Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Now that the dust has settled and bills have been posted, let's take a look at which bills passed, and which did not. You can view a list of the final summary of all legislative bills acted upon by the Accidental Governor at http://www.azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_071309_Final%20Summary%20of%20Enactments_v2.pdf (pdf)
Scorecard: 190 bills signed, one transmitted without a signature, 22 vetos and 2 line-item vetos. New state laws take effect on Sept. 30.
Of particular interest to Tucson, Brewer signs bills for baseball vote, nonpartisan races. City Councilman Steve Leal suggested that the City of Tucson should challenge in court the vindictive law of wannabe tinhorn dictator of Tucson, Sen. Jonathan Paton. "If there's a way to challenge this in court, we should do it," Leal said. The Arizona Daily Star agreed today in an editorial opinion 2 new laws are a mixed bag for Tucsonans:
[The] decision by a Republican-led state government to impose electoral "reforms" on one city's voters is a dreadful precedent.
If it is possible to challenge the new law in court, as Tucson City Councilman Steve Leal has suggested, then a challenge should be filed on behalf of city voters.
Major League Baseball has left Tucson, and it ain't coming back. Give it up. The sports authority TIF tax may never come to a vote.
Of statewide importance, Governor signs bills on guns, abortion:
Abortion restrictions
Arizona becomes the 22nd state to impose a mandatory, 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. It is the 34th to require informed consent in which physicians performing an abortion must inform their patient about risks and alternatives.
With a second anti-abortion bill signed into law, Arizona will impose a fine or two-year prison sentence upon any individual who performs an illegal, late-term abortion procedure known medically as intact dilation and extraction. The procedure is illegal under federal law and is punishable by one year in prison.
Brewer's signature also will give doctors, pharmacists and other medical professionals the right to cite moral or other objections in refusing to participate in an abortion or to prescribe emergency contraception. This provision could be negated, though, in the wake of a federal appeals-court ruling last week. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that pharmacists in Washington state had to dispense Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill, even if they oppose use of the pill for religious reasons. Pharmacists can't refuse Plan B pill, appeals court says – Los Angeles Times
Gun rights expanded
Brewer signed into law a proposal that will allow the state's 125,000 carriers of concealed-weapons permits to bring their firearms into bars and restaurants. The measure allows bar owners to remain gun-free by posting signs prohibiting weapons. Permit-holders would be prohibited from drinking in a bar while carrying their firearms.
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Brewer's approval of a second proposal will prohibit property and business owners from banning guns from parking areas, so long as the weapons are kept locked in privately owned vehicles.
The law exempts parking lots that are fenced or guarded, as well as those that provide secure gun storage.
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Lastly, Brewer OK'd a proposal that allows any individual who feels threatened to indicate that they're carrying a weapon without violating intimidation statutes. The law only applies for instances of self-defense.
I seem to recall reading a statement from a spokesman for the Goldwater Institute awhile back that their legal team was prepared to file a lawsuit to challenge the guns in parking lots bill if it passed to defend the rights of private property owners. A rare instance on which we can agree. Let us know when you file.
Sparklers
The governor vetoed the sparkler bill. Brewer said she was influenced by letters of opposition from rural and urban elected officials as well as the U.S. Forest Service. She didn't mention that the legislation specifically allowed cities to ban the use of sparklers within their urban limits and that the devices remain illegal on federal lands. Brewer OKs bills on guns, abortion, vetoes sparklers
Other bills signed by Brewer include:
• Allowing insurance companies to divert money they owe in state taxes to instead pay for certain students to attend private and parochial schools. [enhanced private school tax credit]
• Patients who want to sue their emergency-room doctors due to medical errors now will have a higher hurdle to clear. It increases the standard of evidence from the "preponderance of the evidence" to the higher standard of "clear and convincing evidence."
• Banning the state from issuing "enhanced" driver's licenses to comply with federal laws. The licenses contain a radio frequency identification chip that can be read at a distance by a scanner.
• Clarified that people who drive while using drugs as prescribed by a medical practitioner are not guilty of driving under the influence, as long as they are not otherwise impaired.
• Expanded the scope of domestic violence to include romantic and sexual relationships. The bill was introduced as Kaity's Law after 17-year-old Kaitlyn Sudberry, who was shot and killed by an ex-boyfriend in January 2008. Sudberry had been unable to obtain a restraining order, because at the time, domestic violence was limited to blood relatives, married couples or those who had children together.
• Expanded the prohibition on dog fighting to include all animals, with the exception of those trained to protect livestock from predators. The bill also makes horse tripping – in which the legs of a galloping horse are roped to cause it to fall – a Class 1 misdemeanor (the most serious). The law excludes horse racing, training, branding or traditional rodeo sports.
• A bill that directly impacts the case of Harold Fish, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2004 shooting of a hiker near Payson. Fish claimed the shooting was self-defense. During Fish's 2006 trial, the state changed its self-defense law to shift the burden of proof from the defendant (the person claiming to fire in self-defense) to the prosecution. The new law allows the modified self-defense law to be applied retroactively to Fish's case, as well as to any others filed after April 24, 2006, as long as the defendant did not plead guilty or no contest.
• Established parameters for the Arizona Department of Transportation to enter into "public-private partnerships" for construction, financing, operation and maintenance of transportation projects, including toll roads.
Some bills that Brewer vetoed
• Renewable energy. House Bill 2341 would have given tax credits to qualified producers of renewable energy. In her veto memo, Brewer said she supported the concepts but was concerned that the bill did not include caps on the amount of tax credits large-scale solar energy producers could have garnered.
However, the governor added that she would immediately amend the terms of the special session in order for lawmakers to consider a revised version of this bill.
• License plates. Senate Bill 1017 would have created specialty license plates and funds for Multiple Sclerosis Awareness, the Arizona Masonic Fraternity, Hunger Relief and Children's Cancer Research.
"I share the goals of the bill sponsor to create awareness and a funding source for these important causes," Brewer wrote in her veto. "Unfortunately, this bill as amended contains a flaw that could easily have been fixed, but was not."
• Political signs. Senate Bill 1022 would have prohibited the removal of political signs from public rights-of-way. In her veto, Brewer said that she would leave the decision to regulate signage to local communities.
The Legislature failed in its prime directive: to pass a balanced state budget before july 1. We're still waiting – tick, tock, tick, tock…