Kavanagh changes his bathroom bill; scraps jail for transgender people in favor of protection for bigots

Wow.  It seems that Rep. John Kavanagh is mellowing with age.

Last week, he wanted transgendered people to go to jail for daring to go to the bathroom.  This week, he just wants to protect people who discriminate against the transgendered.

He has amended the agenda for this week's meeting of the House Appropriations Committee to include a proposed striker to SB1045 -

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:

"Section 1.  Title 41, chapter 9, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-1444, to read:

START_STATUTE41-1444.  Privacy; public place; public accommodation; state preemption; definitions

A.  The regulation of access to privacy areas in places of public accommodation based on gender identity or expression is of statewide concern and is not subject to further regulation by a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state.

B.  A county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state shall not enact or enforce an ordinance or policy that requires a person or business to regulate access to privacy areas based on gender identity or expression.

C.  No person or business shall be civilly or criminally liable for denying access to privacy areas based on gender identity or expression.

D.  This section does not prohibit a person or business from allowing access to privacy areas based on gender identity or expression.

E.  Any ordinance or policy that relates to access to privacy areas based on gender identity or expression that is inconsistent with this section is void and of no force or effect.

F.  For the purposes of this section:

1.  "gender identity or expression" means either:

(a)  An individual's self‑identification as male, female or something in between and includes an individual's appearance, mannerisms or other characteristics only insofar as they relate to gender with or without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth.

(b)  Any other substantially similar self‑identification of gender.

2.  "Privacy areas" means areas in places of public accommodation where access is restricted based on sex, including a public restroom, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or locker room.

Sec. 2.  Emergency

This act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law."

Oh yeah - in a particularly nasty touch, Kavanagh apparently thinks that bigots are in such dire need of protection from the transgendered (and from Phoenix' anti-discrimination ordinance, which is really what this is all about) that it is an emergency situation.

For the emergency clause to go into effect, however, it will take a 2/3 vote of each chamber of the legislature. 

Since I'm pretty sure that every D in each chamber will vote against this, that won't happen.  On the other hand, I'm also pretty sure that every R at the lege will support the legalization of hatred, so the bill will pass, and Governor Jan Brewer will probably sign it.

It just won't go into force until 90 days after the end of the legislative session.  The lag time is meant to allow time for legal challenges, and that may be Kavanagh's rationale - he's fully aware that if enacted, his proposal will face many legal challenges.

The "emergency" situation that the clause may be intended to address is a concern that the bill could be stayed or overturned before it goes into effect, and that could put a crimp in the amount of adulation (and campaign contributions) he receives from the supporters of the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy.

Note:  In case you didn't already figure it out, the "mellowing with age" crack at the beginning of the post was sarcasm.


Dennis Welch of KTVK (channel 3) has less opinionated coverage here.

Mary Jo Pitzl of the Arizona Republic has a story here on how Kavanagh's attempt to regulate bathroom use has apparently inspired a recall effort against him.

Arizona Legislature: The coming week

Things are quieting down on the committee activity front.  We've reached the point in the session where only the respective Appropriations committees are allowed to consider legislation.  Other committees will meet, but mostly to hear presentations or to consider executive branch nominations.  To consider legislation, they'll need the permission of their respective chamber's leadership.

That permission will be granted, but not often.

Now, the primary activities at the lege will be backroom work on the state's budget and members trying to finagle favored measures (ones that are still alive, anyway) onto a floor calendar for final consideration and passage.

Oh, and catching up on reading.  Any member of the lege who isn't a member of Republican leadership is going to have an increasing amount of free time on their hands in the coming weeks.


As usual, all committee agendas, floor calendars, and event schedules are subject to change without notice. Call ahead to confirm plans before traveling 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, please check out the full agenda yourself.


Floor activity:
Monday's House Third Read (final approval) calendar is here; Monday's House Committee of the Whole (COW) calendar is here.

Monday's Senate COW calendars are here and here.


Committee Activity:

Senate side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., Senate Caucus Room 1.  Long agenda to be rubber-stamped.

Transportation, Tuesday, 1 p.m., SHR3.  Executive nomination only.

Appropriations, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  Long agenda with many bills and many strikers.  On the agenda: a striker to HB2111 relating to a large number of changes to Arizona's laws regarding the transaction privilege tax (TPT, aka sales tax).  I think that this is one that the state's cities and towns are opposed to (there are a couple of versions of this floating around the lege and I'm not sure which this one is); a striker to HB2208, reducing the tax on insurance premiums (this is a measure that someone is really hot for as it keeps coming up this session); a striker to HB2232, allowing counties, cities and towns to forego publishing public notices in a newspaper in favor of publishing them on the internet; a striker to HB2245. expanding the definition of criminal trespass.

Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, Wednesday, 10 a.m., SHR109.  Executive nomination only.

Public Safety, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  Executive nominations only.

Finance, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  Executive nominations only.


House side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., HHR4.  Long agenda to rubberstamp, but should serve as a good preview of some of the bad bills that will reach the floor later this week or sometime next week.

Commerce, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  No legislation to hear, just propaganda presentations on the effect of environmental laws on Arizona businesses.

