Request to Speak and Other Actions at the State Legislature for week of 3/27

This was the last week to hear bills in standing committees, except for Appropriations, which gets an extra week. This meant there were some long agendas and a plethora of strike-everything amendments, most of which were bad bills, but a couple actually advanced positive legislation, including one on rainwater harvesting on HB2619. Legislators sent some truly awful bills to the Governor too. HB2492 was one of those bills. HB2492 voter registration; verification; citizenship (Hoffman: Blackman, Carter, et al.) requires people who register to vote with a passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a tribal ID to submit additional documents proving residency. It also includes new restrictions for federal-only voters, including that they may not vote by mail, and it requires those who have previously registered to vote to provide additional identification. While it is a longshot, please do contact Governor Ducey and ask him to veto HB2492.   Send a message to Governor Ducey here. You can also call him at 602-542-4331 HB2101 electric energy; reliability; public policy (Griffin: Abraham, Blackman, et al.) could still be reconsidered in the Senate any day this coming week. Please help keep up the pressure to defeat it. HB2101 repeals provisions in the law that create parameters for retail competition of electricity. We are opposed to the bill as we have concerns about how it will affect community choice aggregation of electricity overall and rooftop solar in Salt River Project (SRP) territory. SRP brought this to the legislature without any kind of stakeholder process or thorough review of the impacts of the bill. Tell your senator to vote No on HB2101 and also reach out to Senators Alston, Contreras, Gabaldon, and Rios and ask them to vote No!    You can find senators phone numbers here. HB2055 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transportation (Griffin: Bowers) was held in the Republican caucus this week, so there may be a shot at stopping it, so please contact your senator about it, even if you have done so previously. HB2055 allows private water companies such as EPCOR to import water from the Harquahala Valley and into the active management areas (AMAs) for development. Currently only cities can do that. This exacerbates creation of this groundwater depletion sacrifice zone and gives private water interests more control of water. The legislature should be placing additional limits on groundwater pumping not facilitating more.   Send a message to your senator to oppose HB2055!   HB2411 coal combustion residuals program (Griffin) will also likely come to the floor for a vote this week. It authorizes the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to seek assumption of the coal ash program from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Coal ash is toxic and can result in contamination of our waters if not adequately regulated. We are concerned that ADEQ is too cozy with the utilities and that it would not properly enforce this program, plus ADEQ is already not properly implementing some of the federal programs it already has. Tell your senator to oppose this too!    Send a message to your senator here.   HB2181 Now: game and fish; taking wolves  (Cook) sends a message that it is okay to kill endangered Mexican wolves. It forbids the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from prohibiting any person from killing a wolf that is actively threatening or attacking a person (unnecessary as anyone can kill an animal if they feel threatened), livestock, or other domestic animal. These latter provisions will invite baiting of wolves -- the last thing these endangered animals need is less protection or more people gunning for them.   Tell your Senator to vote No on HB2181! If you have not signed up for the Request to Speak System, please do! Civic Engagement Beyond Voting (CEBV) will sign you up. To get an account set up, just go to this link.  This week, we encourage you to sign in on Request to Speak in opposition to the following bills:  HB2493, HB2554, HB2637, HCR2017, and SB1718. See the details on the bills below under "Request to Speak Actions Coming Up at the Arizona Legislature this Week." To view bills we are tracking go here. To find your legislators' email addresses and phone numbers, go here.   Many thanks for continuing to act on these bills! Request to Speak Actions Coming Up at the Arizona Legislature this Week. Monday, March 28th House Committee on Appropriations at 9:30 AM  SB1718 appropriation; security fund (Gowan) appropriates $1,140,800 and 14.5 full-time equivalent positions to the border security fund, including for border wall construction and maintenance. We don't need further militarization of our border. OPPOSE Tuesday, March 29th   Senate Committee on Appropriations at 9:00 AM HB2493 election integrity fund (Hoffman; Blackman, Chaplik, et al.) establishes an Election Integrity Fund to pay county recorders for election security measures and appropriates $12 million for it. This is so unnecessary. OPPOSE HB2554 Now: counties; land divisions; surveys (Griffin) prohibits counties from requiring surveys as a condition for approving land divisions. This is the last thing we need as it will encourage more lot splits and harmful unregulated development. OPPOSE  HB2637 will have a strike-everything amendment on banks; certain affiliations; prohibition that prohibits certain financial institutions from discriminating against any person based on a political affiliation or other social credit, environmental, social, governance or similar values-based or impact criteria. This would limit impact investing. OPPOSE HCR2017 will have a strike-everything amendment on elections; judges that requires superior court judges in a county with a population of fewer than 800,000 persons, rather than a population of fewer than 250,000 persons, to be elected in a general election. More elections of judges rather than merit selection is a bad idea. OPPOSE Wednesday, March 30th No committee hearings, just floor. Which means a vote on those bad votes.  - Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter

