs to be done, either.

After that relatively innocuous measure, things go downhill rapidly - SB1182, attacking public employee unions by making payroll deductions for things like payment of union dues more difficult; SB1210, penalizing a city or town some of its funds from state-shared revenue if the city or town is found to be in violation of one of its own personnel or purchasing policies; SB1288, barring federal agencies from eligibility for funds from the Arizona Water Protection Fund.  Seems more like a neo-secessionist attempt to thumb their noses at the feds than anything substantive, since even the legislative staff summary of this bill states that the Fund receives no legislative appropriations and hasn't disbursed funds recently; SB1321, an anti-sustainability measure that would supplant municipal building codes in favor of arbitrary legislative standards, in regard to energy use/conservation; SB1322, extending an exemption from assured water supply requirements for certain subdivisions; SB1349, another payroll deduction bill aimed directly at public employees; and SCR1015, a resolution expressing blind and rabid support for a minimal or no regulation interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.  Their bill subject/working title is "support; second amendment"; mine is "dancing on graves; Newtown victims".

Transportation, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  Looks harmless so far.

Elections, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  The first meeting of the year for this committee.  Three bills on the agenda, all that would impact the political process (duhhh....the committee is called "Elections" for a reason. :) ).  Lowlight: SB1261, allowing the AZ Secretary of State to make it more difficult to sign up of the Permanent Early Voting List and easier for the SOS to remove voters from the PEVL.  A direct attack on Democrats, as PEVL voting turnout numbers are widely considered to favor Democrats.  Note: the committee chair, Sen. Michele Reagan (R), is running for the SOS job in 2014. And wants to make voting more difficult.

Appropriations, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  Looks harmless so far.

Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR109.  On the agenda: SCR1013, the lege's resolution urging Congress to dilute the Endangered Species Act.

Commerce, Energy, and Military, Wednesday, 9 a.m.  Looks fairly harmless so far, but the nature of many of the bills means that I don't completely understand the impact of the proposed changes to state law.

Public Safety, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  One bill on the agenda: SB1086, Sen. Judy "Birther" Burges' measure to have police officers trained not to profile people based on their choice to ride a motorcycle or possess motorcycle-related paraphernalia (like leather vests with gang colors, chains, etc.)

Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: SB1115 and SCR1002, mandating that health care providers provide to the public the direct pay prices for the most common procedures performed by the health care providers.  That doesn't sound so bad, until you read the punchline - a clause that bars any sort of "punishment" for persons or employers who choose to directly pay medical costs or for health care providers who choose to accept such direct payments.  The clause uses the phrase "an adverse consequence" and cites specific examples without any language limiting the definition of adverse consquences to those specific examples.  The SCR proposes to make the new requirements a voter-protected change, meaning that it could not be changed in any significant way by future legislatures.  It looks like the intent here is to undermine health care reform - the language is so broad that a rule stating that a health care provider that chooses to accept direct payments cannot benefit from a health care exchange could be considered an "adverse consequence" and thus illegal.  This is "sneaky bad", but without much emphasis on the "sneaky" part.

Finance, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  On the agenda: SB1028, exempting self-dealing businesses from sales tax liability (aka "transaction privilege tax", or "TPT") for transactions between two related entities involving leases...however, they'll still get to write off the "expense" related to the paper transaction as an expense; SB1173 and SB1174 making changes to two state employee pension plans (I don't understand the details of the state's pension plans well enough to evaluate these measures; I presume that since the measures were proposed by Republicans, state employees will be screwed over by their (potential) enactment; and SB1176, nearly tripling the tax deduction allowed for contributions to "529" college savings plans.

Education, Thursday, 9:30 a.m., SHR1.  The agenda is shallow on bills, but deep on ugly.  Festivities start with a presentation from John Huppenthal, Arizona's State Superintendent of (anti-) Public Instruction then move on to consideration of SB1239, a $30,000,000 appropriation to the Department of Education for some "reading intervention" software that meets some *very* specific requirements.  I'm not saying the two items are related (and if, as of this writing, I had anything more to base my suspicions on than the cynicism borne of years of experience watching this bunch in action, I would say so, and say so loudly), but the measure is proposed by Sen. Al Melvin of Tucson, and there is a company in Tucson that offers a product that seems to meet all of those very specific requirements; and SB1285, mandating that the Department of Education create and distribute a "handbook" publicizing the non-public education options that are available to parents, and requiring the Department to pay for the handbook out of federal monies disbursed to the state to help pay for the education of students from low-income families.


