Legislative bills that would impact our daily lives

Memorial to U of A professor Thomas Meixner.

Here are some bills at the Arizona Legislature that will negatively or positively impact our daily lives here in Tucson. There are bills that prohibit college campuses from banning concealed weapons (even after the recent shooting of a U of A professor!) and further criminalize the homeless. But there are also some good bills that support school gardens and provide low interest loans for down payments for first time, limited income home buyers. You can find some more good bills here. 

If you are registered on the Request to Speak system, please, weigh in while they are still in committee.   

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

These bills are dangerously close to going for a vote on the floor, so you might want to contact the committee members directly. I'll put the contact info belove bill descriptions. 


Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday and Wednesday

HB2329, sponsored by Marcelino Quiñonez (D-11), would appropriate $12 million from the general fund to create the First Generation Home Buyers Down Payment Assistance Grant Fund. The fund would provide five-year loans for first-time disadvantaged homebuyers to use for down payments. The goal is to help people buy what may be the first home for anyone in their extended family. SUPPORT.

Scheduled for Senate Rules Committee, Monday

SB1300, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would prohibit universities and community colleges from banning anyone with a concealed weapons permit — not just students — from possessing, storing, transporting guns on campus. College campuses and guns are a deadly combination, increasing the risks of suicide, homicide and sexual assault. Even our founding fathers believed guns had no place on college campuses. Getting a concealed-weapons permit in Arizona is ridiculously easy. The same bill was also introduced last year. Duplicate bill HB2667, sponsored by Rachel Jones (R-17), is also in committee this week. OPPOSE.

SB1413, sponsored by Justine Wadsack (R-17), would require cities and counties to immediately remove any "homeless encampment" and throw away all materials found there. Homeless people on private property would be charged with trespassing. The bill does not include solutions for housing or shelter. The definition of “homeless encampment” is so broadly written as to criminalize recreational camping. In addition to being blatantly cruel, this bill criminalizes homelessness and has constitutionality issues. The bill was written by the libertarian lobbyist group Goldwater Institute. . OPPOSE.

Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Thursday

SCR1011, sponsored by Steve Kaiser (R-2), would ask voters to allow the Housing Trust Fund to be used to fund state-funded “tent cities” for individuals experiencing homelessness, which would have to be prioritized before any permanent housing solution. Any city with higher homeless rates than the state average would face penalties, encouraging them to simply evict people. It would also ban “unauthorized sleeping” on state land, even as rising rents push more people toward that option. Arizona has one of the worst homelessness crises in the nation. This would segregate and criminalize people without addressing the root causes: “a vicious mix of inflation, stagnant wages, limited housing, and skyrocketing rent.” Why not invest in another, better option?  OPPOSE.

Support the good bills, like...

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.

Contact info. if you want to contact committee members: 

House Appropriations

David Livingston (R-28) - Chair - dlivingston@azleg.gov / 602-926-4178
Joseph Chaplik (R-3) - Vice Chair - jchaplik@azleg.gov / 602-926-3436
Selina Bliss (R-1) sbliss@azleg.gov / 602-926-4018
Michael Carbone (R-25) mcarbone@azleg.gov / 602-926-4038
Lupe Diaz (R-19) ldiaz@azleg.gov / 602-926-4852
Tim Dunn (R-25) tdunn@azleg.gov / 602-926-4139
Matt Gress (R-4) mgress@azleg.gov / 602-926-4015
Quang Nguyen (R-1) qnguyen@azleg.gov / 602-926-3258
Barbara Parker (R-10) bparker@azleg.gov / 602-926-3681
Lorena Austin (D-9) laustin@azleg.gov / 602-926-3968
Marcelino Quiñonez (D-11) mquinonez@azleg.gov / 602-926-3285
Athena Salman (D-8) asalman@azleg.gov / 602-926-4858
Judy Schwiebert (D-2) jschwiebert@azleg.gov / 602-926-3390
Amish Shah (D-5) ashah@azleg.gov / 602-926-3280
Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D-21) sstahlhamilton@azleg.gov / 602-926-3279

Senate Appropriations

John Kavanagh (R-3) - Chair - jkavanagh@azleg.gov / 602-926-5170
Jake Hoffman (R-15) - Vice Chair- jake.hoffman@azleg.gov / 602-926-3292
Ken Bennett (R-1) kbennett@azleg.gov / 602-926-5874
David Farnsworth (R-10) dfarnsworth@azleg.gov / 602-926-3387
Anthony Kern (R-27) akern@azleg.gov / 602-926-3497
Sine Kerr (R-25) skerr@azleg.gov / 602-926-5955
Lela Alston (D-5) lalston@azleg.gov / 602-926-5829
Eva Diaz (D-22) ediaz@azleg.gov / 602-926-3473
Brian Fernandez (D-23) bfernandez@azleg.gov / 602-926-3098
Raquel Terán (D-26) rteran@azleg.gov / 602-926-3308

