As more bills make their way to Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ office, the rate of usage for her veto stamp has accelerated.
On Monday, Governor Hobbs vetoed four pieces of legislation that were recently transmitted from the Legislature to her office, giving her a total of 24 vetoes for this session.
The bills that Hobbs vetoed were HB 2427 (sponsored by Representative Matt Gress), HB 2440 (sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin), HB 2472 (sponsored by Representative Steve Montenegro), and HB 2056 (sponsored by Representative Lupe Diaz).
HB 2427 would have classified, “as aggravated assault punishable as a class 3 felony, assault against a pregnant victim if the person knows or has reason to know the victim is pregnant and circumstances exist that classify the offense as domestic violence.” In her veto letter, Hobbs pointed to “Arizona’s leading advocacy organization for victims of domestic violence” saying that the bill “will do nothing to deter domestic violence offenses or support pregnant victims.”
This bill garnered the most outrage out of the four Hobbs vetoed Monday. Bill sponsor, Matt Gress, responded on Twitter, saying, “Regarding HB 2427, I’ll never apologize for toughening penalties on abusers who assault pregnant women.”
Regarding #HB2427, I’ll never apologize for toughening penalties on abusers who assault pregnant women.
I also agree with Governor Hobbs that we should increase assistance to victims. That’s why I introduced #HB2805 that would provide an additional $5M for crime victims. https://t.co/iD7oguW9ut
— Arizona Freedom Caucus (@AZFreedomCaucus) April 4, 2023
However, as expected, Legislative Democrats cheered the governor’s veto of this bill immediately following the announcement from her office. Senator Anna Hernandez said, “This veto was crucial for protecting Arizonans from an underhanded attack on reproductive justice. Representative Gress and the Joint Republicans Caucus’ continued assault on our rights to safe and accessible abortion indicate that their ‘pro-life’ stance has always been about control not care.” And Representative Analise Ortiz added, “The Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence agreed that HB 2427 did nothing to protect survivors. To prevent domestic violence, we must invest in real solutions by expanding access to counseling, housing, childcare, and economic stability.”
For Immediate Release: “The Right Decision” – Democratic Judiciary Leads Applaud Hobbs Veto to Protect Reproductive Healthcare pic.twitter.com/6g5K9dx7nA
— Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) April 3, 2023
HB 2440 would have required “public power entities and public service corporations to prioritize reliable and affordable electric service when conducting infrastructure planning and investments.” Hobbs justified her decision by writing that the bill “is unnecessary and creates regulatory uncertainty in instances where affordability and reliability may be at odds.”
HB 2472 would have prohibited “the State of Arizona from requiring a bank or financial institution to use a social credit score when the bank or financial institution evaluates whether to lend money to a customer.” Hobbs explained that she believed “this bill is overly vague and should not be codified into law,” in part, because “it does not define ‘social credit scores’ – nor do those systems exist anywhere in the United States.”
HB 2056 would have exempted “a dry wash, arroyo, swale, gully or rill or other similar erosional feature that is characterized by low volume, infrequent or short duration flows from the Dredge and Fill Permit Program.” Hobbs argued that this bill created “regulatory confusion and uncertainty by forcing an unnecessary conflict between state law and the federal determination of Waters of the United States.”
House Speaker Ben Toma addressed the pattern of vetoes from the Ninth Floor of the Arizona Executive Tower, stating: “Issuing vetoes is easy. Actual leadership requires hard work, and Republicans in the legislature will continue to pass good public policies that make the state better for working Arizonans and families.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs leveled a Republican-led effort to protect Second Amendment rights in Arizona with her 18th veto of the legislative session.
Governor Hobbs vetoed SB 1096, which “prohibits a public entity from entering into a contract of $100,000 or more with a company to acquire or dispose of services, supplies, information technology or construction unless the contract includes a written certification that the company does not, and will not, discriminate against a firearm entity or firearm trade association.”
Earlier this month, the bill sponsor, Senator Frank Carroll, touted his legislation and its importance to Arizonans, writing: “I sponsored SB 1096, which would prohibit the government from doing business with companies that discriminate against those who are involved within the firearms industry, whether that’s a manufacturer, a trade association or other entity. Over the past several years, the left has failed at infringing on 2nd amendment rights through legislation, so they’re now attempting to hurt the firearms industry through financial means. The government should not enable this practice.”
