Three consumer taxes should be immediately suspended to help Arizonans deal with post-pandemic inflation, and two of those taxes should be abolished altogether, State Sen. Warren Petersen argues.
On Tuesday, Petersen (R-LD12) called for a temporary halt to Arizona’s 19 cents per gallon gasoline tax. He also wants to see the food tax and the residential rental tax not only suspended, but also eventually abolished.
Petersen doubled down on his proposal Wednesday, telling KFYI’s James T. Harris there is “no reason” his proposal cannot be implemented in light of Arizona’s more than $1 billion budget surplus. Especially with a Republican-controlled Legislature and a Republican governor.
“People are absolutely reeling from inflation right now but we have state and local governments that have more cash than they’ve ever had before,” Petersen said, adding that his proposal would bring “immediate relief to some of the people that need it the most.”
Suspending the gas tax until the end of 2022 would help Arizonans at the pump, Peterson explained. He added that the move could bring even further relief for consumers due to high gas prices being integrated into the cost of everything else people buy.
The state’s huge budget surplus is more than enough to supplant the $300-$350 million in gas tax revenues needed to fund transportation projects across the state, Petersen said.
While a gas tax holiday would be temporary, Petersen is calling on his fellow lawmakers to support a permanent end to the food tax in Arizona.
“That just hurts the poor more than anybody, and only some cities charge it,” Petersen told Harris.
As to his third suggestion of the abolishment of residential rental taxes, Petersen questioned why a special consumer tax is charged of those living in a rental unit.
“Nobody should charge this,” he argued. “People don’t pay a tax every single time they pay their mortgage, but yet tenants every single time they pay their rent they pay a tax on their rent.”
Petersen believes the time is right for Gov. Doug Ducey to call a special session so that lawmakers can provide immediate relief through the huge budget surplus.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials across the southwestern U.S. border are preparing for an unprecedented number of non-U.S. citizens crossing into the country in May, thanks to a recent White House announcement about Title 42.
One of those officials is Chris T. Clem who took over in late 2020 as chief of the USBP’s Yuma Sector, a 181,670 square mile area along the 126 miles of U.S. / Mexico border between California’s Imperial Sand Dunes and the Yuma – Pima county line.
Clem brought 25 years of agency experience with him, including time with the El Paso Sector. But nothing could prepare him for the challenges he and his team would experience just one year later.
In early December 2021, Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls declared a state of emergency after USBP Yuma Sector agents apprehended 6,000 people in five days. It was the same number of apprehensions the Sector made in an average month, and many others were able to get past the overwhelmed agents.
On one weekend in mid-December, Clem announced more than 2,600 undocumented non-U.S. citizens (UNCs) had been encountered . There have also been multiple water rescues the last few months from the Salinity Canal, which has a swift current and steep banks putting agents at great risk.
While the current apprehensions in Yuma Sector are no longer breaking records, Clem’s agents have continued to stop UNCs from getting into the country. Many have been violent criminals, such as Omar Martinez-Gomez, a Mexican national arrested in March after it was determined he had been convicted of aggravated assault domestic violence for strangling his pregnant girlfriend.
Also apprehended last month was Carlos Enrique Naranjo Angel for illegally entering the U.S. after agents discovered Angel, 48, was previously convicted of sexual conduct with a child age three or under.
But come May 23, all bets could be off if the Biden Administration follows through on threats to lift Title 42 authority at the border. Title 42 of the U.S. Code has, since the 1890s, given federal public health officials power to take extraordinary measures during a pandemic to limit the introduction of communicable diseases.
Former President Donald Trump, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, invoked the authority in March 2020 as a way to slow COVID-19 at the U.S.-Mexico border by permitting border officials to deny entrance to anyone trying to enter the country. Reports show that more than 1.7 million people have been turned away under Title 42 authority.
The recent decision to forgo Title 42 was made after “considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics,” the CDC stated. Now, federal, state, and local officials fear the number of UNCs trying to get into the U.S. along the entire southwestern border will jump from about 7,000 per week to that many or more per day.
U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema has called on President Joe Biden to not end the Title 42 directive until a “firm, workable plan” is in place. Doing so without a comprehensive plan will put Arizonans as well as immigrants at risk, the Senator said.
