Getting ready for the next session of the legislature - dates

Culled from an Arizona Republic article written by Alia Beard Rau.  The House and Senate schedule/deadline memos aren't posted yet, but when available, they'll be posted on the legislature's website.

Commentary, some snarky, some not, added by me for educational and entertainment value.

Some of the scheduled upcoming events (OK, some of the "scheduled" dates are more "fervently hoped for" than "definitively planned"):

- The inauguration of the statewide constitutional officers (Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Mine Inspector) will be on January 3, 2011 at the Capitol on West Washington.  Open to the public.

- Russell Pearce and a rogues' gallery of nativists from across the country will trek to D.C. to announce an attack on the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

- The 50th Arizona Legislature will be sworn in and start its work on January 10, 2011.  This is also the day that the Governor traditionally delivers the State of the State address.  There are limited public seats available.  The best course of action for those who wish to attend the festivities is to contact your legislator.  Though if your legislator is a Republican, you'd better be a family member or a favored lobbyist if you really expect to obtain a ticket.

Speaking of lobbyists, the Capitol Events calendar, showing the different events that have booked time or space near the Capitol (usually, but not always, the House or Senate lawns) is filling quickly.  The first "event" of the legislative season will be a "prayer walk" conducted by the Center for Arizona Theocracy Policy.

- The deadline to introduce bills in the Senate is January 31, 2011.  To introduce bills after that, approval of the Senate Rules Committee will be required.

- The deadline to introduce bills in the House is February 7, 2011.  To introduce bills after that, approval of the House Rules Committee will be required.

Except for "strike-everything" amendments which change a previously introduced bill into something completely different.

- The last day for House and Senate committees to hear bills introduced in their respective chambers is March 12, 2011.  At that point, any unheard bills are considered dead.

Except for those bills revived by a strike-everything amendment.

- The last day for House and Senate committees to hear bills that were introduced in and approved by the other chamber is April 9, 2011.  At that point, any bills that haven't be heard in both chambers will be considered dead.

Except for those bills revived by a strike-everything amendment.

The 100th day of the session, and the traditional target date for adjournment of the lege, is April 19, 2011.

Hey, anything could happen.  Though it hasn't happened in recent memory, and usually the only years they come close are election years (time spent legislating takes time away from campaigning to keep their jobs as legislators).  Of course, even if the R leadership keeps the railroad running on schedule by sacrificing accomplishment (you know, like passing a budget that's actually balanced), they can always call a special session.

They had *nine* special sessions during the 49th Arizona Legislature.  And the budget still isn't balanced.

Fun with campaign finance reports...

Oh, the stuff that I dig into when I'm feeling bored diligent... :)

Notes:  Most information gathered from the last four finance reports of the cycle.  In addition, I didn't go through the reports of Democratic candidates.  Partly because I'm a partisan hack (like that's breaking news to any regular readers! LOL) and partly because most of the Democratic candidates financed their campaigns through Clean Elections, and CE candidates are actively discouraged from using their campaign funds for non-campaign purposes.  I checked a few, but their reports, as well as the reports of R candidates who utilized CE funding, were really boring.

Today, between basketball games and gift unwrappings, I was perusing some Maricopa County and State of Arizona campaign finance reports (political geek that I am), and learned that many candidates and PACs use their campaign funds "creatively".  Nothing that is necessarily illegal, but stuff that doesn't seem to have much to do with electing candidates.

From recent reports filed with the Maricopa County Recorder and the Secretary of State -

Associated Highway Patrolmen of Arizona PAC, 11/18/2010 - $1000 to the ALEC Scholarship Fund (page 51 of the linked .pdf), which pays for legislators to attend various ALEC functions.  The memo on the contribution was "Various Republican Candidates/Committees Contribution."  They can contribute to anyone they want to, but have they forgotten who leads the annual charges to underfund DPS and to mess with the public safety employees' pension fund?  It sure isn't the Democrats...

Arizona Dairymen PAC, 11/15/2010 - $500 to the ALEC Scholarship Fund.

