Time for the first 2014 post previewing committee activity in the Arizona legislature.
Notes:
All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do. If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.
Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.
Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.
Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it. If I missed something significant, leave a comment letting me know.
All House committee agendas can be found here.
All Senate committee agendas can be found here.
On to the meeting schedule, which is relatively sparse this week.
On the House side of the Capitol -
- Joint Appropriations, HHR1, Tuesday, 9 a.m. Hearing a presentation on the governor's budget proposal.
- Insurance and Retirement, HHR3, Tuesday, 2 p.m. A number of bills relating to the state's retirement systems. While these all probably fall into the "quietly really bad" category, the one that stands out is HB2203. It seeks to "refine" the qualifications required for membership on the board of directors of the state's retirement systems. It also has an amendment that would add charter school employees to the list of those eligible to serve in the slot on the board reserved for educators.
- Government, HHR4, Tuesday, 2 p.m. One bill on the agenda. Looks harmless, so far.
- Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility, HHR1, Tuesday, 2 p.m. One bill on the agenda, but not so harmless. HB2014 seeks to undermine voter initiatives by mandating that in any advertisement for the measure and in any publicity pamphlets that include a given measure, and Proposition 105 notice be included, that states that, if approved, can "never" be changed, except under specific conditions. The sponsor, Rep. Michelle Ugenti, made sure to put "never" in there, even though it isn't true.
- Agriculture and Water, HHR5, Tuesday, 2 p.m. Presentation only, no bills. Looks harmless so far.
- Health, HHR4, Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. Two bills (look harmless) and a presentation by TGen.
- Appropriations, HHR1, Wednesday, 2 p.m. Budget presentation by JLBC.
- Transportation, HHR3, Thursday, 9 a.m. One bill so far - HB2027, relating to the use of golf carts and other "neighborhood electric vehicles" (NEVs) in retirement communities in unincorporated parts of Maricopa County. Looks relatively harmless.
- Technology and Infrastructure, HHR5, Thursday, 9 a.m. Nothing on the agenda so far.
- Reform and Human Services, HHR1, Thursday, 10 a.m. Nothing on the agenda so far.
- Judiciary, HHR4, Thursday, 10 a.m. Nothing on the agenda so far.
On the Senate side of the Capitol -
- Joint Appropriations, HHR1, Tuesday, 9 a.m. Hearing a presentation on the governor's budget proposal.
- Appropriations, SHR109, Tuesday, 2 p.m. Budget hearing for the Department of Corrections. No bills so far.
- Natural Resource and Rural Affairs, SHR109, Wednesday, 9 a.m. One executive nomination and one presentation; no bills.
- Health and Human Services, SHR1, Wednesday, 2 p.m. Looks relatively harmless, but SB1039, allowing the chiropractor members of the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to have attended the same chiropractic school, is too specific and technical a change. *Somebody* has called in a favor (or something similar) from the sponsor, Sen. Nancy Barto (R).
- Finance, SHR3, Wednesday, 2 p.m. A bunch of Steve Yarbrough-sponsored bills relating to finance, insurance and the state retirement system. Some of their provisions are too technical for me to understand in the time I have available for this post, but given Yarbrough's involvement, I can't believe that these are good for the average Arizonan.
- Government and Environment, SHR3, Thursday, upon adjournment of the Senate floor session. Highlight of the agenda and (perhaps) the week: SB1060. This one would bar the practice of lobbyists giving tickets to sports events to legislators. Probably the most contentious item on any agenda this week, and the division won't break along party lines - there are a few Ds who accept the tickets, and a few Rs who are opposed to the practice. Best guess: will pass committee, but fail on the floor.
The lege's calendar of events for the week is here.
AZ Department of Administration meeting public notices are here.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Arizona lege 2014: Puttin' the "AZ" in "crazy". Again.
Maybe it's time to move the Arizona State Hospital six (or so) miles to the west, and a little south...
Still sticking by the prediction that this year's session of the Arizona legislature will be a short one, but I now expect them to pack a lot of punch line-worthy material into the session.
We've already had one sitting state senator, Don Shooter, baldly announce that he intends to keep takingbribes "gifts" of tickets to sporting events from lobbyists until he receives a pay raise.
Another one is fast-tracking a bill to make discrimination that can be rationalized by citing a religious justification a protected civil right...for the bigots.