Appropriations, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  On the long agenda: HB2334, repealing energy standards for portable electric spas, residential swimming pool pumps, and the like.  Sponsor Rep. Steve Montenegro has attached an "emergency" clause, meaning that if it gains 2/3 support in both chambers, it becomes law immediately upon the governor's signature;  a striker to SB1432.  The agenda currently lists the striker as one that has to do with "behavioral health examiners board; continuation" (no text available at this time) but it more likely will be a striker from Rep. John Kavanagh that has become known as the "show your papers before you pee" proposal. 

His proposal would make a person of one gender entering a bathroom, locker room, or changing room marked as for use by the other gender guilty of disorderly conduct, a class 1 misdemeanor, something that could earn someone up to six months in jail.  Kavanagh's proposal looks to be to counteract the anti-discrimination ordinance recently passed by the city council in Phoenix.

Guess we can call Kavanagh's proposal "pro-discrimination", or at least "anti-anti-discrimination".

Should be a colorful meeting, to say the least.


Capitol events:

The lege's calendar of Capitol events is here.

The Arizona Department of Administration's list of state-level public meetings is here.

Even nuts think that John McCain is nuts

...but for the first, and probably last, time in this life, I may actually support McCain on this one...

The world of politics is famous for the non-apology apology. where someone "apologizes" for doing or saying something offensive or illegal or simply embarrassing without actually expressing any contrition or regret.

A prime example of this phenomenon happened last year when Rush Limbaugh famously called law student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and worse for arguing that health insurers should be required to cover contraception measures.

After a national uproar ensued, many of his radio show's sponsors took their business elsewhere.  Limbaugh responded by apologizing for his "insulting word choices", but not for the hatefulness of his meaning.

To put is simply, Limbaugh was more sorry about the damage to the revenue stream to his radio show than his attack on someone advocated a policy position with which he disagreed.

At its best, the "non-apology apology" is merely weaselly; at its worst, it is a way of arrogantly re-insulting a previous victim under the guise of "making things right".


Now, the non-apology apology should not be confused with the *sarcastic* apology.

Like the non-apology apology, the sarcastic apology isn't really an apology.

Unlike the non-apology apology, the sarcastic apology doesn't really try to fool anyone into thinking that it is a genuine apology (unless it is directed toward people who don't speak sarcasm).

The best recent example of this comes from Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert.

Earlier this year, he joined some other conspiracy theorists/fetishists from DC (including AZ's Trent Franks) in a letters to federal intelligence and security agencies questioning the loyalty of a senior aide to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton because the aide has Middle Eastern ancestry.

US Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticized Gohmert and the others, and Gohmert responded to McCain's criticism by referring to McCain as "numbnuts".

This week, Gohmert apologized.  Sort of.

From the Houston Chronicle -

On Wednesday, the Republican from Tyler was appearing on the  conservative radio show “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins,” when McCain, along with former Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, was mentioned. Gohmert admitted he apologized for calling McCain a “numbnuts” following criticism the Arizona lawmaker made of a letter Gohmert and several others wrote. Gohmert said he should have left out the word “numb.”

 

“I did express my regret in saying that he was a numbnuts because I didn’t — I probably shouldn’t have used the word ‘numb’, ” Gohmert said. “That was probably unfair.”

Calling someone "numbnuts", well that isn't considered witty by anyone who has graduated from the 6th grade, but that faux apology is tremendously witty...by 9th grade standards.

Of course, my sense of humor seems to have stopped maturing sometime around 10th grade, hence my opinion that Gohmert's "apology" is reasonably funny.

Seriously, Gohmert calling someone else "nuts" (numb or otherwise) is like McCain calling someone else "old" - it might be true, but the source of the allegation isn't exactly in a position to point fingers.

Hat tip to the Texas blog Juanita Jean's| The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. for spotting this, and anyone who is interested in learning about Texas' Gohmert, who wraps an entire AZ lege's worth of crazy into one body, should be a regular reader.  She does a great job of keeping track of his brand of "howl at the moon" nuttiness.

Arizona Legislature: Striker time

...And not the good kind of "strike" either - let's face it, if the legislature went on strike, most people would just say "That's OK.  Bring plenty of water for your picket lines, and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out."

Signs of the arrival of spring in Arizona...

...Baseball players, from smooth-chinned rookies to grizzled veterans, running wild on the basepaths of the various spring training facilities, getting ready for another baseball season...

...Students, from all over Arizona and the country, running wild on the street near Lake Havasu, enjoying another spring break and trying to stave off incipient adulthood...

...Strikers, from lobbyists and legislators alike, running wild on West Washington, desperately trying to push through one more proposal during this year's session of the lege...


Once a week, I write up a post that (mostly) covers committee activity scheduled for the coming week.  One of the standard caveats in that post is to check the agendas regularly because those agendas may change.

Turns out that this was a good week to follow that advice.

...Rep. John Kavanagh (R) proposed a strike-everything (striker) amendment to SB1432, nicknamed the "show your papers before you pee" bill (hat tip to Brahm Resnik for that turn of phrase).  It was held in the House Appropriations committee on Wednesday, but those who think their privates should remain private shouldn't breathe easier just yet.  This could come back at any time, for as long Cathi Herrod is getting her apoplexy on over Phoenix's anti-discrimination ordinance.

...Rep. Eddie Farnsworth (R) has a striker scheduled to go before the House Judiciary committee on Thursday.  It would change SB1178 from a bad bill (some anti-worker changes to the state employee retirement system, relating to long-term disability) into an absolutely horrid bill, greatly broadening the legal shield from "state action" accorded to those who claim such action infringes on their exercise, practice, or observance of their religion.

