Fresh off of 14 years of influence from Republican governors and legislators, Arizona remains one of the top economic states in the nation.
This month, CNBC published its Top States for Business for 2023, showing that Arizona was ranked 14th among the 50 laboratories of democracy. Arizona was ranked 3rd in the Workforce category (16% of weight), 7th in Infrastructure (15.6%), 15th in Economy (14.4%), 35th in Life, Health & Inclusion (14%), 33rd in Cost of Doing Business (11.6%), 18th in Technological Innovation (10.8%), 13th in Business Friendliness (8.6%), 42nd in Education (5%), 17th in Access to Capital (2%), and 40th in Cost of Living (2%).
In summarizing why Arizona grabbed the 3rd ranking for workforce, CNBC wrote, “Educated workers are flocking to the Grand Canyon State, and a growing number of them are highly skilled as the state boosts its tech sector. With unemployment roughly in line with the national average, worker shortages are not as severe as they are in some other states. Arizona is a right-to-work state with a solid career education system, though worker training programs could use some improvement.”
The 2023 rank for Arizona’s workforce had improved from 7th (in 2022) to 3rd; economy from 22nd to 15th; life, health & inclusion from 50th to 35th; technology & innovation from 29th to 18th; access to capital from 41st to 17th. The overall ranking rose from 34th to 14th.
According to CNBC’s Economic Profile for Arizona, the GDP growth in quarter one of 2023 was 2.70%, the unemployment rate as of May 2023 was 3.40%, the top corporate tax rate was 4.90%, the top individual income tax rate was 2.5%, and the gasoline tax is 37.40 cents per gallon.
The state’s top-rated economic status was the result of years of policies and calculations made by its leaders – both in the executive and legislative branches. In his online portfolio of his eight years in office (theduceyyears.com), former Governor Doug Ducey touted the expansion and moves of several industry leaders in Arizona. Those leaders included Intel, which “announced a $20 billion expansion to create two new semiconductor fabrication facilities;” and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which “will create over 1,600 new high-tech jobs and generate thousands of additional jobs in the state for suppliers and other companies within the semiconductor industry.”
The former governor also noted that “Arizona passed the largest income tax cut in the state’s history, making our flat tax the lowest in the nation at 2.5%.”
Soon after taking office, Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs retained the services of the President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), Sandra Watson, perhaps hoping to maintain the state’s successful business reputation at a critical juncture in its history. The Governor’s Office highlighted that “under Ms. Watson’s leadership, the ACA has worked with over 1,100 companies that have committed to creating more than 240,000 jobs and investing over $103 billion in capital in Arizona.” Watson was installed in her position under the Jan Brewer administration in 2012, and she continued in that role throughout Ducey’s tenure.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona’s Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction is pushing back after the state’s Democrat Attorney General issued a legal opinion on a Structured English Immersion law.
On Tuesday, Superintendent Tom Horne issued a press release to call a recent formal opinion from Attorney General Kris Mayes “ideologically driven.”
Superintendent Horne is committed to following the voter protected initiative that English Language Learners be taught in English. It is surprising that the Attorney General evades the key issue, placing ideology over the law. pic.twitter.com/5pXrWLUh2L
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) July 18, 2023
The Attorney General’s opinion answered the question of “which state entity has statutory authority to eliminate a model of structured English immersion approved by the State Board of Education.” Mayes sent her findings to Democrat Representatives Jennifer Pawlik, Laura Terech, Nancy Gutierrez, and Judy Schwiebert.
The @arizonaago has issued a new Attorney General Opinion.
Re: Which state entity has statutory authority to eliminate a model of structured English immersion approved by the State Board of Education: https://t.co/AveNs8HG20
— Arizona Attorney General's Office (@arizonaago) July 17, 2023
Mayes wrote, “Arizona law is clear that the Board has the sole authority to eliminate or modify an approved SEI model. The Board also has the sole authority to determine whether a school district or charter school has failed to comply with Arizona law governing English language learners. Only those school districts and charter schools found by the Board to be noncompliant are barred from receiving monies from the English language learner fund.”
The Attorney General declined to answer the Representatives’ question of “whether the Dual Language Immersion SEI Model approved by the Board is consistent with Arizona law.”
