One of Arizona’s leading Republicans is seeking a meeting with the state’s chief executive over her recent actions over abortion.
Senate President Warren Petersen sent a letter to Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, hoping to broker a meeting and a solution to the standoff the state finds itself in over consideration of her remaining nominations.
Petersen wrote, “I’m troubled by your recent administrative actions. My constituents and Senate colleagues are concerned by the slew of Executive Orders you have recently issued while we are in recess. These questionable actions and the role of your agency Directors, many of whom the Senate has yet to confirm, is worth discussion.”
The Senate President continued with his letter, requesting a meeting with the governor, stating, “While I believe it would have been productive for you to meet with my colleagues on the nominations committee who requested a meeting, I think a conversation between the two of us would be productive. Let’s see if we can find a way to move forward in a bipartisan manner that benefits all of Arizona.”
This plea from the east valley lawmaker follows a volley of reactions from both Republicans and Democrats after the governor’s Executive Order to “centralize all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in applications of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions.” Senator Jake Hoffman, the Chairman of the Committee on Director Nominations, announced that he was canceling the next hearing “with support of the Republican Majority serving on the committee to determine Hobbs’ future intentions to further act beyond her authority.”
The three Republican members of the committee – Hoffman, Sine Kerr, and T.J. Shope – requested a meeting with the Hobbs’ administration “to discuss any additional unlawful overreach (her) office intends to take requiring complicity from Executive Directors,” telling the governor that they have “grave concern that the direction (she) intends to provide to (her) nominees will not allow them to fulfill this obligation (of thoroughly and objectively evaluating nominees for their commitment to execute Arizona laws, rather than create new public policies that conflict with the constitutionally established separation of powers).”
Arizona Senate Democrats quickly pushed back on Hoffman’s revelation. Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Lela Alston issued a statement, writing, “Senator Jake Hoffman has once again shown his disregard for government and everyday Arizonans. By failing to schedule the confirmation hearings for the Governor’s nominees, he shows how ineffective and partisan the Republican party in Arizona truly is. I am disgusted by this move of extremism and call on his leadership to rectify his foolish actions.”
— Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) June 26, 2023
After a report circulated that this meeting was “not likely” to occur, Senator T.J. Shope tweeted, “Oh…so much for that Open Door Policy we’ve heard about over and over again. I guess Governor Hobbs would rather fight it out in an adversarial court setting as opposed to an adult conversation in an office setting.”
A Senate Republican Caucus spokesperson previously told AZ Free News that the chamber has received 21 director nominations from Hobbs, with 12 awaiting their confirmation hearings.
Just a day before the Senate President’s Letter to Governor Hobbs, his caucus tweeted, “Hobbs is setting a dangerous precedent by issuing illegal executive orders and attempting to seize power from county attorneys and the Legislature. Our Caucus is reviewing all legal remedies to ensure appropriate constitutional separation of powers.”
Hobbs is setting a dangerous precedent by issuing illegal executive orders and attempting to seize power from county attorneys and the Legislature. Our Caucus is reviewing all legal remedies to ensure appropriate constitutional separation of powers. https://t.co/hubtdDchTk
Arizona Republican legislators are fighting back against the Biden Administration’s environmental schemes.
On Thursday, Republicans in the state legislature publicized the transmission of two letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma. The submissions were written to oppose the EPA’s proposed regulations on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles-Phase 3 and Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles.
The Arizona Senate Republican Caucus argued that “through these massive EPA regulations, the Biden Administration wants to force a transition from gas-powered vehicles, radically transforming our nation’s entire automotive industry and costing billions of dollars to achieve such lofty standards.” The Caucus added that “if these rules go into effect, two-thirds of all new vehicles sold in the United States are expected to be electric.”
In the letter to the EPA on the rule for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the legislators asserted that the “EPA’s proposed rule will hurt Arizona families and workers by forcing them to buy vehicles they cannot afford, increasing the cost of goods they need, costing them jobs, decreasing the reliability of the electricity they depend on, and weakening our national security by making us dependent on China.”
