Arizona investments continue to be in good hands under the oversight of Republican State Treasurer, Kimberly Yee.
On Tuesday, Treasurer Yee announced that the Local Government Investment Pool earned $24.49 million in July, and that the Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund (PLETF) soared to a record high of $7.99 billion the same month.
Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee reported at the State Board of Investment meeting that the Local Government Investment Pool earned $24.49 million in July.
— Office of the Arizona State Treasurer (@AZTreasury) August 29, 2023
Yee unveiled the report at the August State Board of Investment meeting, which was open to the public via an online web service. According to a press release issued from her office, “the monthly meeting reports on Arizona’s investment activity, cash flow, future market conditions, and Arizona’s Education Savings Plan.”
The August 2023 report showed that the total assets under management were $5,886,428,849, and that earnings were up 241.51% year over year.
AZ Free News reached out to Treasurer Yee for comment, and the second-term official provided the following statements:
“I am the first Treasurer in Arizona’s history to meet regularly with local government leaders throughout Arizona’s fifteen counties to go over their record performing investments with our office. That’s why we’ve seen a 74% increase in local government assets under management during my administration. My office distributed a record-high of over $212.6 million to Local Government Investment Pool participants in FY 2023. This historic number of earnings surpasses the combined earnings of the last five fiscal years. Since I took office in January 2019, I have distributed record earnings of over $3 billion to local governments, state agencies and K-12 education, among other land endowment beneficiaries. This outstanding performance is fantastic news for Arizona taxpayers as our investment team continues to outperform benchmarks and receive record setting earnings, resulting in less direct local taxes for Arizonans.”
In the Arizona Treasury’s Education Endowment Report, not only did the PLETF hit a record high market value, but $424 million was to be distributed to K-12 education in Fiscal Year 2024. The Treasurer’s Office also revealed that the PLETF 10-year annualized total return approached 8%, which outperformed the average U.S. College and University endowments nine years in a row. According to the report, PLETF “is an endowment fund that the Arizona Treasurer deposits the land sales of Arizona into and invests the proceeds for education and other state beneficiaries, such as AZ K-12 education, AZ universities, AZ School for Deaf & Blind, AZ Pioneers’ Home, AZ State Hospital, and state prisons.”
Under the leadership of Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, the Arizona Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund hit a record high of $7.99 billion in July 2023! This means more money for Arizona K-12 education and the other endowment beneficiaries.
— Office of the Arizona State Treasurer (@AZTreasury) August 30, 2023
The cumulative distributions for the PLETF over its history (since the 1990s) has been just under $4 billion ($3,823,070,913). When Yee took office in 2019, the market value of the PLETF appeared to be hovering around $6 billion.
Treasurer Yee’s Office also highlighted that “since taking office in January 2019, Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee has distributed record earnings of over $3 billion. This breaks down to $1.245 billion for the LGIP and State Agencies and $1.758 billion to beneficiaries of the PLETF as of June 30, 2023.
Since taking office in January 2019, Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee has distributed record earnings of over $3 billion. This breaks down to $1.245 billion for the LGIP and State Agencies and $1.758 billion to beneficiaries of the PLETF as of June 30, 2023. | @AZTreasurerYeepic.twitter.com/1iFX6aiqH8
— Office of the Arizona State Treasurer (@AZTreasury) August 29, 2023
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Days after an Arizona Republican Senator noted the increasing return of COVID-19 restrictions, another state legislator is doing the same for his constituents.
On Wednesday, Republican Representative Joseph Chaplik released an in-depth statement about the perceived rise in COVID-19 fears and restrictions as the fall season approaches. Chaplik attributed this to “recent media headlines panicking over the latest COVID variant, case numbers, and calls by some for the return of mask mandates.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ Are Masking Mandates Making a Comeback? Not in Arizona.
State Representative @JosephChaplik on Arizona’s laws and masking mandates: “There have been plenty of recent media headlines panicking over the latest COVID variant, case numbers, and calls by… pic.twitter.com/Pj3PpM8Zg8
Chaplik assured constituents that Arizona laws afforded them more freedom than other states that might be on the verge of bringing back COVID-19 restrictions, writing, “While some states may go in that direction, the good news is that mandates won’t be happening here in Arizona. That’s due in large part to our state adopting common-sense laws to protect against government-imposed mask mandates on private businesses and requirements that children wear masks in public schools.”
The lawmaker pointed to two bills that he previously sponsored – both of which were signed into law by former Governor Doug Ducey over the past couple of years. The first was HB 2770, which empowered “businesses with the freedom to decide whether or not to observe and enforce any mask mandate imposed by government politicians from the state, county, city/town or other jurisdiction in Arizona.” The second was HB 2616, which prohibited “school districts and local governments from requiring minors to wear a mask or face covering without parental consent.” Chaplik called this enacted policy “a victory for parents’ rights and our children’s health.”
HB 2770 was signed into law in April 2021, while HB 2616 received Governor Ducey’s signature in April 2022.
