Legislative schedule - week starting 4/24/2022

Another week of "silly season" at the legislature.

Last week, the Republicans in the legislature tried to pass a "skinny" budget (last year's budget adjusted for inflation).

It failed.

Blog for Arizona coverage here and here.

My guess (and it's only that) is that the budget impasse will be resolved in the next couple of weeks, for two reasons:

1. Phoenix is scheduled to hit 100 degrees this week, and other than the ones who live here, no legislator wants to be in Phoenix when the heat sets in.

From Weather Underground -

2. It's an election year, and almost all of them would rather be out campaigning.

At 2 p.m. on Tuesday 4/26, Senate Transportation and Technology in SHR109, on Wednesday 4/27 at 9 a.m. in SHR1, Senate Health and Human Services; at 9:30 a.m. in SHR1, Senate Communications, and at 1 p.m. in SHR1, Senate Government all meet to consider executive nominations.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to propagate propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority.  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4 at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language into the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 

The Cheeto laundry seems up to speed

Though it isn't clothes the are being cleaned...

When doing my research for the committee update post today, I came across one interesting item on the IRS' website -

Details -

Why do I believe it's a laundry of some sort?

Well,

1. I can't find any evidence that the PAC has given *anything* to any candidate (caveat: I didn't check the filings of every R candidate, so something may have slipped under my radar.  Also, it is still early in primary season, so the PAC may yet do so).

2.  With one exception (to be covered in point 3), I can't find evidence f the PAC's existence on either the websites of the Federal Election Commission or the Arizona Secretary of State.

3. The one exception being on the website of the AZSOS -

The one exception that I can find shows that even though "Arizona" is in the name, they've terminated their Arizona committee.

4. Their main address is a P.O. box in Virginia.  For that matter, their Arizona address is a mail drop, too.  Not illegal, but not credibility-enhancing, either.

5. They made sure to give Cheeto a cut of their take.  From Schedule B of the IRS filing -

The chairman, Matt Palumbo, works for Dan Bongino.  From his LinkedIn page -

And Bongino is a thoroughgoing Trumpkin.

Federal Committee update

From the website of the Federal Election Commission -

Republican Dowling, a disgraced former Maricopa County Schools superintendent is running for the Congressional seat in CD9 against Paul Gosar.  No Democrat has submitted nominating signatures for the race.

I have previously written about Dowling's husband, Dennis, and his quest for a school board seat in spite of his primary qualification being his obtaining an advanced degree from a degree mill.

You just know that Cheeto will postulate that former presidents are above the law

From NPR -

Ex-Honduran President Hernández is extradited to the U.S. on drug charges

A disgraced former Honduran president was extradited to the U.S. on Thursday to face drug and arms charges.

A handcuffed Juan Orlando Hernández, the once powerful former president, boarded an airplane with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to face legal proceedings in New York City.

Hernandez in 2019, from BusinessInsider -

Hernandez today, from the NPR story linked above -

The whole "my, how the mighty have fallen" motif may hit a little close to home for Cheeto.

From The Press and Journal (UK), dated January 19, 2022 -

Fraud inquiry probes value of Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf resort

A US prosecutor probing former President Donald Trump’s business practices is focusing on allegedly “fraudulent” valuations of his luxury golf resort in Aberdeenshire.

The inquiry, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges the Trump Organisation used the “misleading” asset valuations to obtain economic benefits including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.

Maybe Alex Jones thinks that karma is a hoax, too

From CBS -

Alex Jones' Infowars files for bankruptcy in wake of defamation suits over his assertions that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax

Far-right website Infowars and two other companies owned by radio host Alex Jones have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in light of several defamation lawsuits. The filings were made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures put a hold on pending civil litigation while letting a business keep running as it prepares a turnaround plan.

Court documents seen by CBS News show that the companies that filed were Infowars,  IWHealth aka Infowars Health, and Prison Planet TV.

My guess is that the only "hoax" involved in his bankruptcy filing is the filing itself.

State Committee update

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

Paperman is a current member of the governing board of the Deer Valley Unified School District and is *not* listed as one of the candidates who has submitted signatures to appear on the ballot.

Her website indicates that she's a Republican.

AZ Attorney General Mark Brnovich would rather be seen as the R nominee for Senate than be seen as a decent human being

From Vaughan Jones at KJZZ -

Arizona AG wants to stop death-row prisoner’s mental fitness test

Prosecutors have asked the Arizona Supreme Court to call off a mental-fitness hearing for death-row prisoner Clarence Dixon. The examination may delay the state’s first execution since 2014.

In a filing Wednesday, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office told the court the mental competency hearing scheduled for May 3 is likely to delay his May 11 execution date.

From Jill Ryan at KJZZ, original story by Howard Fischer at Capitol Media Services (emphasis added by me) -

Arizona Attorney General Brnovich makes misleading claims on Steve Bannon's podcast

Arizona’s Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who is also in the middle of a political campaign for the U.S. Senate, has made seemingly misleading claims about the Maricopa County’s 2020 election process. 