And that's just the beginning.
Some of the other "colorful" measures that fall into the "making comedy writers' lives easier" category (some are new, some are rehashes of schemes proposed in earlier sessions of the lege):
- HB2466, mandating that every session of the legislature adjourn by May 1st every year, regardless of whether they have actually completed their work (ya know, pass a budget).
- HB2433, making it a class 2 misdemeanor (up to four months in jail, $750 fine) if a delegate to a Constitutional convention even considers an "unapproved" amendment.
- HB2412, creating a "school safety designee program" - simply put, "guns on campus" by another name.
- HB2366, appropriating funds to pay current and former legislators (read: Russell Pearce) involved in lawsuits stemming from the infamous anti-immigrant measure known as SB1070.
- HB2344, creating a new way for candidates for US Senate to get their names on the general election ballot - have the legislature nominate them.
- HB2339, allowing firearms nearly *everywhere*.
- HB2284, allowing license "inspections" of abortion providers at any time for any reason, even if (especially if?) such inspections disrupt operations.
- HB2196, repealing 2013's HB2305 and its host of voter suppression provisions. Not because the Rs in the AZ lege have suddenly been struck by a fit of conscience. Nope, because HB2305 was successfully referred to the ballot by a petition drive and they figure that repealing it will invalidate the ballot referral. Once that happens, they will just pass the measure again.
- HB2192, Rep. Carl Seel's latest "Breathing While Brown" law, making it a Class 1 misdemeanor (first offense) or Class 6 felony (subsequent offense) for an undocumented immigrant to use any "public resource". And under Seel's definition, using a public resource specifically and literally "includes driving on a public road or highway, accepting any public benefit, attending a public school or using the services of any public entity in this state."
This particular proposal is the frontrunner in the "Most Likely To Earn AZ A Prime Spot On The Daily Show. Again." derby.
- HB2186, turning Arizona's college campuses into armed encampments (allowing school faculty members to carry concealed weapons).
- HB2030, mandating that applicants for and recipients of unemployment compensation pass a drug test as a condition for receiving benefits.
- SB1120, barring hospitals from requiring physicians to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients as a condition for granting staff privileges to those physicians.
- SB1096, a "gold and precious metals as money" bill.
The above bills were submitted by the end of the first week of the session of the lege; they still have 2 - 3 weeks (depending on the chamber) to submit more, and "strike-everything" amendments (aka "strikers") can be submitted at nearly any time.
How about we slap a fence around the state capitol and rename it "The Ev Mecham Memorial Insane Asylum"?
Still sticking by the prediction that this year's session of the Arizona legislature will be a short one, but I now expect them to pack a lot of punch line-worthy material into the session.
We've already had one sitting state senator, Don Shooter, baldly announce that he intends to keep taking
Another one is fast-tracking a bill to make discrimination that can be rationalized by citing a religious justification a protected civil right...for the bigots.
And that's just the beginning.
Some of the other "colorful" measures that fall into the "making comedy writers' lives easier" category (some are new, some are rehashes of schemes proposed in earlier sessions of the lege):
- HB2466, mandating that every session of the legislature adjourn by May 1st every year, regardless of whether they have actually completed their work (ya know, pass a budget).
- HB2433, making it a class 2 misdemeanor (up to four months in jail, $750 fine) if a delegate to a Constitutional convention even considers an "unapproved" amendment.
- HB2412, creating a "school safety designee program" - simply put, "guns on campus" by another name.
- HB2366, appropriating funds to pay current and former legislators (read: Russell Pearce) involved in lawsuits stemming from the infamous anti-immigrant measure known as SB1070.
- HB2344, creating a new way for candidates for US Senate to get their names on the general election ballot - have the legislature nominate them.
- HB2339, allowing firearms nearly *everywhere*.
- HB2284, allowing license "inspections" of abortion providers at any time for any reason, even if (especially if?) such inspections disrupt operations.
- HB2196, repealing 2013's HB2305 and its host of voter suppression provisions. Not because the Rs in the AZ lege have suddenly been struck by a fit of conscience. Nope, because HB2305 was successfully referred to the ballot by a petition drive and they figure that repealing it will invalidate the ballot referral. Once that happens, they will just pass the measure again.