...Farnsworth has another striker scheduled for consideration at Thursday's House Judiciary meeting.  It would turn SB1346 from something relating to drug analogues into something that makes significant changes to laws and procedures regarding class action lawsuits.  I freely admit that I am not a legal expert, but the proposal seems to raise hurdles for those who would be plaintiffs in class action actions.

...Sen. Gail Griffin (R - U noticing a pattern yet?) has a striker going before Senate Government and Environment on Thursday.  It proposes to expand the definition of "criminal trespass".

...Griffin has another striker scheduled for Thursday's Senate Government and Environment meeting.  This proposed change to HB2647 would revive a proposal to bar the compensation of public employees for union activities, even if such is called for by a legally negotiated and enacted contract.

...Griffin has yet another striker scheduled for Thursday's meeting.  This one seeks to impose ballot requirements on municipalities that hold tax or bond elections.

...Another Griffin striker that's scheduled for Thursday's meeting seeks to use politics to override science, imposing residential energy conservation standards set by the legislature on cities and towns.


Ahhhh...the Arizona Legislature, the place where dead proposals aren't dead until the legislature has adjourned sine die and the proposals are dead. 

And where many of the worst bills never face real scrutiny from the public or the lege itself because they are surreptitiously pushed through using the striker as a vehicle.

Coming and going: 2014 candidates

It's still very early, but there has been some recent movements on the 2014 candidate front...

...In AZCD9, Wendy Rogers (R), a twice-failed candidate (2010 - AZ state senate; 2012 - US Congress), has announced her intention to run for the Republican nomination for the CD9 seat in 2014.

- Also in AZCD9, Martin Sepulveda (R), another also-ran in 2012, has filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC.  More from Roll Call on Sepulveda

- As has 2012 R nominee in CD9. Vernon Parker.

- Former CD3 Congressman Ben Quayle is also a rumored candidate for CD9, though the Roll Call story linked above does say his candidacy has grown less likely.  Personally, I hope he goes for it - a Sinema/Quayle race would be oodles of fun to write about.

...For AZ-Gov, Richard Carmona (D), the 2012 Democratic nominee for US Senate and rumored 2014 candidate for governor, dispelled those rumors this week, publically announcing that he will not seek the office.

...For AZ Mine Inspector, Manny Cruz (D), the 2010 Democratic nominee for that office, has opened an exploratory committee for a 2014 run at the same office.


More to come...

Latest (renewed) Republican obsession: bathrooms

Just when you thought that AZ Republicans couldn't get any more bizarre...

Last month, the City of Phoenix passed an ordinance that bans discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

This month, Arizona's Republicans are mounting their counter-offensive.

At the Arizona legislature on Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear public testimony on the possible restoration of AHCCCS (aka "Arizona Medicaid") eligibility levels to 133% of the federal poverty level.

Other than that though, the agenda was kind of quiet (probably a good thing, given how much interest that one topic has garnered).

Apparently, it was too quiet for Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), chair of the committee.

He revised the agenda for Wednesday's meeting, slipping a striker proposal on to that agenda.

The relevant part of that striker (the blue text indicates a proposed change or addition to the law) -

B.  A person commits disorderly conduct if the person intentionally enters a public restroom, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or locker room and a sign indicates that the room is for the exclusive use of persons of one sex and the person is not legally classified on the person's birth certificate as a member of that sex. 

C.  Subsection B of this section does not apply to a person who enters a public restroom, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or locker room and who is of a different sex than that indicated on the sign if the person is any of the following:

1.  Entering as part of the person's job responsibilities.

2.  Entering to give aid or assistance to another person.

3.  A child who needs assistance.

4.  Physically disabled.

B.  D.  Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 6 is a class 6 felony.  Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 or subsection B is a class 1 misdemeanor.

Ummm...yeah.

Guess they didn't learn the lesson from the story of the fall of former US Senator Larry Craig - Republicans and public restrooms are not a combination that usually works out well for Republicans.

I'm actually a little surprised that Kavanagh is pushing this nugget of ugly - while his politics are appalling, he's actually smart enough to know better than to give wiseass bloggers material to work with.

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 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, please check out the full agenda yourself.


Floor activity:
Monday's House Third Read Calendar is here (one item, reconsideration of HB2533, allowing counties and municipalities to forego publishing public notices in newspapers in lieu of posting them on a website) and House COW calendar is here.

Monday's Senate Third Read Calendar is here; Monday's Senate COW Calendar is here.


Committee Activity:

House side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., HHR4.

Ways and Means, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  Some very technical bills, as is the norm for this committee.  Two measures to keep an eye on:  a striker to SB1171, relating to tax law affecting multistate service providers (in this case, education providers) with more than 2000 students residing on campus in AZ.  As it is written, I think it mostly affects Grand Canyon University in Phoenix (roughly 10,000 students living on campus, and I can't think of another private college in AZ that has even 2000 students living in AZ, much less 2000 living on campus), but even if it only helps GCU right now, it can be amended by a future lege to expand the scope of its tax breaks.  Proposed the Rep. Debbie Lesko, ALEC's water-carrier-in-chief in AZ; a striker to SB1470, relating to barring or at least restricting the ability of municipalities to levy property taxes to fund police, fire, and other services.

Financial Institutions, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  One item on the agenda: the neo-secessionist SB1439, expanding the definition of "legal tender" to include "specie" (mineral-backed or -based currency) and gold and silver bullion.