On former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast, Brnovich talked about his interim report on the election and also claimed that the county used artificial intelligence systems to verify ballot signatures. 

Steve Bannon?  What's next?  Burning a cross in front the AG's office?

And sacrificing the life of a mentally ill person on the altar of his political ambitions?

Does Brnovich even look at the man he sees in the mirror, much less like who he sees there?

Federal Committee update

From the website of the Federal Election Commission -

Democrat Anderson is running the CD6 seat in Congress and has submitted signatures to be on the ballot.

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State - 

At this point in primary season, name recognition rules

While this poll covers only the R statewide primaries, I'm going to presume that D primaries are in the same name rec boat.

To be fair, that may be the only area where Democratic primary voters are similar the Republican primary voters.

KTAR has a story up on this poll.

Polling from OH Predictive Insights.

From OH -

AZ GOP Gov Race: Lake Leads, Robson Climbing, Salmon Stalls

With Arizona’s primary election roughly three months away and many competitive GOP primary races showing crowded fields, OH Predictive Insights (OHPI) conducted its first statewide Likely GOP Primary Voter Poll of the current election cycle. The recent survey among Arizona likely voters revealed a competitive race for Governor and U.S. Senate, however, aside from the State Treasurer’s race, the remaining statewide offices are currently a jump ball.   

This AZPOP was conducted April 4th, 2022 – April 5th, 2022 and surveyed 500 Arizona qualified as likely GOP primary voters, giving the survey a margin of error of +/- 4.4%.

One thing that isn't surprising is that among Republican primary voters, fear of The Other is the most important issue.

Among candidates, though, the winner right now is "Unsure".

I expect that as the calendar gets closer to August, the gloves will come off.  For example, Tom Horne is leading the R race for Superintendent of Public Instruction, so it probably won't be long before one of his competitors brings up his scandals.

Florida embraces propaganda and chooses ignorance for its kids

From KPMG (Orlando) -

Florida education officials reject 54 math textbooks for ‘attempts to indoctrinate students’

Dozens of math textbooks were rejected by the Florida Department of Education after officials said their publishers were attempting to indoctrinate students.

According to an FDOE news release Friday, the department did not initially include 54 of the 132 submitted textbooks on the state’s adopted list.

[snip]

Math books?  Really?

Unless DeSantis and his watercarriers are trying to protect FL's students from the perils of algebra (actually, they look to be sacrificing their children and their education on the altar of DeSantis' presidential ambitions), I'm going suggest that they go on an Ex-Lax diet*.

*Caveats:

1. I'm not a medical professional, and can't prescribe anything.

2. They're so full of it, that I'm not sure it would help them anyway.

Legislative schedule - week starting 4/17/2022

Another week of "silly season" at the legislature.

No regular committees are scheduled to meet, but the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Joint Committee on Capital Review are both scheduled to meet on Wednesday, April 20, in SHR109.

They're supposed to review a number of items, but as they're in the "minimal effort" portion of the legislative session, that probably won't happen.  All of the "reviews" are on the consent agenda.

[Edit on 4/18 to correct]

On Wednesday, 4/20, Senate Health and Human Services meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1 to consider a number of executive nominations.

[/end edit]

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to propagate propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority.  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4 at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language into the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.  

I just *love* it when industry lobbyists support Democrats

In case know, that title is sarcastic, folks.

On the other hand, it does provide solid evidence of the character of the recipient.

As if we didn't have that already.  In spades.

Got this in the mail on Wednesday -

There no "Paid for by" statement on this political mailer (caveat: nowhere on the mailer were the words "vote" or "elect" used, so this obviously political mailer may not have fit the legal definition of political communication).

The organization "We Build Arizona" lists it address as 1825 West Adams on its 2018 form 990, filed with the IRS, (downloaded from ProPublica).

Know what else is at 1825 West Adams?  The HQ of the AZ Chapter Of the Associated General Contractors of America.

They list their officers thusly -

David Martin is listed as the "chairman/director".  He also runs the AZ Chapter Of the Associated General Contractors of America.

Minter is listed as a director of We Build Arizona.  He's also the now-retired head of the Arizona Builders Alliance, an AGC affiliate

Oh, and he donated to Martha McSally when she ran for Senate.

Follow the money.

Guessing that AGC et. al. do so assiduously and only help those who help them.

Apparently, Wendy Rogers *really* hates Katie Hobbs

Election denier State Sen. Wendy Rogers has gone all in on the Big Lie and getting her hate on for Arizona Secretary of State (and gubernatorial candidate).

From Twitter -

At least Rogers puts Hobbs in good company.

From BrainyQuote -

Democratic candidates on the ballot but not facing a primary contest

In lieu of a committee update (whether or not someone may have formed a committee, unless they're on a ballot, it's irrelevant), I'll be discussing Democratic candidates who don't face primary contests; most will go on to face Republican candidates in November.  A few, by virtue of facing no other candidates in either the primary election or the general election, are presumed to be already elected*.

*Subject to change based on legal challenges and/or write in candidates.

