New Arizona License Plate Will Promote Rodeo While Providing Funds For Rodeo Museum

New Arizona License Plate Will Promote Rodeo While Providing Funds For Rodeo Museum

Fans of the western rodeo will have a new way to express their interest now that Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a bill which creates a license plate supporting the popular sport.

But the governor’s approval of the legislation does more than add another designer license plate to ADOT’s stock. It also provides funding to help support a rodeo museum which highlights Arizona’s rich history in the sport.

And that, according to supporters, will provide Arizonans as well as domestic and international tourists another source of entertainment.

The oldest organized professional rodeo in Arizona pre-dates statehood, with the July 1888 event in Prescott. And every February, southern Arizonans turn their attention to the Tucson Rodeo Parade.

The special rodeo plates can be issued for $25 plus the normal vehicle registration fees. Of that amount, $17 is considered an annual donation to the Rodeo Special Plate Fund administered by ADOT.

But before ADOT can formally begin issuing the special rodeo plates, someone has to pony up $32,000 to ADOT before Dec. 31 of this year to implement the program. And that person is responsible for designing the plate, subject to ADOT rules and approval.

ADOT can annually hold back 10 percent of the Rodeo Plate Fund as an administration fee, but the rest must be allocated each year to an Arizona-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization which awards collegiate scholarships and supports a museum in Arizona that has rodeo artifacts.

The new statute specifically requires that the museum’s artifacts must date back to at least 1953. And the museum must include saddles ridden by “famous rodeo champions” among its artifacts.

A review of museums across Arizona reveals that the Scottsdale Rodeo Museum website boasts “rodeo artifacts going back to at least 1953, including saddles ridden by famous rodeo champions such as Jake Barns.” It is unclear whether the more well-known Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum would meet the specific funding criteria.

The bill cleared the House in February on a 39 to 20 vote, then passed out of the Senate on April 13 on a 27 to 3 vote. Ducey signed the bill sponsored by Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-LD23) last week.

  • Co-sponsors of HB2129 were Representatives Frank Carroll, Tim Dunn, Gail Griffin, Joel John, Steve Kaiser, Joanne Osborne, Justin Wilmeth, and Majority Whip Leo Biasiucci.
  • Public records show the legislation for the special rodeo plate and funding for an Arizona rodeo museum was opposed by the Arizona Sheriffs Association and the Association of Counties.
The City of Phoenix Is Pushing Back on Tax Cuts so It Can Keep Fleecing Taxpayers

The City of Phoenix Is Pushing Back on Tax Cuts so It Can Keep Fleecing Taxpayers

The Arizona state General Fund is flooded with revenue. Latest projections show the state with $1.2 billion in ongoing revenue and a cash balance upwards of $6.5 billion in FY2024. This is by far the largest budget surplus in state history and doesn’t even include the $1 Billion stashed away in the rainy day fund.

When the state is sitting on a pile of cash this big, it means one thing: they are taking too much of your money. And the answer is simple: give it back to taxpayers.

With Republicans at the Legislature and Governor Ducey planning to provide a large and comprehensive tax cut, one special interest group is already lobbying hard behind the scenes to kill that plan: local cities.

The fight of course is over money. 15 percent of income tax revenues are shared with cities. In Phoenix, that accounts for just over $241 million this year, or roughly 4.8 percent of their $5 billion operating budget. Phoenix is arguing that the proposed income tax cut would result in a $65 million reduction in shared revenues; or 1.3 percent of their operating budget.

Of course, this estimated “cut” in revenue is seriously flawed. It fails to take into account that shared revenues from the income tax are based on collections from two years prior. Considering the tax package wouldn’t be fully implemented for another 4-5 years, any potential decrease in shared revenues would not be fully realized for at least 6-7.

Additionally, complaints about static reductions in revenue fail to include any dynamic analysis of economic growth and the corresponding increases in tax revenues, both from income and TPT collections, promulgated by tax cuts.

The passage of Prop 208 made Arizona the 9th highest income tax rate in the nation. It has already begun pushing small businesses to relocate to lower tax states, taking their jobs and income, property, and TPT tax revenues with them. Make no mistake, the loss in revenue for cities such as Phoenix will be much larger if no action is taken to address Arizona’s uncompetitive income tax climate. In fact, a study by the Goldwater Institute found that the Prop 208 price tag to state and local revenues will amount to a $2.4 billion loss.

Knowing that a debate over a potential 1.3% reduction in revenues 7 years from now won’t generate much sympathy to stop the tax package, the city of Phoenix has decided to tell lawmakers that if the legislature cuts your income taxes, cities will be forced to cut police officers on the street. In other words, legislative tax cuts would be responsible for “defunding the police.”

This rhetoric can’t be described as anything other than complete hogwash.

Here is the real bottom line: The City of Phoenix is downright reckless with taxpayer money. The city spends like drunken sailors. They’ve never seen a tax increase they don’t like. And they don’t think twice about fleecing the taxpayer every opportunity they get.