Education, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  On the agenda: SB1293, creating a "pay for performance" pilot program for funding education (aka - punishing already underfunded schools in poor districts and rewarding the already well-funded schools in wealthier districts).

Insurance and Retirement, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  On the agenda:  SB1173 and SB1174, making changes to the state employees' and state elected officials' retirement plans; and SB1243, Sen. Al Melvin's proposal to exempt military service aid organizations that provide insurance products from insurance regulations.

Government, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  On the agenda: SB1371, placing requirements municipal bond and tax elections in an attempt to make it more likely that such elections fail.

Agriculture and Water, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  Looks harmless so far.

Health, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR4.  On the agenda: SB1115, an anti-healthcare reform measure masquerading as a transparency measure.

Public Safety, Military, and Regulatory Affairs, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR3.  One item on the agenda so far:  Melvin's SB1243 again (it's on the agenda for Insurance and Retirement on Tuesday).

Higher Education and Workforce Development, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR1.  Looks harmless so far, though they are scheduled to see presentations from a number of profit-motivated education businesses.

Commerce, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR5.  Looks harmless so far.

Appropriations, Wednesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  The bills on the agenda look harmless, but this should be an interesting, and long, meeting - the committee will be hearing a presentation about and taking public testimony on Governor Jan Brewer's proposal to restore AHCCCS (AZ Medicaid) eligibility to previous levels (133% of the federal poverty level).

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

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

Judiciary, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR4.  Not harmless, not by a long shot.  On the agenda: SB1264, Sen. Michelle Reagan's proposal to make it more difficult for citizens to put a referendum question on the ballot; and SCR1019, also making it more difficult for citizens to put a referendum question on the ballot, also from Reagan.

Reform and Human Services, Thursday, 9:30 a.m., HHR1.  Looks harmless so far.


Senate side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., Senate Caucus Room 1.  Looonnnng agenda.  May take all of 10 minutes to rubberstamp.

Judiciary, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor, SHR1.  On the agenda: a striker to HB2387, proposing to make it more difficult for voters to be on the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL) and easier to remove voters from the PEVL list.

Government and Environment, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor, SHR3.  On the agenda: HB2233, directing the legislature's Auditor General to conduct a "special audit" of all "voter protected" measures that have been enacted by the voters.

Transportation, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  Looks relatively harmless.

Elections, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: A striker to HB2306, similar to the neo-secessionist specie/bullion as currency bill above.  As written, HB2306 would double the amount of money that candidate for office could raise and spend; a striker to HB2527, changing it into changes to the law regarding flood control districts.  As written, HB2527 would make a number of revisions to election law, most of the changes being bad.  Both strikers being offered are from Sen. Michelle Reagan (R-wants to be AZ Secretary of State) who has been leading the Republican efforts to legislatively disenfranchise voters.  The strikers may be a signal that she, and they, have decided to focus their efforts on other measures, or they may just be a distraction, perhaps trying to minimize the turnout of opponents of the measures.  Also on the agenda: HB2518, changing municipal elections so that the primary/first election becomes a "vote for every candidate you want" affair, with the top two vote getters moving on to the general/second election; and HCR2026, trying to convince the voters to undermine Clean Elections by putting a smiley face on it by redirecting CE monies to fund education.

Appropriations, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  On the agenda:  HB2169, affecting fees collected at state universities, making sure that funds so collected cannot be transferred to non-university recognized organizations (essentially, the lege is still thoroughly pissed over university student organizations that have lobbied hard against legislative attacks on education).

Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR109.  Looks harmless so far.

Commerce, Energy, and Military, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR1.  On the agenda; HB2173, innocuously titled "unemployment insurance; omnibus".  If the lege was subject to a truth-in-advertising law, this would be titled "screwing the unemployed"; HB2280, declaring the state lege's supreme authority over employee benefits in the state; HB2645, expanding "religious" organizations' exemption to unemployment insurance (UI) laws.

Public Safety, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  On the agenda: HB2326, barring municipalities, under most circumstances, from keeping any records pertaining to the possession, ownership, sales, purchases, or transfers of firearms; HB2455, mandating that agencies (mostly law enforcement), rather than the courts, must sell unclaimed or forfeited firearms.  Oh, and the measure would completely set aside any remaining local ordinances and regulations pertaining to firearms.

Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: HB2239, allowing corporations and other defendants in personal injury, wrongful death, or similar lawsuits to reduce their financial liability by introducing evidence that the plaintiffs have received or could receive financial compensation from other sources.

Finance, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  As with the House Ways and Means Committee, some of the bills are very technical in nature, and as with that committee, some of the bills are very bad in nature.  On the agenda:  a striker to HB2111 relating to changes in the transaction privilege tax, also known as the sales tax (no text available yet); a striker to HB2125 relating to "property tax levy; community colleges" (no text available yet); HB2446, expanding property tax breaks for "religious" institutions; HB2608, ending the Elected Officials Retirement Plan (EORP) and replacing it with a 401K-style plan.  While it does impact legislators, most of the people affected by this measure are in the judicial branch...and the lege's disdain for the judiciary is well-known; HB2617, expanding school tuition tax credits.

Education, Thursday, 8:30 a.m., SHR1.  A lot of bills designed to screw public education in AZ.  Example:  HB2318, exempting schools that don't receive federal funds from certain federal and state regulations.

