Arizona’s leading legislative Republicans are cheering on the nation’s high court as it agreed to hear arguments in a significant case of interest to the state.
Earlier this month, the General Counsel for the Arizona House Republicans, Linley Wilson, announced that the Supreme Court of the United States had granted cert in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson and Logan. Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma had filed an amicus brief at the Court in September 2023 in the matter concerning “three homeless individuals in Grants Pass (who) filed this lawsuit to try to stop local and state governments from combating the public safety threats, the public health dangers, and the inhumane conditions associated with these homeless encampments.”
The city had received unfavorable opinions from the federal courts at both the district and appeals (Ninth Circuit) levels, leading to the appeal to the nation’s high court.
In their brief, Petersen and Toma asserted that “the Legislature also has a pressing interest in homelessness because it confronts the realities of America’s homelessness crisis every day, including only a few blocks from the state capitol complex. Phoenix, Arizona, is home to one of the nation’s largest homeless encampments, commonly known as ‘The Zone.’ With hundreds of homeless residents, The Zone is a place of intense poverty, frequent crime (including multiple homicides), social instability, and poor living standards.”
The lawmakers also opined, “the Ninth Circuit decided it was better at making policy than elected state legislatures and city councils.” They argued the opinion from the Ninth Circuit “injects the federal courts into a policymaking area reserved for state and local lawmakers, entrenches a plainly incorrect and deeply damaging construction of the Eighth Amendment, and improperly interferes with state and local policymaking on the critically important issue of homelessness.”
Wilson previously pointed to a social media post from California Governor Gavin Newsom about the issue of federal courts inserting case law into “local efforts to clear street encampments,” stating, “This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies.”
This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies. Read the amicus brief filed today by @RepBenToma and @votewarren in SCOTUS👇🏼https://t.co/7VCv5B3MOMhttps://t.co/QyfE8C8gkd
Partisan lines have been drawn over the Arizona Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2025.
Late last week, Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs released her second budget for the Grand Canyon State. In a statement accompanying the announcement, Hobbs said, “Arizonans are counting on us to make the state we call home the best place to live, work, and raise a family. We made incredible progress during my first year in office, and my Executive Budget proposal builds on this foundation and expands opportunities for every Arizonan to reach their full potential. We are cutting out the wasteful taxpayer spending while making critical investments that will help middle class families buy a home, expand access to childcare, make prescription drugs more affordable, and protect disabled Arizonans and seniors. This is what it looks like to invest in our communities and build a state that works for every Arizonan.”
🧵 I just released the Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget – a balanced appropriation that reduces overall spending while investing boldly in affordability, health & safety, and preserving our natural resources. Please read about it below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Cbsyj9gEXt
Legislative Republicans were quick to come out in opposition to the governor’s proposal. Senate Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh wrote, “These elements in her proposal are dead on arrival with the Republican Majority. Her grandstanding of bipartisanship during her State of the State Address is a far cry from the reality of this budget proposal, as her funding cuts strictly target Republican priorities.”
House Appropriations Chairman David Livingston added, “Like last year’s proposal, the governor’s budget is an unserious mess. Her revenue and enrollment predictions don’t reflect reality, and her solution to the deficit proposes cuts to K-12 and water investments. We understand most of this is meant to appeal to her base. When she is willing to engage more seriously, Republicans are ready.”
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE🚨 The Legislature Will Not Raise Taxes or Cut School Choice, as the Governor’s Budget Proposes
“Like last year’s proposal, the governor’s budget is an unserious mess,” stated House Appropriations Chairman David @Livingston4AZ . “Her revenue and enrollment… pic.twitter.com/XGPvBcwHSS
Hobbs’ allies in the Arizona Legislature supported her proposal. House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras released a statement, saying, “We applaud the Governor for producing a budget that protects the priorities that will drive our state forward and that our caucus has consistently championed for our communities – public education, affordable housing, childcare for working families and vital services for the most vulnerable Arizonans. She is listening and leading.”
The Senate Democrat Caucus posted, “This budget is a good first step in providing Arizona families with assistance in affording the high costs of childcare, housing, and prescription medications.”
Today, Governor Hobbs released her FY2025 Executive Budget. This budget is a good first step in providing Arizona families with assistance in affording the high costs of childcare, housing, and prescription medications.
In the inaugural week of the 2024 legislative session, Republicans and Democrats took political shots at one another over the budget in anticipation of the governor’s proposal. Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen accused his Democrat counterparts of “refusing to come to the table for budget negotiations,” threatening that his caucus might have to move on without them. The Senate Democrats Caucus clapped back at the Republican chamber leader, asserting that he had “moved forward on every other budget without Democrats, so this newest attempt at grandstanding falls flat.”
The early back-and-forth between the two political parties follows Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ second State of the State address, where she called on legislators to “find common ground” and to “work together to solve this gap.”
