Governor Doug Ducey signed legislation to protect the Second Amendment rights of Arizonans by safeguarding against frivolous lawsuits that have no connection to unlawful use of firearms. The new state law mirrors federal law that was passed on a bipartisan basis.
“With efforts currently underway in Washington to erode Second Amendment rights, Arizona is taking action to protect those rights,” said Governor Ducey. “In Arizona, we’re safeguarding manufacturers, sellers and trade associations. Bad actors need to be held accountable, and we will work to make sure they are. But we’re not going to allow lawsuit after lawsuit to slowly tear down the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens in our state. Senate Bill 1382 achieves this goal, and I’m grateful to Representative Quang Nguyen and Senator Wendy Rogers for leading on this important legislation.”
Senate Bill 1382 prohibits the state and all entities of the state from suing a member of the firearms industry for lawful design, marketing, distribution, and sale of firearms and ammunition to the public. The legislation also prohibits a civil action from being brought against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm or ammunition or related trade association for damages resulting from the criminal misuse of the firearm or ammunition, with exceptions.
Additionally, it protects manufacturers or sellers of firearms and ammunition from civil action for damages resulting from the criminal misuse of the firearm or ammunition, except in specified circumstances.
“Arizona is—and will remain—a strong Second Amendment state,” said Judi White of Tucson, a champion of gun rights who has long been active in the NRA. “We can’t let flippant lawsuits hinder operations of firearm or ammunition manufacturers, sellers and trade associations that are following the law. Senate Bill 1382 makes sure of that. Thank you, Governor Ducey, for signing legislation that protects citizens’ Constitutional rights.”
In 2005, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) which provides federal protection for law-abiding firearms and ammunition industry members against frivolous lawsuits. PLCAA has been challenged in recent years, including in April 2021 when President Biden stated removing PLCAA as a top priority of his administration. Senate Bill 1382 codifies the federal provisions under state law.
With more businesses reopening and bringing employees back to work, the U.S. economy is on firm footing and could see its fastest growth in more than three decades, National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said today.
“While there is a great deal of uncertainty about how fast and far this economy will grow in 2021, surveys show an increase in individuals being vaccinated, more willingness to receive a vaccination, increased spending intentions and comfort with resuming pre-pandemic behaviors like shopping, travel and family gatherings,” Kleinhenz said. “This feel-better situation will likely translate into higher levels of household spending, especially around upcoming holidays like the Fourth of July and spending associated with back-to-work and back-to-school.”
“The consumer is nearly always the key driver in the economy, and with the consumer in good financial health, a sharp demand is expected to unfold over the coming months,” Kleinhenz said.
Kleinhenz’s remarks came in the May issue of NRF’s Monthly Economic Review, which
said NRF expects the economy to grow 6.6 percent this year, the highest level since 7.2 percent in 1984.
The report said the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book “affirms what the economic data has been signaling: U.S. growth is beginning to accelerate.” The Fed assessment and other data show unemployment benefits, government stimulus checks and tax refunds have provided a substantial increase in personal income and purchasing power. Consumers are “sitting on a stockpile of cash” that could become “a spring-loaded spending mechanism,” Kleinhenz said.
Among other favorable indicators, the $2.4 trillion saved by households during February alone was approximately twice the average monthly savings during pre-pandemic 2019 and comes on top of savings accumulated over the past year as consumers stayed home rather than dining out, traveling or attending sports and entertainment events.
In addition, use of consumer credit is up, with outstanding credit surging in February to its highest level since late 2017. The increase in borrowing “highlights a consumer who is growing more confident as the economy accelerates, job growth picks up and more states lift burdensome restrictions,” Kleinhenz said.
Kleinhenz cautioned that 2020’s “outsize swings” in economic data caused by the pandemic, hurricanes, wildfires and other events will make year-over-year comparisons difficult during 2021. Federal agencies have “tried their best with the information available” to make seasonal adjustments account for the swings, he said.
NRF’s calculation of retail sales – which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail – is based on data from the Census Bureau, which released its annual revision of retail sales going back to 2013 last week. NRF has revised its numbers accordingly, and now shows 2020 retail sales of $4.02 trillion rather than the $4.06 trillion originally reported. But 2020 grew 6.9 percent over 2019 rather than 6.7 percent because 2019 was revised down to $3.76 trillion from $3.81 trillion.