House side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., HHR4.  This is a exercise in rubberstamping; the entire meeting should take less than 10 minutes, but the agenda will serve as a preview of floor activity later in the week (yes, I copied and pasted this bit from the section regarding the meeting of the Senate Rules Committee)

Ways and Means, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  Presentation only, at this time.

Financial Institutions, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  Most of the proposed changes are too technical for my knowledge, but HB2428 is worrisome - if enacted, it removes a requirement that licensed investment advisers who have custody of client monies or securities file an audited balance sheet at the end of each fiscal year.

Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  Interesting in a head-scratching sort of way:  HB2301, expanding the carryover time limit for the renewable energy tax credit from five years to twenty.  I thought this bunch hated everything about renewable energy?

Education, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2494, expanding the current enrollment preference allowed to charter schools for the children of people associated with the charter school to include the grandchildren of people associated with the charter.  Seems like a measure targeted to benefit a small group or even just a single person; HB2495, mandating that a school district that receives a refund or rebate related to energy-saving devices use the funds received in a certain way.  Not sure that this is a bad bill, but I am always skeptical when this bunch starts tinkering with schools and they way that they spend money.

Insurance and Retirement, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  On the agenda: HB2056, making amendments to a state employee pension plan; and HB2279, specifying that sporting event officials are not considered employees of the organization or entity that sponsors or oversees sporting event (unless the officials are otherwise employed by the organization or entity).

Government, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  Lowlight:  HB2283, Rep. Steve "Russell Pearce Jr." Smith's bill that would mandate that any government publications, other than voting materials, that are published in languages other than English, be published only on the internet, except for a copy that would be available only at the office of the publishing agency.

Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  One bill on the agenda thus far:  HB2285, trying to sneak some of the fiscal limitations of the already thoroughly discredited TABOR movement through the backdoor.

Public Safety, Military, and Regulatory Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2485, relating to the creation of a "Health and Safety Audit Privilege" in Title 12 of ARS, "Courts and Civil Proceedings".

Health, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR4.  Looks to be relatively harmless, but keep an eye on HB2406, loosening the licensing requirements for physicians.

Higher Education and Workforce Development, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR1.  On the agenda:  HB2203, creating a tax credit for contributions to a state university foundation.

Commerce, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR5.  On the agenda:  HB2280, declaring that the state has supreme and overriding authority over employee benefits and barring any political subdivisions from enacting any further regulation of employee benefits.

Appropriations, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  One item on the agenda: HB2396, a measure from Rep. John Kavanagh that requires that monies from "compromises or settlements by or against the state go to the state's General Fund" and that no new funds can be created by court order under such is approved by the lege first.  I almost want to see this one pass, just so I can write about the lawsuits.  I'm guessing here, but this seems to be related to the flak related to the lege's appropriation of mortgage assistance funds that were accrued to the state to aid homeowners hurt by the mortgage fraud scandal late last decade.

Transportation, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  Looks harmless so far.

Technology and Infrastructure, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR5.  Some sneaky bad here: HB2141, allowing "public service corporations" to conduct many of their operations related to telecommunications behind a cloak of secrecy.  Specifically, the bill would exempt "proceedings, applications and permits relating to telecommunications services provided by a public service corporation and the construction and location of lines, equipment and plants used for telecommunications services on or along public streets or highways or on private property" from public records disclosure.  Also on the agenda:  HB2483, the annual proposal to end the requirement that things like legal notices and public meeting notices be published in a newspaper.  This year's proposal would change the language in the law to "a public medium".  Look for the publisher of the Arizona Capitol Times to make the annual trek over to the Capitol complex, testify at the hearing, the bill to pass the committee and then to never hear of the bill again...unless the the Cap Times pisses off a member of the Republican leadership at the Capitol.  The bottom line is that this measure and the ones like it in previous sessions of the lege are less about good public policy than about "cracking the whip" and reminding the Cap Times that the lege is in a position to mess with a huge part of the newspaper's revenue stream.  It's an effective way to stop investigative reporting of legislators and their activities even before it starts.