- HB2192, Rep. Carl Seel's latest "Breathing While Brown" law, making it a Class 1 misdemeanor (first offense) or Class 6 felony (subsequent offense) for an undocumented immigrant to use any "public resource". And under Seel's definition, using a public resource specifically and literally "includes driving on a public road or highway, accepting any public benefit, attending a public school or using the services of any public entity in this state."
This particular proposal is the frontrunner in the "Most Likely To Earn AZ A Prime Spot On The Daily Show. Again." derby.
- HB2186, turning Arizona's college campuses into armed encampments (allowing school faculty members to carry concealed weapons).
- HB2030, mandating that applicants for and recipients of unemployment compensation pass a drug test as a condition for receiving benefits.
- SB1120, barring hospitals from requiring physicians to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients as a condition for granting staff privileges to those physicians.
- SB1096, a "gold and precious metals as money" bill.
The above bills were submitted by the end of the first week of the session of the lege; they still have 2 - 3 weeks (depending on the chamber) to submit more, and "strike-everything" amendments (aka "strikers") can be submitted at nearly any time.
How about we slap a fence around the state capitol and rename it "The Ev Mecham Memorial Insane Asylum"?
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Arizona Legislature 2014: not much new under the sun
A couple of early updates from the new session of the legislative session:
While some of the names have changed, some things haven't changed at the Capitol. Like the arrogance and culture of entitlement among the majority caucus.
Exhibit 1: They're proposing to pay any legislators, current and past, who claim to have incurred legal costs from lawsuits against their infamous anti-immigrant measure, SB1070. (Arizona Capitol Times, subscription required)
Something similar to this has been proposed before this week; after former senator Russell Pearce was recalled. There was a move to reimburse him for the costs of his campaign in (unsuccessful) defense of him. That move didn't go far, not least because he didn't actually pay for his defense - contributors did.
Pearce's acolytes in the lege may have failed the first time, but they haven't stopped looking for ways to funnel taxpayer money to him.
Exhibit 2: One state legislator, Sen. Don Shooter (R-Yuma), in response to proposals to end the practice of legislators accepting tickets to sporting events from lobbyists, proclaimed that unless legislators get a pay raise he's going to keep acceptingbribes tickets.
For the record: I actually agree with Shooter on one thing - legislative pay should be raised. Most would-be public servants are honest and honorable people. However, they also have families to support and cannot do that on the current legislative salary of $24K per year.
So, instead of people who want to work for the best interests of their constituents and the state, Arizona ends up with the majority of the legislature is made up of whackjobs and grifters.
I'll leave it to readers to determine for themselves which category (or both, they're not mutually exclusive) that Shooter fits in.
In any event, he knew what the pay level for legislators was *before* he took his oath of office. While I think that legislative pay is too low, that doesn't justify corruption. He gets absolutely no sympathy on this.
Exhibit 3: Another state legislator, Sen. Steve Yarbrough, was the subject of a recent investigative report by a local news station chronicling Yarbrough's self-dealing, pushing school tuition tax credit measures that benefit the school tuition tax credit organization that he operates.
Probably not the best publicity for a sitting legislator entering an election year. However, Yarbrough has been doing this for years and has reaped hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars from the scheme.
So, instead of maintaining a low profile, he's running a bill to expand eligibility for taking school tuition tax credits (SB1048).
Oh, and he's running a proposal to make religion-based bigotry a constitutionally-protected civil right (SB1062).
Note: the STO bill is being fast-tracked; it has already received consideration from and has been passed by the Senate Finance Committee. Which is, perhaps not coincidentally, chaired by Yarbrough himself.
Another thing that hasn't changed: the push to privatize public services.
Just two days ago, Governor Jan Brewer made a big splash in her State of the State speech to the new session of the legislature when she announced that she was "abolishing" Child Protective Services (CPS), removing the agency from the Department of Economic Security and making it a separate, cabinet-level agency.
One day later, rumors were swirling that the "privatization" vultures were already circling the carcass of the agency, looking to pick off any pieces that could be turned into profit centers.
One day after that (today), the Senate Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing on, you guessed it, privatizing CPS' functions. Channel 12 news video/story on the hearing here.
Prediction: Given the rush to rationalize privatizing CPS and the presence of a new director, Charles Flanagan, whose background is in warehousing prisoners, and not protecting children, a system will be created where children who are removed from possibly abusive home situations will be housed by private foster care providers.
