Update on bills that weaken our Democracy at AZ Legislator: Call Governor to veto SB 1451

Monday night - well actually very early Tuesday morning, the first session of the 54^th Legislature (FINALLY!) adjourned sine die. This session saw some egregious attacks on democracy, but also glimpses of progress and hope for expanding access to the ballot and fighting corruption. In the coming days, we'll be putting together a full analysis of democracy issues this session. For now, here are some quick updates on bills that were alive until the bitter end.

SB1451 - (Sen. Leach)

On top of the myriad rules that already exist, SB 1451 places technical requirements on paid petition circulators for initiatives. This thinly veiled attempt to make it easier to toss disqualify otherwise valid signatures passed both chambers in the waning days of session and now sits on Gov. Ducey's desk. 

Contact Gov. Ducey: 

Email. engage@az.gov.
Phone. Phoenix: 602.542.4331. Tucson: 520.628.6580.
Address. 1700 West Washington Street. Phoenix, Arizona 85007

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

HCR2005/SCR1023 - (Rep. Kavanagh + Sen. Kerr)

These bills would have referred to the 2020 ballot a question requiring statewide initiatives to hit the statewide 10% threshold in each of the 30 legislative districts - making it nearly impossible for anyone with limited resources to qualify an idea for the ballot. Thankfully, both bills failed to receive a vote in their respective chambers.

 HB2616 - (Rep. Townsend)

Would have imposed unlimited civil fines of $25 per form per day and criminal penalties (up to a four-month jail sentence) on anyone who turned in a voter registration form after an arbitrary deadline. The bill failed to pass the House floor. Simply stated, we don’t think honest actors should face a potential criminal penalty for registering people to vote.

SB1188 - (Sen. Ugenti Rita)

Would purge Arizona voters off of their county's Permanent Early Voter List (PEVL) if they do not vote by mail for two consecutive election cycles. This would have taken the “permanent” out of permanent early voting, and thankfully did not receive a vote on the House floor.

If there's one thing we can say with certainty after this legislative session, it's that the job of protecting democracy is never over. 

- Arizona Advocacy Network 

Tell legislators: Protect Citizen's Initiatives and Voting Advocates

Tomorrow both chambers are really amping up their wars on democracy. 

The Arizona Legislature is about to vote on a series of extreme measures that would make grassroots ballot initiatives almost impossible.   It's all expected to happen at 10 am tomorrow. 

These bills, SB1451 and SCR1023/HCR2005, would hugely increase the cost & difficulty of the initiative process, and would essentially give the residents of any legislative district in Arizona the ability to veto an initiative before it even got to the ballot.

Minimum wage initiatives? Gone. Pro-education initiatives? Gone. Anti-corruption initiatives? Gone.

Politicians may not always agree with voters. But that doesn't mean they should attack our constitutional right to participate in direct democracy and make our voices heard.

Protect your rights! Make a quick call to your state legislators now and tell them to vote NO on any bills that interfere with the ballot initiative process. 

SCR1023 and HCR2005, the bills requiring initiatives to get a certain number of signatures from EVERY legislative district, will be debated on the Senate & House floor tomorrow. These bills would be referred to the ballot for voter’s approval in 2020 – and would be the ballot measure to end all ballot measures. The requirements laid out in both bills represent the MOST EXTREME HURDLE of its kind anywhere in the country. By doing so, this would make it easier to get something on the ballot in Scottsdale than in Maryvale – rather than treating voters equally.

SB1451, stricter requirements for initiatives, is ALSO going to be debated on the House floor.

And as if that wasn’t enough – so is HB2616, the bill that would criminalize voter registration volunteers.

IF YOU CAN DRIVE CALLS TO YOUR LEGISLATORS, PLEASE DO and ask them to VOTE NO on ALL of the above bills. Find your legislator and a convenient call script HERE.

Script: 

My name is [your name] and I am a voter in your district. I am calling to ask you to vote NO on SB1451 and SCR1023/HCR2005, which would make grassroots ballot initiatives almost impossible.

- Arizona Advocacy Network and Foundation
http://www.azadvocacy.org/

AZ State Legislature UPDATE: Good News and Bad News

It was an incredibly busy week at the Capitol. This was the last week for bills to get through committees in their chamber of origin, which meant some packed committee agendas. 

BAD NEWS

 The House Elections Committee saw a lot of action this week. Three bad bills, HB2489, HB2616, and HCR2005, squeezed through the committee on a party-line vote.

HB2616 is particularly egregious, as it would criminalize paying staff to register voters. While the sponsor indicated in committee that this would not be the bill’s final form, there was no amendment offered in committee. We will monitor this bill very closely in the coming weeks.

GOOD NEWS

Things weren’t all bad in the House Elections Committee, however. A "strike-everything" amendment to HB 2327 would allow early voting to continue right up until Election Day, a reform that would help provide access to voters at a convenient time close to the election. And HB 2076, the rare pro-Clean Elections bill to get a hearing, would somewhat strengthen candidates' ability to use our voter-approved Clean Elections system. 

Keep an eye out for when these bills are being heard.  

The action certainly isn't over. Next week, the House and Senate will focus on voting dozens of bills out and sending them across the courtyard to the other chamber. AANF is preparing for long floor sessions as bills are passed through the COW and Third Reading processes.

You can still contact your legislators to let them know how you feel about these bills. 

> See right column for contact information >

Update provided by Arizona Advocacy Network and Foundation
http://www.azadvocacy.org/