Urge Ducey to protect voting rights by VETOING HB 2492

 

HB2492 the outrageous voter purge bill we’ve been fighting just passed, and we need all hands on deck to push Governor Ducey to veto it.

This bill establishes the most extreme voter purge in the country – disenfranchising countless eligible voters for no good reason. And with the 2022 elections just around the corner, it’s critical that we act now to protect our freedom to vote.

HB2492 voter registration; verification; citizenship (Hoffman: Blackman, Carter, et al.) This bill requires people who register to vote with a passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a tribal ID to submit additional documents proving residency. It includes new restrictions for federal-only voters, including that they may not vote. This is a blantent effort to keep native Americans - who helped Biden win Arizona - from voting.  Many people on the reservation don't have street addresses.   

Please call Governor Ducey's office at Correct #:602-542-4331

Here's an idea of what to say:

Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I live in [YOUR TOWN]. As an Arizona voter, I'm deeply disturbed by the voter purge bill that just passed, and I want to urge Gov. Ducey to veto it. HB 2492 would only serve to shut out eligible Arizonans -- and we should be expanding access to the ballot box, not making it harder to vote. I condemn this attack on our voting rights, and ask Gov. Ducey to veto this bill and any other voter suppression bill that comes to his desk.

If you can't get through, try his website:

https://azgovernor.gov/engage/form/contact-governor-ducey

Request to Speak on voting rights, farming irrigation and inclusivity on housing committee

weigh in on RTS to protect voting rights

This week there are several bills that make it more difficult to vote - especially HB2289 that prohibits all in-person early voting and eliminates vote by mail. 70% of us vote by mail! Please, weigh in on the voting bills as well as the farming irrigation, housing and hydrogen studies.

 
I've included a couple of bills that the Sierra Club suggested we monitor. One of the concerns I have is that they are Strike Everything bills. Strike Everything means legislators can make huge changes at the last moment (without public comment) after a bill has already gone through most of the process.

Sign on to your Request to Speak account, click the blue Request to Speak button, click on New Request in the nav bar (left column), then simply cut and paste the bill number into Search Phrase (for example:HB2554). Push blue Add Request button, weigh in FOR or AGAINST, click No on Do you wish to speak? (in person), leave a short Comment, and click on SUBMIT. For another submission, click on the New Request link in the nav bar on the left and follow the directions above.

