And the first one out of the gate at the AZ Legislature is...

Democratic State Rep. Quantá Crews.or Democratic State Sen. Priya Sundareshan.

There have been 16 bills introduced in the AZ House and one bill introduced in the AZ Senate; both first bills were introduced by Democratic members.  Both were pre-filed on 11/15, but as no time was listed, I cannot determine which of them was first.  Both were first in their respective chambers, though.

HB2001, from Crews, is a measure to create a day of racial healing.  Pardon my cynicism, but I have to ask - has she seen the characters of the members of the majority party in the legislature?

SB2001, from Sundareshan, is a measure for a continuation of the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind.  Currently, it is scheduled to end on July 1, 2027; this bill would extend that to July 1, 2033.  This one may pass - but don't hold your breath.  If anything similar passes, it will be for a shorter term, have poison pill provisions in it, be passed at the last minute, and be sponsored by a Republican

The remainder of the House bills, 15 in all, were pre-filed by Rep. Gail Griffin, and as is typical for her, many look as if they were written by an industry lobbyist.

The others look to be anti-water conservation.

A combination which appears to be in keeping with the Republican priorities of protecting industry profits while sacrificing the best interests of the people they're supposed to represent.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/26/2023

The Rs in the legislature commemorate the holiday season not by serving up ham and turkey to the hungry, but by acting like hams and turkeys while serving up red meat for the base.

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 spread 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 that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 11/27 

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Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Freedom of Expression at Arizona's Public Universities meets at 10 a.m. in SHR109.  They're scheduled to make some remarks, take testimony from some folks who'll claim to have been harmed by a university for espousing conservative views. And to make some more remarks.

With the R members of being who they are (Kern, Borrelli, Wadsack, Nguyen, etc.), the comments should be colorful.

To say the least.

Joint Study Committee on Statewide Animal Control Standards meets at 1 p.m. in SHR1.  I expect this meeting to be less colorful, but as the committee is chaired by John Kavanagh, "colorful" is a threat to happen.

The latest evidence that the"No Labels" party is an R front group: they want to monetize democracy

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From AP -

The No Labels party asked its supporters if they would pay $100 to help choose its 2024 nominee

No Labels, a political organization that has alarmed some Democrats with talk of launching a third-party presidential candidate, has contemplated requiring a donation of at least $100 in order to cast a ballot at the group’s upcoming nominating convention, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The idea, which breaks from longstanding norms, would raise a significant hurdle to participating in the democratic process — in this case No Labels’ selection of its potential candidates for president and vice president. Neither the Democratic or Republican parties charge to vote at their conventions, where delegates vote for candidates chosen by voters through primaries or caucuses.

It's completely brazen and even hypocritical for a group that wishes to keep its donor list a secret, but at least they get points for honesty.

Still, this scheme brings two question to mind -

1. How long before they propose a scheme to make votes proportional to the amount of money that a would-be voter has gives to them?

2. How long before Cheeto thinks "I wish I had thought of this!  The only thing that would make it better would be if the nominee gets to skim of some of the take!"

Kari Lake may be saying good things trying to make nice with the folks she trashed last year. Her actions suggest that she hasn't really changed.

First up: The federal committee update.

It's official - failed AG candidate Abe Hamadeh is in the CD8 R primary.  He's formed a committee with the FEC.

Next: Kari Lake may be saying the right things, but she seems to be proving that when someone's words tell one story and their actions tell a different story.

The actions?

Working with another election denier.

From the FEC (emphasis added by me) -

Cynic that I am, I'm not sure that being seen as anti-democracy hurts her with the R base.

On the other hand, being seen as a liar may not help her.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/19/2023

I admit, I was expecting next week to be very quiet, mostly because of the holiday.  As it turns out, I was wrong - there's one intersession meeting on Monday.

It'll be relatively quiet though - the spewing of propaganda/red meat for the Republican base is on tap for the following week

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 spread 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 that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 11/20 

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Joint Study Committee on on Statewide Animal Control Standards meets at 1 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: a presentation/Q&A session with the executive director of the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board and a discussion of standards of care in animal shelters

Happy Thanksgiving!

Short Attention Span Musing - Popcorn Edition

...Kari Lake is looking to make nice with the same people that she trashed in 2022

From Politico -

Kari Lake ‘drove a stake’ through the heart of McCain Republicans. Now she wants a meeting.

Kari Lake is finally ready to move on from the 2022 election — or at least she wants her rivals to.

The Arizona Republican has given up — for now — the fire-and-brimstone approach she took in her failed gubernatorial bid last year, adopting a different tack in her current Senate campaign: diplomacy.

