Arizona taxpayers are going to get some extra cash for the holidays thanks to Republicans giving back from this fiscal year’s budget.
Included in the Fiscal Year 2023 Arizona Budget was the insertion of the Arizona Families Tax Rebate. According to a release from Arizona Freedom Caucus Chairman and Senator Jake Hoffman, “Arizona families can expect to receive one-time tax rebates of up to $750 for qualifying households. Those with dependents under the age of 17 will receive $250 per dependent, or those with dependents 17 and older will receive $100 per dependent, capped at three dependents. Households must have a tax liability of at least $1 in order to be eligible. This criterion is based off of 2021 state tax returns.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Senator Jake Hoffman Celebrates the Passage of the Arizona Families Tax Rebate pic.twitter.com/1MWzypkBPc
Hoffman explained the motivation for the tax rebate, writing, “Gas, groceries, housing and energy prices have surged over the past three years since Democrats took control of the federal government. As a result, Arizona families are hurting while they attempt to pay for the most basic necessities each month, like putting food on the table, keeping a roof over their heads, paying medical bills, keeping the lights on and filling up their gas tanks. In the meantime, government is flush with cash and in the position to give back to our honest, hardworking taxpayers.”
“This is the first time in at least 30 years our state lawmakers have been able to step up to the plate to provide a tax rebate of this magnitude for our citizens,” said Hoffman. “I’m proud of the leadership of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, and for the support of our Republican colleagues, to dedicate $260 million to helping struggling Arizona families. Despite the current economic uncertainty, the Arizona Freedom Caucus, and conservative Republicans at-large, remain fully committed to keeping Arizona free, vibrant, and prosperous for Arizona families, and all Arizonans, for generations to come. We hope this extra money will make life a little less stressful for our Arizona families as they approach the Christmas holiday season later this year.”
This tax rebate appeared to be the focus of discontentment from some Democrats at the state legislature. Earlier in the week, Representative Oscar De Los Santos took to Twitter to share his thoughts about the recently negotiated budget, saying, “Important context missing from AZ budget debate: Years of massive GOP corporate tax giveaways have resulted in AZ not having the resources – this year & in the future – we need to fund our schools, ensure housing & healthcare for all, solve the water crisis, and more.”
Important context missing from AZ budget debate: Years of massive GOP corporate tax giveaways have resulted in AZ not having the resources—this year & in the future—we need to fund our schools, ensure housing & healthcare for all, solve the water crisis, and more.
— Rep. Oscar De Los Santos (@os_delossantos) May 10, 2023
De Los Santos’ charge led Republican Representative Justin Heap to respond: “By ‘corporate tax giveaways’ do you mean the ‘Family Tax Rebate’ that will give every Arizona family with children a check? Leave it to Democrats to characterize giving some of their tax money back to Arizona families as ‘tax giveaway.’ It’s not our money, it’s theirs.”
By "corporate tax giveaways" do you mean the "Family Tax Rebate" that will give every Arizona family with children a check? Leave it to Democrats to characterize giving some of their tax money back to Arizona families as "tax giveaway." It's not our money, it's theirs.
— Az State Rep. Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) May 10, 2023
The pushback from Heap led another Democrat lawmaker, Representative Athena Salman, to add, “That’s false. Your rebate program leaves out families like mine who started and grew our families after 2022. Plus non-tax filers. Go read the bill, it’s short.”
That’s false. Your rebate program leaves out families like mine who started and grew our families after 2022. Plus non-tax filers. Go read the bill, it’s short.
Scot Mussi, the President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, told AZ Free News, “we were very pleased to see the budget not only be structurally balanced, but also return nearly $300 million back to taxpayers. That money belonged to hardworking families, and we are glad it’s getting returned to them.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The city of Tucson is looking into potential funding options to cover the $11 million it would take to keep public transit free every year from here on out.
Prior to this year, the city used federal COVID-19 relief funds to keep public transit fare-free. When the city first announced free busing back in March 2020, the city claimed that the purpose was to avoid crowding at the farebox in addition to providing fiscal relief to riders.