Both parties have vastly differing approaches to solving the state’s budget shortfall, though their rhetoric is somewhat similar at the start of the legislative session. In the Senate Republicans’ Majority Plan for 2024, they vowed to complete this mission “without irresponsibly tapping into the Rainy-Day Fund or using budget gimmicks,” promising instead to “use sound fiscal management strategies, like trimming unnecessary spending and prioritizing government’s top functions.” Hobbs stated that her soon-to-be-released budget would “rein in wasteful spending without sacrificing public safety and public education, establish guardrails on unaccountable programs without hurting hard-working families, and tighten our collective belts through increased efficiencies and innovation without gutting programs that support small businesses, seniors, and those in need.”
Last year, House and Senate Republicans approved a budget that was vetoed by Hobbs. Despite many partisan fights in the public eye between Republicans and the governor, Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma deftly managed a surprise budget compromise, in which their policy priorities remained largely intact. Hobbs will be under increased pressure this time around to extract more concessions from Republicans – especially over the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Over 80 percent of the city of Phoenix’s overdose kits were distributed to libraries, with the total estimated cost of all kits to be about $300,000 for this fiscal year.
According to an update provided to the city council last week, the city has distributed over 2,500 kits to libraries, 100 to neighborhood services, over 100 to housing services, and over 300 at community events and trainings. In order to determine kit distribution, the city referenced an overdose heat map detailing where the high rates of fatal and non-fatal overdoses have occurred. The city noted that it also prioritized distribution at locations that were “low-barrier”: those locations where a kit could be issued without having to present ID, speak with facility staff, or provide personal information.
The thousands of kits are spread across a relatively small scale: just 23 physical locations, though city officials plan to expand the kit distribution network to 40 locations later this year.
The kits contain two doses (four milligrams) of Narcan nasal spray, one pair of nitrile gloves, one breathing shield for CPR rescue breaths, and an instructional pamphlet written in English and Spanish. Narcan is the brand name for the overdose reversal drug naloxone.
The city estimates that the cost for the kits for the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year would be $300,000. Kit distributions began last July.
As AZ Free News reported in August, the first deployment of kits were distributed at a faster pace than anticipated. It took less than a week for all the libraries to use up one month’s worth of the kits: about 1,600 of them.
The kit funding comes from the estimated $1.14 billion settlement obtained through over 3,000 lawsuits against companies behind the opioid crisis including Janssen, Mallinckrodt, Teva, Allergan, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Endo International plc, and Purdue Pharma.
Disbursements of these payouts were projected to last over the course of 18 years. In August 2021, the state entered into an agreement to split and spend the settlement funds in a certain way: 56 percent to local governments for opioid amelioration programs (over $638 million), and 44 percent to a state fund for opioid amelioration programs (nearly $502 million).
Maricopa County received about 58 percent of the local governments fund (over $370 million); of that total, the county retained 51 percent and distributed 48 percent to cities and towns. Phoenix has the greatest percentage allocated of total payment: over 21 percent, which would equal over $78.7 million.
A breakdown of all expenditures across the state, updated last June, is available here.
As of mid-December, the county has received over $25.7 million in settlement funds; over $13.2 million of the funds were retained, and over $12.4 million was distributed to municipalities.
For the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year, the county awarded over $1.9 million to various organizations for opioid amelioration: Banner Health Foundation, Banner Poison and Drug Information Center, Chicanos por la Causa, Community Bridges, Community Medical Services, Live and Learn Arizona, Neighborhood Ministries, notMYkid, Rise Up! Glendale, Shot in the Dark, Skye’s the Limit! Foundation, and Terros Health.
The county allows for annual renewals of contracts over a five-year award period.
The county also allocated $750,000 for naloxone purchase and $170,000 for public health substance abuse staff support to measure the impact of settlement funds and programs.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Families and educators will gather on Saturday for a fair celebrating National School Choice Week.
“National School Choice Week is a time for families to explore different options available to meet their children’s educational needs. It is an occasion for schools to showcase what they do best for their students,” said Barbara Duncan, vice president of quality schools at Choose a School.
“It is an opportunity for leaders to see the schools in their districts in action and to ensure all students have a right to an excellent educational option,” Duncan continued.
The school fair and family fun night hosted by Choose a School Arizona will take place at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix on Saturday, Jan. 20 from 6-8 p.m..
Choose a School Arizona uses social media, strategic events, and one-on-one parent outreach to help families find the best education for their children and help quality schools tell their stories and find students.
More than 50 school booths and vendors will attend, including charter schools, college prep schools, microschools, Autism academies, Catholic schools, and homeschool support groups.
This will be the largest Phoenix-area celebration of National School Choice Week, which highlights “education options and the joy of learning.”