The providers will have contracts that guarantee minimum population levels in their private "foster care" systems, leading to a new CPS culture where removing children from their homes is "incentivized" while actually resolving dysfunctional family situations is most assuredly not.
...More to come...unfortunately.
While some of the names have changed, some things haven't changed at the Capitol. Like the arrogance and culture of entitlement among the majority caucus.
Exhibit 1: They're proposing to pay any legislators, current and past, who claim to have incurred legal costs from lawsuits against their infamous anti-immigrant measure, SB1070. (Arizona Capitol Times, subscription required)
Something similar to this has been proposed before this week; after former senator Russell Pearce was recalled. There was a move to reimburse him for the costs of his campaign in (unsuccessful) defense of him. That move didn't go far, not least because he didn't actually pay for his defense - contributors did.
Pearce's acolytes in the lege may have failed the first time, but they haven't stopped looking for ways to funnel taxpayer money to him.
Exhibit 2: One state legislator, Sen. Don Shooter (R-Yuma), in response to proposals to end the practice of legislators accepting tickets to sporting events from lobbyists, proclaimed that unless legislators get a pay raise he's going to keep accepting
For the record: I actually agree with Shooter on one thing - legislative pay should be raised. Most would-be public servants are honest and honorable people. However, they also have families to support and cannot do that on the current legislative salary of $24K per year.
So, instead of people who want to work for the best interests of their constituents and the state, Arizona ends up with the majority of the legislature is made up of whackjobs and grifters.
I'll leave it to readers to determine for themselves which category (or both, they're not mutually exclusive) that Shooter fits in.
In any event, he knew what the pay level for legislators was *before* he took his oath of office. While I think that legislative pay is too low, that doesn't justify corruption. He gets absolutely no sympathy on this.
Exhibit 3: Another state legislator, Sen. Steve Yarbrough, was the subject of a recent investigative report by a local news station chronicling Yarbrough's self-dealing, pushing school tuition tax credit measures that benefit the school tuition tax credit organization that he operates.
Probably not the best publicity for a sitting legislator entering an election year. However, Yarbrough has been doing this for years and has reaped hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars from the scheme.
So, instead of maintaining a low profile, he's running a bill to expand eligibility for taking school tuition tax credits (SB1048).
Oh, and he's running a proposal to make religion-based bigotry a constitutionally-protected civil right (SB1062).
Note: the STO bill is being fast-tracked; it has already received consideration from and has been passed by the Senate Finance Committee. Which is, perhaps not coincidentally, chaired by Yarbrough himself.
Another thing that hasn't changed: the push to privatize public services.
Just two days ago, Governor Jan Brewer made a big splash in her State of the State speech to the new session of the legislature when she announced that she was "abolishing" Child Protective Services (CPS), removing the agency from the Department of Economic Security and making it a separate, cabinet-level agency.
One day later, rumors were swirling that the "privatization" vultures were already circling the carcass of the agency, looking to pick off any pieces that could be turned into profit centers.
One day after that (today), the Senate Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing on, you guessed it, privatizing CPS' functions. Channel 12 news video/story on the hearing here.
Prediction: Given the rush to rationalize privatizing CPS and the presence of a new director, Charles Flanagan, whose background is in warehousing prisoners, and not protecting children, a system will be created where children who are removed from possibly abusive home situations will be housed by private foster care providers.
The providers will have contracts that guarantee minimum population levels in their private "foster care" systems, leading to a new CPS culture where removing children from their homes is "incentivized" while actually resolving dysfunctional family situations is most assuredly not.
...More to come...unfortunately.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
NJ Governor Chris Christie: A "Not Ready For Prime Time" Politician?
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| Chris Christie, picture courtesy ABCNews.com |
By now, everyone has heard of the political scandal in New Jersey -
Gubernatorial appointees there ordered the closure of two of the three lanes leading to the George Washington bridge. heading into Manhattan from New Jersey, creating a traffic jam that crippled Fort Lee, NJ for four days in September 2013.
When questions first arose, asked by, and spurred by, reports in the local newspaper, the Bergen County Record, the initial story was that it was part of a "traffic study".
That story didn't have a lot of credibility when no one involved could or would present actual verifiable evidence of the existence of such a study.