Transportation Association (Legislative and Educational PAC), 9/15/2010 - $449.41 to SRP for "ALEC AZ Nite Dinner"

Apollo Group Inc. Organization for Legislative Leadership in Arizona, 10/14/2010 - $2500 directly to ALEC

Note: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a somewhat shadowy* right-wing group dedicated to putting state legislators into contact with lobbyists and executives from its corporate sponsors.  The Scholarship Fund is intended to pay for member legislators to attend various ALEC functions.


* = shadowy because its membership is semi-secret (members can self-publicize their association with ALEC, but generally ALEC doesn't publish a complete list of its members, and it also keeps secret its contributors and the amounts contributed).

Other interesting entries include -

Frank Antenori, R for Senate in LD30, spent $104.90 on 11/3/2010 for a power strip for his laptop and a blue tooth headset.  The election was on *11/2.*  He's not the only candidate to use campaign funds for computers/electronics, but most were discreet enough to make the expenditures *before* the election.

Nancy Barto, R for Senate in LD7, spent $334.40 on 11/11/2010 for airfare, $246.34 for lodging on 11/13/2010 (and a $25 baggage fee on that date), and $175 on 9/25/2010 for a fee for a Wallbuilders conference in Texas.  Wallbuilders is an anti-choice/historical revisionist group based in Texas.

Chuck Gray, R Senator in LD19...well, actually, since Gray is retiring (for now, anyway) and didn't run this year, technically speaking nothing he spent from his campaign funds this year was intended to help him win an election, but let's not quibble over details. How about we just cover some of the highlights. 

He spent $265.43 on 10/28/2010 to renew a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.  Also, $194.04 from 10/1/2010 through 10/6/2010 on miscellaneous charges related to a trip to Boston, over $1500 on travel-related charges from 8/9/2010 through 9/13/2010.  Many, but not all, of the other things that he used his campaign funds for this year were also travel-related.

Jack Harper, R for House in LD4, spent $100 on 9/23/2010 on a two-year membership in ALEC.

John McComish, R for Senate in LD20, spent $130 on 8/13/2010 for a donation to Tempe Right To Life.

Steve Montenegro, R for House in LD12, spent $82 on 7/17/2010 to pay the fee for submitting a ballot proposition argument to the Arizona Secretary of State.

Russell Pearce, R for Senate in LD18, spent $551.17 on 11/5/2010 for "airfare and lodging" (no destination listed).

Michelle Reagan, R for Senate in LD8, spent $418.80 on 11/18/2010 for airfare to Colorado for a fellowship.  In August, she spent $675 on dues for the National Rifle Association and AZ Citizens Action for the Arts.   On 7/26/2010, she spent $86 out of campaign funds on a subscription to the Arizona Republic.

Bob Robson, R for House in LD20, spent $227.70 on 9/2/2010 on "newspaper subscription to Phoenix Newspapers (aka - the Arizona Republic).

Jim Weiers, R for House in LD10, spent $75 on 7/7/2010 to submit a ballot proposition argument to the Arizona Secretary of State.

Interesting stuff...interesting to political geeks.  :))
 

Happy Holidays from Random Musings

To all reader, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ashura, Festivus, Chrismukkah, winter solstice, or something (or nothing) else, may you all have a joyous and safe holiday.

Inspired by a mention of this event on today's edition of Pardon The Interruption on ESPN...



Yeah, it's not Christmas-y, but it isn't political either.

Jan " BrewerCare Death Panels" Brewer says that organ transplants are "potentially life-saving"

...but before anyone gets excited, she's using that to buttress her argument in support of further cutting Medicaid in Arizona...

From Governor Brewer's letter to Congress begging to be allowed to cut Medicaid (known in AZ as "AHCCCS") further -

...Because we cannot change our generous eligibility standards, Arizona has taken actions to reduce our Medicaid cost, such as limits on services not mandated by Medicaid, including potentially life-saving organ transplantations...

The "eligibility standards" (page 26 of the linked .pdf) that Brewer et. al. consider to be so "generous"?