In 2015, Phoenix raised their transportation excise tax in order to waste billions on boondoggles like light rail. They have spent billions on a “Sky Train” hardly anyone uses and then jacked up fees by 200 percent on ride sharers to pay for it.

In 2017, Phoenix’s spending appetite was so colossal they extended the amortization of their pension debt, to free up a few million dollars for one time spending at the cost of billions to taxpayers down the road.

For years Phoenix ran a hotel that never managed to make a profit. In 2017 they finally shed the asset, but not before a staggering $200 Million loss to taxpayers.

All this reckless spending has forced the city to constantly raise taxes and fees. Just last month, Phoenix approved raising their water rates for the 5th time in 6 years on top of rate increases for trash and recycling.

On top of these tax and rate increases, research done by the Arizona Tax Research Association shows the city has also received over $24.6 million year to date in FY2021 (with four additional months of collections to go) from remote sellers. This is new revenue to the city due to the passage of 2019 Wayfair legislation. If these new monies were scored, that 1.3 percent revenue loss would actually be a potential 0.8% reduction realized in 6-7 years, a fraction of the money Phoenix has wasted in just the past couple years.

With tax increase after tax increase and revenue windfalls from the state, the city of Phoenix does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. The legislature providing relief to taxpayers (who will surely be more responsible with their own money than Phoenix will be) will not cause any city to “defund the police.”

Arizona Health Department Recommends Resuming Use Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Arizona Health Department Recommends Resuming Use Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

After two federal agencies recommended a pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) announced on Friday it is advising providers to resume use of the one-dose vaccine.

The ADHS announcement follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory expressing confidence that the vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19.

The two federal agencies had recommended a pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine based on six reported U.S. cases, out of 6.8 million doses administered nationally, of a rare and severe type of blood clot in vaccinated individuals. The ADHS determination said available data suggest the chance of this reaction is very low, though the CDC and FDA said they will remain vigilant in continuing to investigate this risk.

So far in Arizona, 226,300 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been allocated, of which approximately 122,000 have been administered.

Information provided with the vaccine will advise patients about extremely low potential for thrombosis-thrombocytopenia syndrome, which involves blood clots and low blood platelet counts. This very rare syndrome was identified primarily in females between the ages of 18 and 49.

Information about all vaccination sites across Arizona can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine.

Arizona Legislature Approves Ban Of Abortions Due To Genetic Abnormalities

Arizona Legislature Approves Ban Of Abortions Due To Genetic Abnormalities

A controversial pro-life bill passed out of both the House and Senate on Thursday along party lines. SB 1457, which had previously passed out of the full House and Senate along party lines, but failed to pass the final Senate vote now heads to the governor’s desk.

The vote came just days after a federal appeals court upheld a similar law in Ohio, providing more evidence of constitutionality for the prohibition of abortion based on a genetic condition like Down syndrome, according to the Center for Arizona Policy.

Supporters say SB 1457, sponsored by Sen. Nancy Barto, is a “commonsense bill that prohibits abortion based on the diagnosis of a genetic abnormality, except for those with a lethal fetal condition.” Opponents say the bill is an assault on women’s reproductive rights and “ignores the complexities of high-risk pregnancies.”

The bill also repeals a pre-Roe law that punishes women who have abortions, and it establishes Arizona laws will be interpreted in the context of valuing all human life. It also prohibits public institutions from performing abortions or experimenting with aborted human remains.

Governor, Legislators Visit Yuma To Call On Biden Administration To Address “Humanitarian And Security Crisis”

Governor, Legislators Visit Yuma To Call On Biden Administration To Address “Humanitarian And Security Crisis”

On Wednesday, Governor Doug Ducey and a delegation of state lawmakers travelled to Yuma to call on the Biden administration to address the escalating humanitarian and security crisis on the U.S. / Mexico border. The officials received a briefing from U.S. Border Patrol, local law enforcement and community leaders.

The Governor was joined by Senate President Karen Fann, House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Adjutant General Kerry Muehlenbeck, Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls, Yuma County Supervisor Jonathon Lines, San Luis Mayor Jerry Sanchez, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, local agriculture leaders and other leaders and members of the legislature.

The officials received a briefing on Border Patrol operations from Chris T. Clem, Chief of the Border Patrol Yuma Sector. The Yuma Sector encompasses 126 miles of international border with Mexico, with three checkpoints currently manned by over 700 Border Patrol agents.

The tour follows the Governor’s Declaration of Emergency and decision to deploy the Arizona National Guard to the border to support law enforcement efforts.

Ducey declared a state of emergency in six counties including Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma, Maricopa and Pinal. The team of up to 250 Guardsmen, along with state troopers and other law enforcement agencies, will assist with medical operations in detention centers, install and maintain border cameras, monitor and collect data from public safety cameras, and analyze satellite imagery for current trends in smuggling corridors.

The state will provide up to $25 million in initial funding for the mission.