In this week's edition of "The Carroll Chronicle," @RepFrankCarroll discusses his efforts at the Legislature to protect 2nd amendment rights, improve your drive in the West Valley and a special St. Paddy's Day tribute. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6AqxzViULd
Carroll mentioned that this bill was his third try to pass this policy through the Arizona Legislature.
Hobbs explained the reasoning for her veto in a customary letter to Senate President Warren Petersen, saying, “This bill is unnecessary and, if enacted, could result in banks leaving Arizona’s market. This would limit competition and increase costs for local governments, costs which ultimately fall on taxpayers.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) took note of Hobbs’ veto and signaled its immediate displeasure in the action soon after it was announced. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action stated, “Yesterday, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill 1096, which would have discouraged businesses from discriminating against the firearm industry by preventing Arizona taxpayer dollars from going to those that engage in such practices. This is not surprising, as Gov. Hobbs signaled her hostility towards Second Amendment rights last year by accepting the endorsements of national anti-gun groups. NRA thanks the lawmakers who worked to pass such a critical bill from the Legislature. This veto highlights how defending the Second Amendment is a never-ending task. Law-abiding gun owners must remain vigilant and continue to work to elect officials who will uphold their rights.”
The Senate passed Carroll’s bill back in February with a party-line 16-13 vote (with one Democrat member not voting). The House recently took up the proposal and cleared it with another party-line tally (31-29), paving the way for the legislation to be sent to the Governor’s Office.
During the legislative process, representatives from the Arizona Association of Counties, Chandler Chamber of Commerce, County Supervisors Association of Arizona, Arizona National Organization for Women, State Conference NAACP, and ACLU of Arizona registered in opposition to SB 1096.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) has a new program teaching students how to lawfully run a marijuana business.
The program, Cannabis Compliance & Risk Management, awards a certificate in cannabis compliance upon completion. The course also awards one year of Association of Certified Commercial Cannabis Experts (ACCCE) membership, which comes with additional resources and training materials.
The program consists of three courses lasting eight weeks each, all of which are offered exclusively online: Cannabis 101, Cannabis Compliance and Risk Management I, and Cannabis Compliance and Risk Management II.
The first course, Cannabis 101, reviews the historical, cultural, and industrial backgrounds of cannabis. Topics include: history of cannabis, phytocannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system, agriculture and cultivation, enterprise, law and policy, cannabis medicine and healthcare, and careers in the cannabis industry.
In a sample video of the course, Professor David Bearman dispelled a common misconception that CBD doesn’t have psychoactive effects, noting that it suppresses anxiety and depression without the euphoric side effects.
Bearman reviewed the history of medicinal cannabis; he stated that the first study on medicinal cannabis was issued in the 1940s, but it wasn’t until decades later that greater implementation of the drug was studied. Bearman also reviewed the difference between marinol, the synthetic form of the drug, and cannabis, the natural form of the drug.
The second and third courses, Cannabis Compliance and Risk Management I and II, focus on risk assessment, including illicit markets, money laundering, and operational aspects; control activities and environment; communication; assurance; the supply chain; and board reporting.
The program costs just under $3,000. UArizona offers a $250 discount via a promotional code for those who register by April 9.
According to the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR), the state’s cannabis market has experienced nearly $3 billion in sales since the state began allowing sales in January 2021.
The state legalized recreational marijuana in the 2020 election through Proposition 207.
On the flip side of the revenue boost is the rise in marijuana poisonings in children. The number of children poisoned by cannabis ingestion more than quadrupled over the past two years. These poisonings have increased dramatically despite guardrails within Prop 207 that were supposed to prevent pediatric poisonings. These included requiring manufacturers and dispensaries to use child-resistant packaging and banning the sale of cannabis products in the form of gummy worms and bears.
A key player in getting Prop 207 passed was Ninth Circuit Court Judge Roopali Desai, nominated by President Joe Biden to the court last year.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
More than 700 residents, many of whom are children, have been waiting for months for government officials to find a reliable and affordable water source for Rio Verde Foothills after the City of Scottsdale shut off the taps which had supplied water to the residents for years.
