Trooper Shortage Puts Arizonans At Risk

Trooper Shortage Puts Arizonans At Risk

By Daniel Stefanski |

The ranks of state law enforcement are becoming dangerously thin.

This month, the Arizona Troopers Association has been sounding the alarm about the number of vacancies at the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

According to a representative of the Association, “DPS is down approximately 500 troopers.”

The Association has been actively attempting to lobby lawmakers and the Governor’s Office to bring attention to this public safety issue. Earlier in February, President Jeff Hawkins posted a picture of his meeting with State Senator Frank Carroll, where they “discussed the issues that our members are dealing with.”

Hawkins also met with State Representative Hendrix to have “a frank conversation about how many vacancies the agency currently has and [the] dire need to fill them before the situation gets worse.”

Not only are the number of troopers at DPS understaffed, but the number of dispatchers are suffering as well.

Earlier this session, the Association expressed displeasure in the budget released by the state’s governor – particularly with the lack of attention to solving the crisis over DPS vacancies. The “X” account for the Arizona Troopers Association stated, “We are very disappointed Governor Hobbs’ budget won’t do anything to solve the looming crisis AZDPS faces. Historic vacancies are getting worse. Either we spend the money to get a fully staffed highway patrol or face public safety disasters in the future.”

The Arizona State Troopers Association endorsed a bill, SB 1175, that would “appropriate an unspecified amount from the state General Fund to the Department of Public Safety in FY 2025 to pay the cost of stand-by for peace officers employed by DPS.”

This bill easily passed the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, Public Safety and Border Security (6-1) and narrowly passed the Appropriations Committee (5-4 – with one member not voting).

On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Fraternal Order of Police (Arizona State Lodge) and the Arizona Police Association indicated their support for the bill. There were no individuals or organizations signed in to oppose the proposal.

Senator David Gowan, a Republican, is the sponsor of SB 1175.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Olson Hopes To Return To Arizona Legislature With LD10 Run

Olson Hopes To Return To Arizona Legislature With LD10 Run

By Daniel Stefanski |

A familiar face may be returning to the Arizona Legislature.

Last week, former state legislator and Corporation Commissioner Justin Olson announced his candidacy for the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 10.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Olson explained that he would be running for the seat being vacated by Representative Barbara Parker, who would be serving on a church mission with her husband in 2025.

Olson stated that Parker reached out to him to initiate a conversation about his candidacy and to offer “her full support and endorsement” should he accept. He also shared that Representatives Justin Heap and Senator David Farnsworth also gave him “overwhelmingly statements of support.”

The former East Valley Legislator took a trip down memory lane to recount the start of his tenure in the legislative branch as well as what he was able to help accomplish as a member. Olson said, “When I first ran for the Legislature, Arizona faced a $3.6B budget deficit and the record unemployment levels of the Great Recession. I ran promising to fight for fiscal responsibility and economic growth while championing the conservative policies across the board. In my six years at the Capitol, my successful legislation cut taxes, balanced the budget, eliminated job killing bureaucratic red tape, defunded Planned Parenthood and Obamacare in Arizona, expanded school choice, funded public safety, and much more.”

During his time in legislative office, he earned the following ratings and awards: A+ rating from the NRA “Champion of the Taxpayer” by the Arizona Republican Party, a “Friend of the Family” by the Arizona Family Project, “Legislator of the Year” by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and “The Free Market Champion of the Year” by The Arizona Free Enterprise Club.

The veteran Arizona Republican underscored the importance of keeping the East Mesa seat in reliable conservative hands, saying, “Once again, Arizona faces a budget shortfall. Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee forecasts a $835.2M deficit for the current fiscal year and $878.9M for next year. With a one vote majority in both the House and the Senate and a Democrat Governor in the Executive Tower, it is critical that our Legislative District replaces Barbara with someone that will continue her conservative efforts.”

Olson asked for the vote of Legislative District 10 voters, writing that he would “continue these important efforts of advancing freedom, faith, and family, and standing up for common sense conservative principles like secure borders, the rule-of-law, the second amendment, and the right-to-life.”

The Arizona Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Tucson And Phoenix Place In Top Ten For Worst Drivers

Tucson And Phoenix Place In Top Ten For Worst Drivers

By Elizabeth Troutman |

Two Arizona cities ranked in the top 10 for cities with the worst drivers. 