Government and Environment, Thursday, upon adjournment of the floor, SHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2282, seeking to weaken the state's recall election provisions by adding a primary election.  Probably unconstitutional (it contradicts specific clauses in the state constitution), but the lege is still upset over the 2011 recall of former senate president Russell Pearce and wants to reduce the ability of voters to remove elected officials from office.  Actually, they want to keep it from ever happening again, so they've included a retroactivity clause to protect Pearce's nativist saddle partner, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is the subject of an ongoing recall petition drive.


Capitol Activity:

The lege's calendar of Capitol events is here.

Arizona legislature: Medicaid restoration/expansion hearing on Wednesday

Thanks to Brahm Resnick of Channel 12 for spotting this and pointing it out...

A few years ago, the Republicans in the Arizona legislature "balanced" the state's budget on the backs of Arizona's most vulnerable residents by radically cutting access to health care for Arizona's poor.  The "balance the budget" subterfuge was used as an excuse for similar ends in other states.

With the advent of federal health care reform, known as Obamacare, many states, including AZ, must now expand or restore health care coverage for the poor to reap the full fiscal benefits of the federal law.

This past Tuesday, Governor Jan Brewer, to great fanfare, released her proposed legislation to restore eligibility for AHCCCS, Arizona's Medicaid program, to include those families who have an annual income level up to 133% of the federal property level.

This coming Wednesday, March 20, at 2 p.m,, the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the proposal, including a presentation from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) and taking public testimony from the public.

While I expect that the witness list will be heavy with Goldwater Institute corporate shills, opposing Medicaid for their clients' fun and profit (the committee is chaired by Rep. John Kavanagh, after all), a healthy turnout of supporters is needed to demonstrate that there is strong support in Arizona for the restoration of Medicaid coverage to previous levels.

Details -

Where:  HHR1, House of Representatives building, Arizona State Capitol, 1700 West Washington, Phoenix.

Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Time: 2 p.m. (seating is limited, so plan to arrive early)

Glad-handing, self-dealing, hypocrisy, and more: The Goldwater Institute unmasked

Arizona Working Families and The Center For Media and Democracy have just released the results of a joint investigation into the activities of the Goldwater Institute.

Many local observers think of GI as a deep-pocketed corporate lobbying group pretending to be a non-profit "think tank" dedicated to protecting the interests  and "liberty" of Americans.

Turns out that many observers think correctly.

Among the findings of the investigation:

- GI took nearly $2 million of organization funds and loaned it to the company of one of its directors (a little eyebrow-raising at for-profit organizations,  treads perilously close to stepping over the line into legally actionable at non-profits) 

- GI purports to be non-ideological, but hides the name and nature of its donors.  However, many of those donors have to report their expenditures.  And many right-wing corporate front groups report giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to GI.

- GI, always claiming to act the interest of "protecting liberty" has no problem with taking liberties with and promoting corruption on, the taxpayers' dime.  After winning a lawsuit to overturn part of Arizona's Clean Elections law, making it easier for their donors to buy elections again, GI billed the state's taxpayers for the time and effort that it took to screw over the people of AZ.  GI received approximately $1 million in public money for their activities, and promptly paid their already highly-paid employees tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses.


The report also spends a lot of space highlighting and explaining GI's close ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, the shadowy group that works to bring corporate lobbyists together with state legislators, all for fun and profit (the corporations', not the states').

The report isn't terribly long (a little less than 40 pages) but it is a must read for anyone who cares about how laws are actually made in Arizona, and what has truly been behind some of the looniest of the loony measures in the AZ legislature.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors: the race to 3 is on...

...3, as in the number of votes from the remaining supes needed by a candidate to be named to fill the vacancy on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors left by the recently resigned/retired Max Wilson...

Brahm Resnik of AZCentral.com has posted the information on the 14 people who have officially submitted their names for consideration for the appointment.

Note: there may end up being more candidates - the deadline for candidates to declare their interest in the appointment is Friday.  If you are a Republican who lives in Supervisor District 4, you too can be a member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors!  Seriously, those are the two main qualifications for the appointment.

Many of the 14 candidates (so far) are people who may be familiar to regular readers (with some notes from their submissions or their past histories):

Peoria City Council member Ron Aames

Peoria Mayor Bob Barrett

Former county schools superintendent Sandra Dowling (as the victim of a past BOS power play/witch hunt, her candidacy may be something of a long shot)

Avondale City Council member Jim Buster

Former Arrowhead Justice of the Peace John Keegan (husband of former AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan).  Possibly the front-runner.  Reason?  He lists as one of his favorite hobbies firing his "full scale American Civil War howitzer".  May be something that the supes want on their side during their next tiff with Joe Arpaio.

Former state legislator and a 2012 primary opponent of Wilson, Jean McGrath.  Highlight of her legislative career: she ran a bill to ban opposite sex overnight visits in dorms at state universities.  Hint: she wasn't trying to score points with her LGBT constituents.  The bill didn't pass, and I'm guessing that it would have been thoroughly ignored even if it had passed.

Goodyear City Council member Joanne Osborne.  She likes to play solitaire and has lots of books to read about "business, leadership, business, and faith".  I guess that's better than a howitzer.