Coming Up at the Arizona Legislature this Week. Monday, March 21st Senate Committee on Government at 2:00 PM HB2238 ballot drop boxes; prohibition (Hoffman: Barton, Blackman, et al.) prohibits unmonitored drop boxes for ballots. OPPOSE  HB2289 will have a strike-everything amendment on elections; identification; revisions; tabulation; mail-in that prohibits all in-person early voting and eliminates vote by mail, except for people who are visually impaired, are serving in the military overseas or who are hospitalized or out of the state on Election Day. This would affect most Arizonans as more than 70% of us vote by mail. OPPOSE HB2493 election integrity fund (Hoffman; Blackman, Chaplik, et al.) establishes an Election Integrity Fund to pay county recorders for election security measures and appropriates $12 million for it. This is so unnecessary. OPPOSE HB2602 polling places; emergency voting centers (Bolick: Biasiucci, Blackman, et al.) restricts the use of emergency voting centers to emergencies, such as war, civil unrest or natural disaster. This is ridiculous. OPPOSE HB2780 voter lists; images; voting records (Kavanagh: Barton, Biasiucci, et al.) requires a county recorder to publish a list of eligible voters, with certain identifying information redacted, on the county recorder's website 10 days before a primary and general election. It requires that they digitally publish a list of everyone who voted and their voting method, all ballot images and a sortable cast vote record. These are more unnecessary requirements feeding the conspiracies. OPPOSE HB2786 voter registrations; ballot requests; source (Hoffman: Barton, Biasiucci, et al) prohibits a county recorder from using the signature on a request to amend a voter's registration or a request for an early ballot that is not on an official form printed by a county recorder. It removes the ability for a candidate, political committee or other organization to distribute early ballot request forms or Active Early Voter List request forms to voters. OPPOSE Tuesday, March 22nd House Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, & Water at 2:00 PM HB2554 domestic water districts; wastewater; annexation (Shope) will have a strike-everything amendment on farm irrigation efficiency; fund; appropriation that establishes an on-farm irrigation efficiency pilot program opporated by the UArizona Coopertive Extention and appropriates $30 million for it. This could be positive in that it may help reduce agricultural water use. SUPPORT   House Committee on Commerce at 2:00 PM SB1396 hydrogen study committee (Shope) establishes a hydrogen study committee. It includes studying a pipeline and blending hydrogen with fracked gas infrastructure. There is no specific provision for studying green hydrogen -- hydrogen derived from water, not methane gas. There are also some other troubling provisions in it. OPPOSE Wednesday, March 23rd House Committee on Government and Elections at 9:00 AM SB1259 recounts; requests; procedures; audits (Mesnard) Increases the minimum number of precincts included in post-election hand counts and allows the attorney general, secretary of state, or Legislative Council to request an election recount. Again, this is unnecessary and harmful tinkering with election processes. OPPOSE SB1638 early ballots; visually impaired voters (Pace: Shah) requires all Arizona elections to provide for voting by the use of a remote accessible vote by mail option for persons who are blind or have a visual impairment. SUPPORT SCR1032 plenary legislative authority; elections (Townsend: Borrelli, Gowan, et al.) opposes any attempt by the federal government to "usurp or otherwise interfere" with state legislative authority over elections. This is intended to target voting rights bills at the federal level. OPPOSE Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Water at 2:00 PM Presentation Economic Benefits of Glass Recycling in Arizona - Alex Cameron and Heidi Erm, Owens Corning HB2554 Now: counties; land divisions; surveys (Griffin) prohibits counties from requiring surveys as a condition for approving land divisions. This is the last thing we need as it will encourage more lot splits and harmful unregulated development. OPPOSE  HB2619 will have a strike everything amendment on rainwater harvesting program, but it is not yet posted. The original bill required the State Dept. of Health to post a vaccine injury data report on their website that passed the House on a party line vote. What does this have to do with rainwater harvesting? That's the beauty of Strike Everything. You might want to check back.  MONITOR   HCR2024 30x30 land program; opposing (Griffin) expresses the legislature's opposition to the Biden Administration's 30 by 30 program and other efforts to protect public lands from development, including as wilderness, conservation lands, etc. OPPOSE HCR2038 supporting proper forest management(Griffin) contains revisionist history regarding the history of national forests. It fails to recognize the impacts of commercial logging on forest health -- most of the larger trees were logged in Arizona, leaving more opportunities for the dense growth of smaller trees -- fire suppression, and livestock grazing. There is no mention of climate change. It seeks to repeat the mistakes of the past that have contributed to unhealthy forests. OPPOSE House Committee on Transportation at 2:00 PM SB1377 (now: off-highway vehicles; fund; instruction; operation) (Kerr: Rogers) says that landowners and lessees do not have a duty to keep lands safe for entry and use by recreational users or to warn of or maintain lands and trails against unsafe conditions. Don't we all have a duty to try to address unsafe conditions? OPPOSE Senate Committee on Commerce at 2:00 PM HB2674 Now: housing supply study committee (Kaiser: Chavez) establishes a housing supply study committee. This is better than the bill they were proposing, but the committee is not very inclusive. (You could make a commment to that effect.) All the members of the committee are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate (who are both Republicans.) The President of the Senate is the same one who rarely lets any bills sponsored by Democrats be heard on the floor.  MONITOR (Neutral)