Tucson ranks fourth and Phoenix ranks eighth among the cities with the worst drivers, according to a Forbes Advisor ranking

This ranking is particularly notable with fatal car accidents increasing across the country, with the number of deadly crashes climbing by nearly 10% from 2020 to 2022, according to Forbes. 

In honor of Aggressive Driving Awareness Month, Forbes Advisor compared the 50 most populated cities across five key metrics, including the number of fatal car accidents involving drunk drivers, distracted drivers, and speeding, to determine which cities have the worst drivers.

Tucson has the fourth highest total number of fatal car accidents, with 16.21 per 100,000 city residents, and the fourth highest number of people killed in fatal crashes — 17.02 per 100,000 city residents.

Phoenix has the 10th highest number of fatal car accidents involving speeding, with 3.86 per 100,000 city residents, and the 11th highest total number of fatal car accidents — 13.85 per 100,000 city residents.

Albuquerque, New Mexico, is first on the list of cities with the worst drivers, followed by Memphis, Tennessee; Detroit, Michigan; Tucson, Arizona; and Kansas City, Missouri.

Three of the top 15 cities with the worst drivers are in Texas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. Additionally, three of the top 10 cities with the best drivers can be found in California, including San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego.

More dangerous driving leads to increased risk and higher insurance rates, according to Forbes. 

“Getting speeding tickets, running red lights, texting while driving and other reckless behaviors all raise your chances of accidents and damage claims,” the finance advice site wrote. “This makes you a greater liability in the eyes of insurers.”

Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.

Bill Aimed At Helping Young Entrepreneurs Advances In Arizona Legislature

Bill Aimed At Helping Young Entrepreneurs Advances In Arizona Legislature

By Daniel Stefanski |

A bill to help young entrepreneurs throughout Arizona is advancing through the state legislature.

Last week, the Arizona Senate approved SB 1370, which was sponsored by Senator Shawnna Bolick. According to the purpose provided by the chamber, the proposal would “prohibit a municipality or county from requiring a license or permit for a business that operates occasionally by a minor or a person who has not graduated from high school, [and] creates a transaction privilege tax (TPT) exemption.”

In a statement, Bolick said, “Asking kids to obtain a food handlers card to set up a lemonade stand is absurd, yet cities across Arizona are requiring this. I don’t agree with saddling our budding innovators with red tape, so I’ve sponsored SB 1370, which would prohibit a municipality or county from requiring a license or permit for a business that operates occasionally by a minor or a person who has not graduated from high school.”

Bolick encouraged Arizonans to listen to the testimony of Aiden, a young entrepreneur who appeared before the Senate Government Committee when the bill was being heard earlier this month. She revealed that “despite his impressive request for support from legislators, all Democrats voted no to helping him and other child entrepreneurs like him.”

The bill passed the Senate with a 16-10 tally, with four members not voting. Senator Brian Fernandez, the lone Democrat co-sponsor of the legislation, did not vote on the measure.

Continuing with her supportive comments for her legislation, Bolick stated, “It’s important that we allow kids to learn how to succeed in life, instead of creating unnecessary barriers against them. Several other states, including liberal Colorado, have passed similar laws.”

Republican State Representatives Michael Carbone and Justin Wilmeth are also co-sponsors of the bill.

On the Request to Speak system for the Arizona Legislature, representatives from the Chandler Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity Arizona indicated their support for the proposal. A representative from Save Our Schools Arizona signed in opposition to the bill.

SB 1370 now awaits action in the Arizona House of Representatives.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Arizona Senate Bans Deployment Of National Guard Without Congressional Declaration Of War

Arizona Senate Bans Deployment Of National Guard Without Congressional Declaration Of War

By Corinne Murdock |

On Monday, the Arizona Senate passed legislation prohibiting the deployment of the Arizona National Guard absent a declaration of war from Congress. 

The bill, “Defend the Guard Act” sponsored by State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-LD07), passed along partisan lines. The legislation restricts the Arizona National Guard from being released into active duty combat unless Congress passes an official declaration of war or undertakes official action pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 15 of the Constitution. 

“Do not send our Arizona National Guard to a war zone, unless the United States Congress has declared war!” stated Rogers. 

The legislation defined “armed duty combat” to not only include participation in an armed conflict, but performing a hazardous service relating to an armed conflict in a foreign state and performing a duty through an instrumentality of war. 