Income that doesn't exceed 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL).  That's $10,830/year for a single adult or $22,050/year for a family of four.

Only Jan and her clan can keep a straight face when describing abject poverty as "generous."

H/T to State Sen.-elect David Schapira (D-LD17), quoted in the Arizona Capitol Times, for the heads-up on this...

Redistricting update: Latest salvo targets judicial independence

It looks like Kirk Adams, Russell Pearce, and Jan Brewer are opening up another front in their war against the judicial branch's independence.

From the Arizona Business Gazette, written by Howard Fischer -

The dust-up over the process of nominating candidates for the Independent Redistricting Commission is giving new ammunition to those who want to scrap Arizona's merit selection process for judges.

Several key state lawmakers say they would welcome the chance to revisit the 1974 constitutional amendment that took away the right of voters to directly elect judges to the Arizona Supreme Court, the state Court of Appeals and the superior courts in Maricopa and Pima counties.

Some, like incoming Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said returning to that system may be the best course of action.

{snip}

[State Rep.-elect Eddie] Farnsworth said the federal system of gubernatorial choices subject to Senate confirmation provides some "checks and balances" into the process, more so than he said exists with the current judicial selection commission.

Such a change would have the backing of Gov. Jan Brewer.

She has said she does not like the current restriction that limits her to choosing a new judge solely from the list sent to her by screening panels.

I'm not positive (not exactly on Pearce's, Adams' or Brewer's speed dials here :) ) but in addition to the long-term motives - they've made noises in this area before - this move could also serve as an implied threat toward Chief Justice Berch and the whole judicial branch -

Give us who we want for the "Independent" Redistricting Commission, or else the gloves are off.

We'll find out at next Wednesday's meeting (December 29, 2010) of the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments if this latest move is an effective one.


BTW - Am I the only one who noticed the irony of the least-qualified governor in recent memory objecting to the idea of having only qualified people to choose from for judgeships?

Later...

A brief Pearce family history

Presented without comments because none are needed.

From the Phoenix New Times' Feathered Bastard, written by Stephen Lemons -

State Senate President-elect Russell Pearce's son Joshua Trent Pearce was recently under investigation by the Mesa Police Department for allegations of possible child abuse.


Mesa PD spokesman Sgt. Ed Wessing confirmed that police responded to a call December 10 from Banner Desert Medical Center regarding a nine day-old baby girl, the daughter of Joshua Pearce and his wife Samantha.

According to Wessing, hospital staff told police that the child had a skull fracture, and that the parents' explanation of how the fracture may have occurred did not jibe with the severity of the injury.

{snip}

Today, Wessing informed me that no charges would be forthcoming.


"The Mesa Police Department will not be submitting criminal charges in this case," Wessing told me via e-mail. "At this time we do not have sufficient probable cause to charge Mr. Pearce in this case."

{snip}

This is not Josh Pearce's first brush with the law. In 2006, he was arrested by the Mesa PD for a DUI, while driving on a suspended license. He told police that he was a regular user of marijuana, but that he no longer drank alcohol because of a previous DUI.


In the car with him was Samantha and their then five day-old child Wyatt.

{snip}

His job was listed as "roofer." Court documents described his last known address as being 1247 East Inca Street in Mesa, the same listed on state Senator Russell Pearce's campaign finance reports with the Arizona Secretary of State.


Wessing stated that Josh Pearce now has a different Mesa address on file.

In 2007, the County Attorney's Office hit Josh Pearce with two felony counts of aggravated DUI. Josh pleaded guilty to one count in a deal with prosecutors and received five years probation.

Russell Pearce himself is no stranger to allegations of domestic abuse. In 2008, I revealed the existence of a marriage dissolution petition filed by Pearce's wife LuAnne in 1980, which alleged physical abuse at the hands of her husband.

It reads in part, "Further, the husband, RUSSELL KEITH PEARCE, is possessed of a violent temper, and has from time to time hit and shoved the wife, the last time being on February 3 [1980], when he grabbed the wife by the throat and threw her down."

