Sinema, Kelly Vote In Favor Of Failed “Federal Power Grab” Election Bill

Sinema, Kelly Vote In Favor Of Failed “Federal Power Grab” Election Bill

On Tuesday, Arizona Senators Kyrsten Sinema, and Mark Kelly voted in favor of a piece of legislation, S.1, which would have grabbed power over elections away from the states. S.1 would have banned requiring photo I.D. to vote, expanded ballot harvesting, and require taxpayers to fund political campaigns.

The duo joined the other Democrats in support of the bill. However, all Republicans voted to filibuster the bill, effectively killing it.

It was Sinema and fellow Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin that preserved the filibuster for just such an occasion.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) also slammed S1 as an “unprecedented partisan power grab.”

“The Democrats’ S. 1 is an unprecedented partisan power grab that seeks to undermine the sanctity of the ballot by codifying a federal takeover of local elections. The Democrat politicians act seeks to eviscerate widely supported voter ID requirements and use taxpayer dollars to bankroll political campaigns,” GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a release. “Americans understand states should run their own elections — not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, DC. As Democrats continue their assault on election integrity, the Republican Party remains committed to making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”

State Transportation Board Approves Five-Year Construction Program

State Transportation Board Approves Five-Year Construction Program

The State Transportation Board approved last week the expansion and improvement of four corridors for passenger and freight traffic under the Arizona Department of Transportation’s five-year construction program.

The 2022-2026 Five-Year Program, which also includes more than $1 billion in pavement preservation projects, will fund several projects to widen highways and improve safety that include:

  • Adding lanes along Interstate 17 between Anthem Way and Sunset Point, with construction on the $328 million project beginning in 2022.
  • Replacing the Gila River bridges on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Casa Grande. Construction for that $83 million project is targeted for 2023.
  • Constructing the first phase of the I-40/US 93 West Kingman interchange. The $70 million project is expected to begin by 2024.
  • Widening US 93 between Tegner Street and Wickenburg Ranch Way. The $41 million project is scheduled for 2022.

Funding of more than $1 billion on pavement preservation projects will bring 581 lane miles of pavement from fair and poor condition to good condition.

The plan was approved in a virtual meeting following a three-month period for the public to provide feedback. Arizonans submitted more than 1,000 comments on projects across the state.

The 2022-2026 Five-Year Program allows ADOT to reach its goal of allocating $320 million per year for rehabilitation of bridges and roadways throughout the state highway system. These projects include repaving and repairing highways, along with repairing or reconstructing bridges.

The State Transportation Board’s approval of the Five-Year Program followed a call for public comment in March and four virtual public hearings. In general, major projects begin as part of the agency’s long-range visioning process, move into a six- to 10-year development program and then become part of the Five-Year Program.

Funding for the Five-Year Program is generated by the users of transportation services, primarily through gasoline and diesel fuel taxes and the vehicle license tax.

The 2022-2026 Five-Year Program can be found at azdot.gov/fiveyearprogram.

Home Inventory Rebounds Amid Record Value And Rent Growth

Home Inventory Rebounds Amid Record Value And Rent Growth

Home value appreciation continues to break records and typical time on market is down to just six days. Meanwhile, rents are rising quickly across the U.S., breaking out after growth was stymied under the pandemic.

Annual home appreciation reached 13.2% in May while monthly growth was 1.7%, both of which are new records within Zillow data reaching back through 1996. Typical home values now stand at $287,148 . Month over month growth accelerated in 47 of the 50 largest U.S. markets and decelerated in just three — roughly matching the local market heat in April.

Austin retained its lead in annual appreciation with a blistering 30.5% increase over 2020, followed by Phoenix (23.5%) and Salt Lake City (20.6%). Even the metros with the lowest annual appreciation — Orlando , New Orleans and Oklahoma City — still put up historically strong numbers above 9%.