But with city and Maricopa County players failing to come to a quick rescue, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) is now slated to try its hand at resolving the problem, adding yet another layer of bureaucracy that worries residents as temperatures continue to increase.
The problem dates back to Jan. 1 when Scottsdale announced its water would no longer be sold to private companies that haul water to the unincorporated Rio Verde Foothills community located north of the city. The homes are part of a wildcat development.
Scottsdale’s public explanation for ending the longtime arrangement was that it was necessary for the city’s drought management response. A variety of proposed solutions have been put forth since then, one being to leave it up to individual residents to arrange their own water purchases.
The majority of the other solutions have involved Maricopa County in some capacity. And therein lies the problem, according to many property owners and residents who believe the county board has not taken the public health situation seriously enough.
An early solution introduced in the Arizona Legislature on an emergency basis would have permitted Maricopa County to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Scottsdale to allow water from the city to once again be used by Rio Verde Foothills residents for payment.
County supervisors rejected the IGA plan, causing the legislation to be put on the back burner while long-term political interests took priority over getting residents immediate help.
What the county supervisors proposed was to wash their hands of the problem by having Scottsdale city officials work out a deal with Canada-based EPCOR, a private utility company whose U.S. headquarters is located in Phoenix.
The Maricopa County supervisors issued a resolution to that effect in early March.
Supervisor Tom Galvin, whose District 2 encompasses Rio Verde Foothills and Scottsdale, was vocal about keeping a hands-off approach while leaving desperate residents at the mercy of a major conglomerate.
Some homeowners are also encountering problems trying to sell their property due to the lack of water service.
And with the highly bureaucratic ACC now involved, residents can only wait and see what happens. Some state lawmakers, including Rep. Alex Kolodin and Sen. John Kavanagh, continue to look into legislative options.
In the meantime, Galvin and the other county supervisors have not put forth any alternatives in the event an EPCOR solution is rejected.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
A bill that would expand voting access to those in Arizona detention facilities cleared a major hurdle this week, though it may need some help to get past the finish line.
HB 2325, sponsored by Representative Alex Kolodin, deals with voting procedures for electors in detention. According to the purpose of the legislation provided by the Arizona Senate, HB 2325 “allows a qualified elector in pretrial detention to make a written request to have a ballot personally delivered to a jail for voting and prescribes requirements and procedures for a qualified elector voting from jail.”
On Monday, the Senate Elections Committee took up the bill for consideration before giving it a “do pass” recommendation with a party-line 5-3 vote. Although the Democrats on the committee did not appear opposed to the overarching concept of the bill, they refused to support the legislation even after a significant amount of time asking questions of the bill’s sponsor.
Not all Republicans on the committee, however, were 100% sold on the bill. Senator T.J. Shope encouraged Representative Kolodin to sit down with Arizona counties and other entities responsible for implementing the provisions of the legislation to work through outstanding issues and concerns. He did express appreciation for the bill sponsor’s willingness to address this issue and bring this proposal forward in the Arizona Legislature. Fellow Republican Senator Ken Bennett was a little more direct with his comments, though he voted “aye” on the bill, telling his fellow members that he “was informed his amendments weren’t welcome in committee.” He voted to pass the bill “for now,” but he opined that HB 2325 needed more work – possibly implying that the improvements were needed before it gained enough votes for final passage in the Senate.
At the start of consideration over the bill, Jen Marson with the Arizona Association of Counties shared that there were “a lot of issues” with HB 2325. Some of those concerns included that counties already have a method for people voting from jail, that the bill only addresses people with pre-trial adjudication, that most people are booked into jail without an identification or that detainees are not allowed to keep their identification with them in jail, and that phones could be brought into Arizona jails by those helping to facilitate the voting.
Committee Chair, Senator Wendy Rogers, asked Marson if there was anything about the bill she (or the association she represents) liked, to which Marson explained that “the umbrella statement (that people eligible to vote in a jail environment could vote) we’re on board with” – but the details presented lots of challenges.
Answering a question from Senator Borelli, Marson admitted that her association did not offer an amendment to the legislation because “they (the counties and the bill sponsor) were too far apart” on resolving their differences.