Then speculation grew, positing that the closure was not about a "study" but instead about a simple political vendetta. The speculation was that the real object of the closure was to hurt the mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich.
Sokolich, a Democrat, has refused to endorse Christie, a Republican, during Christie's recent reelection campaign (which Christie handily won, despite not having Sokolich's endorsement).
That seemed to be too petty, even for someone with the bullying reputation of Christie, so speculation continued, focusing on the possibility that the retribution was directed at some legislative Democrats representing northern NJ. They blocked a judicial appointment of Christie in response to Christie's removal of another judge based on partisan considerations, not merit.
Either way, while the Christie administration's vendetta (if, indeed, that's what it was) was aimed at specific political rivals, the impact of the vendetta fell upon the tens of thousands of people living in and around, and traveling near, Fort Lee.
This scandal has been growing, to the point that there are legislative hearings looking into it (with at least one former Christie appointee availing himself of his Constitutional protections against self-incrimination and refusing to answer questions) and talk of a federal investigation (using public resources for personal political gain is a crime).
On Thursday, Christie held a marathon press conference where he:
- Apologized.
- Claimed he knew nothing of the events until the newspapers reported on them.
- Blamed his staff, some of whom are/were long-term allies, saying that they had lied to him. For years.
- Announced the firing of a couple of scapegoats.
- Claimed ignorance of the events until they became public knowledge.
- Apologized some more.
- Claimed some more ignorance.
It seems obvious that more evidence will come to light in this matter, so some of this may change in the coming weeks, but there are a couple of main likelihoods here.
Neither of which bode well for Christie's future.
One, Christie could be telling the truth (or something that's close to it), in which case he has no oversight of the activities of his closest staffers. Meaning that as a president, he would be most like a blustery version of George W. Bush.
Two, Christie could have approved the lane closures. Whether or not that approval was "direct" or of the "wink and a nod" variety, whether or not the intended target was the mayor of Fort Lee, legislative Democrats, or some as-yet unknown object of Christie's ire, impact of the lane closures fell upon thousands of people who had no part in New Jersey's political knife fights.
Now, I'm not an insider with the investigation, so this is little more than speculation on my part, but given the months of stonewalling while hoping this would go away followed by the disavowal and scapegoating when it didn't, this seems most like a political vendetta run by the modern equivalent of The Three Stooges.
Vendettas and "payback" (both positive and negative) are as much a part of politics as meetings and speechifying.
That's not limited to American-style politics, or even to governmental organizations, and human nature being what it is, it probably isn't going to change any time soon.
However as much a part of the fabric of politics vendettas may be, and however much people have accepted them as an inevitable part of that reality, there's a limit to that acceptance.
And harming thousands of people because one or few others may have ticked you off is well outside of that limit.
No matter how this situation ultimately works out, it shows that Christie is not ready for higher office.
Either he is a completely "hands-off" executive with an out-of-control staff, or he is the supremely petty bully that his reputation says he is.
Either way, he's not suited for the highest office in the country.
Having said all of the above, his presidential candidacy isn't toast.
Primary and caucus ballots won't be cast for another two years.
Two years is an eternity in modern politics. He'll have time to clean up his image, plus most or all of the other candidates will have their own travails that will impact their viability as candidates.
I don't think he'll be able to fix this, spite and arrogance are too much a part of his persona, but I've been wrong about such things before.
Grab your popcorn and settle in; this mess is only the opening act in the 2016 stage show.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Arizona Legislature: 2014 Preview
The 2014 session of the Arizona Legislature starts Monday with the Governor's State of the State Address to a joint session of the AZ House and AZ Senate (and a slew of media types, lobbyists, staffers, and well-connected lookie-loos).
Time for a preview of, and a few predictions for, the new session:
Membership/personnel changes at the lege for 2014, all in the Senate:
Out: Sen. Jack Jackson Jr. (D-LD7)
In: Sen Carlyle Begay (D-LD7)
Jackson resigned from the Senate to accept a position with the Obama administration. Begay is "officially" a Democrat from LD7, but there are concerns/rumors that he his neither a Democrat nor a resident of LD7.
Out: Sen. Rich Crandall (R-LD16)
In: Sen. David Farnsworth (R-LD16)
Crandall resigned from the Senate to accept the top education job in Wyoming. Don't know much about Farnsworth.
