A bill to strengthen the prohibition on using public resources to influence an election is winding through the Arizona legislature.
Sponsored by Sen. John Kavanagh (R-LD3), SB 1036 was passed by the Arizona State Senate last month. The bill clarifies penalties for violations and grants residents the ability to file lawsuits against government entities accused of misusing taxpayer funds for political purposes.
SB 1036 expands Arizona’s existing laws prohibiting public entities—including cities, towns, counties, and school districts—from using government resources to sway election outcomes. Under the bill, a resident of a jurisdiction where a violation occurs can file a lawsuit in superior court. If the court rules in favor of the resident, any civil penalties collected would be paid directly to the resident. The definition of “influencing an election” is broadened to include any presentation of information that is not neutral or impartial, and courts may impose fines of up to $5,000 per violation, plus additional penalties equal to the value of misused public resources.
Arizona law has long prohibited public entities from using government resources—such as taxpayer funds, public facilities, and government personnel—to support or oppose candidates or ballot measures. However, concerns over enforcement and legal loopholes have led lawmakers to introduce additional measures like SB 1036.
Supporters argue that the bill strengthens accountability by giving residents the power to challenge government misuse in court. They believe it will deter public officials from using taxpayer money for political purposes.
SB 1036 passed through the Senate’s Government Committee with a 4-3 vote. The bill now sits in the House for further debate.
Senator Kavanagh has emphasized the importance of maintaining the integrity of taxpayer-funded resources, stating, “This bill ensures that public funds are not used to tip the scales in elections. Voters should have confidence that their tax dollars are not being used for political agendas.”
As the legislation progresses, Arizona lawmakers and voters will continue to debate the balance between election transparency and government communications.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A rash of copper theft has exploded over the Phoenix metro area with Lumen Technologies, the parent company of CenturyLink, observing a 76% year-over-year spike. The increase in theft has been connected with both small-time criminals and drug addicts, as well as organized criminal enterprises targeting critical communications infrastructure.
In an emailed statement, Lumen Technologies’ Sr. Media Relations Manager Rachael Adair described the level of damage occurring as “rivaling natural disasters.” She warned that “these thefts can disrupt essential services, affecting access to online health and emergency services, and endangering people with medical devices. Manholes containing gas and power lines pose severe risks if tampered with.”
In an interview with AZ Free News, CenturyLink’s Head of Corporate Security Dan Chason, a 33-year law enforcement veteran, explained: “The Phoenix area of Arizona is in the top five of total losses when we rank by state. They’re in the top five as far as the amount of losses, and those losses have increased 76%.”
The losses Chason referred to include copper thefts, fiber cuts, and any equipment losses that Lumen sustains in the Arizona market. As previously reported by AZ Free News, the Tucson area was hit by a wave of copper thefts in late 2024 that left whole neighborhoods literally in the dark with street lights and traffic signals stripped.
When asked why the spike CenturyLink has seen is happening in Phoenix, Chason was answered, “The crimes now seem to be more located in the metro area of Phoenix. And there’s a reason. If I showed you a map, and I can show you a map. There’s 17 resellers in a 20 block area. Some of these are fly by night. Some of them are legit. But for the most part, they all have to abide by the law and the law is you have to have an identification and a photo ID, and you have to be the one who possesses the copper.”
The former police officer tied the phenomenon directly to drug abuse adding, “But what happens is these organized, I call them gangs, but these organized groups. They send a girlfriend, a cousin, or somebody in there to sell the copper so their name doesn’t appear on the log, yet they’re logging in. We had one situation in another state where we had a reseller that was trading crack cocaine for wire. So that tells you the type of people we’re dealing with. You got people who are looking for that next fix. They are the ones predominantly doing it. They’re looking for that next fix, and if they can go in that pedestal and make 60 bucks, they’re tickled. And that’s how they support their habit.”
He also noted Arizona’s location on the border with Mexico as a potential vector for resellers to offload the stolen copper. “You have organized groups who actually make their living doing this. The problem with Arizona? It’s not beyond the scope of imagination that you can put all this together. Get a load of cable and it goes across the border, never to be seen again. That’s the other aspect of the Southwest. It’s where it’s resold.” He noted that the resale value is higher in Mexico.