The annual update is done to replace previously reported data with more accurate data and to benchmark numbers to the Census Bureau’s Annual Retail Trade Survey. Retail firms are required by law to complete the annual survey, while the monthly survey is voluntary and sometimes reflects estimates and incomplete or unaudited records rather than final numbers.
Even with the revisions, 2020 sales broke the previous record of 6.3 percent set in 2004 despite the pandemic. NRF has forecast that 2021 retail sales – excluding autos, gas and restaurants – will grow between 6.5 percent and 8.2 percent over 2020 to between $4.33 trillion and $4.4 trillion.
Maricopa County Treasurer John Allen has accused his predecessor of making a $15.8 million error in the investment portfolio that generates interest earnings for Maricopa County, school districts, and other taxing districts.
Allen, in a press release, claimed that the error led the Treasurer’s Office to over-distribute money to these districts during the past three years.
Allen argued that in keeping with A.R.S. § 11-504, his office “must correct the error immediately,” and the “planned 3rd quarter distribution of $18.7 million will be reduced to $2.9 million.”
However, according to his predecessor Royce Flora, Allen is wrong.
In fact, insiders say it is Allen, who “simply does not even understand the job.”
According to former staff, “the money is from an over payment of taxes by Western Pipeline. The Department of Revenue lost the lawsuit and its appeal. As a result, that meant the schools received too much money and it needed to be reversed. The Treasurer’s Office is unique in that it earned closed to $100 million a year in interest. Flora decided to take the money out of the next year’s distribution rather than pull it retroactively from the schools. The end result is the same. The Pipeline got its money back and the schools were not harmed. It just too complex for Allen to understand.”
Allen claims that Flora overstated “income earned from interest reflected a narrative that served their political purposes.” Contrary to Allen’s claims, say former staff, “politics were the last thing on Flora’s mind.”
The Maricopa County Treasurer’s Office receives an annual property tax levy of approximately $5 billion from the country’s fourth most populous county. The office invests in a conservative portfolio that earns millions of dollars in interest that is then distributed to schools and other entities that participate in the investment pool.
On Thursday, the Governor’s Office announced that Arizona will add more than half a million jobs over the next eight years, according to projections from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
According to the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), Arizona will add nearly 550,000 jobs by 2029 for an annualized job growth rate of 1.6%, four times the U.S. growth rate. The OEO projections come as Arizona is experiencing an explosion of advanced manufacturing in industries like semiconductors and electric vehicles.
In March, Governor Doug Ducey announced personal income in Arizona rose last year at a rate faster than nearly any state in the country, according to estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. With a personal income growth rate of 8.4%, Arizona tied with Montana for the fastest rate of growth in personal income in 2020.
Last year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced the addition of 1,600 jobs and construction of a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Phoenix. In March, Intel announced adding 3,000 jobs along with two new semiconductor fabs in Chandler. Intel’s $20 billion investment represents the largest private sector investment in state history.
When it comes to electric vehicles, companies like Lucid, Nikola, ElectraMeccanica, which all have set up manufacturing facilities in the state, are projected to add thousands of jobs in coming years. These announcements mean more jobs for suppliers and support industries as well.
“Arizona has become a jobs magnet,” said Ducey in a press release. “Not only are jobs booming, wages are rising faster at one of the fastest rates in the country. Our recovery is moving forward and there is more opportunity before us than ever before.”
On Wednesday, Governor Doug Ducey signed landmark bipartisan civil asset forfeiture reform legislation intended to ensure innocent Arizonans do not have their property permanently forfeited without a criminal conviction.
House Bill 2810, sponsored by Rep. Travis Grantham, was approved by decisive majorities in the Arizona House and Senate. It becomes law 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.
Currently there is no requirement that the government prove that seized property is connected to a crime, which has resulted in property being taken from innocent people. This legislation protects Arizonans’ rights while maintaining law enforcement’s ability to hold criminals accountable.
The legislation requires that property can only be seized if it is evidence of a crime, has been abandoned, is subject to forfeiture, or it is illegal for a person to possess it. It also includes provisions that ensure that an innocent person has a process to get it returned.