Out: Sen. Linda Lopez (D-LD2)
In: TBA
Lopez has resigned from the Senate in order to focus on a new job. No replacement has been selected as of this writing.
Out, as Senate Democratic leader: Sen. Leah Landrum-Taylor (D-LD27)
In: Sen. Anna Tovar (D-LD19)
The most surprising news emanating from the lege between the sessions was the unexpected change in the leadership of the Senate Democratic caucus. There were some hard feelings at the time, but like the Rs with their rift over AHCCCS restoration, most of the focus this session is expected to be on finishing as quickly as possible so that all members can focus on campaign activity.
My predictions and expectations for the session (minimal wiseass-ery involved) -
- Addressing the CPS scandal will be a priority, but since actually "fixing" the agency's problems will require addressing the root cause, chronic underfunding, don't expect much here. If any real work on CPS happens, it will be because Jan Brewer decides that her political career will expire when her term as governor does and she wants to burnish her "legacy".
- The state's budget/revenue situation is loosening, so the Rs will look for ways to worsen the state's structural deficit, probably with permanent tax cuts in response to temporary revenue increases.
- Some crazy bills will be proposed, considered, and passed. Rep. Steve Montenegro has promised submission of a bill proposal that would exempt religious officials (rabbis, priests, ministers, etc.) from having to perform ceremonies for same-sex marriages. The facts that same sex marriages are illegal in AZ, and there is no talk (that I've heard, anyway) of compelling such officials to perform such ceremonies. However, those are apparently minor details to Montenegro.
Montenegro's proposal isn't in bill form yet, but another crazy one is -
HB2030, where the Republicans from LD22, Reps. Phil Lovas and David Livingston and Sen. Judy Burges, propose requiring that most people who receive unemployment benefits pass a drug test.
- Democrats will propose some "good governance" proposals (Sen. Ed Ableser has a bunch of them in already). None of them will go anywhere unless an R decides to steal an idea and put his/her name on it.
- There will be some intra-caucus scuffles over past controversies (AHCCCS restoration for the Rs, Senate leadership changes for the Ds), but most real tiffs will be about two members going for the same office (i.e. - House Speaker Andy Tobin and Rep. Adam Kwasman going after the R nomination in CD1.)
- None of this stretching the session into June stuff this year; look for the lege to wrap things up by the end of April. They've got campaigning to do this year.
Other predictions:
From the Arizona Republic -
Senate GOP:
- Fix CPS.
- Efficient passage of the state's budget.
- Quick session.
Senate Dems:
- Fix CPS.
- Adequately funding education in the state budget.
- Improving cross-border trade and commerce with Mexico.
- Attracting business to AZ.
- Ethics reform.
House GOP:
- Fix CPS.
- HURF funding restoration (Highway User Revenue Fund). Much of its funds are currently "swept" by the lege into the state's General Fund to pay for non-road items. The state's roads, particularly those in rural areas, are starting to show the effects of reduced maintenance.
- Education funding.
House Dems:
- Fix CPS.
- Education funding.
- Close some tax loopholes.
From Channel 3's Politics Unplugged -
- The big issues, at least early in the session, will be the state's budget (which is always an issue) and addressing the CPS scandal.
- While the issue of "dark money" in campaigns may be addressed, expect any measures approved by the Republicans to be less about fixing the campaign finance system and more about making sure more money goes directly to underprivileged politicians.
- Legalizing the recreational use of marijuana: supported by some Democrats in the lege, but not going to happen unless approved by a referendum; legislative Rs will never go for it.
- Education funding increase: Democrats want it, but while legislative Rs "prioritize" education, their priorities don't include actually *paying* for it. They would much rather direct public resources to...
- Private prisons. Expect proposals from legislative Democrats to rein in private prisons a little; expect those measures to be thoroughly ignored by legislative Republicans.
From Channel 12's Sunday Square Off -
- GOP State Rep. Adam Kwasman and House Speaker Andy Tobin will be attacking each other hard this session - both are candidates for the GOP nomination for the CD1 seat.
- GOP State Sen. Michele Reagan and State Rep. Justin Pierce are both running for AZSOS. While their race may not be as rugged as the Tobin/Kwasman race, there will be a lot of "dark money" in the race. Expect a proposal from Reagan to bring some light into the dark money world, but not because she thinks dark money is bad.