Litchfield Park Mayor Thomas Schoaf

Former state legislator Bob Blendu

Former state legislator Jack Harper, a frequent subject of not-so-random musings here.  Many things have been said and written about his "colorful" political activities, but for this, the highlight is from his submission: on his resume, he lists as one of his qualifications for the job (which is what a resume is all about) that he is a "Life Member of the National Rifle Association".


The selection of a new member of the may take place as early as next week.  No matter who is appointed, they will serve until the 2014 election when the voters will choose someone to serve out the remainder of the term (until 2016)

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 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, please check out the full agenda yourself.


Floor activity:
Monday's House COW (Committee of the Whole) calendars are here and here; Monday's Senate COW calendar is here.


Committee activity:

House side of the Capitol -

Health, Monday, 11 a.m., offsite.  Tours of the state Office of Vital Records and State Laboratory.

Government, Monday, 11 a.m., HHR4.  On the agenda: SB1365, barring the planning and zoning entities of municipalities and counties from requiring that developers create planned communities in their new developments; SB1278, barring HOAs formed in 2015 or later from regulating a government owner or held roadway.

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., HHR4.  Long agenda, but that isn't what is most significant; the agenda is made up of bills that originated in the House.  Later this week or early next, these bills will start reaching the floor for consideration for true final passage (as in, if a bill passes the House floor session, it will go to the governor's desk for her signature or veto).

Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR4 (busy room on Monday; the Zamboni operator will probably be on overtime :) ).  On the agenda: SB1465, exempting solid waste facilities from certain regulatory provisions under certain circumstances; SCR1012, a resolution whereby the lege tells the EPA to buzz off in its efforts to reduce haze (a certain type of air pollution) in AZ.

Insurance and Retirement, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  On the agenda: a striker to SB1178 that would make changes to the administration of the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS).

Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  One item on the agenda:  SCR1016, a neo-secessionist amendment to the AZ Constitution by adding a section that tells the federal government "You're not the boss of me!"  Seriously, while I've attempted to summarize it in a single, wiseass, sentence, it really isn't much more than that. 

Welcome to Arizona, where the punch lines write themselves.

Agriculture and Water, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR5.  On the agenda: SB1288, barring the use of monies from the Arizona Water Protection Fund for projects controlled by the feds (no partnering with them to protect Arizona's water supply) and drastically changing the membership of the Arizona Water Protection Fund Commission to give the legislative leadership more direct control over the Commission; SB1322, extending an exemption from assured water supply requirements for certain residential subdivisions; SCR1013, supporting the efforts of Congress (OK, the Republicans in Congress) to water down "update" the federal Endangered Species Act.

Public Safety, Military, and Regulatory Affairs, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR3.  Looks harmless so far.

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

Commerce, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR5.  Looks harmless so far, but in honor of Defense Industry Lobbyists Running Wild at the Capitol "Aerospace and Defense" Day, there will be a number of presentations to the committee.

Transportation, Thursday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  On the agenda: SB1075, Sen. Don "Tequila" Shooter's love letter to the vehicle towing industry, restricting the ability of people to get their impounded/towed vehicles out of the hands of the impounders, and removing the caps on the fees that the impounders can charge vehicle owners.

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

Judiciary, Thursday, 10 a.m., HHR4.  The worst agenda of the week.  Items include: SB1261, making it more difficult for voters to be on the Permananent Early Voters List (PEVL) and easier for the voters to be purged from the PEVL; and SCR1009, Sen. Al Melvin's annual resolution praising slave inmate labor.


Senate side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., Senate Caucus Room 1.  Short agenda, all Senate-originated bills.  Features a couple of very bad bills, including a neo-secessionist special that is probably unconstitutional.  They'll all pass this committee anyway.

Judiciary, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor session, SHR1.  On the agenda: HB2240, raising the dollar value limits of civil actions that can be heard as small claims cases in Justice Courts from $2500 to $5000.  It's a slightly watered-down version of something that former state senator Frank Antenori tried to push through for a friend of his during the last session of the legislature.  Last year's version was opposed by the courts and vetoed by the governor; it is opposed by the courts now and it remains to be seen how the governor will handle this year's version; HB2516, allowing peace officers to carry guns in courts (current law leaves it up to the court and the judge presiding over it); HB2600, attempting to insert more politics into the selection of judges in AZ.

Government and Environment, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor session, SHR3.  Looks harmless so far.

Transportation, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  Looks relatively harmless, but HB2372, affecting motor vehicle dealers, is a long bill with many changes.  Looks OK, but it may be worthy of a close look.

Elections, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  Lots of bad here:  HB2156, prohibiting the state and all of its political subdivisions (counties, municipalities, school districts, etc.) from using public funds to "influence" elections (I think this one is aimed a school district bond and budget override elections); HB2306, doubling the limit on contributions that political committees can give to candidates for elected office; HB2593, massively increasing the amount of money (more than 10X) that individuals may give to an individual candidate, removing the limit on the total amount of money that individuals can give to all candidates, and removing the limit on the total amount that candidates can accept from political committees; and HB2536, loosening the already weak restrictions on independent expenditure committees.

Appropriations, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  On the agenda:  HCM2005, a resolution from the Arizona legislature to the US Congress, admonishing them for their fiscally irresponsible ways and making some suggestions on how the feds should handle their finances (perhaps the AZ lege would like it if the US Congress followed AZ's lead by mortgaging "selling" off the Capitol).