Reform and Human Services, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR1.  On the agenda:  HB2331, limiting the ability of political subdivisions to raise revenue through issuing bonds.

Judiciary, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR4.  On the agenda:  HB2308, making changes to law regarding probate.  Looks harmless, but this isn't an area where I have a lot of specific knowledge.


The lege's Capitol events calendar is here.
The Arizona Department of Administration's list of public meeting notices is here.

Think that legislative Republicans are mellowing? Don't believe the hype.

There has been some talk that the Rs in the Arizona legislature have moderated a bit this year.

People espousing that position (one that I disagree with, but that will be the subject of *many* future posts) tend to cite two main facts in support of their belief -

1.  Noted wingers such as Russell Pearce, Frank Antenori, Ron Gould, and Jack Harper are out of the lege.  Whether it was by their own choice (Gould and Harper) or the voters' (Pearce and Antenori), they're gone, and they were some of the loudest voices in support of some of the looniest measures to come out of the lege in recent years.

2.  This week, the lege passed an emergency supplemental funding measure so that CPS, Child Protective Services, could hire 50 caseworkers.  After the massive budget cuts on the agency over the last few years, CPS finds itself unable to do its job, even minimally well.  Governor Jan Brewer, whether looking out for Arizona's abused and vulnerable children, or looking out for her legacy (and no, those aren't mutually exclusive considerations), pushed for the supplemental funding for CPS.  The legislature approved the measure unanimously (House, Senate), seemingly lending credence to the idea that the Republicans in the lege have finally grown souls.

That is, until you look at pictures from the ceremony where Brewer signed the measure.

From the Facebook feed of the Arizona Senate Democrats -



(L-R) Rep. Chad Campbell, House Democratic leader; Sen. Andy Biggs (R), President of the Senate; Governor Jan Brewer (R); Rep. John Kavanagh (R), chair of the House Appropriations Committee; and Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, Senate Democratic leader 

There's one thing that all three Republicans in the above pic have in common, aside from being Republicans (of course) - they're not going to be candidates for statewide office next year.

No Republican who is even seriously whispered about as having an eye on statewide office next year wanted to be near the cameras covering the signing. 

At the very least, in keeping with the pattern of the leadership of the lege appearing at the signing, House Speaker Andy Tobin (R) should have been there instead of Kavanagh.

However, Tobin is termed out of the House after this term and may not be interested in a run for a rank-and-file slot in the Senate (assuming Biggs wins reelection and isn't deposed from the Senate presidency in 2014).  So that leaves running for a statewide office or returning home to Paulden.  Now Paulden has its charms, but they may not be enough for someone who has been at the center of the state's political machinations for years now.

As for the ones who *did* show up -

Biggs could make a run, I suppose, but he's more than a little baldly arrogant, and it's not the kind of charming arrogance that might be useful in a statewide campaign.  As one of the most intelligent people on West Washington (and even people who don't like him don't underrate his intellect; he may be known as a complete jerk, but he's a *smart* complete jerk).

Kavanagh is termed out of the House, but he has already started laying the ground work for a run at a seat in the state senate.

Brewer is term-limited (in spite of her periodic protestations to the contrary) and won't be on the ballot next year (unless she goes for a down-ballot slot).

"Good governance" measures may make for great photo ops for Democrats and would-be legacy builders, but they are the kiss of death for candidates in a statewide R primary.  Biggs and Kavanagh are long-time politicos from "safe" districts, so they can afford one blemish on their records (however, don't be surprised to seem them try to burnish their "mean" cred with a "makeup" bill, maybe a resolution condemning the Puppy Bowl as an al-Quaeda plot or something similar).

Now, in case anyone is thinking that I cherry-picked a picture from a Democratic source to support my point here, here is the picture of the signing from the governor's website -

Now, there are more legislators in this pic than in the one posted by the Senate Democrats, but none of them are among those talked about as potential statewide candidates.

Bottom line:  there's no moderation here.  Republican primary candidates are just as rabidly anti-society as they ever have been.  They have to be - that's where there voters are.