Typical rents rose substantially, accelerating from 1.3% monthly growth in April to 2.3% in May — the largest monthly appreciation since 2015. Rents hit $1,747 in May, up 5.4% or $89 over last year. Rent appreciation is especially strong in the Inland West. Of the 100 largest U.S. metros, the top eight for annual rent growth are Boise , Phoenix , Spokane , Las Vegas , Riverside , Stockton , Fresno , and Albuquerque — all with increases higher than 15%.

The list of major cities with lower rents than last year shrank again, as Seattle and Chicago clawed into the green. Only the expensive coastal metros of San Francisco , San Jose , New York , Boston , and Washington D.C. remain in the red.

Zillow economists forecast  home values to increase by 14.9% by May 2022 , an upward revision from the April forecast. Home sales are expected to reach 5.91 million in 2021, a 4.8% increase over 2020.

Mortgage rates listed by third-party lenders on Zillow began May at a monthly high of 2.69%, dropped down to a mere 2.63% on May 7 and 10 — close to all-time lows — and ended at a monthly high of 2.84%. Zillow’s real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers on the Zillow Group Mortgages site by third-party lenders and reflect recent changes in the market.

Ducey Signs $100 Million Bipartisan Wildfire Relief Package

Ducey Signs $100 Million Bipartisan Wildfire Relief Package

Governor Doug Ducey today signed a bipartisan relief package to support firefighters and safety officials as they battle wildfires, ensure Arizona communities have the resources necessary for post-fire disasters such as flooding and reduce the risk from future wildfires.

The $100 million package passed with strong bipartisan support during a legislative special session called by the Governor after a visit to the Telegraph and Mescal Fires last week.

“We are in the midst of another catastrophic wildfire season, and it’s clear that we need to do more to fight these wildfires,” said Governor Ducey. “Many Arizona communities have already felt the impacts of this year’s wildfire season — people and pets have been displaced, homes have burned down, swaths of land have been decimated. I’m grateful that we were able to quickly come together in a bipartisan manner for the safety and protection of our communities. My thanks goes to our first responders working tirelessly to combat these fires, local and state agency leaders for their leadership during this time, and the legislators who worked across the aisle to get this bill passed.”
The wildfire relief package was led by a bipartisan group of legislators representing both rural and urban Arizona, including House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Representative Gail Griffin, Representative David Cook, House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding, Senate President Karen Fann, Senate President Pro Tem Vince Leach, Senator Sine Kerr and Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios.

House Bill 2001 includes:

  • $24.6 million for a partnership between the Department of Forest and Fire Management and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry to reduce wildfire risk to Arizona communities by removing fire-prone vegetation; and
  • $75 million for fire suppression efforts, recovery efforts including post-fire floods, economic assistance for those displaced, and assistance to landowners for emergency repairs to infrastructure damaged by wildfires.

“Thank you, Governor, for allowing us to work together, and thank you, Minority Leader Bolding and Leader Rios, for your help on an issue where we can come together for a common goal,” House Speaker Rusty Bowers said. “People who aren’t Republicans or Democrats – they’re just our friends and people.”

“I look forward to partnering with my colleagues on continuing bipartisan success because wildfires don’t care which party you belong to,” said Senator Sine Kerr, who introduced House Bill 2001’s mirror legislation in the Senate.

Arizona is currently in the midst of fire season, having already experienced 918 wildfires burning over 245,000 acres this year. The Telegraph Fire visited by the Governor last week is currently the sixth-largest wildfire in state history.

“There is no question that there was an enormous need to dedicate as many resources as possible to fight the currently active wildfires as well as to prevent future ones from occurring,” Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios said. “I applaud the governor for calling a special session to address this extraordinary wildfire season. This was clearly a major issue that needed immediate attention, and I’m grateful for Governor Ducey’s action in bringing bipartisan leadership to work together to address this critical need.”

“We must do what we are doing today to react to this emergency, but we must also do everything in our power to mitigate the crisis for future generations – and we must do that together,” House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding said. “Thank you again, Governor Ducey. My colleagues in both the Republican caucus and our caucus stand ready to work together and ready to move forward.”