One thing in the article caught my attention (emphasis added by me) -

She has not made contact with former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, according to a person familiar with their interactions. And Sharon Harper, a consigliere for Cindy McCain, the widow of the late senator, said Lake has not reached out to her. Harper is fundraising for Sinema.

My guess is that many of the "traditional" Rs want to vote for Kyrsten Sinema, if she runs for re-election.  If she doesn't, those folks will be faced with two options that they won't like - voting for Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, or voting for Kari Lake, someone who openly despises them.

If Gallego can siphon off enough supporters, it may help him.

...If Lake wins election to the US Senate, she may be moving to a schoolyard...at a middle school. 

From The Oklahoman -

OK Sen. Markwayne Mullin defends Senate fight, tells Sean Hannity it's 'Oklahoma values'

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said he believed Oklahomans "would be pretty upset" at him if he hadn't threatened a union leader to a fight during a senate hearing,

Mullin, 45, and Teamsters leader Sean O'Brien had a heated exchange during a senate hearing on labor unions, at the end of which Mullin asked O'Brien if he wanted to fight. Mullin even stood from his chair, but was stopped by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, who was chairing the hearing.

...In what may be the news of the week, a convicted felon is joining the clown car of the race to replace the outgoing Debbie Lesko in CD8.

From NBC -

'QAnon Shaman' who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 files paperwork to run for Congress

Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who gained notoriety as the “QAnon Shaman” who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, filed paperwork to run for Congress as a Libertarian candidate in the battleground state’s 8th Congressional District.

Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., announced last month that she won’t seek re-election.

Chansley cannot vote for a candidate for elected office as a convicted felon, but he *can* run for office.

One question: will he be in costume while on the campaign trail?  I'm guessing "Yes."

From the NBC story -

.

While he has yet to form an FEC committee for the run, at least not one that I can find, he has filed a statement of interest with the Arizona Secretary of State

That statement, emphasis added by me -

 

Federal Committees update

No real surprises here, though there is some scary unbridled optimism presented.

Franks forming a committee in no surprise, as he's already announced that he's seeking to be elected to the seat (CD8) he resigned from in disgrace.

Republican Becker was a 2022 primary candidate for the CD7 seat held by Democrat Raul Grijalva.  She lost in the primary then but WAS adjudicated to be competent...to assist in her own defense.

She's seeking the seat again, but even R voters may not want that to be the primary qualification of one of their candidates.

The middle two are PACs which I don't normally cover here, but they share two things with Kari Lake's primary candidate committee -

1. The treasurer, Bradley Crate.

2. The mailing address.  From the FEC - 

My only question is a rather cynical one - how much of the money raised through the PACs will be funneled to Cheeto's defense team?

Hospital patient safety grades are in

I realize that this blog is mostly about politics but it's not all politics, all the time.

Hence, this PSA.

Earlier this week, an organization called The Leapfrog Group released a report that graded hospitals on the basis of patient safety.

Caveat: I cannot attest to the accuracy of their grades, also, that while important, patient safety is only one factor in determining the overall quality of medical care provided by a particular hospital.

They graded 50 hospitals in Arizona; running the gamut, some received "A", some "B", some "C", some "D" (No "F" grades, but Ds are still pretty bad).

25 Arizona hospitals received A or B grades, but only two of those were from outside of Maricopa or Pima counties (seven received Ds, and five of those were located in counties not named Maricopa or Pima.

Bottom line: I understand that hospitals are businesses and that they will go where people and financial wealth are, but sacrificing patient safety on the altar of the profit motive is NOT acceptable

Most of AZ is considered to be a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by the federal government.

From the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) -

Not coincidentally, metro Phoenix and metro Tucson (the most populous areas in AZ) have few MUAs -

Not coincidentally, I think, the MUAs in those two metro areas are located in the poorer parts of those areas.  For example, Scottsdale is most assuredly not part of a MUA.

Note: twice since 2020 began, I've visited a local hospital's ER (the same hospital twice), and one of those visits resulted in surgery.  While that hospital received a "C" grade, I've never had a problem with the care there.  Hence the caveat.

For Rs, "Public Service" isn't about serving the public

Turns out that utter contempt for the expressed will of the voters...unless it comports with R ideology...is a R personality trait.

Which explains why the Rs in the AZ legislature expanded school vouchers after the voters said "don't do that".

From WEWS (OH), emphasis added by me -

Ohio Gov. DeWine ‘accepts’ will of the people on abortion, marijuana, but hold on

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is “accepting” the will of the people on legalizing abortion access and marijuana recreation, but that acceptance comes with caveats.