The Pearces were ultimately reconciled and remain married to this day.

{snip}

Josh Pearce was born in November of 1980, around nine months following the document's filing.


Also in 2008, I blogged about a 1974 police report that stated Pearce, then a young sheriff's deputy, busted down the door of his first wife Karen. Karen and Russell were divorced the same year. No charges were ever filed in that incident.

A similar summary from David Safier at Blog for Arizona can be found here.

Note: I generally don't quote other writers' work this extensively (preferring to quote a paragraph or two and link to the entire piece), but I feel it is appropriate in this case as Mr. Lemons has done a far better job of succinctly documenting the Pearce family's activities than I could.

2010 Ebbie Awards

...sort of patterned after Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons In The World" segment on his nightly show...


Second Runner-Up -

Unnamed personnel from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

From Treehugger.com -

Photo: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region

To many people, Jim Hart and Khalil Abusakran are heroes. When the two men from Maryland, saw a deer stranded in the icy waters of the Patapsco River, they did what few others would dare. With an inflatable boat, the duo ventured out and rescued the animal before it perished in the frozen stream. But, after they and the deer returned to shore, it wasn't a hero's reception that awaited them -- instead, the two men were slapped with fines for not having life-jackets aboard their vessel.

I freely admit, I'm not sure I would have done the same thing - venturing out into freezing water to save a deer - I'm just not that brave.  Or foolish (hopefully :) ).  However, the act of the the officers of the MD Department of Natural Resources, fining these two men for doing something that the DNR officers refused to do, merits Christmas Eve visits from the Ghosts of Bambi Past, Present, and Future (and I don't mean the kind of "Bambi" who brings her own stripper pole, either :) ).


First Runner-Up -

Arizona Senator John McCain.

From Politico's Daily Beast -

Railing against Don't Ask Don't Tell, shooting down an immigration bill he once sponsored, pushing his own changes to START—the tougher John McCain who emerged in the primaries may be here to stay.


{snip}

Conversations with friends, advisers, and analysts reveal McCain as a man still angry at his 2008 presidential loss, fueling his desire to remain in the spotlight and an important part of the debate, even on issues where he is out of step with the majority of Americans.

For taking his anger out on gay and lesbian servicemembers, 9/11 first responders, foreign policy, DREAMers, and still doing nothing to actually represent Arizona in D.C., McCain earns a visit from the Ghosts of Mavericks Past.

Obviously, the Maverick is already gone, so there's no Present or Future Mavericks around to make some visits.



And the "winner" is...

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

There was consideration of making this a group award, also giving it to Russell Pearce and the rest of the Republican caucus in the legislature.  Most of the wave of nastiness emanating from West Washington these days gets its start in the R caucus room, but Brewer is the one who has taken it national and has ridden the wave all the way to a full term on the 9th floor.

Latest example (and there are many examples - could have gone with imagined headless bodies in the desert, actual bodies due to BrewerCare, her ties to private prison lobbyists), blaming the tepid health care reform package passed by Congress earlier this year for her inability to balance Arizona's budget for the last two years -

Heading into a new year with a new Legislature and a new Congress, the primary area of budget focus for Arizona will be our need for action by the federal government on "Obamacare."


If our state budget is to be balanced, it will require action by Congress and the White House. They must provide flexibility to states so we have the ability to create sustainable Medicaid programs.

For her shameless leadership of the hate brigade, Jan's Christmas Eve visitors will be the ghosts of Cecilia Esquer (a long-time civil rights champion and Chicana activist), Mark Price (the first victim to succumb to her cutting off AHCCCS benefits to transplant patients) and Gary and Linda Haas (the couple murdered in New Mexico by escapees from one of the private prisons championed by Brewer and her advisers/lobbyists).

Later...

It's official - Arizona will gain a seat in Congress in 2012

Confirming something that was already widely expected, as a result of the 2010 Census Arizona will gain a 9th seat in the U.S. Congress.

The new apportionment map is here (state numbers only; actual districts will be mapped out in the coming year.)

