PHOENIX — How do you get the Justice Action Network, Americans For Prosperity Arizona, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona to agree on something? Well, one legislator did just that with the introduction of Senate Bill 1551.
On Friday, Governor Doug Ducey signed the legislation into law in order to ensure Arizonans won’t have their drivers license suspended if they can’t afford to pay for traffic fines or fees.
“Taking away an Arizonan’s drivers license when they can’t pay for a traffic ticket just doesn’t make sense,” said Ducey. “People need to drive to places like medical appointments, school and work to earn a living. There’s no sense in getting in the way of that when they can’t afford the fine, especially when there are other steps the courts can take to collect fees. My thanks goes to Senator Paul Boyer for leading on legislation that will protect working families and Arizonans in need.”
After Senate Bill 1551 passed the Arizona House and Senate with unanimous support, Reason published an article stating this is “a move that advocates say will affect roughly 30,000 people in the state.”
Approximately 31,000 driver licenses are currently suspended for failure to pay alone.
The legislation ends the practice of suspending or restricting a person’s drivers license for failure to pay a civil penalty, surcharge, or assessment alone. The bill also reinstates the driving privileges of Arizona drivers whose licenses had been suspended or restricted for failure to pay civil traffic violations alone.
In addition, the legislation gives judges the discretion to waive or mitigate mandatory fines if the penalty would be an undue hardship on the person responsible for the violation. However, judges may not mitigate fines related to driving under the influence. Drivers will continue to be responsible for paying any traffic fines and fees imposed by the courts, and courts may continue to pursue payment through collections programs that do not involve suspending drivers licenses.
This week, Governor Doug Ducey signed a gun rights law, sponsored by Rep. Leo Biasiucci, that designates Arizona as a 2nd Amendment sanctuary state. Biasiucci says he modeled the law on a California sanctuary state law crafted by Governor Jerry Brown’s administration in 2017.
Biasiucci’s bill, HB211, preemptively protects gun owners in the state from any federal gun control laws that are passed by the U.S. Congress.
HB2111
“The state of Arizona and its political subdivisions are prohibited from utilizing any financial resources or state personnel to administer, cooperate with or enforce any law, act, order, rule, treaty or regulation of the federal government that is inconsistent with any law of this state regarding the regulation of firearms.”
Biasiucci believes the bill will hold up in “any court challenge like Brown’s sanctuary city bill has.”
The 2nd Amendment Freedom Act was signed a mere 48 hours before President Biden announced several executive actions, including asking the Justice Department to propose a rule to stop “ghost guns,” which are “kits” people can buy legally, then assemble to create a functioning firearm without a serial number.
Proud to announce that Arizona citizens now have an extra layer of protection regarding the 2nd amendment. My bill, HB2111, was signed by @dougducey yesterday! ????? pic.twitter.com/et87HvysaS
— Rep. Leo Biasiucci ?? (@Leo4AzHouse) April 7, 2021
Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, and Wyoming have passed similar measures.
In a recent radio interview, Ducey said, “The law is to protect the 2nd amendment, it’s a an enumerated right in our United States Constitution and it’s one that re-enforces that second amendment and your right to carry a weapon.
PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey signed Rep. Joseph Chaplik’s bill, HB 2770, which empowers businesses in Arizona to decide whether or not to enforce on its premises a mask mandate that is imposed by politicians from the state, county, city/town or other jurisdiction in Arizona.
Chaplik says he proposed the measure because “business owners should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to require their customers to wear masks.”
“Recent developments show that without a protection in law, businesses and their customers are subject to the decisions of local rogue politicians who want to control you indefinitely,” said Chaplik. “This bill did not receive any Democrat votes throughout the entire process.”
The Free Enterprise club called Chaplik’s bill a “a commonsense solution” because it “allows people to exercise their freedom while removing the burden from businesses to play mask police.”
The governor issued an executive order last month banning local mask mandates, however several cities run by Democrats have refused to rescind their mask mandates. The governor never issued a mandatory state-wide mask mandate, but several democrat-controlled cities did. Those cities then failed to enforce their mandates, leaving the responsibility to local businesses. The governor said in the bill’s transmittal letter to Secretary of State Katie Hobbs that the cities’ failure caused “concern and heartache for many businesses.”
The governor called Chaplik’s bill “well-intentioned,” in his letter of transmittal, but “due to an error in drafting, may have unintended consequences.”