Urge your legislators to vote NO on bills that kill wolves, sustainable water and voting rights

 

Below is the Sierra Club update on what is happening at our state legislature along with some petitions and phone call actions on voting suppression, water rights, and other environmental issues - including killing wolves!

While the state legislature is in session, I share abbreviated versions of the Sierra Club's Legislative Report and post Request to Speak actions separately. If you would like to recieve these actions sooner, you may want to sign up for their report.

Legislative Update for the week of March 20th

It appears that the Arizona Legislature has killed most of the handful of positive bills that were advancing, including three electric vehicle bills sponsored by Senator Victoria Steele. There are still a few good ones in the mix, however, including one sponsored by Senator Paul Boyer -- SB1246 expedites acquisition of electric school buses. It will likely go to the House floor next week. SB1270 is another. It was amended to increase the funding for the State Parks Heritage Fund to $5 million per year, still short of the $10 million the voters intended, but closer.

Thankfully, a number of the bad elections bills are hitting speedbumps in the Senate and have been voted down, but there are still plenty to go around. See below and the committee agendas for more on that.

There was another question and answer session on the House floor regarding the proposed Arizona Water Augmentation Authority. The bill is getting a lukewarm response from many and strong opposition from others. They are not planning to move it until they have the votes and they do not have the votes for it right now.

HB2492 voter registration; verification; citizenship (Hoffman: Blackman, Carter, et al.) is likely to go to the Senate floor this week. It requires people who register to vote with a passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a tribal ID to submit additional documents proving residency. It also includes new restrictions for federal-only voters, including that they may not vote by mail, and it requires those who have previously registered to vote to provide additional identification. Tell your senator to oppose HB2492!

Send a message to your Senator here.

HB2289 will have a strike-everything amendment on elections; identification; revisions; tabulation; mail-in that prohibits all in-person early voting and eliminates vote by mail, except for people who are visually impaired, are serving in the military overseas or who are hospitalized or out of the state on Election Day. This would affect most Arizonans as more than 70% of us vote by mail. Many people will be showing up at the Senate Government Committee on Monday to oppose this bill.

HB2101 electric energy; reliability; public policy (Griffin: Abraham, Blackman, et al.) will likely be up for reconsideration in the Senate this week. HB2101 repeals provisions in the law that create parameters for retail competition of electricity. We are opposed to the bill as we have concerns about how it will affect community choice aggregation of electricity overall and rooftop solar in Salt River Project (SRP) territory. SRP brought this to the legislature without any kind of stakeholder process or thorough review of the impacts of the bill. Tell your senator to please vote No on HB2101 and also reach out to Senators Alston, Contreras, Gabaldon, and Rios and ask them to vote No!

You can find senators phone numbers here.

HB2055 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transportation (Griffin: Bowers) will also come to the Senate floor this week. This bill allows private water companies such as EPCOR to import water from the Harquahala Valley and into the active management areas (AMAs) for development. Currently only cities can do that. This exacerbates creation of this groundwater depletion sacrifice zone and gives private water interests more control of water. The legislature should be placing additional limits on groundwater pumping not facilitating more.

Send a message to your senator to oppose HB2055!

HB2411 coal combustion residuals program (Griffin) will also likely come to the floor of the Senate this week. It authorizes the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to seek assumption of the coal ash program from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Coal ash is toxic and can result in contamination of our waters if not adequately regulated. We are concerned that ADEQ is too cozy with the utilities and that it would not properly enforce this program, plus ADEQ is already not properly implementing some of the federal programs it already has. Call your senator to oppose this too!

You can find senators phone numbers here.