In December 2021, Governor Ducey pointed to HB 2770 to counter reports that the Pima County Board of Supervisors were considering an implementation of a county-wide indoor mask mandate. Ducey tweeted, “Arizona law clearly states businesses are NOT REQUIRED to enforce mask mandates that any city, town, county or other jurisdiction in this state established. Rest assured, this law will not change. It took effect in September, following the signing of House Bill 2770 which echoed an Executive Order.”
There is no mask mandate in Arizona. Remember that when the Pima County Board of Supervisors takes up the issue. Local jurisdictions did not enforce the mask mandates they imposed, putting an unfair burden on businesses. 1/https://t.co/8j1vLhUB13
Representative Chaplik ended his statement, adding, “Masking mandates imposed on the public didn’t work and certainly weren’t effective at preventing the spread of COVID. Mandates were especially unnecessary for children, the least at-risk population. If an individual chooses to wear a mask, that remains their personal choice, but it should never be mandated by the government. And, thankfully, the public won’t need to contend with new mandates in Arizona because of the action we’ve taken at the state capitol.”
Last week, freshman Senator Janae Shamp sent out a press release, “reminding Arizonans of the safeguards put in place by Republicans at the Legislature to protect against future outrageous overreach and scientifically baseless restrictions.” Shamp referenced both of Chaplik’s aforementioned bills – in addition to two other laws enacted in 2022: A.R.S. 36-681 and A.R.S. 26-303.
Reports have surged about an increase in COVID-19 cases with the spread of the EG.5 (“Eris”), FL.1.5.1 (“Fornax”), and BA.2.86 (“Pirola”). These developments have led to the return of some masking requirements around the nation. In Atlanta, Morris Brown College sent an email to its faculty, staff, and students, announcing the reinstatement of its COVID-19 mask mandate because of “reports of positive cases among students in the Atlanta University Center.” The college also reimposed physical distancing and gathering restrictions on campus.
The movie studio Lionsgate in Los Angeles also brought back its mask mandate for the office, as did Kaiser Permanente for its Santa Rosa (California) hospital and medical offices.
Author and one-time New York Times reporter, Alex Berenson, has also noted the increased attention for the newest wave of COVID-19 cases across the country, pointing to a headline in his former paper about the predictions for rising hospitalizations. Berenson said, “OMG this is the lead headline on the NYT right now. They really are not going to let it go ever ever EVER. I do not understand the game here, truly.”
OMG this is the lead headline on the NYT right now
They really are not going to let it go ever ever EVER
Another Republican freshman representative at the Legislature, Austin Smith, has also been focused on the potential return of COVID-19 restrictions. Earlier this week, Smith tweeted, “We are not doing the mask thing again. Refuse.”
The leader of one of Arizona’s influential organizations for small businesses is breathing a sigh of relief after navigating the first year of a divided government.
Last week, the Arizona State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, Chad Heinrich, wrote an op-ed for the Arizona Daily Star, looking at the aftermath of the 56th Legislature in relation to how small business owners faired during the extended session.
Heinrich noted that “while several of the bills introduced this past session would have impacted small businesses – some good, some bad – a few did not make it across the finish line in the Legislature, and others fell victim to Governor Katie Hobbs’ veto.”
One of Henrich’s “good” bills was HB 2019, which was sponsored by Representative Travis Grantham. The NFIB-AZ Director stated that “small-business owners who are subject to licensing and permitting regulations at the local government level will benefit from the passage” of this legislation, which was given the nickname of “The Permit Freedom Act.” Henrich explained that “this bill puts in place three safeguards for permit applicants by requiring the local government to provide: 1. Clear criteria for whether a permit will be granted or denied, 2. An explicit deadline for when the government will decide whether to grant or deny the permit, and 3. A meaningful day in court for cases where the applicant thinks the government wrongly denied the permit.”
HB 2019 was signed by Hobbs on April 18, after passing out of the state house with significant bipartisan support.
The report card from Heinrich was not all favorable, however. He praised the “support from our member small-business owners” in helping to “quash several bills that would have been detrimental to small-business owners and their operations.” The two bills Henrich used to illustrate his point were HB 2290 and HB 2555.
According to Heinrich, HB 2290 “sought to impose additional healthcare mandates and thereby would have made healthcare coverage further out of reach for many small-business owners.” Henrich wrote that “small business owners owe a debt of thanks to leaders in the Senate for stepping up and holding firm against this detrimental legislation.”
The other bill on Henrich’s “bad” bills list, HB 2555, “would have mandated that businesses accept cash as form of payment.” Henrich opined that this policy would have “put many different types of businesses at risk – especially those that are located in areas of greater crime risk and those that do business through transactions of larger dollar amounts.” He again thanked the Senate for serving “as the final arbiter,” ensuring that this bill “did not receive a vote of the full Senate.”
In his op-ed, Heinrich also addressed tax increases on small business, highlighting “a few legal guardrails in place in Arizona” that make these actions challenging. He listed two of those guardrails – Prop 108 (passed in 1992) and Prop 132 (passed in 2022) – that give pause to tax increases, whether by the state legislature or the ballot box.