Days after Ohioans voted to enshrine abortion and other reproductive rights in the state constitution, the governor acknowledged the result — even as fellow Republicans look for ways to overturn it.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/12/2023

This week shouldn't be as busy as last week.  But what it lacks in interim committee activity it may make up for in fireworks.

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 spread 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 that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 11/13 

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Joint Study Committee on Statewide Animal Control Standards meets at 1 p.m. in SHR1.  This committee is chaired by Sen. John Kavanagh, so it'll produce whatever some industry lobbyist wants it to produce.

On Tuesday, 11/14  

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House Ad Hoc Committee on Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Governance and Oversight meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  This interim committee is chaired by the Speaker of the AZ House of Representatives, Ben Toma.  Of the committee membership, one is currently affiliated the corporate lobbying group, the Goldwater Institute, one used to be, and is currently with the AZ Charter Schools Association (AZ CSA), one is a director of AZ CSA, and the last one is one of Tom Horne's minions who is also scheduled to present to the committee.

Yes, the fix is in.

Toma is in the CD8 primary so the fireworks may come from when he justifies blowing a hole in the state budget in order to protect a fraud perpetrated upon the people of Arizona.

Which may help him win that primary, but would also show him to be a lousy public servant and human being.

Which also may help in that primary - he'd fit right in with the R caucus in the US House.

Election night 2023: The vast majority of ballot questions in Maricopa County pass

The full list of County results is here, courtesy Maricopa County Elections.

By my count, 11 questions out of 50 here failed.*

* = All results are unofficial and some may change when the final totals are tallied.

Overall, it was a good night for proponents of good government...and a bad night for certain anti-society ideologues (we'll can call them "Republicans")

It sure seems like Alabama is trying to out-Arizona Arizona

 I would say that Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is the worst member of Congress and that would make AL the worst state in the Union, but Arizona keeps sending Paul Gosar to D.C.

Tuberville may be epically dumb, but Gosar is epically bigoted.

From the Atmore (AL) Advance -

County BOE board member, Atmore newspaper reporter arrested by ECSO

UPDATE: The following story was updated today to include additional information on the arrests of Escambia County Board of Education District 6 Board Member Sherry Digmon and Atmore News Reporter Don Fletcher. The update also includes clarification on their charges, and comments from District Attorney Stephen Billy.

An Escambia County Board of Education board member and an Atmore newspaper reporter were arrested Oct. 27 for publishing grand jury evidence, according to officials.

District 6 Board Member Sherry Digmon, 72, and Don Fletcher, 69, both of Atmore, were booked into the county detention center in Brewton at 5:33 and 6:04 p.m. Friday, respectively, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office jail report.

[snip]

Billy suggested Alabama State Code Section 12-16-214, which details about grand jury and the desirability of secrecy.  

The code by which both were arrested (12-16-215) states: Grand juror, witness, etc., prohibited from revealing, disclosing, etc., a juror’s questions, considerations, etc.; no person to directly, indirectly, etc., by any means obtain information as to juror’s questions, considerations, etc. No past or present grand juror, past or present grand jury witness or grand jury reporter or stenographer shall willfully at any time directly or indirectly, conditionally or unconditionally, by any means whatever, reveal, disclose or divulge or attempt or endeavor to reveal, disclose or divulge or cause to be revealed, disclosed or divulged, any knowledge or information pertaining to any grand juror’s questions, considerations, debates, deliberations, opinions or votes on any case, evidence, or other matter taken within or occurring before any grand jury of this state. Nor shall any person at any time, directly or indirectly, conditionally or unconditionally by any means whatever, corruptly or with intent to influence a grand juror or other person authorized by law to attend a grand jury, or by threat of harm to person or property, or by force applied to person or property, or by threatening letter or communication, or by offer of reward, remuneration, gift, benefit or thing of value of whatever nature or kind, obtain or endeavor to obtain, any information pertaining to, or any knowledge of any grand juror’s questions, considerations, debates, deliberations, opinions or votes on any case, evidence or other matter taken or transpiring within or before any grand jury of this state.

I'm not an attorney, so take the following with a grain of salt.

The way that I read the statute as cited, it doesn't actually apply to journalists publishing a story.

Of course, the DA there may just be petty enough to not let truth get in the way.

From AL.com -

Lawyer: Alabama DA who charged newspaper publisher, reporter targets ‘people he has a problem with’

The attorney representing a newspaper publisher and reporter arrested and indicted on charges they disclosed grand jury secrets says his clients are the victims of a prosecutor who is “after people he has a problem with.”

Ernie White, a Brewton attorney, told AL.com on Thursday that Atmore News publisher Sherry Digmon and reporter Don Fletcher – both who face felony charges of revealing grand jury evidence – are facing criminal charges over a dispute related to the non-renewal of Escambia County Superintendent Michele McClung’s contract.