Chason also noted that while CenturyLink has seen spikes in theft in the past, “This one is right in-line to be as bad as it was before. And our losses the last time exceeded $1,000,000. So we’re very concerned about it. The problem with this issue is these thieves go out and it’s like, they’re shopping. ‘Where can I make a quick buck?’ And when you have less than scrupulous resellers that buy it without tracing where the source of it is, they go and they cash it in. They get the money.”
He said that although CenturyLink has increased security at key facilities, that isn’t always where thieves strike. “They cut down aerial wires, rip out the pedestal wires, even go into our manhole, into what we call vaults. And they go in there and it’s like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
Lumen Technologies and CenturyLink are appealing to Arizonans for help as summer approaches. “The thing that we ask the public is to be eyes and ears because this crime is not a victimless crime. Think about it. Your grandmother is at home, lives out in the sticks, falls, and breaks a hip. How does she call 911?” he asked.
“Our services affect public safety, hospitals, prisons, and your personal life up to and including your cell carrier. The big cell carriers use our fiber and our lines to provide their service so you can knockout cell carriers just by cutting some of these wires.”
Focusing on what the industry needs from lawmakers, Chason said he would ask the authorities to “stop defining this as a property crime. It’s not a property crime. It is a critical infrastructure crime.”
He continued, “Because when you hit us, you affect every possible service out there. For example, they cut some copper and fiber in Tacoma, Washington that fed the port of Tacoma and shut down the entire port. The same cut shut down a prison. It shut down a hospital. We hear these horror stories over and over and over again. And here’s where it’s going to lead. It’s going to lead to the loss of life. That’s exactly where it’s going, and all we’re asking the AG is this. We are working with our legislative branch. We have a legislative and government affairs branch that is working on legislation in Arizona right now.”
Chason concluded that the issue will persist “until we get these designated as a serious crime that has serious penalties.” He continued, “Because our biggest issue is police response because they view it as a property crime. I had a detective tell me that ‘if it ain’t bleeding, don’t call me.’ We defund the police. We don’t give the police the resources that they need, and I’m sensitive to that because that’s where I come from.
“But the fact remains, we are part of that tax base and part of that community, and our job is to be able to serve our customers with the promises that we make. And when you have customers that are without services for weeks because of having to reroute our crews to service the same cuts over and over and over again…. We had one cut, we were repairing an aerial cable in the curve of a road, our crew is on the upper curve repairing, and the thieves are back on the other again, cutting it again! It’s a vicious cycle.
“And it’s not going to change until the public says that’s enough. I’m not feeding your drug habit anymore. That’s enough. If you see something, say something. And once we get that and we can make enough noise, the police will respond.”
The Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE) declined to approve the new handbook for the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program.
ASBE discussed the proposed 2025-2026 ESA Handbook during its meeting on Monday. Though it had the opportunity to approve the handbook during the meeting, a majority of the board indicated a desire to abstain from voting on the handbook until their upcoming April meeting.
Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Tom Horne motioned for ASBE to take a vote on the handbook, but no other board member seconded his motion.
The ESA executive director, John Ward, said the new handbook was more user friendly, with information clarified and organized, redundancies reduced, hyperlinked statutes and rules, a clarified list of spending limits on items associated with risks of abuse, and a new chapter on enrollments.
A point of concern for ASBE board members related to ESA Program approvals of expenditures, namely of the sort opposed by Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Mayes’ Government Accountability Unit launched an investigation into the ESA Program over its expense authorizations last July. Mayes accused the ESA Program of approving supplementary materials without documentation of a curriculum nexus, approving certain curriculum materials without curriculum documentation, and approving textbook expenses without documentation demonstrating a qualified school or eligible postsecondary institution requires it.
During Monday’s meeting, Ward clarified there were certain “common” educational items for which the ESA Program didn’t require curriculum in order to not burden families, such as pencils and paper. Ward said the attorney general’s letter prompted them to split the supplemental materials listings into two: those that will always require a curriculum nexus and those that are general educational items which, pending the ongoing court case’s outcome on the matter, may never require a curriculum nexus.
There were over 87,600 students reported within the ESA program as of Tuesday.
The ESA Program continues to be a source of conflict between statewide officials.
