Legislative Calls to Action for Week of 2/18/2023

Most of the bills have already gone through committee at the State Legislature. There are a few bills that effect the environment that will be heard in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. If you haven't already weighed in on those bills, please do so now. They are even closer to going for a vote on the floor.  SB1546 would set up a $100,000 grant program for district and charter school community gardens! See the RTS actions below.

Some bad bills have made it through committee, so you may want to contact your legislator to vote no on those bills in the near future. Currently the Sierra Club is recommending that you use their form to connect to your legislators on HB2471 and SB1500.

 https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/Arizona?actionId=AR0381703

The Arizona Legislature has discovered yet another way to be anti-environmental and it has its sights set on “ESG” or environmental, social, and governance investing. This is a backlash against a growing trend for financial institutions that make common-sense, business-driven decisions to respond to the systemic risks of climate change, which frequently means dollars flowing away from risky fossil fuel investments and into our clean energy economy.

HB2471 and SB1500 (government investments; plans; fiduciaries; products) are twin bills in the Arizona House and Arizona Senate. They require a fiduciary to take into account only pecuniary factors when evaluating an investment, so they cannot consider environmental, social, or governance factors. The bills also prescribe requirements and prohibitions relating to the State Treasurer's investments, again prohibiting consideration of anything social or environmental.

This is both unwise from a financial perspective, but also will result in our state helping to continue the harm that is contributing to poor air quality and climate change.

According to Civic Engagement Beyond Voting, SB1500 would require state retirement funds to evaluate their investments solely based on finances. Similar to other bills this session that crusade against “pro-abortion, pro-sex-ed” banks. This culture war against an imaginary problem could create real consequences for those who depend on Arizona’s retirement system. An ill-considered blanket mandate such as this could leave half a million teachers, municipal workers and other government employees with retirement accounts that are unable to invest in most major companies, and may create a minefield for investors and pension fund managers.

NOTE: Our Representative mentioned that she doesn't respond to petitions.

Consider contacting your legislators directly to tell them to vote NO on HB2471 (for the Reps) or SB1500 (if they are Senators.)

How to find out who your new legislators are:

1) Look up your district by putting in your address here:
https://irc-az.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=424810a4667049388ef6df4f0c73098b

2) Use that district to find your Representatives and contact info here:
https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/

3) Find your state Senator and contact info here:

https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/?body=S

Also, please, sign onto Request to Speak and weigh in on the following bills before they are heard in committee Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Sign in here: https://apps.azleg.gov/account/signon

Directions on how to navigate the RTS system here: 

http://desktopactivisttucson.blogspot.com/2018/03/request-to-speak-time.html

Monday, February 20th

House Committee on Appropriations at 9:30 AM 
Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here.

• HB2633 Maricopa county transportation excise tax (Livingston) includes numerous changes relative to county regional planning for transportation and calls for a new tax to go to the ballot in Maricopa County where 45 percent would go to freeways and highways, 35 percent to arterials, and a measly 20 percent for transit and it prohibits using any of the dollars for light rail extension. OPPOSE
• HB2644 appropriation; wolf depredation investigator (Cook: Smith) appropriates an unspecified amount to have a "peace officer" investigate the killing of livestock by wolves. Why would you have someone who knows nothing about wolves or livestock investigate this? OPPOSE
• HB2806 state parks heritage fund; appropriation (Carbone: Biasiucci, Blattman, et al.) makes a one time appropriation of $10 million to the State Parks Heritage Fund. While we support this, we would rather see SB1224 adopted as it includes ongoing funding for the Heritage Fund from the lottery. SUPPORT

Wednesday, February 22nd

House Committee on Appropriations at 2:00 PM 

• Same bills that are on Monday's agenda. (If you already weighed in on the bill, you don't have to do it again.) 

Thursday, February 23rd

Senate Committee on Appropriations at 8:30 AM.

• SB1392 appropriation; state park; Verde River (Kerr) appropriates an undesignated amount for a state park at the headwaters of the Verde River. It is good to see legislators supporting parks again. SUPPORT
• SB1546, sponsored by Lela Alston (D-5), would set up a $100,000 grant program for district and charter school community gardens. School gardens offer many benefits, including making healthy food more appealing to kids, helping fight hunger, and aiding emotional regulation. SUPPORT.