As he closed his op-ed, Henrich encouraged NFIB members to “continue to focus on supporting those who vote with small business on issues that matter within the legislative branch while also keeping close watch on the regulatory environment which is largely governed through the executive branch.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A legislator is speaking out and demanding action just days after the release of a concerning report from Arizona’s Auditor General about the Arizona Department of Transportation’s oversight of Motor Vehicle Division’s third-party service providers.
On Monday, Republican Representative David Cook, who is the Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, transmitted a letter to Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Director Jennifer Toth, outlining his fears over the issues raised by the Auditor General’s report and demanding action to address the matters.
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ State Representative @RepDavidCook Urges ADOT Take Immediate Action to Address Critical Public Safety Risks, Agency Failures Outlined in Auditor General Report of Third Party MVD Services
In a statement that accompanied the release of his letter, Cook said, “When state agencies outsource their important government functions to third parties, and those third parties fail to meet their legal obligations and are not properly supervised as required by law, Arizonans suffer the consequences. In this instance, those consequences are particularly severe and threaten the public safety.”
Chairman Cook, in his letter to Director Toth, expressed alarm over the report that was published last week by the state’s Auditor General, who found that the “Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) failed to ensure authorized third party companies consistently issued vehicle title, driver licenses, and identification cards only to qualified or authorized individuals and entitles, increasing public safety risks such as unsafe drivers, vehicle and identity theft, fraud, and terrorism.”
The lawmaker noted his appreciation that the Department “agrees with the Auditor General’s findings and plans to implement all the recommendations.” Yet Cook was unwilling to allow ADOT to fall back into its shortcomings over a lack of oversight, stating his belief that “it is imperative that you exercise your statutory authority to take immediate remedial action to prevent an increase in the public safety risks that the Auditor General has already identified.”
Cook highlighted that ADOT’s proposed changes to the Auditor General’s findings were “drafted and are in the pilot phase,” pointing out that “it does not appear that MVD made any significant process during the six months following the Auditor General’s audit.” He asked Director Toth why MVD “hasn’t simply adopted its previous oversight procedures that were consistent with the Auditor General’s 2015 recommendations.”
The Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee didn’t hold back his feelings, writing that “these astonishing results are unacceptable and require an immediate response.” He requested that ADOT “(1) suspend or cancel the authorization of the three third-parties deemed ‘high-risk’ in the Auditor General’s report; (2) direct your Office of Inspector General and/or another appropriate division in your office to investigate all third party companies for compliance with A.R.S. Title 28, Chapter 13, article 1; (3) rescind the defective quality assurance process adopted by MVD in February 2022; and (4) immediately implement a revised oversight process per the Auditor General’s recommendations.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Members of Arizona’s Freedom Caucus are gearing up for the 2024 Presidential Election in the Grand Canyon State.
Earlier this month, members of the Caucus participated in a conference call with former President – and current candidate for the Republican nomination – Donald J. Trump.
The Twitter account for the legislative group posted, “The Arizona Freedom Caucus met with President Trump yesterday to discuss the immediate need for strategic investments from his campaign into Arizona. He must build the GOTV & ballot chase infrastructure necessary for 2024 – and he must build it now.”
The @AZFreedomCaucus met with President Trump yesterday to discuss the immediate need for strategic investments from his campaign into Arizona.
He must build the GOTV & ballot chase infrastructure necessary for 2024—and he must build it now.https://t.co/L7kIbJXoNA
Senator Jake Hoffman, the chairman of the caucus, took part in the national call and had the opportunity to ask a two-part question of Trump. Hoffman asked the former President if he would “commit to declassifying everything to expose the Democrats and UniParty to the American people,” and if there would be an expectation to “see investments from your campaign specifically designated for building out a robust ground game and ballot-chasing operation in our state.”
Hoffman informed Trump on the call that “Democrats are already investing heavily in Arizona to build their electoral infrastructure and ground game for 2024,” and exhorted the former Commander in Chief to match those efforts immediately in the Grand Canyon State before it becomes too late.
A source with knowledge of the call told AZ Free News that Trump committed to the Arizona Freedom Caucus and the more than one hundred conservative legislators on the call that, when elected president again, he would declassify all of the documents showing the Democrats’ “pervasive and methodical plan to erode individual liberty and cripple American exceptionalism.”
The source also highlighted that “as one of the three most important states needed to win the 2024 election, members of the Arizona Freedom Caucus felt it was imperative to make the President aware of the millions being invested in our state by the Democrats, and the $30 million or more that will need to be invested by Republicans, specifically the presidential nominee, to win this state.”
Representative Austin Smith, who was also on the call, told AZ Free News that “we discussed the immediate need for strategic investment from his campaign to Arizona.” Smith added, “(Trump) must build the GOTV, early vote and ballot chasing infrastructure necessary for 2024, and he must do it now. Not after the primary. It will not matter who the nominee is, though I believe it will be Trump. We need the investment here now in Arizona in order to win.”
At the @AZFreedomCaucus we have mentioned to President Trump and it’s the same message for anyone who has a legitimate shot at securing the Republican nomination – invest in Arizona now. Start working the state now. It will be practically too late after the convention next…