Governor Katie Hobbs targeted the ESA Program during her State of the State address in January. Hobbs’ criticisms prompted a rebuttal from Horne; he said the governor was ignorant to the administration of the program.
In his explanation of the new ESA Program Handbook earlier this month, Horne dismissed one major opposing claim: that the program needs to reimburse parents without question of the expenses.
Horne said the ADE’s oversight of expenditures successfully prevented abusive charges, such as a $5,000 Rolex watch and a $24,000 golf simulator.
“[These are] abuse of things that are not really for the educational benefit of the child. It’s obvious there has to be some limitations,” said Horne.
Unlike his predecessor, Horne has repeatedly stepped up to defend the ESA Program.
“Parents should have the choice to be sure their child is in a school that meets the needs of that child,” said Horne. “The ESAs are really not really a challenge to the public schools; they supplement them and make sure that all students are in an environment where needs are being met.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The Arizona State Legislature is advancing a measure to urge the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to prioritize affordable and reliable energy sources over intermittent renewable energy alternatives such as solar and wind.
House Concurrent Memorial 2014 (HCM 2014), introduced by State Representative Justin Olson, calls on the ACC to prevent regulated utilities from shutting down dispatchable energy sources, including natural gas and coal, in pursuit of Net Zero goals.
The legislation, which does not carry the force of law but serves as a formal request to the ACC, asks the Commission to ensure Arizona’s electrical grid remains powered by affordable and reliable energy sources; prevent regulated utilities from phasing out critical, dispatchable energy sources such as coal and natural gas in favor of renewable alternatives that may be costly and unreliable; and adopt a national model policy, “Only Pay for What You Get,” which requires utilities to recover costs only from the reliable portion of new energy generation sources.
The bill passed the Arizona House of Representatives on February 26, 2025, with a vote of 33-26-1, and was referred to the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee for further consideration.
HCM. 2014 comes amid a broader debate on the future of Arizona’s energy policies. The ACC, which regulates the state’s investor-owned utilities, has faced increasing pressure from policymakers, industry groups, and environmental advocates over how to balance affordability, reliability, and sustainability in energy production.
Supporters of the measure argue that shifting too quickly to renewable energy sources without proper reliability safeguards could lead to increased costs for ratepayers and potential grid instability.
If approved by the Senate, copies of HCM 2014 will be transmitted to the Chairperson and each Commissioner of the ACC, urging them to align state energy policies with the resolution’s recommendations. While the ACC operates independently, legislative pressure could influence future regulatory decisions regarding Arizona’s energy transition.
As Arizona continues to navigate its energy future, the debate over affordability, reliability, and sustainability is expected to remain a contentious issue among lawmakers, utility providers, and consumers.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Senate advanced legislation that would impose “civil liability on health care professionals or physicians relating to gender transition or detransition procedures provided to minors.”
The bill, SB 1586, which was introduced by Arizona Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp, (R-LD-29) would bring about legal protections for children and teens who have been subjected to so-called ‘gender transition procedures’ and suffered serious consequences of the alleged ‘treatment’ later in life. It would also set grounds for medical malpractice lawsuits to follow.
SB 1586 was passed in the Senate on in early March along party lines. It was given its first and second reading in the House of Representatives on the 12th and 13th.
In a statement following the bill’s Senate passage, Sen. Shamp said, “We have heard many tragic stories about young boys and girls who have submitted to life-altering procedures to change their gender – only to experience severe repercussions later on when they mature.”
She continued, “While Arizona law is clear against these types of procedures, there is more we as lawmakers can do to deter physicians and providers from entertaining any of the illegal and immoral operations that are ravaging our young people. Republicans again have shown their willingness to do what is necessary to stop the harmful mutilation of our children’s bodies, and we will continue to fight on behalf of our precious sons and daughters until these inhumane and ungodly practices are abolished. If there is nothing wrong with these procedures, then this policy won’t apply.”
Shamp also highlighted the bill in a recent release with a vow to implement a “Make Arizona Healthy Again” agenda.
Sharing AZ Senate Republicans video of the bill’s passage, Shamp simply stated “Do no harm!,” citing the Hippocratic Oath taken by all doctors.