Horne disagreed with the opinion, stating, “The Attorney General, for ideological reasons, wanted to rule in favor of the Democrat legislators who favor dual language. So, she refused to comment on whether a dual language program without waivers violates the voter protected initiative (Proposition 203). She simply said that the State Board of Education has the power to adapt models under legislation. Neither the legislature nor the board has the power to overrule a voter approved initiative. Legislative Council found that dual language without a waiver does violate the initiative.”
The scuttle between Horne, Mayes, and Democrat legislators began on June 19, when the Superintendent announced that “public schools that are not teaching English Language Learners in English as required by state law risk losing funds for this legal violation.” Horne said at the time, “Proposition 203, the voter protected initiative passed in 2000, specified that classes for English Language Learners must be taught in English: ‘all children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms.’”
Horne also included a memorandum from the Arizona Legislative Council to make his case, which read, “If the 50-50 dual language immersion model allows students to be taught subject matter in a language other than English as part of structured English immersion, the model likely violates Proposition 203.”
Later, he countered opposition to his action, saying, “In 2000, more than 925,000 Arizonans – 63 percent of voters – approved Proposition 203, making English immersion the law…. Before I took office the first time in 2003, when they had bilingual education, Lisa Graham Keegan reported to the legislature an English proficiency rate of 4%. The English proficiency rates for structured English immersion, by contrast for the last four years when I was last Superintendent (2007-2010), were an average of 31% each for those years.”
Superintendent Horne is committed to following Arizona state law. Dual language education has led to a dismal 4%-6% proficiency rate in English. That is cheating students. When Superintendent Horne left office in 2009, that number was 31%. #EducationForAllpic.twitter.com/14BGddafUd
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) July 13, 2023
He then shared English proficiency rates for four Arizona schools, that the Superintendent asserted have had dual language for several years. According to the Superintendent’s release, those four schools had English Proficiency Rates of under 10%.
Earlier this month, Superintendent Horne posted a statistic on English Immersion success, writing: “English immersion gives students three quarters of a year more education, they’re 50% more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree, and earn significantly more in the labor market.”
Superintendent Horne is committed to following state law and the data. English immersion gives students three quarters of a year more education, they're 50% more likely to earn a bachelors degree, and earn significantly more in the labor market. https://t.co/CFnFioojCt
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) July 7, 2023
In his response to Attorney General Mayes’ opinion, Horne charted the path forward for his battle with the state’s top prosecutor. Horne said, “This will obviously be resolved in the courts. Until that happens, the State Board will not withhold funds. However, there are other remedies in the initiative for violation of its requirements. Any parent can sue a school or district that adopts dual language without waivers, and if the parent is successful, the school board, and the superintendent, and maybe the principal must leave office and cannot apply for their offices for five years. That will be a considerable incentive for school districts not to adopt dual language without waivers.”
The battle over the Structured English Immersion law is the second significant conflict between the Attorney General and Superintendent this year. In May, Attorney General Mayes said on television that “there are no controls” on the ESA program, “no accountability,” that “they” (presumably parents) are “spending hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money,” that this “needs to be looked at,” and that it’s (her) “responsibility to do that” as Arizona’s “top law enforcement officer.”
At that time, AZ Free News featured Horne’s reaction to Mayes’ comments: “Under my predecessor, who was unfriendly to universal Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), the laws were not strictly enforced, and therefore funds were used for non-educational purposes, including restaurants and clothing stores. Because I am the defender of the ESA program, I want the laws to be strictly adhered to. I want to ensure that not one penny is used for a non-educational expense. Arizona is the first in the nation, and a model for the rest of the country. I am determined that all laws be strictly enforced, and all funds be used only for valid educational purposes. I’m disappointed that Attorney General Mayes has chosen, at every single opportunity, politics over the law.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
On Wednesday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors selected Shawnna Bolick to fill the vacancy in the state legislature, which was left by former Senator Steve Kaiser.
Bolick quickly responded to the news, tweeting, “Thank you to the elected precinct committeemen of Legislative District 2 for placing me on a list of three names sent to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors last month to fill Senator Steve Kaiser’s vacancy. This morning, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors selected me to fill the remainder of Senator Kaiser’s term, and I will do so honorably. Thank you to everyone who contacted the precinct committeemen and the Board of Supervisors on my behalf. I very much look forward to getting to work for the people in Arizona as I demonstrated in my previous tenure in the House. I will always be one of the strongest advocates for freedom and liberty.”