Apparently, the expectation is that Pierce is going to be the bigger beneficiary of the dark money in the race.
Time for a preview of, and a few predictions for, the new session:
Membership/personnel changes at the lege for 2014, all in the Senate:
Out: Sen. Jack Jackson Jr. (D-LD7)
In: Sen Carlyle Begay (D-LD7)
Jackson resigned from the Senate to accept a position with the Obama administration. Begay is "officially" a Democrat from LD7, but there are concerns/rumors that he his neither a Democrat nor a resident of LD7.
Out: Sen. Rich Crandall (R-LD16)
In: Sen. David Farnsworth (R-LD16)
Crandall resigned from the Senate to accept the top education job in Wyoming. Don't know much about Farnsworth.
Out: Sen. Linda Lopez (D-LD2)
In: TBA
Lopez has resigned from the Senate in order to focus on a new job. No replacement has been selected as of this writing.
Out, as Senate Democratic leader: Sen. Leah Landrum-Taylor (D-LD27)
In: Sen. Anna Tovar (D-LD19)
The most surprising news emanating from the lege between the sessions was the unexpected change in the leadership of the Senate Democratic caucus. There were some hard feelings at the time, but like the Rs with their rift over AHCCCS restoration, most of the focus this session is expected to be on finishing as quickly as possible so that all members can focus on campaign activity.
My predictions and expectations for the session (minimal wiseass-ery involved) -
- Addressing the CPS scandal will be a priority, but since actually "fixing" the agency's problems will require addressing the root cause, chronic underfunding, don't expect much here. If any real work on CPS happens, it will be because Jan Brewer decides that her political career will expire when her term as governor does and she wants to burnish her "legacy".
- The state's budget/revenue situation is loosening, so the Rs will look for ways to worsen the state's structural deficit, probably with permanent tax cuts in response to temporary revenue increases.
- Some crazy bills will be proposed, considered, and passed. Rep. Steve Montenegro has promised submission of a bill proposal that would exempt religious officials (rabbis, priests, ministers, etc.) from having to perform ceremonies for same-sex marriages. The facts that same sex marriages are illegal in AZ, and there is no talk (that I've heard, anyway) of compelling such officials to perform such ceremonies. However, those are apparently minor details to Montenegro.
Montenegro's proposal isn't in bill form yet, but another crazy one is -
HB2030, where the Republicans from LD22, Reps. Phil Lovas and David Livingston and Sen. Judy Burges, propose requiring that most people who receive unemployment benefits pass a drug test.
- Democrats will propose some "good governance" proposals (Sen. Ed Ableser has a bunch of them in already). None of them will go anywhere unless an R decides to steal an idea and put his/her name on it.
- There will be some intra-caucus scuffles over past controversies (AHCCCS restoration for the Rs, Senate leadership changes for the Ds), but most real tiffs will be about two members going for the same office (i.e. - House Speaker Andy Tobin and Rep. Adam Kwasman going after the R nomination in CD1.)
- None of this stretching the session into June stuff this year; look for the lege to wrap things up by the end of April. They've got campaigning to do this year.
Other predictions:
From the Arizona Republic -
Senate GOP:
- Fix CPS.
- Efficient passage of the state's budget.
- Quick session.
Senate Dems:
- Fix CPS.
- Adequately funding education in the state budget.
- Improving cross-border trade and commerce with Mexico.
- Attracting business to AZ.
- Ethics reform.
House GOP:
- Fix CPS.
- HURF funding restoration (Highway User Revenue Fund). Much of its funds are currently "swept" by the lege into the state's General Fund to pay for non-road items. The state's roads, particularly those in rural areas, are starting to show the effects of reduced maintenance.
- Education funding.
House Dems:
- Fix CPS.
- Education funding.
- Close some tax loopholes.
From Channel 3's Politics Unplugged -
- The big issues, at least early in the session, will be the state's budget (which is always an issue) and addressing the CPS scandal.
- While the issue of "dark money" in campaigns may be addressed, expect any measures approved by the Republicans to be less about fixing the campaign finance system and more about making sure more money goes directly to underprivileged politicians.
- Legalizing the recreational use of marijuana: supported by some Democrats in the lege, but not going to happen unless approved by a referendum; legislative Rs will never go for it.
