Arizona Senate Democrats are protesting their Republicans’ efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
Last week, three Democrats walked out of the Arizona Senate Military Affairs, Public Safety and Border Security Committee, during a hearing on HB 2748. The bill would “make it unlawful for a person who is an alien (unlawful immigrant) to enter the State of Arizona from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry,” and it would “outline penalties for violations of illegally entering the state and provide immunity from civil liability and indemnification for state and local government officials, employees and contractors who enforce this prohibition” – according to the purpose from the chamber.
The proposal was sponsored by Republican State Representative Joseph Chaplik.
After three Democrats in committee walked out over discussion of the bill, the Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus “X” account posted, “Senate Democrats are turning their back on Arizona just like Biden has turned his back on America. Today, Democrat Senators walked out of committee in protest of hearing bills aimed at securing our southern border and protecting Arizonans against border-related crimes. As border-related crimes have more than doubled in some areas of our state, Democrats continue to be more concerned about protecting criminals than Arizona citizens.”
Senate Democrats are turning their back on Arizona just like Biden has turned his back on America.
Today, Democrat Senators walked out of committee in protest of hearing bills aimed at securing our southern order and protecting Arizonans against border-related crimes.
After the walkout and vote, Senator David Gowan, the committee’s chair, said, “Senate Democrats are turning their back on Arizona, just like Biden has turned his back on America. This week, the Democrat senators pictured on the right walked out of my committee on Military Affairs, Public Safety & Border Security in protest of hearing bills aimed at securing our southern border and protecting Arizonans against the horrific crimes associated with the invasion. This criminal activity has more than doubled in some areas of our state, including my home of Cochise County.”
Gowan added, “Sadly, Senators Gabaldon, Diaz, and Bravo refuse to even have a conversation on solutions to protect our citizens. They disgracefully chose to pose for photos, rather than listen to powerful testimony and discussion regarding several solutions, including the mirror to my Aggravated Unlawful Flight bill, which would create tougher penalties for drivers who endanger the life of another person while attempting to flee law enforcement. Our law enforcement and the citizens of Arizona deserve more respect.”
The piece of legislation passed out of the committee with a 4-0 vote (with three members not voting).
Last month, the bill was approved by the Arizona House of Representatives with a 31-28 vote (with one vacant seat).
The bill stands a certain chance of a veto from Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, who has already rejected one other Republican solution to the border crisis.
HB 2748 will now be considered by the full Senate chamber.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
According to the purpose statement from the chamber, SB 1436 will “add stalking, voyeurism and aggravated assault by way of strangulation or domestic violence to the list of felony offenses that qualify for lifetime injunctions.”
In a comment following the governor’s executive action, Senator Bolick said, “I’m proud to share that our fight to hold accountable criminals who commit sex crimes, particularly when they involve our children, is gaining momentum. My bill, SB 1436, was signed into law this week. It expands ‘Kayleigh’s Law’ to allow victims of stalking, strangulation in domestic violence, and voyeurism to obtain lifetime injunctions against their offenders. ‘Kayleigh’s Law’ took effect in 2022 and allows victims of dangerous crimes to obtain lifetime injunctions against their abusers.”
Kayleigh Kozak wrote on her “X” account, “Thank you Senator Bolick for sponsoring these important amendments to ‘Kayleigh’s Law’!”
Thank you Senator Bolick for sponsoring these important amendments to “Kayleigh’s Law”! https://t.co/4XspNo7vvN
Bolick added, “Kayleigh Kozak helped spearhead the measure and has been a strong supporter of other efforts to increase penalties for these crimes, including a ballot referral I sponsored to give voters the opportunity to decide if criminals who engage in child sex trafficking should face life in prison. It targets criminals who engage in child sex trafficking and should face life in prison. It targets offenders who are convicted of a class 2 felony and would block eligibility for any form of release. It officially passed out of the legislature this week and will be on the November ballot.”
SB 1436 passed the Arizona Senate on February 15 with a 26-0 vote (with four members not voting). The bill was given the green light from the Arizona House of Representatives on March 13 with a 51-8 vote (with one member not voting).
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Home builders are warning that Gov. Katie Hobbs’ moratorium on home building will hurt the state’s economy severely.
The Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA) cited a recent study by Elliott Pollack, a Scottsdale-based real estate and economic consulting firm.
“From an economic perspective, the sudden and drastic measures announcing no new certifications of assured water supply from groundwater created uncertainty and risk, an effective deterrent to potential investors in our state’s economy,” read the study. “The prevailing sentiment that Arizona is out of water is now a significant hurdle that requires educating all future potential investment in our State.”
The study projected that the governor’s moratorium on new builds, imposed last June by ceasing certifications of assured water supply, could cost the Phoenix area over 26,000 jobs over the next decade. That, along with a projection that the moratorium would exacerbate the state’s affordable housing crisis.
Hobbs issued the moratorium in response to an Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) report projecting a 100-year deficit of four percent in groundwater for the greater Phoenix area.