HB2181 Now: game and fish; taking wolves (Cook) will likely result in additional unlawful killings of wolves. It forbids the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from prohibiting any person from killing a wolf that is actively threatening or attacking a person (unnecessary as anyone can kill an animal if they feel threatened), livestock, or other domestic animal. These latter provisions will invite baiting of wolves -- the last thing these endangered animals need is less protection or more people gunning for them.

Tell your Senator to vote No on HB2181 here.

Request to Speak on Voter Suppression and other Bills

Here are the Request to Speak actions for this week. 

Sign on to your Request to Speak account, click the blue Request to Speak button, click on New Request in the nav bar (left column), then simply cut and paste the bill number into Search Phrase (for example:HB2170). Push blue Add Request button, weigh in FOR or AGAINST, click No on Do you wish to speak? (in person), leave a short Comment, and click on SUBMIT. For another submission, click on the New Request link in the nav bar on the left and follow the directions above.

Coming Up at the Arizona Legislature this Week. Monday, March 14th Senate Committee on Government at 2:00 PM  HB2170 election mailings; third-party disclosures (Kavanagh) requires any communication that includes an election document -- voter registration or early ballot form -- or a link to that form, to include a disclaimer “Not From a Government Agency.” This is unnecessary is a way to try and discredit groups doing voter outreach. OPPOSE HB2236 voter registration; request required (Hoffman: Barton, Blackman, et al) prohibits any automatic voter registration. This again is unnecessary and the opposite direction we should be moving with registration. OPPOSE HB2617 voter registration; cancellations; causes (Chaplik: Barton, Biasiucci, et al) requires county recorders to cancel people’s voter registrations based on potentially unreliable sources, which could result in eligible voters being kicked off the rolls. OPPOSE House Committee on Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs at 2:00 PM  SB1270 state parks; lottery; heritage fund (Shope) appropriates $3 million for the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund, which funds local and state parks, trails, historic preservation, and cultural resource protection. We would like to see this bumped up to $10 million -- the amount it was originally allocated by voters. SUPPORT SB1594 (now: state lands; annexation; delegation; minerals) (Kerr) says that the rights to explore and develop mineral resources under state law continue without additional permits or approvals from local government authorities. Local government should be able to require certain things of mining operations. OPPOSE Tuesday, March 15th House Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, & Water at 2:00 PM SB1717 (now: mine inspector; abandoned mines; appropriation) (Gowan) appropriates $1,122,000 and six full-time equivalent positions from the state General Fund to the State Mine Inspector to inventory and coordinate the closure of abandoned mines in Arizona. SUPPORT Senate Committee on Appropriations at 2:00 PM HB2255 fireworks; permissible use; Diwali(Biasiucci) prohibits cities and towns from limiting fireworks on and before Diwali, which is in late October. Do we really need more days and nights of fireworks? How about saying no fireworks on any holidays?   HB2317 appropriation; border fence construction (Kavanagh: Chaplik, Griffin, et al.) appropriates $150 million for border wall. OPPOSE HB2728 appropriations; ADOT; tier 2 studies (Wilmeth) appropriates $25 million for a tier 2 study of the environmentally harmful I-11 freeway in Maricopa County. OPPOSE Wednesday, March 16th House Committee on Appropriations at 1:30 PM  SB1270 state parks; lottery; heritage fund (Shope) See above. SB1717 (now: mine inspector; abandoned mines; appropriation) (Gowan) See above. Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Water at 2:00 PM HB2181 (now: game and fish; taking wolves) (Cook) forbids the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from prohibiting any person from killing a wolf that is actively threatening or attacking a person, livestock, or other domestic animal. Wolves rarely attack humans, anyone can kill a wolf or other animal if the animal is attacking them or they fear for their life, so that is not an issue and is absolutely unnecessary language, but the provisions on threatening or attacking livestock or other domestic animals can provide an invitation to those who would like to see wolves again exterminated in the wild. Not having clear guidance against killing wolves, can invite “baiting” of wolves with livestock or other animals. OPPOSE HB2389 - rulemaking review; time frame rulemaking review; time frame (Dunn) will have a strike-everything amendment on River Water Transfer. It is now posted. The strike-everything amendment will limit the transfer of Colorado River water, specifically 4th priority water, away from the river to communities in central Arizona. SUPPORT  House Committee on Transportation at 2:00 PM SB1377 (now: off-highway vehicles; fund; instruction; operation) (Kerr: Rogers) says that landowners and lessees do not have a duty to keep lands safe for entry and use by recreational users or to warn of or maintain lands and trails against unsafe conditions. Don't we all have a duty to try to address unsafe conditions? OPPOSE Thursday, March 17th Senate and House will be taking floor action. Please, see my other blog for information on how to Contact your State Legislators regarding Bad Water, Electric Energy and Voting Bills before Thursday.

