Bad bills that won't die at the AZ legislature

Governor Doug Ducey continues to drag Arizona into a gutter relative to democracy and human rights. This week he signed a bill to hinder voting that could result in a purge of thousands of voters, signed two bills to cause harm to trans youth, and signed a bill to implement a 15-week abortion ban, infringing on a basic right to privacy. There is already a legal challenge to the voting bill, HB2492 voter registration; verification; citizenship. Thank you Mi Familia Vota!

Unfortunately, that is not the end of the bad voter bills. Remember they already referred a bad voter ID bill to the ballot and there are still bills to ban voting centers, prohibit automatic voter registration, and more.

Here are some bad bills that could still make it to the floor for a vote. Below are the Sierra Club's petitions on these bills. Please, sign them if you haven't. Also, find the link to the senators' contact numbers.   

In other news, HB2101 electric energy; reliability; public policy (Griffin: Abraham, Blackman, et al.) will be hanging over the session like a dark cloud as they are allowed to reconsider it at any time. HB2101 repeals provisions in the law that create parameters for retail competition of electricity. This bill could negatively affect community choice aggregation of electricity which allows cities to purchase or generate electricity for their residents, as well as 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. Call your senator and tell them to vote No on HB2101!

You can find senators phone numbers here.

HB2055 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transportation (Griffin: Bowers) is now ready for Senate Committee of the Whole. HB2055 allows private water companies such as EPCOR to import water from the Harquahala Valley and into the active management areas (AMAs) for development. 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.

Use this petition to contact your Senator. Ask them to Vote NO on HB2055!

HB2411 coal combustion residuals program (Griffin) will be voted on in a Third Read in the Senate early next 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.

Use this petition to contact your Senator to oppose HB2411!

This week, the US Fish and Wildlife Service came out with the official count for Mexican gray wolves. The good news is the number of wolves is up. The bad news is that those numbers are not up nearly as high as they should be due to, among other things, unlawful killings. The last thing Mexican wolves need is a bill that encourages killing them. 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 (unnecessary as anyone can kill an animal if they feel threatened), livestock, or other domestic animal. These latter provisions will invite baiting of wolves and sends a message that it is okay to kill these highly endangered animals.

Use this petition to tell your Senator to vote No on HB2181!

Until the legislature gets to the budget or takes action in a special session, there will not be any Request to Speak actions, but please use this time to sign up for it, if you have not. Civic Engagement Beyond Voting (CEBV) will sign you up. Just go to this link.

To view bills we are tracking go here.

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

- Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter

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.

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

Bills going for a vote on the floor this week: Contact your Reps

Arizona State Legislators advanced a number of bills to hinder voting and ballot measures, and even are seeking to make it more difficult to register people to vote. This hinders our ability to vote in legislators who represent our values on the environmental or social justice issues.

If you have a few minutes, please, call your state legislators (Reps and Senators). If you have a few more minutes, please, email them. For a fast way to reach out, see the Sierra Club's petition below.

You can find your representatives' phone numbers here: (https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/?body=H)

You can find your Senators phone numbers here: https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/?body=S

If you don't know what district you are in you can find out here:

https://azredistricting.org/districtlocator/

Petition to help stop attacks on ballot measures: Send a message to your Senator here. Send a message to your Representatives here.

As Bills Move to the Floor, Call and Email your Legislators!

In the bad news/good news category, two bills to advance electric vehicles, SB1152 and SB1154 failed in the Senate 14-14. The good news is they will be reconsidered and should pass as there were a couple of people who would vote yes missing. SB1152 zero emission vehicles; plans (Steele) requires coordination by the Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Administration, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, to develop a zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) Plan that will increase the number of ZEV vehicles. SB1154 transportation electrification study committee (Steele) establishes a study committee to review laws and consider ways to promote EVs and to collaborate with local governments, electric utilities, environmental groups, the transportation industry and interested communities to identify the best ways to encourage an economy-wide transition from carbon-fueled vehicles to EVs. Please, ask your senator to support both bills.

Ask your House members to oppose HB2055 Harquahala non-expansion area; groundwater transportation (Griffin: Bowers). It allows private water companies to import water from the Harquahala Valley and into active management areas (AMAs) for development. Creating groundwater sacrifice zones and further privatizing water is a bad idea. There is still a chance to stop this bill. Use the link below to send a message to your representatives.

SIERRA CLUB PETITION: Take Action on HB2055!

HB2101 electric energy; reliability; public policy (Griffin: Abraham, Blackman, et al.) failed on the House floor, but will be reconsidered. Its twin, SB1631, passed out of the Senate Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee 5-4, along party lines. These bills repeal provisions in the law that create parameters for retail competition of electricity. We are still opposed as we have concerns about how it will affect community choice aggregation of electricity overall and rooftop solar in SRP territory. Let your legislators know you have concerns about these bills too.

Please call and ask your representatives to oppose HB2536 corporation commissioners; qualifications (Griffin). It requires corporation commissioners to be at least 30 years old and have five years 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. It was retained on the Committee of the Whole calendar this week, so will likely be back on the calendar early next week.

HB2492 voter registration; verification; citizenship (Hoffman: Blackman, Carter, et al.) erects barriers to voter registration and confusing requirements for county recorders to follow. It could go to the floor in the House next week. Please, ask your representatives to vote NO!