Activities will include music from the AZ School of the Arts Jazz band, a presentation of colors by the PVS School’s Space Force ROTC students, face painting, a flash mob, and a celebratory red and yellow balloon drop.
In addition to visiting booths, families can explore the museum, make balloons, eat snacks, and enjoy a photo booth.
Community sponsors for this event include Mrs. Klein’s Pickle Co. in Phoenix.
More than 750 attendees are expected to attend the event, which is open to the press and the public.
Information at the fair will be available in both English and Spanish thanks to Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, a project of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation. Families can learn more and RSVP for the free event at phoenixschoolfair.com or phoenixferiaescolar.com.
The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is located at 215 N. 7th St.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes pledged to have his office take a more assertive posture against misinformation for the 2024 election.
Fontes made the promise during an interview with 12 News on Sunday. The secretary of state said that his office would even take on the speech of other elected officials, if need be.
“You’re going to see a much more assertive attitude against folks who are lying about elections,” said Fontes. “What they’re doing is creating mistrust between regular citizens where there shouldn’t be any. None of the allegations about fraud, none of the Big Lie has been proven true.”
Fontes didn’t deny that his office may take legal action against perceived misinformation. As an example of the type of misinformation his office would target, Fontes said that Arizona voters use paper ballots — not voting machines — to cast their vote.
“We’re not going to play the role of victim. What we’re going to do is come right out and speak directly to the voters,” said Fontes. “When somebody says, ‘Well, you’ve got a problem with voting machines in Arizona.’ Well, guess what, we don’t have voting machines in Arizona. We vote on paper ballots; every ballot in Arizona has always been cast on paper ballots. You saying ‘voting machines’ is a lie. That’s the kind of assertiveness we’re going to have in our communications strategy.”
Technically, “voting machines” are those pieces of equipment that record votes electronically without paper. Arizona doesn’t have voting machines, but it does have equipment to tabulate votes, which are cast by paper ballot.
Since taking office, Fontes has pledged to combat mis- and disinformation. Fontes declared that election disinformation amounted to “terrorism” and the individuals behind the rhetoric were “fascists” in an interview with MSNBC shortly after being sworn into office. Fontes urged the public to “attack” the election disinformation.
“These new American fascists, these MAGA fascists — you call them denialists, they are fascists — we need to call them who they are,” said Fontes. “We’ve got to stop pretending that their feelings matter. These are people who are threatening the lives of our neighbors, our family members, and they’re threatening the health of our democracy.”
Vigor and strength. That’s the only way we protect our election workers and fight back against disinformation. Thank you @AliVelshi for speaking with me. https://t.co/XbZmJuQNgp
Fontes’ predecessor, now Gov. Katie Hobbs, also took an assertive posture against misinformation regarding elections. Hobbs coordinated with the Center for Internet Security (CIS), a government-funded organization, to censor online speech concerning the 2020 election.
Hobbs’ former chief of staff, Allie Bones, told reporters around the time of Hobbs’ inauguration that it was the job of governments to remove disinformation from the public square.
Hobbs was one among many government officials that coordinated with social media companies to suppress and censor speech on major public issues. Last fall, the Supreme Court agreed to take up a case concerning this coordination, Murthy v. Missouri. The court also granted a request from the Biden administration to block a lower court’s order preventing government officials from communicating with social media companies regarding content moderation policies.
Hobbs’ actions inspired the creation of a new ad hoc committee in the state legislature to review government officials’ relationships with social media companies. That House Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech convened three times in September, October, and December.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The mayor of Glendale, Arizona is urging fellow mayors to proclaim January anti-human trafficking month .
“I was surprised to discover that only eleven cities have adopted an anti-human trafficking declaration in Arizona,” Mayor Jerry Weiers said in a news release. “As leaders in a border state, we are, or should be, fully aware that human trafficking is placing a great burden on our social service structures, but it is the plight of victims that should prompt us to act decisively.”
The United States has some of the highest rates globally for human trafficking, according to Weiers’ proclamation. More than 40 million men, women, and children are victims of human trafficking per year, according to the International Labor Organization.
More than half of the victims in active human trafficking cases in the U.S. involved children, according to the Human Trafficking Institute’s 2019 Federal Report.
Weiers joined Glendale’s City Council in proclaiming January Anti-Human Trafficking Awareness Month at the weekly council meeting on January 12.
“We all have an obligation to protect the vulnerable from predators,” Weiers said. “As a result, as part of the proclamation we passed, I urged our residents and partners to work together to eliminate trafficking from our community and support the efforts of front-line organizations and law enforcement in their battle against human trafficking and to take a stand and say not in our city.”
Weiers gave the proclamation to members of the Glendale Police Department and their partners in the faith and social service sectors, who are working on combating human trafficking nationwide.
“Not one person, agency, or organization can help combat this crime alone,” Stacey Sutherland of the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