While Hobbs uses taxpayer dollars for sex change surgeries and Mayes won't carry out her constitutional duties as AG, the @AZSenateGOP and @AZHouseGOP are stepping in to protect Arizonans from promised economic turmoil caused by the Biden Administration.https://t.co/mvz38bUEBO
And in the letter to the EPA on the regulation for Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards, Petersen and Toma presented ten reasons why the federal agency should reject the rule, making the case that the proposed rule “relies on unlawful and faulty calculations for the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, fails to consider safety issues, makes erroneous estimates about grid reliability, and makes erroneous estimates about energy security and critical mineral availability.”
Two additional legislators also weighed in on the EPA’s pending efforts. Senator Sine Kerr, the Chairman for the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water, said, “Not only does the production of these vehicles contribute to hazardous impacts on the environment, but their power source creates huge health and safety risks to drivers and first responders in the event of a crash or a fire. These radical regulations will have catastrophic impacts on lives and livelihoods, as well as an already strained power grid. We urge the EPA to do the right thing and protect our citizens by rejecting these rules.”
Senator Frank Carroll, the Vice Chairman for the Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology stated, “Forcing a transition to electric cars will make our country more dependent on China, threaten our national security, stretch our electric grid to the breaking point, make traffic crashes more dangerous and more deadly, increase the cost of goods and kill countless American jobs. The federal government’s assumption that the average person can afford a $60,000 electric vehicle is completely out of touch with reality and will greatly jeopardize our economy.”
Petersen and Toma’s actions on this front earned recognition from National Review, which featured the letters in a recent article. The Senate President spoke to the publication, saying that “we are stepping in the gap to hold the line against federal overreach.”
Josh Kredit, Chief of Staff for the Arizona Senate Republicans, shared the National Review letter on his Twitter account, adding, “The Arizona Legislature is working to protect consumers and filling the role of what an AG should be doing.”
Americans celebrating the Fourth of July are paying more than they were two years ago.
According to the 2023 American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) marketbasket survey, American families might expect to pay $67.73 for a cookout on July Fourth. This amount is three percent lower than a year ago, but around fourteen percent higher than 2021 numbers.
AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryan weighed in on the news, saying, “The slight downward direction in the cost of a cookout doesn’t counter the dramatic increases we’ve seen over the past few years. Families are still feeling the pinch of high inflation along with other factors keeping prices high. Don’t assume farmers come out as winners from higher prices at the grocery store either. They’re price takers, not price makers, whose share of the retail food dollar is just 14%. Farmers have to pay for fuel, fertilizer and other expenses, which have all gone up in cost.”
Zippy Duvall, the President of AFBF, also issued a statement, writing, “While the increased costs are difficult and have made it more challenging for some families to put food on the table, it’s important to remember that America still has one of the most affordable food supplies in the world, which is due in part to strong farm bill programs. As we all celebrate the holiday, we encourage members of Congress to consider the contributions of the farm bill to our security and independence by ensuring a safe and abundant food supply.”
AFBF shared multiple factors that might explain the increased prices for food: “Drought conditions have increased the cost of feed and reduced the number of available cattle for the summer grilling season, driving up beef prices; higher potato prices can be attributed to poor weather leading to a drop in production, and general inflation is driving up the price of processed foods like bread.”
According to the AFBF, data for the survey was collected “from 240 stores in every state and Puerto Rico.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A Republican Senator is working to hold the Governor’s Office accountable to its constitutional constraints in the wake of three controversial Executive Orders.
Senator Jake Hoffman, the Chairman of the Committee on Director Nominations, recently announced, with the support of fellow Republicans on his panel, that outstanding nominations from Democrat Governor Hobbs would be held from consideration, pending a meeting with the Governor’s Office. The Senator sat down with AZ Free News for an exclusive interview to discuss his thoughts and hopes for the path forward.
Hoffman first touched on the importance of all elected officials adhering to the rule of law and separation of powers, saying, “The people of Arizona are best served when our three branches of government follow the law, honor our Constitution, and refrain from partisan game playing. Instead of joining legislative Republicans in solving the real issues that impact the lives of struggling Arizona families like food prices, rent and housing affordability, and protecting the innocence of children, Katie Hobbs has chosen to abandon her oath of office with these politically-charged PR stunts in an attempt to pander to her far-Left base.”