I unveiled the latest study of groundwater conditions across the Phoenix metropolitan area. Families and businesses from around the world come to Arizona in part because we are serious about water management, and that we are the leader in safeguarding groundwater supplies. ⬇️1/4
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) June 1, 2023
Assured water supply requires demonstration that developers have a plan to use groundwater in compliance with water management rules set by the ADWR and facilitated by the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD).
After ADWR allowed CAGRD membership to meet the renewable water management obligations in 1995, an estimated 460,000 homes were built, bringing in over 1.2 million residents. CAGRD’s existence ensured that water providers and landowners wouldn’t be on the hook for assuring the 100-year renewable water supply up front.
After the ADWR rule change concerning CAGRD, Elliott Pollack reported that the state brought in $50.4 billion in wages and $135.7 billion in economic impact. CAGRD region residents also spent over $180 billion in the local economy, and contributed over $35 billion in tax revenues.
According to a long-term forecast by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), one out of seven newly built homes would be in Buckeye by 2030, with an estimated 14 percent of new builds cropping up in the city through 2060. That’s up to 3,700 new builds annually on average. However, Elliott Pollack said that this long-term forecast wouldn’t come to fruition under Hobbs’ moratorium — meaning, the expectation of the economy-boosting annual influx of around 10,000 new residents wouldn’t occur.
The study further projected the moratorium could cause mass out-of-state migration by escalating home prices in formerly affordable housing regions, with the supply of homes under $400,000 dwindling or ceasing to exist altogether. The median home price in Arizona sits at around $434,000.
Mortgage rates would demand a minimal income of about $100,000 to afford a $400,000 home. Census data estimated that around 40 percent of the greater Phoenix area’s population made $100,000 or more as of 2022, and further estimated median household income to be about $72,000.
That means about 60 percent of the area wouldn’t be able to afford a home in the area.
The study also found that most out-of-state migration from Arizona was to cities with more affordable homes. Out of nearly 30 cities analyzed, 25 had median home prices more affordable than Arizona’s.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
State Rep. Justin Heap (R-LD10) wants Arizona to conduct its own census excluding illegal immigrants.
Heap proposed the plan through his resolution for a ballot proposal, HCR2058. The resolution would enable the state to have its Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) or a legislative designee conduct a state census in years ending in zero in order to create legislative districts of equal citizen population. The resolution passed the House last month along party lines and is now working its way through the Senate, with Senate Appropriations scheduled to review the resolution on Tuesday.
“The United States Supreme Court has declined to limit redistricting methods to any single specific population metric and has expressly recognized the permissibility of drawing districts on the basis of eligible voter populations,” states the resolution. “An Arizona specific decennial census of the citizen population will ensure that redistricting determinations are predicated on accurate and current data.”
Should the IRC not complete the state census by Dec. 31 of any year ending in zero, then the IRC would use data from the Census Bureau or a successor agency to determine citizen populations of each legislative district. The resolution would also grant authority to any lawmaker to initiate an action or proceeding to ensure the IRC’s completion of the census and legislative district mapping.
During the House floor vote last month, Heap emphasized that the ballot proposal wouldn’t bind the state to conducting its own census.
“It doesn’t require that we conduct a census: if we don’t either for budgetary reasons or logistical reasons we don’t feel that we can conduct the census on a statewide level, then we just default to the federal as we’ve always done,” said Heap.
Heap further explained during the initial House committee hearing on the bill last month that the federal census has presented a “growing problem” of abstaining from asking about citizenship status.
The Census Bureau didn’t ask about citizenship status in the 2020 Census, after the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to include the question on the form. As a result, the bureau has confirmed that both citizens and illegal immigrants are included in the resident population for the census.
Last year, the Census Bureau announced it would test-run questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in its American Community Survey beginning this year.
Heap blamed the federal government’s alleged poor census-taking for the state not earning its highly anticipated tenth congressional seat in 2020.
“It was widely seen that Arizona was undercounted by the census, resulting in the loss of us receiving another vote,” said Heap. “It’s also widely known that California has two to three additional representative seats in the House that they should not have because noncitizens in California are being counted.”
Heap dismissed the concerns of the cost to the state. He referenced the cost of the last federal census, about $14 billion, for the entire country as indicative that a single-state census wouldn’t cost too much.
“Arizona can do it better, if we choose to,” said Heap.
Last year, Heap posted on X that census records have likely underreported the illegal immigrant population.
“[T]he U.S. census is not the reliable source in determining the undocumented population because that population avoids contact with government and do not cooperate with the census,” said Heap. “So the reported [illegal immigrant] pollution in any census record is just an estimate and is more likely to be heavily under reported.”
I didn't say they were the problem. I said that the U.S. census is not the reliable source in determining the undocumented population because that population avoids contact with government and do not cooperate with the census. So the reported I.I. pollution in any census record…
— Az State Rep. Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) May 24, 2023
Heap also claimed that illegal immigrants usually don’t speak with census workers.