Last month, the Chief and Sinema took part in a virtual roundtable with federal and non-governmental organizations to discuss solutions to the border crisis. Clem also spoke with Sinema about the resources which will be needed to manage the flow of immigrants.
“I’m grateful for Chief Clem’s work in keeping Arizona communities safe, and I will continue working with him and all of our partners on the ground on identifying solutions to strengthen our border security and ensure migrants are treated fairly and humanely,” said Sinema, Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee.
USBP is part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is now headed by former Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus. In turn, Magnus reports to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Private companies are free to discriminate against a business which is connected in some way to the firearms industry, but they should not be able to contract with the State of Arizona or other public entities if they do so.
That is the gist of House Bill 2473, which would cut off government contracts to any company that will not certify it does not currently discriminate against a firearm manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, supplier, or distributor, as well as a shooting range or firearm trade association. The company must also promise to not undertake such discrimination during the duration of the contract.
The intent is to prevent companies from using revenues procured from taxpayers to undermine the 2nd Amendment rights of those who paid for those contracts, according to HB2473’s sponsor, Rep. Frank Carroll.
HB2473 cleared the State House back in February and is now making its way through the Senate. Last week, Sen. David Gowan of the Senate Appropriations Committee welcomed testimony from people whose businesses have been impacted by discrimination against the firearms industry.
Among those who spoke was Tim Lowney, the vice president of operations for Sturm, Ruger & Company, which employees more than 400 Arizonans. Lowney told the committee that a few years ago Bank of America announced it would no longer do business with Ruger because it was part of the firearms industry.
“It was not based on any banking risks,” Lowney said, “We have a very strong balance sheet. We have virtually zero debt.”
Ruger, one of the top-rated gun manufacturers, was able to find another financial institution that wanted the company’s business, “but now that bank is starting to say the same thing,” Lowney said.
Carroll also addressed the committee, telling senators HB2473 “ensures corporations cannot benefit from contracts and subcontracts funded by taxpayers only to use their financial strength to unfairly discriminate against the firearm industry.”
His bill would apply to contracts valued at $100,000 or more offered by the State, a political subdivision of the state, or an agency, board, commission or department of the state or a political subdivision of the state.
The legislation stems in part from the Obama-era Operation Chokepoint to discourage -and in some cases, prevent- financial institutions such as banks and credit unions from providing services to a firearms manufacturer or even a neighborhood gun shop.
“Due to this deliberate action on the part of the Obama administration, some banks have ended relationships with legal and legitimate companies solely based on social and political views,” according to National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) which serves as the firearms industry trade association.
The position of NSSF is that corporations are “free to hold anti-Second Amendment policies if they choose” but should then forfeit their ability to compete in Arizona for public contracts which are funded by taxpayers.
HB2473 passed the Appropriations Committee and now awaits Senate President Karen Fann’s scheduling of a Third Reading to the full Senate.
The attention to attacks by private companies such as banks against the firearms industry comes as the NSSF recently released its 2022 Firearms and Ammunition Industry Economic Report.
According to the report, the industry generated more than $70.5 billion in revenue in 2021, driven by nearly 5.4 million new gun owners in 2021. And then there are the 375,000 jobs which support the industry and generated nearly $21.4 billion in wages at a time many industries were still reeling from the pandemic.
The NSSF reported about 169,000 of those workers are employed by gun and ammunition makers, wholesalers, and dealers. The other 206,000 or so are employed by suppliers and ancillary industries.
Nearly 12,000 of the jobs, along with $778,635 in wages, were based in Arizona, the report noted. That put Arizona in the top ten of total industry related jobs. The state is also in the top 10 states for federal excise taxes generated.
“The economic contributions of our industry are indisputably contributing to every state and every community,” NSSF CEO Joe Bartozzi said in a statement. “This is the hallmark of the hard-working men and women who prove that the American firearm and ammunition industry is strong.”
Last month the Professional Bull Riders rode into the Gila River Arena in Glendale for a weekend event which drew attention to the work done by U.S. Border Patrol employees and the job opportunities the federal law enforcement agency offers.
