by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 21, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
As the Arizona legislative session drags on into the summer months, Senate leaders are issuing guidance over lawmakers’ per diems.
On Monday, the Senate Majority Leadership team sent out correspondence over per diems – specifically, legislators’ “opportunity to opt out of ‘per diem’ or subsistence payments during this current legislative break.”
The release states that “Members of the Legislature earn an annual salary of $24,000 per year for their service. However, A.R.S § 41- 1104 allows members to collect subsistence pay for each day the Legislature is in session, which may be used on living expenses, such as lodging and meals. After 120 days of session, which was May 9, members who live in Maricopa County collect $10 per day, while members who live outside of Maricopa County collect $119 per day.”
According to the Senate Republicans, under subsection D of A.R.S § 41-1104, ‘each member of the Legislature may elect to opt out of receiving subsistence payments.’ “At the time the Legislator submits a request to opt out of their subsistence payments, they may identify an end date for that request.”
The Arizona Senate Democrats Caucus quickly pounced on the release, calling it a “stunt:” This stunt proves two things: 1) Republicans have acted irresponsibly and are trying to shift blame. 2) We must sine die immediately. This will be the longest session in our state’s history – it’s time to close the door on session and stop holding members hostage.”
The Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus Twitter account responded to the accusation, posting, “Says the Caucus who turned a blind eye to Mendez collecting his per diem last session without ever coming to the Senate to do the job his constituents elected him to do. Nice virtue signaling though!!”
Senate Republicans used the release to announce their plans to bring Members back into session, writing, “The Senate adjourned on the evening of Tuesday, June 13 and will reconvene on Monday, July 31. If all 30 members receive subsistence pay during this eight-week period, this would cost the State a total of $83,944, before taxes. However, had the Legislative session ended the week of June 13, the maximum cost to the State would have been a total of $36,960, as members may receive subsistence payments during the interim.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Jun 21, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Over the weekend, the Arizona Republic featured an opinion article from an illegal immigrant activist advocating for citizenship rights for himself and others.
The illegal immigrant activist, Arizona State University (ASU) college student Angel Palazuelos, interns with the illegal immigrant activist group Aliento. Palazuelos refers to himself as “undocumented,” a euphemism for those who remain illegally in America after immigrating illegally.
“I belong here. This is my home, and I have done more than enough to prove it,” wrote Palazuelos. “The struggles of undocumented individuals like me are often overlooked in the broader conversation.”
Palazuelos is a rising senior at ASU, where he studies biomedical engineering. He receives in-state tuition rates due to the recent passage of Proposition 308, a leftist dark money-backed ballot initiative which conferred the benefits of reduced tuition rates to illegal immigrants.
Palazuelos has also served as the face for advancing illegal immigration reform for years. Prior to joining up with Aliento, Palazuelos said his dream was to become a mechanical engineer. Now, he hopes his activist efforts will enable him to become an immigration lawyer.
In 2020, the New York Times featured Palazuelos following his high school graduation, depicting him as a youth whose “life has been punctuated with uncertainty, anxiety, and fear.”
The author of the Palazuelos feature, Fernanda Santos, writes currently for The Washington Post, teaches at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and serves as the editorial director for the Futuro Media Group.
In a 2021 interview with ASU’s student newspaper, Palazuelos complained that he had to find outside scholarships to afford college since he didn’t qualify for in-state tuition rates. Four months later, Palazuelos received financial aid from the governments of both his home country and the U.S.: he received $5,500 as one of the 30 recipients of the Empowering Diversity Scholarship issued by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Fiesta Bowl. Palazuelos also received $2,000 from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix and the nonprofit Friendly House. The Mexican Consulate funding comes from the Mexican government’s Institute for Mexicans Abroad, which is then applied by individual, U.S.-based consulates.
Earlier in 2021, Palazuelos claimed in an Aliento video feature that his dreams of studying engineering were “crushed” because of his immigration status.