Senator Anna Hernandez was one of three Democrats to vote against the bill in committee but expressed a sense of regret that she couldn’t get to a yes on the legislation. She highlighted her perception that there wasn’t “a lot of willingness to amend this bill,” mentioning the issues of identification and federal detention centers as starting points for changes in a hypothetical new draft that she might be comfortable with. Hernandez did state that she was very supportive of the overall issue addressed by Kolodin’s bill, but because of her outstanding concerns, she would not be on board with the current version.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
An Arizona legislator informed his constituents that he wouldn’t be caving to their demands for supporting gun control legislation. The call to action has mainly come from left-leaning groups and activists in the wake of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tennessee that left three young children and three adults dead.
State Rep. John Gillette (R-LD30) announced his intent in a letter issued Thursday. Gillette advised his constituents, at length, for his rationale for not supporting greater gun control: criminals can work around gun control measures to obtain weapons, citing the Nashville shooter lied on her background check to obtain guns; FBI data shows no correlation between gun control and crime reduction; and that crime generally correlates with law enforcement procedures and economic factors.
“Controlling a physical object has zero effect on human behavior,” said Gillette. “Laws are followed by law-abiding citizens, not criminals and not people who suffer from mental illness.”
Gillette further noted that no National Rifle Association (NRA) member, licensed firearms dealer, or “right-wing” activist had committed a mass shooting.
“These murders were committed by mentally unstable left-leaning adults that were known to law enforcement or mental health professionals or both,” said Gillette.
— Rep. John Gillette AZ House LD30 (@AzRepGillette) March 30, 2023
Gillette disclosed that he would be open to legislation imposing the death penalty on those who commit a mass shooting, as well as legislation imposing civil penalties on any agency or licensee that failed to report or act on a credible threat.
Gillette also pointed out that FBI data hasn’t been updated for the last eight quarters — since 2021.
Following the shooting, Democratic legislators and activists called for stricter gun control.
State Sen. Anna Hernandez (D-LD24) claimed that the shooting occurred because guns have more rights than individuals.
“Instead of finding solutions to end gun violence we continue to see legislation across the nation that grants more rights and protections to guns rather than legislation to mitigate the loss of human life to mass shootings and other gun violence,” said Hernandez.
Another school mass shooting 💔
Instead of finding solutions to end gun violence we continue to see legislation across the nation that grants more rights and protections to guns rather than legislation to mitigate the loss of human life to mass shootings and other gun violence. https://t.co/43PnBpqykn
— Senator Anna Hernandez (@ahernandezfor24) March 28, 2023
State Rep. Laura Terech (D-LD04) used the tragedy to promote her legislation barring school blueprints and floor plans from being publicly available.
“The senseless act of violence in Nashville further shows the need for sensible policy to keep our children safe from gun violence,” tweeted Terech. “My bill #HB2075 will keep school blueprints and floorplans [sic] from public view.”
The senseless act of violence in Nashville further shows the need for sensible policy to keep our children safe from gun violence. My bill #HB2075 will keep school blueprints and floorplans from public view. @AZHouseGOP
State Rep. Nancy Gutierrez (D-LD18) also promoted Terech’s bill, and said that the deaths were proof that guns were the cause of the school shooting. It has been widely reported that the shooter — a 28-year-old woman that struggled with gender identity issues — had a manifesto which outlines the reason for her killing spree. The manifesto remains unpublished.
“The shooting in Nashville is another failure of the US to stop our gun problem,” stated Gutierrez.
The shooting in Nashville is another failure of the US to stop our gun problem. In AZ, @lauraforAZ intro'd HB2075-it would make blueprints in schools private. Blueprints were used in the Nashville shooting. So, @AZHouseGOP can we see her bill now? @AZHouseDems
— Representative Nancy Gutierrez (@nancygforAZ) March 28, 2023
State Rep. Leezah Sun (D-LD22) blamed those opposing stricter gun control for the deaths.
“We cannot keep letting our children die while we fail to pass gun control on the basis of ‘political differences,’” said Sun.
My heart goes out to families and students in Nashville today. We cannot keep letting our children die while we fail to pass gun control on the basis of “political differences.”