He then moved to the necessity of Arizona Republicans acting to quell the constitutional overreach of the Democrat governor – especially with the three Executive Orders over the past week – stating: “The legislative branch has a constitutional obligation to act as a check and balance on the executive branch, especially when that executive branch grossly oversteps their authority. Hobbs’ reliance on unconstitutional executive dictates is reminiscent of the unconstitutional abuses of power by DC Democrats; however, unlike our establishment counterparts in DC, Arizona Republicans are resolved to exercise the full authority afforded to us by the Constitution in order to hold Hobbs accountable.”
When asked by AZ Free News to predict the future of this political battle, Hoffman responded, “Sadly, given the chaos and instability of Hobbs’ administration it seems unlikely that she’ll take the reasonable approach that we’ve requested. I can only expect that she’ll instead choose to continue her radical virtue signaling regardless of the significant harm it inflicts on the people of this state. No matter what route Katie Hobbs chooses, the majority in the Senate will continue to act as a check and balance to maintain sanity and stability in our state government.”
The east valley lawmaker’s leadership will be pivotal to determining how this unpredictable legislative session will proceed for the Grand Canyon State. After the governor’s Executive Order that centralized “all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in applications of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions,” Hoffman and his committee took the first real action in pushing back. Hobbs has seemingly been unfazed by the Senator’s response, signing several more Executive Orders, including two that arguably generated more controversy than the abortion document.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction shared a helpful announcement about a new feature for high school students seeking information about careers in the U.S. military.
In a release sent last week, the Arizona Department of Education revealed that it had “unveiled a one-stop service to help students interested in a military career get information about the U.S. armed forces.” The website – azed.gov/military – was established so that “students can get essential information about the various branches of the service.”
Superintendent Horne met with Raif, who was frustrated his school had no information on how to enlist. He contacted over 40 districts and found that over 25 had the same issue. We worked together to change that by putting all the information in one place. https://t.co/6PTZrCHTH1
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) June 27, 2023
Horne, a Republican, issued a statement in conjunction with the announcement, saying, “With a historic shortfall of U.S. military recruiting goals, Arizona high schools need to do as much as possible to help students get the information they need to learn if a career in the armed services is an appropriate choice for them. Serving our country is an honorable endeavor and our nation will depend on the next generation of those who enlist or become officer candidates so that our military can continue to defend our freedoms.”
The release highlighted that “the need for this effort was presented to state schools chief Tom Horne earlier this year by Raif Byers, a now-graduated Phoenix-area high school senior who was unable to find helpful and detailed information about a military career on the websites for his high school or the district he attends. He found that many other students his age have the same problem.”
Byers added, “I was trying to learn more about a career in the Navy when I was in high school, but it was nearly impossible for me to find any information on my school district website. It’s relatively easy to learn about other types of careers, so I believe it’s just as vital for schools to make armed services information readily available to students. Unfortunately, I learned that in many districts, that’s just not the case. I’m very grateful to Superintendent Horne for creating this webpage where anyone in the state can easily learn about a career serving our country.”
According to the Arizona Department of Education, “the webpage includes links to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, Army National Guard and Air National Guard. It also has details about the various military benefits and information for those interested in becoming officers or enlisted personnel.”
Horne’s efforts join several other similar endeavors from public officials around the state, who are very active in promoting opportunities in the U.S. Military or honoring those who serve. Recently, Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers “partnered with local sponsors to host the Mayor’s Military Induction Ceremony” at a Phoenix-area church – with over 350 recruits!
In May, two in Arizona’s congressional delegation, Andy Biggs and Eli Crane, co-hosted a Military Service Academy Conference to give high school students more information about opportunities to learn more information about future military service and career opportunities.
Had a wonderful time speaking to constituents with @RepEliCrane at our 2023 Military Service Academy Conference today.
We had a great turnout and had many students interested in joining our armed forces.