Now, in anticipation of soon graduating with his engineering degree, Palazuelos said he plans on attending law school to become an immigration attorney. However, Palazuelos claimed that current employment laws prevent him from working, or even receiving an internship. Palazuelos has been admitted to multiple internships and programs throughout his life.
Palazuelos met with Gov. Katie Hobbs in February to lobby for the “Promise for Dreamers” program. Hobbs’ plan would set aside $40 million for college scholarships for illegal immigrants. On average, over 3,600 illegal immigrant youth graduate from Arizona high schools annually.
READ: GOV. HOBBS WANTS TO COVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ TUITION
According to Palazuelos’ most recent testimony, when he was five years old his family immigrated illegally from Culiacán Sinaloa, Mexico into the country exactly three days after the deadline to qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program instituted by former President Barack Obama. He claimed to not be a DACA recipient, though on social media and in interviews he refers to himself as a “dreamer” — the descriptor used to identify DACA recipients. Palazuelos also identified himself as a DACA recipient for a feature article by ASU’s marketing team in 2020.
That’s not the only inconsistency: elsewhere, Palazuelos claims he immigrated when he was four, then five, then six years old. His timeline for missing DACA eligibility has also shifted: in a 2021 article, Palazuelos told the Arizona Republic that his family missed the deadline by two days, not three. Yet in 2020, Palazuelos told the New York Times that he qualified for the program and intended to apply, but was unable to because the Trump administration rescinded DACA.
Aliento, the organization where Palazuelo served as both an intern and a fellow, was co-founded by a DACA recipient: Reyna Montoya. Like Palazuelo, Montoya also attended ASU; she graduated with political science and transborder studies degrees, then a master’s degree in secondary education.
Also like Palazuelo, Montoya lamented the consequences of illegal immigration. Montoya founded Aliento in 2016, claiming “compounded trauma and education barriers” from growing up as a DACA recipient. Montoya was 10 years old when her mother smuggled her from Tijuana, Mexico to Arizona.
In the summer of 2021, the Arizona House awarded Aliento for advocating for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. Aliento leadership also has ties to the liberal think tank behind the cover-up of Hunter Biden’s corruption.
In his opinion article over the weekend, Palazuelos petitioned Congress to confer permanent citizenship to himself, his family, and other illegal immigrants like them.
The taxpayer-borne cost of educating illegal immigrants is nearing the billions annually. In 2020, the most recent data available, illegal immigrant children cost Arizona public schools over $748 million. 99 percent of those funds came from local and state taxes, not the federal government.
Palazuelos’ mother, Daisy, claimed in an interview with Aliento that her children have “suffered” because of immigration law. Daisy issued her remarks in Spanish.
“[M]y children and our, as a whole community, has already suffered enough,” said Daisy. “This is not just. This is an opportunity we cannot wait for. We need it now.”
It’s unclear what suffering Palazuelos endured.
He revealed across his many media interviews over the years that his high school experience lacked for nothing. All while reportedly maintaining a 4.7 GPA, Palazuelos was able to take honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes, as well as enjoy a wide variety of extracurriculars in high school. Palazuelos also delivered a speech to his graduating class.
Palazuelos played volleyball, baseball, and cross-country; he participated in an engineering CTE program where he was certified through programs like SolidWorks and AutoCAD; he served as president for his school’s Spanish Honor Society; he was a member of the National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, Mathematics Honor Society, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlan (MEChA), the ACLU of Arizona; and he served as a student strategist for the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.
Palazuelos also interned for Puente Human Rights Movement, and participated in a Harvard University summer program, Summer Business Academy. Palazuelos successfully crowdfunded the $2,000 to pay for the program.
Puente Human Rights Movement allegedly assisted Palazuelos in a petition to remove school resource officers off Phoenix Union High School District campuses, for which Palazuelos alleged to The New York Times that he was threatened with deportation. Palazuelos also led demonstrations at the Phoenix Police Department and the ICE detention center.