The PBR U.S. Border Patrol Invitational on March 12-13 featured the top 35 riders in the world putting on a show for more than 18,500 spectators, many of whom worked for USBP. The event, however, was more than a fun time – it is a way recognize the efforts of local employees and promote the numerous types of careers available within the agency.
“U.S. Border Patrol uses PBR as a tool to educate fans about employment opportunities,” PBR spokesman Andrew Giangola told AZ Free News. “PBR is one of USBP’s most effective means for attracting qualified candidates to serve in protecting our nation, according to the agency.”
USBP Tucson Sector Chief John Modlin recently gave a shout out to the PBR and the Glendale event on Twitter, sharing a highlight video celebrating the weekend’s rodeo excitement along with the service of the men and women of USBP.
Giangola says the U.S. Border Patrol has been a title sponsor of one PBR event a year since 2018. But the agency’s involvement with PBR is not limited to just its title event, as the USBP Honor Guard participates at many events across the country and the agency sponsors some of the sport’s top riders.
This year, that sponsorship includes Cooper Davis, the 2016 world champion; Keyshawn Whitehorse, the 2017 rookie of the year; Daylon Swearingen, the 2019 college bull riding champion; and Andrew Alvidrez, who has been a top 30 rider the last three years.
And then there are the bullfighters – PBR’s name for the safety workers who are on the dirt in the arena with the bulls and riders. At the recent event in Glendale, the bullfighters donned U.S. Border Patrol vests and other regalia, drawing even more attention to the agency.
Those who missed last month’s PBR event will have another opportunity later in the year to watch professional bull riding when PBR’s new Team Series comes to the Gila River Arena on Oct. 14 to 16.
The three day event is part of a 10 event season which will run from July to November with eight founding teams, including the Arizona Ridge Riders.
“Each stop on the schedule will be a real happening, with plenty of fun events for fans and opportunities to come together to rally around their team,” said Sean Gleason, PBR’s CEO and Commissioner. “It will be exciting to watch the local fan base in Arizona grow.”
The league will host its first PBR Team Series draft on May 23 with the Ridge Riders having the sixth draft pick. Each team will be comprised of seven riders and three practice squad members, with five riders per team competing at each event.
All PBR Team Series events will be carried on either the CBS Television Network, streaming live on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, or RidePass on Pluto TV. The team championship will be held in Las Vegas.
After more than two years, Arizona is finally out from under the COVID-19 Declaration of Emergency ordered by Gov. Doug Ducey on March 11, 2020.
“Today I am terminating the state’s COVID-19 State of Emergency. Thanks to the hard work of many — health care workers, businesses, public and private sector employees — COVID-19 is no longer an emergency in Arizona,” Ducey said Wednesday of his action which takes effect immediately.
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) reports that suspected COVID-19 cases now represent less than 1.5 percent of emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Ducey noted that while COVID-19 is not gone, the availability of the vaccine and other measures has allowed Arizonans to be better positioned to manage and mitigate it.
“COVID-19 challenged us in ways we never could’ve imagined. No corner of our state – no corner of our country or the world – was spared,” he said. “But we met that challenge head on by prioritizing lives, livelihoods and individual liberties. The time is right to move forward.”
ADHS’s website shows 29,268 death in Arizona attributed to COVID-19 since the pandemic started in 2020. Less than 400 COVID deaths were reported across the state in the last week.
Dr. Richard Carmona, who is serving as Ducey’s special advisor for public health preparedness, expressed confidence Wednesday that Arizona is prepared to address an expected future increase in cases due to virus mutations.
“We now have the experience and tools in place to address what may be to come while public health continues doing what we do best: infectious disease surveillance, prevention, and control,” Carmona said.
The termination of the public health state of emergency does not mean the end to various tracking of COVID-19 cases. According to ADHS, information about immunizations, deaths, hospitalizations, and lab results will continue to be gathered.
Ducey’s announcement allows each of the state’s 15 counties to continue any emergency declarations they currently have in place. The same is true for any cities and towns.
In response, the chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors formally ended the county’s own emergency declaration from March 2020. That won’t stop the county from expending millions of dollars of American Rescue Plan Act funds to address the ongoing economic impact COVID-19 has had on Maricopa County residents, businesses, and schools.