Thank you to the elected precinct committeemen of Legislative District 2 for placing me on a list of three names sent to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors last month to fill Senator Steve Kaiser’s vacancy.
This morning, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors selected me…
— Shawnna LM Bolick (@ShawnnaLMBolick) July 19, 2023
The selection of Bolick brings the Phoenix lawmaker back to the Legislature, where she served for two terms in the state house (2019-2023). She did not run for re-election during the 2022 cycle, opting instead to campaign in the Republican primary for Secretary of State.
Senate President Warren Petersen welcomed the newest member of his majority caucus, saying, “We believe Ms. Bolick will be an incredible asset to her constituents, Maricopa County, and the state as a whole. Her experience in working with lawmakers of all backgrounds for the common good of our citizens will be a valuable resource to our Caucus as we continue our mission to keep Arizona a free state from the heavy hand of excessive government control. We thank Senator Kaiser for his passion and efforts in tackling some of the toughest issues our state is facing, and we are certain Ms. Bolick will be able to pick up right where he left off.”
Legislative District 2 is expected to be very competitive in November 2024, and at least one Democrat is already eyeing the Senate seat in the next General Election. Representative Judy Schwiebert wasted little time in staking a claim to a run for the Arizona Senate, tweeting on June 16 that she would be throwing her name into the Democrat primary for this district.
Today, I am announcing my candidacy for the AZ State Senate in Legislative District 2. Now is the time to make real progress for Arizona families, so everyone gets their chance to thrive. Join our team and chip in now —> https://t.co/eqlsLuWVeRpic.twitter.com/TKI1imW0I7
— Representative Judy Schwiebert, LD2 (@JudyForAZ) June 16, 2023
The Senate Republican Caucus noted that Bolick would likely be sworn into office on Friday at 2:30pm. Bolick will be joining a Legislature in the middle of summer and still in session with outstanding items to resolve, including agency nominations and a Prop 400 deal with the Governor’s Office.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A fight for the future of some federal grant dollars for Arizonans appears to be brewing.
Last week, John Thorpe with the Goldwater Institute sent a letter to Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, expressing the organization’s “concern about Governor Hobbs’ purported cancellation of ESA-related grants that would enable children to attend all-day kindergarten” and urging Yee’s office “to go forward with the program as a legal obligation and for the sake of the parents.”
The Goldwater Institute’s letter references Hobbs’ action in May, which determined that “a $50 million grant made to the Treasurer in the final hours of the Ducey Administration is illegal and invalid.” Hobbs said at the time, “Illegally giving $50 million to private schools while failing to properly invest in public education is just one egregious example of the previous administration’s blatant disregard for public school students.”
After receiving the governor’s notice earlier this year, Treasurer Yee released a statement, writing: “It is clear Governor Hobbs does not care about what is best for Arizona kids or respect the rights of parents to determine the best environment to educate their child. Instead, she is using these children as pawns in a desperate and transparent attempt to win back support from union bosses and her ultra-progressive base. Educational choice is the civil rights issue of our time, and unfortunately, Governor Hobbs thinks she knows better than parents. I fundamentally disagree, and so do Arizona families.”
Governor Hobbs has just denied thousands of Arizona kids access to kindergarten through this politically driven and belligerent decision.
— Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee (@AZTreasurerYee) May 25, 2023
In that statement, Yee also said that her legal team was “currently reviewing the lawfulness of the governor’s move and determining next steps.”
The Goldwater Institute’s June 14th letter to Treasurer Yee states that “on January 1, 2023, the Governor’s Office entered an Interagency Service Agreement with the Treasurer’s Office to provide up to $50,000,000 in federal grant money from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), via the ESA program, to children in kindergarten starting with the 2023 academic year…In exchange for your office’s commitment to administer and report on the grant program, the Governor made a contractual commitment to provide the funds and to ‘work with’ your office ‘to establish a cadence whereby [the Governor] will transfer funding to [the Treasurer] to then disburse to grant program recipients.’ The Agreement was, and is, a legally binding contract.”