Contact State Legislators regarding Bad Water, Electric Energy and Voting Bills

Imagine sacrifice zone needed to transport desalinated water 

Our GOP legislators (with a small majority) are trying to bulldoze through voter suppression bills and other bad bills that will make it harder for Arizona to have an environmentally sound water supply and just transition to solar.

This week, the Governor shared a draft of his bill to establish the Arizona Water Augmentation Authority. It's terrible! The purpose is to seek water from other states or countries, including via desalination. It is really more of the same to continue unsustainable water policies and growth practices. In addition to that, the structure of the authority is undemocratic and gives the usual suspects all the power relative to water. The bill will likely be considered in the next two weeks.

The Arizona Legislature continues to move along bad public policy daily. Even though the number of bills to make it more difficult to register to vote, to register people to vote, and to actually vote has been whittled down and the Senate has rejected a few, there are still far too many out there advancing through the process. 

One such bill is HB2492 voter registration; verification; citizenship (Hoffman: Blackman, Carter, et al.), which passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee along party lines. This bill requires people who register to vote with a passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a tribal ID to submit additional documents proving residency. It includes new restrictions for federal-only voters, including that they may not vote by mail. It requires those who have previously registered to vote to provide additional identification. As if the bill itself was not bad enough, during the vote explanations in committee, the committee chair actually interrupted the only two people of color on the committee in the middle of explaining their votes. It was pretty outrageous. Call your senator and ask them to oppose HB2492!
 

You can find senators phone numbers here.

There was some good news this week. SB1629 failed on the Senate Floor 13-15-2. SB1629 registration; verification; images; audits; boxes (Borrelli: Barto, Fann, Gowan, et. al), creates unnecessary, difficult hurdles for nonprofits and volunteers who register citizens to vote. There was a motion for reconsideration of the bill, so that means they can bring it back for another vote at any time. Keep those calls coming. Tell your senators to oppose SB1629.
 

You can find senators phone numbers here.

HB2101 electric energy; reliability; public policy (Griffin: Abraham, Blackman, et al.) also failed on Senate Third Read 14-3-3, but will also be back as there was a motion for reconsideration. HB2101 repeals provisions in the law that create parameters for retail competition of electricity. We are opposed to the bill as we have concerns about how it will affect community choice aggregation of electricity overall and rooftop solar in Salt River Project (SRP) territory. Tell your senator to please vote No on HB2101. We could use some extra calls to Senators Alston, Gabaldon, and Rios.
 

You can find senators phone numbers here.

Also, this week, the Senate Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee advanced both HB2055 and HB2411. 

HB2055 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transportation (Griffin: Bowers) allows private water companies such as EPCOR to import water from the Harquahala Valley and into the active management areas (AMAs) for development. Currently only cities can do that. This exacerbates making this area a groundwater depletion sacrifice zone. We also object to giving private water interests more control of water, something that is essential for life, as this bill allows. 
 

Oppose Groundwater Pumping Sacrifice Zones!

https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/Arizona?actionId=AR0355357&id=70131000001Lp1FAAS

HB2411 coal combustion residuals program (Griffin) authorizes the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to seek assumption of the coal ash program from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We are concerned that ADEQ is too cozy with the utilities and would not properly enforce this program, plus ADEQ is already not properly implementing some of the federal programs it already has and did not previously ask for the funding it needed to do so. Tell your senator to oppose this too! 
 