I make no predictions concerning the outcome of pending litigation, and while write-in campaigns are tough to win (to appear on a general election ballot, not only does a write-in candidate have to win their primary, they must receive a number of votes equal to or greater than the quantity of nominating signatures they would have needed to present to have their name on the primary ballot), it *has* been done.

The Arizona Secretary of State has a list of candidates who have submitted signatures; federal, statewide, legislative.

AzBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona has a full list of federal candidates here and a full list of state-level candidates here.

Jim Small at the AZ Mirror also has a full list of candidates here.

The map of the new congressional districts is here.

The map of the new legislative districts is here.

Caveat: I live in CD3 and LD5.

Caveat2: When candidates' names are linked to websites, most of those came from AZSOS information.

Federal candidates:

Mark Kelly, U.S. Senate, incumbent

Tom O'Halleran, Congress CD2, incumbent

Ruben Gallego, Congress CD3, incumbent

Greg Stanton, Congress CD4, incumbent

Javier Ramos, Congress CD5

Raul Grijalva, Congress CD7, incumbent

Statewide candidates:

Kris Mayes, Attorney General

Martin Quezada, Treasurer

Kathy Hoffman, Superintendent of Public Instruction, incumbent

Sandra Kennedy, Corporation Commission, incumbent

Lauren Kuby, Corporation Commission

(no primary as both will go on to the general election to face the winners of the R primary)

Legislative candidates:

Mike Fogel, State Senate LD1

Thomas Dugger, State Senate LD3

Christine Marsh, State Senate LD4, incumbent

Theresa Hatathlie, State Senate LD6, incumbent, faces no Rs in the general

Kyle Nitschke, State Senate LD7

Juan Mendez, State Senate LD8

Eva Burch, State Senate LD9

Mitzi Epstein, State Senate LD12, not an incumbent senator, but she is a member of the legislature

Taylor Kerby, State Senate LD16

Mike Nickerson, State Senate LD17

Sally Gonzales, State Senate LD20, incumbent, faces no Rs in the general

Rosanna Gabaldon, State Senate LD21, incumbent, faces no Rs in the general

Brian Fernandez, State Senate LD23

Raquel Teran, State Senate LD26, incumbent, faces no Rs in the general

David Sandoval, State Senate LD28

Cathy Ransom, State Representative LD1

Neil Sinclair, State Representative LD1

Since two candidates will be elected to the state house from each district, races with only one or teo Democrats with be considered as "no primary" and will be listed here without a further note.

Judy Schwiebert, State Representative LD2, incumbent

Laura Terech, State Representative LD4

Melody Hernandez, State Representative LD8, incumbent

Athena Salman, State Representative LD8, incumbent

Lorena Austin, State Representative LD9

Seth Blattman, State Representative LD9

Helen Hunter, State Representative LD10

Jennifer Pawlik, State Representative LD13, incumbent

Brandy Reese, State Representative LD14

Keith Seaman, State Representative LD16

Dana Allmond, State Representative LD17

Brian Radford, State Representative LD17

Sanda Clark, State Representative LD19

Andres Cano, State Representative LD20, incumbent, faces no Rs in the general

Alma Hernandez, State Representative LD20, incumbent, faces no Rs in the general

They *do* face a Libertarian candidate in the general election, but the next time that a Libertarian wins an election will be the first time.

Jesus Lugo Jr., State Representative LD23

Mariana Sandoval, State Representative LD23

Stephanie Holbrook, State Representative LD28

Scott Podeyn, State Representative LD29

The list of Maricopa County candidates is here.

Julie Gunnigle is the only Democrat running for Maricopa County Attorney,

And so it begins... UPDATED

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

This one may have happened in Texas, but you just know that Cathi Herrod and her water carriers in the legislature (and Doug Ducey) are gleefully scheming about bringing it to Arizona.

Pretty sure some drool may be involved.

From the McAllen Monitor -

Woman arrested in Starr County on murder for ‘illegal abortion’

A woman was arrested Thursday and charged with murder for having a self-induced “illegal abortion.”

According to the Starr County Sheriff’s Office, Lizelle Herrera, 26, was arrested and served with an indictment “on the charge of Murder after Herrera did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.”

[Updated on 4/10 to add]

Well, *that* didn't take long.

From The Daily Beast -

District Attorney DROPS Charges Against Texas Woman for ‘Illegal Abortion’

A Texas woman who was charged with murder on Friday for a self-induced abortion will have her charges dropped. “Yesterday afternoon, I reached out to counsel for Ms. Lizelle Herrera to advise him that my office will be filing a motion dismissing the indictment against Ms. Herrera,” Gocha Allen Ramirez, the district attorney for Starr, Jim Hogg, and Duval counties, said in a statement Sunday. “In reviewing applicable Texas law, it is clear that Ms. Herrera cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her.” Herrera was charged by the Starr County Sheriff’s Office on Friday for the “illegal” abortion, a procedure Texas has managed to ban after six weeks. “The issues surrounding this matter are clearly contentious, however based on Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter,” Ramirez wrote Sunday.

Guessing that Herrod et. al. are still drooling.

[end update]