Support some Good Bills @ the AZ Legislature

After weeks of nonsense, this week’s Appropriations committees have a few good bills, including: HB2329, which sets up five-year loans to help disadvantaged first-time homebuyers afford a down payment, HB2338 would expand Arizona’s Medicaid system to include preventive dental care, SB1546, would set up a $100,000 grant program for district and charter school community gardens, and SB1544, which would help keep families together by raising the monthly stipend for kinship foster care parents (those related to the child).

Wanna support good bills at the state legislature? Contact the members of House Appropriations on HB2329 and HB2338, and the members of Senate Appropriations on SB1546 and SB1544. (See contact info below.) 

If you are signed onto Request to Speak, you can also weigh in on that system before these bills are heard in committee. HB2329 and HB2338 will be heard on Monday. SB1544 and SB1546 is scheduled for Thursday. 

Sign onto RTS: https://apps.azleg.gov/account/signon

Monday:

 HB2329, sponsored by Marcelino Quiñonez (D-11), would appropriate $12 million from the general fund to create the First Generation Home Buyers Down Payment Assistance Grant Fund. The fund would provide five-year loans for first-time disadvantaged homebuyers to use for down payments. The goal is to help people buy what may be the first home for anyone in their extended family. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday and Wednesday. SUPPORT.

HB2338, sponsored by Amish Shah (D-5), would expand Arizona’s Medicaid system to include preventive dental care. This would help maintain overall health and wellness, and save money by helping people avoid serious dental problems. Research shows that gum disease (which is preventable with routine care) may play a role in the development of a number of other conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and respiratory disease. Currently, adults on AHCCCS get only emergency dental care; exams, X-rays, cleanings and other preventive dentistry is not covered. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday and Wednesday. SUPPORT.

Thursday:

SB1544, sponsored by Lela Alston (D-5), would raise the monthly stipend for kinship foster care parents (those related to the child) to the same $600 per month that every other foster parent gets. Kinship foster parents are often grandparents raising grandkids; the bill sponsor, who has been working for parity for these families since 2019, says some families must send the children back to the state because they cannot afford to take care of them. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Thursday. 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. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Thursday. SUPPORT.

Contact info. if you want to contact committee members: 

House Appropriations

David Livingston (R-28) - Chair - dlivingston@azleg.gov / 602-926-4178
Joseph Chaplik (R-3) - Vice Chair - jchaplik@azleg.gov / 602-926-3436
Selina Bliss (R-1) sbliss@azleg.gov / 602-926-4018
Michael Carbone (R-25) mcarbone@azleg.gov / 602-926-4038
Lupe Diaz (R-19) ldiaz@azleg.gov / 602-926-4852
Tim Dunn (R-25) tdunn@azleg.gov / 602-926-4139
Matt Gress (R-4) mgress@azleg.gov / 602-926-4015
Quang Nguyen (R-1) qnguyen@azleg.gov / 602-926-3258
Barbara Parker (R-10) bparker@azleg.gov / 602-926-3681
Lorena Austin (D-9) laustin@azleg.gov / 602-926-3968
Marcelino Quiñonez (D-11) mquinonez@azleg.gov / 602-926-3285
Athena Salman (D-8) asalman@azleg.gov / 602-926-4858
Judy Schwiebert (D-2) jschwiebert@azleg.gov / 602-926-3390
Amish Shah (D-5) ashah@azleg.gov / 602-926-3280
Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D-21) sstahlhamilton@azleg.gov / 602-926-3279

Senate Appropriations

John Kavanagh (R-3) - Chair - jkavanagh@azleg.gov / 602-926-5170
Jake Hoffman (R-15) - Vice Chair- jake.hoffman@azleg.gov / 602-926-3292
Ken Bennett (R-1) kbennett@azleg.gov / 602-926-5874
David Farnsworth (R-10) dfarnsworth@azleg.gov / 602-926-3387
Anthony Kern (R-27) akern@azleg.gov / 602-926-3497
Sine Kerr (R-25) skerr@azleg.gov / 602-926-5955
Lela Alston (D-5) lalston@azleg.gov / 602-926-5829
Eva Diaz (D-22) ediaz@azleg.gov / 602-926-3473
Brian Fernandez (D-23) bfernandez@azleg.gov / 602-926-3098
Raquel Terán (D-26) rteran@azleg.gov / 602-926-3308