Now in the Legislature: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

“While Republicans continue to destroy our democracy, we work to rebuild and strengthen it,” says the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

The Arizona Legislature has 30 days left to find the two-thirds vote needed to override the 1980’s Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) or public school districts will be forced to give back the $1.2 Billion that they have already budgeted for the last 12 weeks of the school year.

Two public school teachers, Sen. Christine Marsh and Rep. Jennifer Pawlik, have introduced a clean override (SCR1022 & HCR 2012) in each chamber to ensure $1.2 Billion stays in our public schools.

Democrats are unified in their support of lifting the AEL and are fighting for fully-funded public schools – because Arizona students deserve a legislature that invests in their future. It is time that we flip the legislature to ensure we have a government that will work to solve the education crisis in Arizona.

The Good

SB1018 – Sen. Sean Bowie sponsored an earned income tax credit that would give more than 550,000 Arizona families an average of $128 per year that passed out of Senate Finance 7-2.

SB1215 – Sen. Victoria Steele sponsored a bill to create the Study Committee on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples which passed unanimously in Senate Judiciary.

SCM1002 – Sen. Theresa Hatathlie introduced a bill that urges Congress to implement steps forward to fund the higher education grant program of the Bureau of Indian Education, which passed out of Senate Education.

SB1150, SB1151, SB1152, SB1154 – Sen. Victoria Steele sponsored four clean energy bills related to electric vehicles that passed out of the Senate Transportation and Technology Committee.

HB2111 – A bill that Rep. Pam Powers Hannley has championed appropriates $10M to the Healthy Families Program that provides services to children under five years of age and members of their families in order to promote child development and wellness passed out of committee 7-2.

The Bad

HB2161 – Republican bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Kaiser would force teachers to ‘out’ LGBTQ students to parents because of their ‘parental rights’ passed committee 6-4.

HB 2596 – A Republican bill introduced by Rep. John Fillmore would give the state legislature the ability to reject election results (yes, really).

SB1479 – Sen. Kelly Townsend introduced a bill that outlaws vote centers and emergency voting.

HB2238 – A bill sponsored by Rep. Jake Hoffman that would prohibit the use of unmonitored drop boxes to collect election ballots: passed committee 7-6.

SB1125 – A bill sponsored by Sen. Wendy Rogers declares any retroactive law — like gun buyback programs — that regulates firearms unlawful and unenforceable: passed on party lines.

The Ugly 

This week, a member of a right-wing extremist group and anti-mask activist who has been photographed with Kari Lake and Paul Gosar approached Rep. Reginald Bolding in a hallway at the Capitol and shouted, “why are you wearing a slave muzzle?” at him.

“This individual has been seen with other elected officials who are running for Governor, who are running for Congress, who are in the State Senate…The language that he’s using has been embraced by members in our government.” — Rep. Reginald Bolding

Looking Ahead 

SB1164 – Sen. Nancy Barto will introduce a 15 week, Mississippi-style, ban on abortion being heard in Senate Judiciary this Thursday, February 3 at 9:00am.

HB2536 – A bill from Rep. Gail Griffin, would disqualify the current Democrats elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission, will be heard in the House Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee on Tuesday, February 1 at 2:00pm.

SB1130 – A transphobic bill sponsored by Sen. Wendy Rogers would criminalize healthcare professionals who provide gender-affirming care to minors or “vulnerable adults,” is being heard in Senate Judiciary on Thursday, February 3 at 9:00am.

HCR2001 – An amendment to the constitution that would ban ‘Critical Race Theory’ from being taught in all public educational institutions including our public colleges and universities will be in House Government and Elections on Wednesday, February 2 at 9:00am.

HB2166 – Rep. Steve Kaiser sponsored a bill to exempt guns from sales tax to make selling safer, (yes, really) will be heard in House Ways and Means on Wednesday, February 2 at 9:00am.