“Some rational mass requirements are not related to the spread of COVID-19 may not be enforceable,” explained the governor. “The state needs to be able to enforce long-standing workplace safety and infection control standards unrelated to COVID-19. I am grateful to the sponsor, Rep. Joseph Chaplik, for agreeing to fix this technical oversight in a future bill this session. With his commitment to fix this oversight, I am signing this bill, ensuring that our small businesses will no longer be required to enforce mandates imposed on them by the cities who are choosing not to force it themselves.”
Fact check: True. The data is stunning: 97% mask compliance in San Francisco, NY, DC, 96% in Miami and Philly, 95% in Chicago.
As a bill to prohibit vaccine passports appears to have stalled in the Arizona Legislature, Congressman Biggs this week introduced his No Vaccine Passports Act to prevent federal agencies from issuing any standardized documentation that could be used to certify a U.S. citizen’s COVID-19 status to a third party, such as a restaurant or an airline.
Biggs’ bill follows a report that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging vaccine providers to push people to share their personal health and vaccination data through their smartphones. Healthcare professionals and civil rights activists are now that surveillance system could be used to create a vaccine passport.
“I am profoundly disturbed that the Biden Administration would even consider imposing vaccine passports on the American people. My private healthcare decisions—and yours—are nobody else’s business,” said Biggs. “Vaccine passports will not help our nation recover from COVID-19; instead, they will simply impose more Big Brother surveillance on our society.
Biggs applauded Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “for being an early leader against vaccine passports at the state level. My No Vaccine Passports Act builds on his efforts and will further protect Americans’ privacy rights and fundamental freedoms.”
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order prohibiting vaccine passports. Abbott said a system to track those who have been inoculated against COVID-19 infringes on citizens’ rights.
This is the correct direction to go. Medical records should always remain confidential. No one should ever have to show papers for private medical decisions made between you and your doctor. #VaccinePassport#covidhttps://t.co/qpIAvvpGav
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) April 6, 2021
Arizona State Rep. Bret Roberts has proposed the state-level bill to prohibit vaccine passports. The bill has stalled due to the efforts of at least one lawmaker who believes private businesses should be allowed to require them.
PHOENIX – On Thursday, Governor Doug Ducey appointed the first woman to commander of the Arizona National Guard. Brigadier General Kerry L. Muehlenbeck will replace Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire as the new Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA).
McGuire announced his retirement on March 5, 2021. He served as Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Adjutant General since 2013, and will officially retire on April 10, 2021.
“General Muehlenbeck’s impressive military experience and continued leadership are amplified by her legal and teaching background. She joined the Arizona Air National Guard in 1997 and served in many roles until she became Arizona’s Deputy Adjutant General in 2018. I look forward to working with General Muehlenbeck on protecting Arizonans, supporting our communities, and tackling the challenges ahead,” said Ducey.
Muehlenbeck served as the Deputy Adjutant General and the Director of Administrative Services. She was responsible for oversight of: the United States Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO); the State Risk Management Office; State Purchasing and Contracting; the State and Federal Human Resource Offices; the Public Affairs Office; the Office of the Inspector General; the General Counsel, the Tribal Liaison; the Legislative Liaison; the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator; the State Equal Employment Manager; and the Ordnance and Industrial operations within the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. She also served as the Adjutant General’s delegate.
“I’m proud to have the opportunity to serve our great state as Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs,” said Muehlenbeck. “Having served and taught for years, I look forward to leading Arizona DEMA and the Arizona National Guard to help protect and support Arizona communities. It is an honor to succeed General McGuire after his years of admirable service, and I’m grateful to Governor Ducey for this tremendous opportunity.”
Muehlenbeck is currently a professor at Mesa Community College’s Administration of Justice Studies Department, where she also serves as Department Chair. She taught at Arizona State University between 2002 and 2014, specializing in crime, criminology, justice and social inquiry. Muehlenbeck was also an adjunct professor for the Criminal Justice Department at American Military University in West Virginia from 2009 to 2013 and for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from 1995 to 2001.
Prior to teaching, Muehlenbeck served as deputy county attorney at the Pima County Attorney’s Office from 1998 to 2001. In this role, she prosecuted felony offenders in superior court. She also served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office from 1992 to 1993 and Assistant Staff Judge Advocate at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base from 1993 to 1997.