Commerce, Energy, and Military, Wednesday, 8:30 a.m., SHR1.  Long agenda and looks mostly harmless...however, not completely harmless.  Not by a long shot.  Example: HB2147, moving the burden of proof in unemployment insurance claims from employers having to prove that a claimant is ineligible for UI to the claimant having to prove he is eligible.

Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR109.  Looks harmless so far.

Public Safety, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  On the agenda: HB2481, making the use of certain fireworks in violation of a county or municipal regulation a petty offense (maximum penalty: $500).  Do something that may result in half of a county burning down (a major concern in most of Arizona), pay $500 (maximum), and go on your merry way.

Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  Looks harmless so far.

Finance, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  Long agenda, complicated bills, and most assuredly, NOT harmless.  One example: HB2565, allowing insurers to forego providing written policies to their customers in lieu simply posting them on a website, unless otherwise requested by the customer.

Education, Thursday, 9:30 a.m., SHR1.  Looks harmless so far.


Capitol events:

The lege's calendar of events for the week is here.  The big event is shaping up to be the AFL-CIO's Day of Action on Monday.

Arizona legislature: Crandall leaving; Montenegro exploring

...The AZ Capitol Times, as written by Jim Small, is reporting that State Sen. Rich Crandall (R-Mesa) will be resigning later this year to accept what he terms as his "dream" job.

Crandall is the lege's resident expert on public education...if "expert on public education" means "knows the most ways to undermine public education".

He has a record of issuing endorsements of corporate education businesses, with the endorsements masquerading as legislative press releases.

Having said that, by the standards of the Republican caucus in the lege (big caveat there), he's known as one of the more civil and reasonable members.  That and the fact that he counts Russell Pearce among his political enemies speaks well of him.

Once he officially resigns, the Republican precinct committeemen of LD16 will meet, nominate three people, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will appoint one of the three to fill the seat.

Predictions:

- The Pearce-friendly contingent in LD16 will try to take the seat.  Crandall defeated one of their own, John Fillmore, in a hotly-contested primary, and the tea party types there were (and presumably, still are) fuming.  One of the effects of this early announcement is that it gives candidates who don't spend their evenings baying at the moon a chance to build support over the next few months.

- Look for Crandall to end up as part of the nascent Jeb Bush for President campaign.  In addition to the endorsement press release touting Jeb Bush's troubled "Foundation for Excellence in Education", Crandall's most recent financial disclosure statement indicates that Crandall accepted a "gift" valued at more than $500 (they're not required to disclose the actual value of the graft gift) from the Bush campaign prop education advocacy group.

...Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic is reporting that State Rep. Steve Montenegro (R-Litchfield Park) is "exploring" a 2014 run for Arizona Secretary of State.  Montenegro is an ally of Russell Pearce and the other R candidate in the race, State Sen. Michelle Reagan, is not.  Which, like Crandall above, may be the best thing that can be said about her politically, but that's a story for another post.

And rest assured, there will be another post.

Arizona Legislature: The coming week

This will be a relatively light week for committee activity - many committees have short agendas, and many others simply aren't meeting this week.  Next week and the week after next will probably have more committee activity as the lege approaches the primary deadline for bills to be heard in committee. 

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:

Monday's House Third Read (final passage) calendar is here; Tuesday's House COW (Committee of the Whole) calendars are here and here.

Monday's Senate Third Read calendar is here; Monday's Senate COW calendar is here.


Committee activity:

House side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., HHR4.  Long agenda of bills originating in the House, but not as long as it has been for the last couple of weeks.

Ways and Means, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR1.  Very short agenda (only two items), but there is one item of interest: SB1176, increasing the tax deduction limit for contributions to college savings plans.

Education, Monday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  Looks harmless so far.

Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources, Monday, 2:15 p.m., HHR4.  A special meeting with one item on the agenda: SB1290, relating to the Office of Pest Management.  I think this one is harmless, but it involves changes to many clauses in the law.

Insurance and Retirement, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR3.  One item on the agenda: SB1369, granting to employers, under certain circumstances, an exemption from paying for unemployment insurance.  According to the sponsor, Sen. Gail Griffin (R), the motivation behind this measure is related to an incident where an employer had to pay for unemployment insurance payments to a former employee who voluntarily left a position but was later laid off from a subsequent job.

Government, Tuesday, 2 p.m., HHR4.  Looks harmless so far.

Public Safety, Military, and Regulatory Affairs, Wednesday, 9 a.m., HHR3.  On the agenda:  SCR1015, pledging the lege's undying and uncritical support for unrestricted gun possession.

Higher Education and Workforce Development, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR1.  Looks harmless so far.

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

Commerce, Wednesday, 10 a.m., HHR5.  On the agenda: SB1148, making changes to law regarding workers' compensation coverage for Arizona workers who are injured on the job while present in other states.

Appropriations, Wednesday, 2. p.m., HHR1.  Looks harmless, but SB1311, relating to the investment of public monies, is very technical and I may be missing something in it.

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

Judiciary, Thursday, 10 a.m., HHR4.  Looks harmless so far, but this is always a committee to watch.  This committee is the center of a lot of the mischief on the House side of the Capitol.


Senate side of the Capitol -

Rules, Monday, 1 p.m., Senate Caucus Room 1.  Long agenda; long enough that they may have to re-ink their rubberstamp before all is said and done.