All of you are failing to follow the basic premise so let me give an analogy. Let's say the census is taken of a small community. This community is made up of 100 native-born citizens, 100 foriegn-born legal immigrants, and 100 illegal undocumented farm workers. The Census goes…
— Az State Rep. Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) May 24, 2023
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In the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD), about half of students preparing to move up into high school understand math.
Only 54 percent of eighth grade SUSD students met proficiency in math per standardized testing, yet the district has further divided precious classroom time into teaching concepts like gender identity and how to successfully disrupt fact-finding dialogue.
Organized SUSD parents, teachers, and community members critical of the district’s academic focus have questioned why their schools continue to branch out into new educational pursuits when the basics remain unmastered. Those parents have gone so far as to criticize the modern content as unacademic.
“Less than half of Scottsdale Unified 8th graders are proficient in math, yet the district continues to approve resources that divert class time away from academics,” stated Scottsdale Unites for Education Integrity (SUEI).
Less than half of Scottsdale Unified 8th graders are proficient in math, yet the district continues to approve resources that divert class time away from academics.
— Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (@ScottsdaleUnite) March 25, 2024
However, SUSD touted their math proficiency percentage as a win during their board meeting last November, since it was technically higher than the 2022 national average of 26 percent and 2023 state average of 27 percent for eighth graders.
Math proficiency steadily declined from grade 3 onward, both in the district and statewide.
The contested concepts of gender identity and disruption of fact-finding dialogue occur within the permitted supplemental district curriculum for social studies (grades 3-12) and digital citizenship (grades K-12). Within these supplemental curriculums, teachers may choose from media literacy lessons on a wide variety of topics. Parents have challenged the necessity of these curriculums for delving into topics like hate speech, climate change, social justice, antiracism, Black Lives Matter, and transgenderism.
SUSD also requires high school students to learn media literacy as part of the “Digital Future” and “American and Arizona Government” courses.
The media literacy curriculum serves as the latest issue to emerge for SUSD community members.
Since increased parental and community scrutiny brought on by the pandemic, SUSD families have been sounding the alarm on their district’s trajectory. Their concerns have yielded various discoveries over the years, many of which have indicated a tendency for the district to keep parents in the dark on major developmental concerns, such as gender identity struggles, and a practice of encouraging minors to explore their gender identity through secretive gender transition plans and sexuality through outlets like GSA clubs.
Last month, SUSD was featured on Parents Defending Education’s list of schools with a gender support plan. SUSD’s gender support plan enables students to embark on a gender transition journey without the knowledge of their parents.
SUSD’s plan appeared to be nearly identical to a version published by Gender Spectrum, an organization advocating for transgenderism in minors. The organization hosted a controversial chat room promoted on the Arizona Department of Education website by former Superintendent Kathy Hoffman.
Gender Spectrum’s top sponsor is Pearson, one of the biggest providers of educational materials internationally.
Other Arizona districts listed by Parents Defending Education as having their own versions of gender support plans were Casa Grande Elementary School District, Creighton Elementary District, Ganado Unified School District, Kayenta Unified School District, Mesa Unified School District, Naco Elementary School District, Osborn Elementary School District, and Tucson Unified School District.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The Arizona attorney general joined the Justice Department and 15 other state and district Attorneys General in suing Apple for monopolization or attempted monopolization of smartphone markets.
Filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the civil antitrust lawsuit holds that Apple illegally maintains a monopoly over smartphones by selectively imposing contractual restrictions on and withholding critical access points from developers.
“Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs for consumers and developers,” the news release says.
Apple’s monopoly power allows it to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, according to the news release. The lawsuit aims to restore competition to the market.
Apple generated annual net revenues of $383 billion and net income of $97 billion in fiscal year 2023. Apple’s net income exceeds any other company in the Fortune 500 and the gross domestic products of more than 100 countries.
The complaint says that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone and performance smartphones markets. It uses its control over the iPhone to engage in a broad, sustained, and illegal course of conduct, maximizing revenue, the complaint continues.
Apple’s anticompetitive course of conduct includes blocking innovative super apps, suppressing mobile cloud streaming services, excluding cross platform messaging apps, diminishing the functionality of non-apple smart watches, and limiting third party digital wallet apps.
Other alleged illegal conduct includes affecting web browsers, video communication, news subscriptions, entertainment, automotive services, advertising, location services, and more.
In 2021, Arizona State Rep. Regina Cobb tried to fight the “anti-competitive and monopolistic practices of Big Tech” by passing a bill targeting Apple’s fees by requiring companies that run app stores with over a million downloads per year to allow apps to offer alternative payment processors.
But House Bill 2005 disappeared before a scheduled vote that could have sent it straight to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Cobb said at the time that the fight to lower costs for businesses and consumers is far from over.
“I will never be intimidated by Silicon Valley and their bully tactics,” she said. “In fact, Big Tech’s desperation to kill HB 2005 has calcified my opinion that checking their monopoly power is more important than ever.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