Rogers previously carried the bill successfully through the Senate last year, but it didn’t receive a final vote in the House. 

Rogers’ bill advances just weeks after the drone strike tragedy in the Middle East that injured 40 Arizona National Guardsmen and claimed the lives of three service members from Georgia.

However, the bill received opposition from Arizona National Guard leadership.

During the committee hearing of the bill last month, Brigadier General John Conley, Director of Administrative Services for the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, expressed concern that the bill would cause the federal government to effectively end the guard by cutting off federal funding; removing their forestructure, including all their aircraft, vehicles, and equipment; and, dissolving their forces of 8,000 guardsmen. 

“If this bill passes, it will be sending a signal to the active duty, and to the Department of Defense, that the Arizona National Guard is unwilling and unable to go overseas and perform overseas missions,” said Conley. “Once we say we can’t perform the mission or won’t perform the mission, then the president has no recourse but to take that forestructure away from us.”

Due to the effective end to the state’s guard, Conley said that the state itself would be less safe: there would be no helicopter assistance for law enforcement along the border, and no disaster mitigation through fire and flood assistance. Conley said that it cost $400 a day, alone, to put one guardsman on the border. 

Conley further stated that the law would be unenforceable, and that it wouldn’t have prevented the Middle East drone strike tragedy.

Sen. Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli (R-LD30) responded that Conley’s warning of the federal government’s imminent response to the legislation proved the need for the legislation. Borrelli said that it was the federal government’s poor decision-making that led to their total party support of the bill: all GOP colleagues cosponsored the legislation. 

“The federal government chooses to disarm the state of Arizona, that should be very telling. And that kind of tyranny should not be stood for, because that’s exactly what’s going on right now,” said Borrelli. “We’re putting our troops in harm’s way with our federal government and leadership — lack of leadership for that matter — they’re leaving our troops vulnerable. I’m sorry, I just can’t comprehend the lack of leadership and concern for our troops the last few years.” 

Conley agreed that federal overreach was an issue. However, he emphasized that the Arizona National Guard was both a state and federal entity. Conley said that means that the guardsmen have no choice but to be mobilized when called upon by the federal government.

Rather than accomplishing protections for state guardsmen, Conley said that the bill would leave thousands of guardsmen out of jobs, healthcare, and pensions, and would feed into a resource-hungry Department of Defense.

“If we do that we are walking into a trap, unknowingly, that the active component is waiting, they cannot wait for it to happen, they want that forestructure,” said Conley.

Rogers countered that this bill was the difficult decision necessary to take back Arizona’s state rights. She said that Conley’s concerns further proved her point that Arizona needed to have greater control over its guard, rather than its current state of complete control under the whims of the federal government. 

“What’s the difference?” asked Rogers. “This is a state’s rights situation. And we, as Arizona, need to take the first step to recovering the rights to our own National Guard.”

Conley said that the federal government had full authority over the guard because it owns the “lion’s share” of the equipment and salaries. Rogers disagreed, saying that their most dedicated guardsmen would stick with the state for the right cause. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Pluto Could Become A Planet Again Thanks To Arizona

Pluto Could Become A Planet Again Thanks To Arizona

By Daniel Stefanski |

Arizona may be one step closer to having a state planet.

On Monday, the State House of Representatives passed HB 2477, which “establishes Pluto as the state planet of Arizona.”

The bill, which was sponsored by Representative Justin Wilmeth, was approved by the full House of Representatives with a 52-0 vote. Seven members did not vote, and one seat was vacant.

Earlier this session, the proposal passed the House Government Committee with a bipartisan 8-1 vote.

“This is not just about designating a state symbol; it’s about recognizing Arizona’s pivotal role in advancing astronomical knowledge,” said Representative Wilmeth. “The discovery of Pluto at the Lowell Observatory is a testament to our state’s scientific legacy, and by designating Pluto as our state planet, we honor the curiosity and dedication of those who have expanded our cosmic horizons.”

According to the Arizona House of Representatives, other official state emblems include:

  1. The Bola tie as the official state neckwear;
  2. Lemonade as the official state drink;
  3. Sonorasaurus as the official state dinosaur;
  4. Wulfenite as the state mineral; and
  5. The Arizona tree frog as the official state amphibian

HB 2477 now heads to the Arizona Senate for consideration.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.