Thorpe’s letter also asserts that “nothing in the Agreement or in state law permits unilateral termination by the Governor,” calling Hobbs’ prior justifications “groundless,” adding that “the Governor has no right to simply cancel an agreement based on unfounded speculation that the agreement violates the law.”
The first-year Arizona governor had touted that by taking this action, her office had “adverted a violation of federal law and the State Constitution.”
The attorney for the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation also communicated that “we find it troubling that Governor Hobbs is attempting this rollback of the ESA program after a long history of campaigning against, and promising to end, the Legislature’s recent expansion of the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship program.” He continued, “Having already failed in her bid to defund the ESA program through the budget process earlier this year, it appears Governor Hobbs is attempting to cancel the all-day kindergarten grants, not in order to comply with state or federal law (as described above, the program is entirely lawful), but as part of a transparent effort to harm and undermine the ESA program wherever possible.”
In a supplemental post, Thorpe added, “It’s simple: the governor does not have a right to lawlessly renege on promises made to Arizona families. Goldwater will never stop fighting to empower parents, expand choices in education, and to hold government officials accountable – in Arizona and throughout the country.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A west valley mayor is continuing to keep his commitments to his city.
Last week, Peoria Mayor Jason Beck announced that there would be a police presence at all Peoria Unified School District schools during the 2023-2024 year.
Beck highlighted that there would be four new SLO’s (School Liaison Officers) and rotating SLO’s at every school; that this presence would be expanded to all elementary schools; that there would be 22 Peoria schools with police coverage and an increase in SLO salary.
The mayor said, “It’s the fact that we are trying to take care of our kids. Our first priority as a city is to take care of the residents. Safety and well being is our first priority.”
Peoria’s increased investment in school safety followed a communication from the first-year mayor in the city’s May 2023 newsletter, where he updated residents on his plan for keeping children safe. Beck wrote, “As Mayor, I believe the first priority of our city is to ensure that the kids, teachers and staff of the Peoria Unified School District not only feel safe, but are safe while in and around schools and associated facilities. Likewise, parents and loved ones should be able to have peace of mind that this is always the case. With this in mind, there should be nothing more important in our city’s budget than providing for the protection of our kids, teachers and staff while allowing them to have a great educational experience and positive work environment.”
Mayor Beck concluded his letter, stating, “No one should pit the skills, dedication, and good intentions of these wonderful public servants against one another. The choice is not between social workers, counselors, and law enforcement. We need an all-of-the above approach to show our children and community that we value safety and education for the happiness and prosperity of our community.”
The action to provide additional school safety personnel for Peoria schools comes on the heels of an earlier announcement from Mayor Beck on funding for the city’s police pension funding. In a Facebook post, Beck noted that the Peoria City Council had moved $6 million to the police pension funding, which was now 80% funded – compared to 48% funded in 2020.
Earlier this year, Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and the Arizona Department of Education released the findings of a poll, which found that “81% of Arizona Public School parents support having a police officer” and “78% of Arizona Public School parents think that safety at schools is VERY IMPORTANT.”
Protecting Arizona's children shouldn't be a partisan issue, and parents agree. School resource officers are specially trained and provide more than just protection for our students. We encourage all schools to apply for the school safety grant here: https://t.co/63Uy6DQJZPpic.twitter.com/jFaLIx5wmJ
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) April 13, 2023
Horne held an April press conference with Arizona legislators to address this issue. The group called on school boards “to support having an officer at every school and to apply for funding through an available school safety grant.”
If a deranged gunman entered your child's campus, would you prefer a school resource officer to be present, or a school counselor?
While both are important, in this day and age we're living in, SROs are crucial to the safety of our students, and new polling released today… pic.twitter.com/v6VmgdpHev
After that press conference, Senator T.J. Shope added, “While we certainly see the value in school counselors as a component to safe and healthy schools, we believe SROs (school resource officers) are a necessity in this day and age where we’re witnessing increasing school shootings across the country. SROs can also help detour gang activity as they foster positive relationships with students.”
Senator @TJShopeforAZ's Snapshot of the Week: Better Access to Care for Pets and Their Owners⬇️ pic.twitter.com/e8vCqqhiUq