Having 9 seats in the House will put Arizona on the same footing as...

Massachusetts, which is losing a seat (one of the Ds who is going to lose his seat will run for challenge Scott Brown for a seat in the Senate)

Indiana (no change)

Tennessee (no change)

...And ahead of those with eight seats...

Missouri (losing a seat)

Minnesota

Wisconsin

12 seats in Congress switched states.

While the population of the country, and hence its Congressional representation, in concentrated in the East (as in "east of Texas), all of the states that lost a seat in Congress are also in the East (particularly in the Northeast and Rust Belt), and all of the states that gained a seat are in the West or deep South.

The big gainers were Texas (+4) and Florida (+2); Ohio and New York each lost two seats to lead that list.

The only state in the deep South that lost a seat was Louisiana.  That wasn't a surprise due to the mass exodus from the state in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster/post-disaster debacle.

A map showing population percentage change by state is here.  The only state that showed a net loss in population was Michigan (- 0.6%).  Texas gained the most population numerically (nearly 4.3 million) while Nevada gained the most population as a percentage of its 2000 population (~35%).

More information here.


Tying this back into the ginned-up controversy over the yet-to-be-formed Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC), it wouldn't be surprising if the motives of Kirk Adams and Russell Pearce (for trying to mess with the independence of the "Independent" commission) went beyond base partisanship.

The general expectations are that the new CD will be carved out in the East Valley area of Maricopa County due to the growth there and the fact that the current CD6 is already one of the largest (in terms of population) in the country.

Both Pearce and Adams are from the East Valley area of Maricopa County (Mesa, to be specific).

Pearce has already "explored" a run for Congress once, and most observers expect that Adams is going to make a run for Congress at some point.

The recent histrionics coming from them have the all of the hallmarks of a play to put someone on the commission who is friendly to their personal political interests, not just the Republican Party's.

BTW - to anybody who might view what I just wrote as an "attack" on Pearce and/or Adams:  It isn't.  It's just an observation and some speculation.  It's not like they invented the concept, either; it's been around as long as redistricting has.

North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site Update: Community Meeting In February

Just received an email from Vicki Rosen, the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator for the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site (NIBW) -

Hello everyone and Happy Holidays!


We've got our next CIG meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 9, 2011. It will be held at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts--Stage 2 on the Main Floor. The Center is located at 7380 E. Second Street. The meeting will start at 5:30 pm and last until about 7:30.

Specific agenda items will be sent out in advance as we get closer to the meeting date. I will also send out a printed flyer on the meeting by mail to our site mailing list.

Looking forward to seeing everyone. Have a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year.

Vicki

As we get closer to February 9, more info on the meeting will be posted, but until then, background and history of the NIBW can be found here.

AZ Republic finally reports on burgeoning "Arizona guns in Mexico" scandal

From the Arizona Republic -

The glass entrance to Lone Wolf Trading Co. in an unassuming strip mall near 51st and Peoria avenues, bears target practice posters and a sign: "No loaded weapons in our store."

Multiple model airplanes hang from the ceiling inside. It looked like business as usual as a couple of customers last week glanced at a wall with rifles on display and a shelf with handguns.

Owner Andre Howard did not return calls and was not present when the Republic visited the store for a comment about a recent year-long Washington Post investigation. Lone Wolf ranked eighth among dealers nationwide for selling the most number of firearms (1,515) recovered by police in the last four years. The store also topsdealers with the most traces in the last two years for guns recovered in crime scenes in Mexico. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traces weapons recovered by law enforcement agencies to where they were sold originally.

The AZ Rep article is a fairly long and detailed on, so why pick on them for it?

The Phoenix New Times covered it a week ago when the Washington Post originally published the results of their investigation.

Maybe their hesitance to cover this particular story has its roots in Arizona's politics, where the majority in the legislature is so crazy about guns that not only are they trying to turn the state's college campuses into armed encampments, they want to force cities and towns to take firearms confiscated from criminals in the U.S. and transfer them to gun dealers for resale.