“The system is the one we need to dismantle,” said Palazuelos in a 2020 ASU feature interview.
“Being undocumented is knowing that despite doing everything right, you will never be ‘qualified,’” stated Palazuelos.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 21, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Another Arizona Republican-led effort to scale back the ESG movement in the state has been rejected by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs.
On Monday, Senator Anthony Kern issued a press release, announcing that Governor Hobbs vetoed SB 1611, which he sponsored and which would have “countered the rapidly increasing use of environmental, social, or governance standards (ESG) scores to compel the business practices of private companies.”
In a statement, Kern expressed disappointment with the governor’s action, saying, “This bill would have ensured our state contracts do not push the goals of ESG in Arizona. If an organization supports ESG, we simply should not offer them a state contract. Tax dollars should not go to partisan organizations and organizations that implement politically driven policies. The Governor had the opportunity to put a stop to this clear form of discrimination, and instead, chose to support it.”
Senator Kern’s release elaborated on the purpose of his legislation and the importance of this proposal for the Grand Canyon State: “This bill specified a public entity may not implement an ESG policy as a condition of entering or renewing a contract with a company. ESG describes a set of standards imposed on companies to manipulate businesses and investors into compliance with Leftist political ideologies at the expense of free-market capitalism and investor returns. This system is similar to the concept of a credit score. If you don’t score high enough on their liberal meter, you could be rejected from doing business with these groups.”
Hobbs didn’t have much to say in her customary veto letter to Senate President Warren Petersen, writing, “I do not believe that tying the hands of the State’s procurement and investment professionals is in the best interests of the people of Arizona.”
After being introduced, SB 1611 was assigned to the Senate Government Committee, where it passed 4-3 – before clearing the full chamber 16-12 (with two members not voting). The legislation was transmitted to the House of Representatives and designated to the Government Committee, where it was approved with a 5-4 vote. The House then gave the green light for the bill 31-27 (with one member not voting and one seat vacant).
The governor’s veto of SB 1611 occurred on the same day she turned aside another, similar bill, which was SB 1500, sponsored by Senator Frank Carroll. That legislation would have “empowered (the) Arizona State Treasurer to eliminate ESG consideration from all state investments by requiring investments be made in the sole interest of the taxpayer.” Carroll pushed back in a statement this week, writing, “My interest is in protecting taxpayer dollars and protecting pensions. I sponsored this bill to get politics out of the pensions of public employees and public officials who have earned the right to financial stability after dedicating their lives to public service.”
Arizona Republicans and Democrats are unlikely to come together on the ESG issue as Hobbs has proven with her vetoes of bills from the legislature. Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes has also taken her office in a different direction than that of her predecessor, stopping an ongoing investigation into the ESG movement soon after she took her post. Mayes said at the time, “The state of Arizona is not going to stand in the way of corporations’ efforts to move in the right direction.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 20, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ historic veto streak has uncovered another disappointed legislator.
On Monday, Republican Senator Frank Carroll issued a press release to highlight Governor Hobbs’ veto of his bill, SB 1500, “which would have empowered (the) Arizona State Treasurer to eliminate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) consideration from all state investments by requiring investments be made in the sole interest of the taxpayer.”
Hobbs justified her reasoning for the veto in a customary letter to the Arizona Senate President, writing, “Politicizing decisions best made by the state’s investment professionals can harm our state’s long-term fiscal health.”
Senator Carroll was unhappy with the governor’s action on his proposal, saying, “My interest is in protecting taxpayer dollars and protecting pensions. I sponsored this bill to get politics out of the pensions of public employees and public officials who have earned the right to financial stability after dedicating their lives to public service. By definition, pecuniary means, ‘relating to or consisting of money.’ That is the criteria by which taxpayer dollars should be invested, not a social system used to push political agendas.”