The Governor was also joined by Department of Forestry and Fire Management Director David Tenney, Department of Emergency and Military Affairs Director and Adjutant General Kerry Muehlenbeck and Gila County Supervisor Steve Christensen.

“I’d like to thank the Governor for calling this special session on behalf of Gila County and rural Arizona,” said Gila County Supervisor Steve Christensen. “The leadership in Gila County says thank you for being an advocate for Arizona. I’d like to extend my thanks to the Legislature and their willingness to work in a bipartisan way.”

On June 9, the Governor issued two Declarations of Emergency in response to the Telegraph and Mescal Fires in Pinal and Gila Counties. The orders made up to $400,000 available for response efforts, and followed a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant on June 6.

In March, the Governor signed Senate Bill 1442 to prevent wildfires by allowing for additional partnerships to employ Arizona inmates to clear forests of debris. The legislation aligns with the Arizona Healthy Forest Initiative proposed in the Governor’s budget which builds on proven methods to protect communities, while engaging individuals in state correctional facilities to equip them with new skills and reduce recidivism.

DeSantis Directs Florida Law Enforcement to Aid Arizona And Texas In Border Crisis

DeSantis Directs Florida Law Enforcement to Aid Arizona And Texas In Border Crisis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the first to heed the calls by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Texas Governor Greg Abbott to send help to deal with the crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. Ducey and Abbott made the request for assistance through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

DeSantis announced that state and local law enforcement officers have committed to deploying to Texas and Arizona to provide additional resources in response to the border crisis including:

  • The Florida Highway Patrol
  • The Florida Department of Law Enforcement
  • The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
  • Brevard County Sheriff’s Office
  • Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
  • Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
  • Holmes County Sheriff’s Office
  • Lee County Sheriff’s Office
  • Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office
  • Pasco County Sheriff’s Office
  • Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office
  • Walton County Sheriff’s Office

“America’s border security crisis impacts every state and every American,” said DeSantis. “The Biden Administration ended policies implemented by President Trump that were curbing illegal immigration, securing our border, and keeping Americans safe. Governors Abbott and Ducey recently sent out a call for help to every state in the nation, needing additional law enforcement manpower and other resources to aid with border security. I’m proud to announce today that the state of Florida is answering the call. Florida has your back.”

“As Attorney General, I am dedicated to ending human trafficking, protecting our children from sexual predators, and fighting the opioid crisis now claiming 21 lives a day in our state, but President Biden is hurting, not helping us achieve these vital public safety goals,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. “The crisis the President created at our southern border makes all of us less safe, and I am proud to stand with Governor DeSantis as he tries to fix the President’s disaster at the border to protect Floridians.”

As a result of the Biden Administration’s open border policies, attempts at drug trafficking and human trafficking have also increased. FBI Director Christopher Wray recently said that there is “no question” that Mexican cartel activity has crossed the border into the U.S. In just January to April of this year, the Texas Department of Public Safety seized nearly 95 pounds of fentanyl in Texas. That equates to 21.5 million lethal doses of this drug. That is a spike compared to 2020, when the same agency seized only 11 pounds over the first four months.

According to multiple former border patrol agents, children are being used by human traffickers who pose as a family to make their way across the border. These human trafficking attempts are now unchecked by the Biden Administration, which has put pressure on officials to release families within 72 hours and canceled policies that required families to wait before crossing the border while their case was being reviewed. As a result of these policies, according to a recent UNICEF report, there are nine times more migrant children in Mexico than there were at the start of 2021.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, last month there were more than 180,000 illegal immigrants caught attempting entry along the Southwest Border. For the five fiscal years ending in 2019, an average of just 15% of individuals encountered by law enforcement had previously attempted to cross the border within that year. Alarmingly, under the Biden Administration this figure has skyrocketed 38% in May 2021.