Something tells me that Russell Pearce, Jack Harper, Jan Brewer, and the rest won't appreciate the irony of a weapon used to kill someone in the U.S. in turn being used to kill someone in Mexico.

Actually, on second thought, they may thoroughly *enjoy* that idea.

New favorite t-shirt

From Zazzle -

Trent Franks: cut from the same intellectual cloth as Jan Brewer

Apparently, Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ2) has been getting his information from the same impeccable sources as Jan "headless bodies in the desert" Brewer.

From an interview with Franks in the Arizona Republic -

2. Will you be a leader on immigration?

{snip}

Even as the radical Iranian regime grows ever closer to a nuclear-weapons capability, some of the very terrorist organizations that are trained, funded and armed by Iran have increased their activities just miles from our southern border.

Sometimes, one of Arizona's electeds says something so perfectly inane that adding a punch line would be redundant.  And unnecessary.

In a (not) shocking development, Franks didn't offer any evidence to support his statement.

For the sake of journalistic standards, I've got an email out to the Department of Defense's press folks seeking confirmation of Rep. Franks' statement.

I'll update if anything comes through.  Though to be honest, I don't expect anything.

Later...

Final election result: Proposition 112 defeated

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

The statewide recount of Proposition 112 has been successfully completed, with the results certified today by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig.


Those results confirm the defeat of Prop 112, which would have moved up by 60 days the deadline for citizens’ initiative campaigns to submit signature petitions to qualify for the ballot.

The official court filing is here.

The final margin was 194 votes out of 1,585,522 votes cast in the race, or slightly more than 1/100th of 1 percent of the total (0.0122%). 

That's the definition of close.

Later...

Latest Republican attack on Clean Elections under the guise of "free speech"

From the Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) -

Arizona’s Clean Elections system may rise from the dead just long enough to slap the people who are dancing on its grave.


Rep. Ted Vogt, a Tucson Republican, plans to introduce a bill that would drastically raise the campaign contribution limits for privately funded candidates. But the voter-approved law that created the Clean Elections system may require a three-fourths vote in the Legislature to change the contribution limits, which could slam the door on a proposal that’s certain to face stiff opposition.

Vogt wants to raise the campaign contribution limits for statewide and legislative candidates to match the limits for federal offices (currently $4800/year for humans; unlimited for corporations), but the law approved by the voters that created Clean Elections is standing in the way.  It ties funding limits for "traditionally" financed candidates to the Clean Elections law, which cannot be changed unless passed by a 3/4 vote of the legislature and only if any changes further the intent of the voters.

Given that the Rs despise Clean Elections and want to destroy it, that last seems unlikely to occur.

Lest one thinks that traditionally-financed candidates have taken vows of campaign poverty, consider these numbers, courtesy the AZ Secretary of State's website:

House Speaker Kirk Adams (R-LD19) raised over $190K for his 2010 race

Rep.-elect Ben Arredondo (D-LD17) raised $115K

House candidate Shawnna Bolick (R-LD10) raised $100K

Senate candidate Cheryl Cage (D-LD26) raised $124K

Sen.-elect Adam Driggs (R-LD11) raised $109K

Senate candidate Justin Johnson (D-LD10) raised $137K

Senate candidate Bill Konopnicki (R-LD5) raised $131K

Rep. Eric Meyer (D-LD11) raised $105K

Sen.-elect Michele Reagan (R-LD8) raised $125K

Rep. Nancy Young Wright (D-LD26) raised $120K

There were also a number of candidates who raised between $80K and $100K, but in the interests of brevity, I'm not going to list them all here.  Most of the candidates who raised less than that were either Clean Elections-funded candidates or were unopposed.

In the Cap Times article, Vogt and a talking head from the Goldwater Institute try to portray this as a matter of free speech and Clean Elections and current contribution limits as acting to suppress free speech.

Well, they are entitled to have and express their opinions, but no one that I've spoken to can find the part of the Constitution that protects one's "right" to buy and sell candidates for public office, or the right of candidates to sell themselves to the highest bidder.

And after a careful reading, I can't find such a protection either.