The lawmaker’s release further explained why SB 1500 would have been so important for Arizona, stating, “An investment evaluation, conducted by the State Treasurer, must be based on financial and economic factors, and not to promote nonpecuniary benefits, other nonpecuniary social goals or take unnecessary investment risks. This bill aimed to protect government employees who pay into a retirement fund, where that money is then invested by the State Treasurer. The growing practice of ESG policies being imposed on companies is cause for concern, as it deviates from typical investing and business practices to consider non-financial information about a company, and ultimately prioritizes liberal ideology and goals over investor returns.”
SB 1500 was first passed by the Senate on February 28 with a 16-14 vote after clearing the Government Committee earlier in the month 5-3. When the bill was transmitted to the House of Representatives, it first obtained approval from the Government Committee before receiving the green light from the full chamber with a 31-27 vote (one member not voting and one seat vacant).
Senators Ken Bennett, David Gowan, Sine Kerr, Janae Shamp; and Representatives Michael Carbone, Neal Carter, Tim Dunn, Teresa Martinez, Quang Nguyen, Austin Smith, and Justin Wilmeth co-sponsored the legislation.
Representatives from the Climate Cabinet Action, Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter, and the Arizona Association of Counties expressed opposition to the bill as it made its way through the legislative process.
The governor’s veto continues an abrupt shift in state policy over the ESG issue, which has largely devolved into a Republican versus Democrat fight. Prior to 2023, Arizona had two statewide officials, who were extremely active in fighting back against the ESG movement with former Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Treasurer Kimberly Yee.
However, the transition of power in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office halted Brnovich’s investigative efforts into this movement. Kris Mayes, Arizona’s new top prosecutor, stopped an ongoing investigation from her predecessor, saying, “corporations increasingly realize that investing in sustainability is both good for our country, our environment, and public health and good for their bottom lines. The state of Arizona is not going to stand in the way of corporations’ efforts to move in the right direction.”
But State Treasurer Kimberly Yee continues to be an active opponent of ESG. Her office took several positions and actions against ESG during her first term, including revising the Arizona State Treasurer’s Office Investment Policy Statement to ensure that the Office “investments are not subject to the subjective political whims of the ESG standards.” Yee stated, “This is about maintaining American free-market principles that our country was founded upon and not allowing environmental or social goals to dictate how taxpayer monies are managed.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Jun 20, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Uber will give passengers a 40 percent discount for using electric or hybrid cars rather than gas cars.
The discount announced earlier this month is available for passengers traveling to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, which established a “Green Curb” for the initiative. Electric or hybrid cars will be marked as “Uber Green” or, for the more expensive ride types, “Uber Comfort Electric.” The discount applies to the latter.
In a press release, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego praised the airport as a leader in sustainability. Gallego further expressed gratitude that Uber had chosen the city to lead on their initiative.
“Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a leader in sustainability, and this new partnership is another example of how our airport remains on the cutting edge of every aspect of the passenger experience,” said Gallego. “I’m proud that Uber has chosen to bring this first-of-its kind initiative to Phoenix, and I look forward to supporting this innovative partnership!”
Joining Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in establishing a “Green Curb” is the Portland International Airport in Oregon, the London Heathrow Airport in England, and the Madrid Barajas International Airport in Spain.
However, other airport locations won’t offer as steep of discounts as the one given in Phoenix. At London Heathrow Airport, the discount only amounts to 10 percent.
This latest initiative by Uber is part of the corporation’s plan to achieve zero emissions by 2040, and to eliminate unnecessary plastic waste from deliveries by 2030. In addition to the discounted fare for electric travel, Uber will inform riders of their emissions usage, establish a carsharing network, expanding rentable bikes, establishing electric car charge accessibility, and advising UberEats customers of green packaging options.
Sustainability may also be taking the form of driverless cars: last month, Uber announced that it had teamed up with artificial intelligence ridership service Waymo. The initiative will begin in Phoenix, where driverless cars and freight transport have been tested in recent years.
Waymo debuted driverless vehicles in downtown Phoenix last August.