Judiciary, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor, SHR1.  Sneaky bad bill: HB2240, raising the limits on civil actions that can be heard in Justice Courts as 'small claims" from $2500 to $5000.  Former state senator Frank Antenori tried to run a similar measure last year to help a friend of his.  It was hated by the courts, and vetoed by the governor.  This year, the measure was watered down, but the courts still hate it (obviously, not something that the Rs in the lege care about), but word is that the governor still doesn't like it.  Expect it to pass the lege, but I don't know about its chances of becoming law.

Government and Environment, Monday, upon adjournment of the floor, SHR3.  On the agenda: HB2005, expanding the definition of public entities covered under public records and disclosure rules and laws.  Fine on the face of it, but the measure was proposed by Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale), and the next time she proposes a "good governance" measure will be the first time.

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

Elections, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  Short agenda, all bad (in other words, par for the course for Sen. Michele Reagan's committee).

Appropriations, Tuesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  Looks harmless so far.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

Public Safety, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR109.  Looks harmless so far.

Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: HB2547, creating a "Birth Outcome Committee" to study the possible effect of using "doulas" to help improve birth outcomes for pregnant women who face an elevated risk of poor birth outcomes.  A doula is "a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth or provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period" (courtesy the legislative summary of the measure).

Finance, Wednesday, 2 p.m., SHR3.  On the agenda:  HB2057, HB2058, and HB2059, making changes to the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS), the state employee pension plan.  HB2058 looks harmless, but no so much for the others; HB2324, exempting leases between different but related business entities from sales tax.

Commerce, Energy, and Military, Wednesday, 9 a.m., SHR1.  HB2147, shifting the burden of proof in unemployment insurance claims to the worker/claimant.  In other words, the claimant will have to prove their eligibility for UI benefits instead of the former employer having to prove INeligibility.

Education, Thursday, 9 a.m., SHR1.  On the agenda: HB2496, allowing charter schools to be exempt from certain rules and regulations under certain circumstances.


The lege's calendar of events located at and close to the Capitol is here.

Max Wilson resigning from the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

From the Arizona Republic, written by Michelle Ye Hee Lee -

 

Longtime Maricopa County Supervisor Max Wilson announced Friday he will retire, effective March 11, citing health reasons.

 

The 70-year-old Litchfield Park Republican was hospitalized with the flu in January. This week, his doctors advised him to take it easy. He also has had previous health concerns, and has gone through two open-heart surgeries in the past.

Wilson won reelection last year, so his office normally wouldn't be on the ballot again until 2016.

However, his resignation means that the rest of the BOS will appoint another Republican from Wilson's NW Maricopa County district to fill the office until the 2014 election, when somebody will be elected to serve out the remaining two years in the term.

If he (or she) chooses to run for election to the position, the appointee, whoever it may be, will have a leg up in the 2014 election.  They'll be running as an incumbent, an unelected one to be sure, but better to be an unelected incumbent than none at all (see: Jan Brewer in 2010).

Being the Northwest Valley, and Republicans, I've got no insight into how this is going to shake out, but expect to see a bit of a "domino effect".

Any person who is appointed to the office is likely to be a "mover and shaker" on the West Valley political scene, and if not already an elected official, someone who is on the short list of those considered to be ready to move into office.  Their appointment will, in turn, create an opening for someone else to move into the political "on deck circle" (nice baseball reference for a political change happening during spring training, doncha' think? :) ).

Wilson has faced two primary opponents during his tenure, easily defeating both. 

In 2012, former state legislator and current member of the governing board of the Central Arizona Project, Jean McGrath ran against him, getting trounced.  She may have some supporters among SD4's Republicans, but based on the primary results, there aren't many of them.

In 2004, one George L. Bradbury IV served himself up as the political equivalent of cannon fodder.  Hadn't heard of him before doing some research for this post, so he seems to done with his (apparently short-lived) political career, but a Google search turned up some allegations of sketchy land deals and being on the defendant side of some civil actions in court.

Stuff that isn't supposed to be done by those interesting in being on the MCBOS...at least until they are part of the MCBOS.

Felecia Rotellini in the 2014 Attorney General race

Picture courtesy Rotellini's 2010 campaign Twitter page

Felecia Rotellini, the 2010 Democratic nominee for Arizona Attorney General, has announced that she will be a candidate for that office in 2014.

Among other things, she is pledging to "restore integrity" and "dignity" to the office of the Attorney General, qualities that have been drained away from that office by the ongoing antics of current AG Tom Horne.

In 2010, Rotellini was easily the most impressive Democratic candidate in a very down year for Democrats in Arizona and across the country.  Many people, including not a few who voted for Horne, felt that she should have won the race, and many others, including not a few Republicans, thought she would have won in any election that wasn't a Republican tidal wave year.

Now, with the most impressive Democratic candidate in 2012, Dr. Richard Carmona, serving as the chair of her election committee, she is well-positioned to gain the office and turn the office of the Attorney General back into an agency that brings credit to Arizona because of its professionalism, and not brings ridicule to Arizona because of its lack of professionalism (to put it mildly).

Rotellini spent the better part of two decades working in the AZAG's office and overseeing the AZ State Banking Department, now called the Department of Financial Institutions.  She worked for both Democratic and Republican governors and AGs, winning the respect of all who know her (OK, maybe except for defendants :) ).

She isn't just a good Democratic candidate, she is a good candidate, period.

Rotellini's campaign website is here; if you wish to volunteer for or contribute to the campaign, the contact info is there.