- Education funding increase: Democrats want it, but while legislative Rs "prioritize" education, their priorities don't include actually *paying* for it. They would much rather direct public resources to...
- Private prisons. Expect proposals from legislative Democrats to rein in private prisons a little; expect those measures to be thoroughly ignored by legislative Republicans.
From Channel 12's Sunday Square Off -
- GOP State Rep. Adam Kwasman and House Speaker Andy Tobin will be attacking each other hard this session - both are candidates for the GOP nomination for the CD1 seat.
- GOP State Sen. Michele Reagan and State Rep. Justin Pierce are both running for AZSOS. While their race may not be as rugged as the Tobin/Kwasman race, there will be a lot of "dark money" in the race. Expect a proposal from Reagan to bring some light into the dark money world, but not because she thinks dark money is bad.
Apparently, the expectation is that Pierce is going to be the bigger beneficiary of the dark money in the race.
Sunday, January 05, 2014
GOP solution to CPS scandal: Help abused children in AZ by undermining the education and health of all children in AZ
In the classic novel 1984, George Orwell coined a term, "doublethink", meaning the acceptance of two contradictory ideas at the same time.
It seems that the GOPer caucus of the lege has made doublethink a linchpin of their ideological platform tactical planning.
From Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, via the Arizona Daily Star -
First Things First is an early childhood health and education project implemented by the voters in 2006 when it became obvious that the Arizona Legislature, as a group, is more intent on sacrificing Arizona's children on the altar of GOP ideology/corporate greed than it doing its job - working for the benefit of all of Arizona.
First Things First, being created by a ballot question approved by the state's voters, is subject to the Voter Protection clause of the Arizona Constitution and can only be changed or ended by another ballot question.
The Republicans in the legislature have been attacking First Things First since its inception. In 2010, they put a question on the ballot to end it and grab the money for its own purposes.
That question failed miserably, even in what turned out to be a massive R wave year.
Apparently, this year they're going to try the "We're going to help the children by hurting the children. It's for the kids. Trust us. Really, just trust us" gambit.
Truly, if the majority in the lege has its way, those children in Arizona who are fortunate enough to reach adulthood (or, at least, old enough to be tried as adults), will make fine fodder for the ever-well -funded private prison industry.
I wonder what motivate$ their anti-children and pro-pri$on policie$? Hmmm...
It seems that the GOPer caucus of the lege has made doublethink a linchpin of their ideological platform tactical planning.
From Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, via the Arizona Daily Star -
A veteran state lawmaker wants voters to siphon cash away from a program for early-childhood development and redirect it to help fund services for foster children and the families that care for them.
Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said it’s clear that additional money is needed to ensure laws against child abuse and neglect are being enforced.
Child Protective Services has been running a backlog of 10,000 cases listed as inactive, meaning there has been no action on them in at least two months. And that is on top of the more than 6,500 complaints that were recently discovered to have been entirely ignored and now are finally being investigated.
All that, Kavanagh said, will have to come from general tax revenues.
But he said there is other money potentially available for foster-care families: revenues from an 80-cent-a-pack tax on cigarettes that voters approved in 2006. He said some of the funds from First Things First, which now finance everything from pre-kindergarten programs to subsidized child care, might be better spent on families with more immediate needs.
First Things First is an early childhood health and education project implemented by the voters in 2006 when it became obvious that the Arizona Legislature, as a group, is more intent on sacrificing Arizona's children on the altar of GOP ideology/corporate greed than it doing its job - working for the benefit of all of Arizona.
First Things First, being created by a ballot question approved by the state's voters, is subject to the Voter Protection clause of the Arizona Constitution and can only be changed or ended by another ballot question.
The Republicans in the legislature have been attacking First Things First since its inception. In 2010, they put a question on the ballot to end it and grab the money for its own purposes.
That question failed miserably, even in what turned out to be a massive R wave year.
Apparently, this year they're going to try the "We're going to help the children by hurting the children. It's for the kids. Trust us. Really, just trust us" gambit.
Truly, if the majority in the lege has its way, those children in Arizona who are fortunate enough to reach adulthood (or, at least, old enough to be tried as adults), will make fine fodder for the ever-well -funded private prison industry.
I wonder what motivate$ their anti-children and pro-pri$on policie$? Hmmm...
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