If enacted, the bill would set “the grounds for which a medical malpractice action may be brought forward,” adding that, “a health care professional or physician who provides or provided a minor with a gender transition procedure is strictly and personally liable for all costs associated with subsequent detransition procedures sought by the minor within 25 years after the commencement of a gender transition procedure.”
The bill would also allow victims and their families to bring a civil action lawsuit for, “a) declaratory or injunctive relief; b) compensatory damages, including pain and suffering, loss of reputation, loss of income and loss of consortium, including the loss of the expectation of sharing parenthood; c) punitive damages; d) attorney fees and costs; and e) any other appropriate relief.”
The Arizona Court of Appeals judge in the “alternate electors” case donated to Attorney General Mayes when she was campaigning on prosecuting President Donald Trump’s 2020 electors.
On Wednesday, the day after Attorney General Kris Mayes asked the court to reject the lower court’s ruling, the appeals court held oral arguments in the alternate electors case.
The appeals court judge on the case, Andrew Jacobs, was appointed by Governor Katie Hobbs in February 2023. Jacobs donated $500 to Mayes’ campaign for the office in 2022. At the time, Jacobs was an attorney with Snell and Wilmer.
Several days after Mayes promised publicly to investigate the 2020 electors, Jacobs submitted his first donation to her campaign.
“I would have immediately investigated the alternate electors as Attorney General,” said Mayes. “Arizona needs a #LawyerForthePeople.”
Another glaring example of Brnovich abdicating his duties. I would have immediately investigated the fake electors as Attorney General. There is no mystery about what happened here. The fake electors videotaped their crime for all to see. Arizona needs a #LawyerForThePeople. https://t.co/rH64dvM7BN
Jacobs submitted his second donation to Mayes’ campaign the day after an Arizona Republic article emerged highlighting the differences between her and then-opponent (now congressman) Abe Hamadeh.
Yes indeed. And I am looking forward to being your Attorney General as a #LawyerForThePeople — not Trump. Abe Hamadeh and Kris Mayes display stark differences in Arizona attorney general race https://t.co/gALqWJCtY1
A source that observed the emergency hearing described Jacobs as “hostile” to the electors. During oral arguments, the conflict of interest was raised, however, Jacbos still voted on an issue in the case, the decision to grant a stay.
Last month, Maricopa County Judge Sam Myers ruled the 2020 electors, 16 in total, provided sufficient evidence that Mayes’ case against them may be dismissable for violating Arizona’s Anti-SLAPP law.
Anti-SLAPP, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” imposes civil liability against any state actor that brings or maintains a legal action substantially motivated by a desire to deter, retaliation against, or prevent free speech and association.
Myers said the 2020 electors demonstrated their actions to comprise “at least in part some arguably lawful speech.” Myers cited Mayes’ remarks announcing the indictments as potential proof of a political motivation behind her prosecution.
Mayes disagreed with the ruling. The attorney general said the 2020 creation of an alternate elector slate didn’t constitute free speech and shouldn’t be afforded constitutional protections.
“It is not the lawful exercise of free speech to file forged slates of electors to deprive Arizona voters of their right to vote,” said Mayes.
In order to counter Myers’ ruling, Mayes had to prove in a brief due earlier this week that she wasn’t motivated by a desire to retaliate or deter the 2020 electors’ free speech rights.
The outcome of that motion to dismiss the case remains pending.
Myers did deny motions to dismiss Mayes’ case last week, however. The motions claimed Mayes lacked authority to bring the case to court and failed to allege crimes committed.
Last November, the first judge on the case, Bruce Cohen, recused himself after emails emerged in which he ordered his fellow judges to come to the defense of then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The defendants in the case include former AZGOP Chair Dr. Kelli Ward, Dr. Michael Ward, former executive director of the AZGOP Greg Safsten, former Arizona State Senator Anthony Kern, former Senate Candidate Jim Lamon, former Cochise County Republican Committee chair Robert Montgomery, former Cochise County Republican Committee chair Samuel Moorhead, Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman, Turning Point USA COO Tyler Bowyer, and attorneys John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, Christina Bobb, as well as President Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Campaign Aide Boris Epshteyn, and director of Election Day operations Mike Roman.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