Sounds very Arpaio-esque.

Still, as craven as that is, it's not quite as bad as the fact that Alabama now has internal approval to kill people by suffocation.

From AP (emphasis added by me)-

Alabama can execute inmate with nitrogen gas, state’s highest court says

A divided Alabama Supreme Court said the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas, a method that has not previously been used carry out a death sentence.

The all-Republican court made its 6-2 decision without comment on Wednesday. The justices granted the state attorney general’s request for an execution warrant for Kenneth Eugene Smith, one of two men convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of Elizabeth Sennett in northwestern Alabama.

[snip]

The decision moves Alabama closer to becoming the first state to attempt an execution by nitrogen gas, although there will likely be additional legal wrangling over the proposed method before it’s used. Oklahoma and Mississippi have also authorized nitrogen hypoxia for executions, in which an inmate would breathe only nitrogen and be deprived of oxygen needed live. While proponents have theorized it would be painless, opponents liken it to human experimentation.

How long before the AZ Legislature tries to go lower than that by reintroducing stoning as a method of execution?

CD8: Toma's in, and in a blast from the past, so is Trent Franks

First up Toma.

From the website of the FEC -

This wasn't a closely-held secret as most observers expected him to get into the race and he filed a statement of interest with the AZSOS.

Now, the only question is when, or even if, Toma resigns as Speaker of the AZ House or his position in the House.

My guess is that nether will happen unless he feels he has a real shot at winning the primary.

Another entrant into the race is something of a surprise - former member of Congress Trent Franks.

From KJZZ, written by Camryn Sanchez, dated 11/1 -

Infamous former lawmaker Trent Franks enters congressional race

Former Congressman Trent Franks resigned from Congress in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment. Now, the West Valley Republican is launching a new campaign to win back his old seat.

Franks represented Congressional District 8 from 2003 until 2017, when he abruptly resigned after reports came to light that he offered a female employee $5 million to be a surrogate mother for his children. At the time, Franks acknowledged discussing surrogacy with a second female staffer. 

He resigned in late 2017 amid allegations of inappropriate behavior toward female subordinates.  He was replaced by Lesko 

I'm guessing he wants back in for two main reasons -

1. They've elected a Speaker who may be as socially extreme and radical as he is.

2. He resigned in late 2017, and if he wins next year's election, he'll take office again more than seven years later, in 2025.  In terms of Congressional staffers/interns, that's like four generations.  In other words, there are many female staffers/interns who haven't heard his "surrogacy" patter.

Legislative schedule - week starting 11/5/2023

This week is going to be a relatively busy one at the Capitol for an intersession week.

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 spread 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 that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

On Monday, 11/6 

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House Ad Hoc Study Committee on San Tan Valley Fire Coverage meets at 10 a.m. in HHR1.  As San Tan Valley is unincorporated, the is no tax-supported firefighting organization there. The only firefighting coverage there is provided by Rural/Metro, a private, for profit, corporation.  The corporation has a representative on the committee who will be presenting to the committee as well.

On Wednesday, 11/8 

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House Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse and Neglect of Vulnerable Adults meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  This committee is actually chaired by a Democratic member, Rep. Jennifer Longdon,  As such, I expect that any recommendations put forward by this committee to be thoroughly ignored once the full legislature is back in session.

On Thursday, 11/9 

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Joint Legislative Budget Committee meets at 1 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: A review of inmate healthcare contract rates at the Department of Corrections.  As this committee is chaired by Sen. John Kavanagh, I expect the recommendation here to be "let 'em die...just in way that most profits a corporation."

Kyrsten Sinema: Even the NRSC thinks she's toast

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From NBCNews, emphasis added by me -

Head of Senate GOP campaign arm shows Republicans internal poll with Democrat leading in Arizona

At a closed-door meeting Tuesday, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines showed fellow GOP senators an internal poll of a three-way Arizona Senate race that found Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego leading with 41%, followed by Republican Kari Lake with 37% and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema with 17%, said a source familiar with the meeting.

Notably, Daines told Republicans that Sinema is currently pulling more votes from Lake than she is from Gallego, despite her longtime affiliation with Democrats before she became an independent last year.

Actually, the highlighted section may be an incorrect statement.

From the Political Wire post -

In a head-to-head matchup, Gallego leads Lake 49% to 44%.

Based on that, with Sinema in the race, Gallego is leading by 4%; with her not running, he's leading by 5%.  Seems like that she's pulling votes from him, so the NRSC may be hoping that she runs for re-election.  She's not going to win, but her presence helps Lake.