You can find senators phone numbers here.

-Sierra Club Action

Weigh in on Request to Speak by Thursday Morning

Please, find the three bad bills (below) and weigh in on them using the Request to Speak system before they are heard in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary at 9:00 AM on Thursday.

This week, both the House and Senate continued to send bills to the other house, including more anti-democracy bills. A couple of the bad water bills and one relating to the Arizona Corporation Commission remain stalled.

HB2536 corporation commissioners; qualifications (Griffin) seems to be stalled in the House, but we will continue to keep an eye on it. HB2536 requires corporation commissioners to be at least 30 years old and have five years of experience in business, accounting, finance, economics, administrative law, or professional engineering. This would disqualify a lot of people who have been or would be excellent commissioners.

SCR1025 and HCR2014 were retained on the calendar this week. They require proportionate signatures from every legislative district. If you have not already, please ask your Senator to oppose SCR1025 using the petition here. Ask your Representative to oppose HCR2014 by using the petition here

To find your legislators' email addresses and phone numbers, go here.

If you have not signed up for the Request to Speak System, please do! Civic Engagement Beyond Voting (CEBV) will sign you up. To get an account set up, just go to this link.

DIRECTIONS FOR REQUEST TO SPEAK ACTIONS

Sign on to your Request to Speak account, click the blue Request to Speak button, click on New Request in the nav bar (left column), then simply cut and paste the bill number into Search Phrase (for example: HB2253). Push blue Add Request button, weigh in FOR or AGAINST, click No on Do you wish to speak? (in person), leave a short Comment, and click on SUBMIT. For another submission, click on the New Request link in the nav bar on the left and follow the directions above.

Thursday, March 10th Senate Committee on the Judiciary at 9:00 AM  HB2253 asbestos claims; required information; liability (Grantham) makes it more difficult to file a personal injury claim related to asbestos. OPPOSE HB2492 voter registration; verification; citizenship (Hoffman: Blackman, Carter, et al.) requires people who register to vote with a passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a tribal ID to submit additional documents proving residency. It includes new restrictions for federal-only voters, including that they may not vote by mail. OPPOSE HB2722 strategic actions; public participation (Toma, Majority Leader) expands the scope of laws concerning strategic actions against public participation to mandate the court accept motions to dismiss or quash under specified circumstances. While it seems like this bill defends the citizens' rights to voice their opinion of public policy, this poorly worded bill seems designed to support disruptions of school board meetings, protest mask and vaccine mandates, and to violate municipial policies that may be contrary to state policy (ie.Tucson declaring a climate energency.)  OPPOSE  Freedom of Speech according to HB2722 MORE INFORMATION: Rep. BenToma, who is sponsporing HB2722 (above), also co-sponspored HB 2112.  HB 2112: classroom instruction; race; ethnicity; sex  Prohibition of Specified Instruction: Prohibits allowing instruction in or making part of a course any of the following concepts: i. One race, ethnic group or sex is inherently morally or intellectually superior to another race, ethnic group or sex; ii. An individual, by virtue of their race, ethnicity or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive; iii. An individual should be invidiously discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of their race, ethnicity or sex; iv. An individual's moral character is determined by their race, ethnicity or sex; v. An individual, by virtue of their race, ethnicity or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed by other members of the same race, ethnic group or sex; vi. An individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or psychological distress because of their race, ethnicity or sex.  House Education Committee passes bill to ban instruction that places blame on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex

Request to Speak Actions (3/7- 3/9)