The coordinated effort between the city of Phoenix and corporations like Uber to increase electric car usage is similarly playing out at the state and national levels. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has begun developing a statewide network of electric vehicle charging stations, using seed funding from the Biden administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.
Arizona will receive $76.5 million from the federal government over the next five years to establish electric vehicle charging stations along roads designated as alternative fuel corridors (AFCs). Arizona’s current and proposed AFCs according to its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan follow all the major interstate highways running through the state.
The Federal Highway Administration approved Arizona’s plan last September. Each charging station will be located within one mile off of the designated highway, with at least four EV fast chargers. A full charge takes the average EV about 20-30 minutes. Each charging station — except for two — will be placed 50 miles apart. ADOT funding won’t be used to construct or maintain the charging stations. These charging stations will be privately owned. The private owners will put up 20 percent of the costs to construct the stations, with the federal government paying 80 percent.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 19, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican State Senator is outraged after the Democrat Attorney General issued a recent response to a legislative inquiry about prevailing wage ordinances.
On Thursday, Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes answered a 1487 complaint from Senator Catherine Miranda, who had previously asked if “a city may enact a prevailing wage ordinance that requires contractors on municipal public works contracts to pay their workers no less than the wage rates that prevail for their trade in their geographic location.”
Mayes affirmed that “a city may regulate the minimum wages paid within its geographic boundaries under Arizona Revised Statutes $ 23-364(1), so long as those wages are not less than the statewide minimum wage.” The attorney general added that “this authority includes the ability to require that employees of contractors on local public works projects be paid not less than the prevailing wage.”
This reply from Attorney General Mayes attracted the attention of one Republican lawmaker in particular, Senator T.J. Shope. The legislator took to Twitter to express his displeasure with the state’s top cop, writing, “This is a completely outside of the law interpretation by Attorney General Kris Mayes. If this were legal, why have the unions run bills at the Legislature every year to make prevailing wage legal, including a bill I once ran? I don’t have a problem with cities entering in to contracts with labor per se but do it the right way AND legally. My hope is a lawsuit will be filed immediately to challenge this ILLEGAL opinion by the AG. The AG should have run for Legislature if she wanted to enact law.”
Senator Shope may have been upset with Mayes’ opinion, but others around the state were not. Phoenix Councilwoman Laura Pastor tweeted, “Labor workers deserve to be compensated for their work. For years, I have consistently supported and pushed for prevailing wage – and I will continue to do so.”
Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari wrote, “Attorney General Mayes’ opinion is clear: cities may enact a prevailing wage ordinance to ensure that workers are paid fairly and competitively. I look forward to voting YES (again) for a strong Phoenix policy by the end of this year.”
Ansari’s comment was referencing a back-and-forth saga over a prevailing wage ordinance in the City of Phoenix earlier this year. In March, five members of the City’s Council voted to approve the Prevailing Wage Ordinance for City Projects to “ensure that (Phoenix’s) development growth is match with the skilled labor (the city) urgently needs when (Phoenix) invests in the growth of (its) communities.”
This action from Phoenix led to the threat of litigation from the Goldwater Institute, which sent an April letter to the Phoenix City Council to “express serious concerns” about the passage of the Ordinance, warning that if “the enacted version of the ordinance regulates matters that are expressly pre-empted by state law, it exposes the City to a high risk of litigation.” After the first Phoenix Council vote, there was a change in two seats, leading to another vote by the Council to repeal the Ordinance.
Mayor Kate Gallego was among the votes to repeal the Ordinance. She stated at the time, “I believe in doing things the right way, not the fast way, and that’s what we decided to do today. I am optimistic that we will find a path forward for better pay for construction workers while, at the same time, put sound policy on the books that survives legal challenges.”
Senator Miranda, the author of the 1487 complaint that generated Mayes’ opinion, seemed to have officials like Gallego in mind when she posted, “No hiding behind the fact it might be illegal. It’s not. Kris Mayes has spoken, “If two conflicting statutes cannot operate contemporaneously the more recent specific statute governs over [an] older more general statute.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