Coming Up at the Arizona Legislature this Week

Monday, March 7th Senate Committee on Government at 2:00 PM HB2237 same day voter registration; prohibition (Hoffman: Barton, Blackman, et al.) prohibits same-day voter registration, even though we don't have it. We should have it. OPPOSE HB2379 election procedures manual; statutory conflict (Bolick) requires the Legislature to provide personnel who are experts in electronic voting system procedures and security to field check and review electronic voting systems and recommend changes. Any provision of the Elections Procedures Manual that conflicts with statute is unenforceable. This is another attempt by the Legislature to grab control of elections from the Secretary of State. OPPOSE House Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety at 2:00 PM SB1718 appropriation; border security fund (Gowan) appropriates $1,140,800 and 14.5 full-time equivalent positions to the border security fund. Do we really need more border militarization? OPPOSE Tuesday, March 8th House Committee on Education at 2:00 PM SB1246 school buses; electrification; contracts (Boyer)  allows a school district to select preapproved carriers or private parties to provide electric school buses and related infrastructure and services. Adds a member to the School Bus Advisory Council who has expertise in electric transportation. SUPPORT  Senate committee on Appropriations at 2:00 PM HB2591 border security fund; administration (Grantham ) is an emergency measure that allows the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to use up to $250,000 from the Border Security Fund each fiscal year to administer the Fund and hire additional staff. OPPOSE  Wednesday, March 9th House Committee on Judiciary at 8:00 AM SB1092 product liability; civil action; limitation (Leach) limits product liability against a product seller that is not also the manufacturer of the product. This will weaken consumer protections. OPPOSE House Committee on Appropriations at 1:30 PM SB1175 noncustodial federal monies; appropriation (Gowan) authorizes the Legislature to appropriate noncustodial federal monies. OPPOSE SB1718  appropriation; border security fund (Gowan) appropriates $1,140,800 and 14.5 full-time equivalent positions to the border security fund. OPPOSE Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Water at 2:00 PM  HB2055 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transportation (Griffin: Bowers) allows private water companies such as EPCOR to import water from the Harquahala Valley and into the active management areas (AMAs) for development. Currently only cities can do that. Sierra Club does not support groundwater depletion sacrifice zones as was established by this carve out in the Groundwater Management Act. OPPOSE HB2126 hazardous waste program fees (Griffin: Burges) repeals the prohibition on the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) increasing permit fees for hazardous waste facilities and fees for generating and disposing of hazardous waste. This is good because these fees are currently artificially low. SUPPORT HB2129 (now: ADEQ; direct potable reuse; rules) (Griffin) authorizes ADEQ to adopt rules for the direct potable reuse of treated effluent and appropriates $1,500,000 for it. SUPPORT HB2406 water quality fee fund (Griffin) broadens the activities financed by the Water Quality Feed Fund and repeals provisions limiting ADEQ to one-time increases in fees for the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program and Aquifer Protection Permit Program and allows ADEQ to set fees for these programs' expenses. While we think these programs should at least in part be financed by general funds, ADEQ should be able to raise fees to cover costs. SUPPORT HB2408 Arizona game and fish; continuation (Griffin) continues Arizona Game and Fish for eight years. While we would like to see this agency be more conservation focused, it is a good idea to keep it around. SUPPORT  HB2411  coal combustion residuals program (Griffin) authorizes ADEQ to seek assumption of the coal ash program from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that can be no more stringent than federal regulations. Using federal regulations as the ceiling rather than floor is inappropriate. Arizona should always seek the maximum protections for our waters and public health. OPPOSE Senate Committee on Commerce at 2:00 PM HB2731 regulatory sandbox; expansion (Kaiser) expands this regulatory sandbox program that allows entities to operate without permits, licenses, or authorizations required by law. Currently, it applies to financial products or services only. This bill opens it up to everything, so we are concerned about the implications for environmental protection and protection of consumers, plus the bill disadvantages those who are operating lawfully and fully complying with permits and licenses. OPPOSE DIRECTIONS FOR REQUEST TO SPEAK ACTIONS Sign on to your Request to Speak account, click the blue Request to Speak button, click on New Request in the nav bar (left column), then simply cut and paste the bill number into Search Phrase (for example: HCR2014). Push blue Add Request button, weigh in FOR or AGAINST, click No on Do you wish to speak? (in person), leave a short Comment, and click on SUBMIT. For another submission, click on the New Request link in the nav bar on the left and follow the directions above. If you had an account with RTS previously, it is still active. If you do not have an account, go ahead and set one up, but someone will have to help you activate it as it requires going to the Capitol. Reach out to Civic Engagement Beyond Voting.