Bus fares were scheduled to resume on January 1 of this year; however, the city managed to source funding for these past six months.
City officials have also sourced enough funding for the next six months. For this upcoming round of subsidies, $2 million came from new hotel and motel taxes, $790,000 came from Tucson Medical Center revenue, and $600,000 came from Visit Tucson revenue. That totals just under $3.4 million.
However, community members are saying the three-year experiment in free public transit has proven much more of a burden than a help. Many have complained that the free transit essentially aids criminal behavior and facilitates public nuisances.
Bus driver union leaders expressed concern about quality control with fully-subsidized bus fare, particularly pointing out the homeless that ride the bus nonstop during the summers to avoid the heat. Teamsters Union 104 Business Manager Kevin Hampton told13 News that free busing threatened passenger and public safety.
“We don’t want our drivers to become the transit police,” said Hampton. “We’re more interested in finding long-term solutions to combat the reasons why people want to ride the bus all day.”
Passengers have complained to local outlets that the free busing allows “too many troublemakers” to board the buses.
Public safety activists like Josh Jacobsen with Tucson Crime Free Coalition allege that free busing has facilitated drug sales, trafficking, and even usage. Jacobsen also toldKVOA that the buses also serve as convenient getaways for robbers and thieves.
“The free buses are contributing to a lot of the movement of narcotics, specifically fentanyl around our community,” said Jacobsen. “There are a lot of reports of individuals using drugs on the free buses. And the free buses also play a large role in the organized retail theft of businesses around our community.”
In December, AZ Free News reported that the council felt they would have to shift the cost burden to taxpayers to cover bus fare. At the time, Mayor Regina Romero suggested additional parking garage fees, Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz proposed an additional property tax.
The city also secured a financial partner for bus subsidization: defense manufacturing giant Raytheon. The city council noted that they were attempting to convince the University of Arizona and Tucson Unified School District to also join as funding partners.
Cost estimates for taxpayers to subsidize busing permanently ranged around $1 million a month.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Mesa Public Schools (MPS) appeared hesitant in a recent governing board meeting to discuss the secretive gender transition plan, which had been in place for years. Most parents were unaware of the plan until recently, which included an opt-out provision allowing the school to keep the plan secret from parents.
Governing board member Rachel Walden attempted to discuss this gender transition plan during Tuesday’s meeting. However, the district lawyer said that discussion of the plan constituted legal advice and would require the board to go into an executive session, out of the public’s view. The form’s promise of secrecy conflicted with Arizona’s parental rights laws.
“There is no other process that involves plans, paperwork for children without parental consent. But this issue can’t even provide parental notification?” asked Walden.
Teachers and Counselors should NOT suggest putting children on a transgender support plan but that is happening. Parents will not be notified. This is the meeting last night. I was prohibited from talking to the district lawyer under "legal advice." pic.twitter.com/qUPWZyCgAa
Walden clarified that, following discovery of the parental notification opt-out provision of the gender transition plan, MPS modified the form to strike the provision.
☝️That form was updated after it was discovered but it's clear there is no process on which the parents are involved
MPS has reportedly had the controversial gender transition plan since 2015. The original form asked students if their parents were aware and/or supportive of their gender transition. If either are answered in the negative, the form asks the student whether they give consent for the school to disclose their “transgender or gender nonconforming status” to their parents.
Arizona law states that parents have “a right to access and review all records relating to the minor child.”
The current version of the MPS gender transition plan looks virtually the same as the prior version, with the exception that parents or guardians will be notified of the plan if the student requests changes to Synergy, the online student information portal.
The MPS plan appears to be based on model documents. Chicago Public Schools issued a gender transition plan document with similar formatting and the same title.
Controversy over the gender transition plan surged last summer, after the district implemented new guidelines for handling transgender students. MPS defended its actions, arguing that their guidelines aligned with federal guidelines.
The guidelines included an assertion that students had the right to be addressed by their preferred names and pronouns, regardless of whether they had their name legally changed. MPS further declared that students should be allowed to use facilities intended for the opposite sex, such as restrooms, locker rooms, shower facilities, and single-sex classes.
Students also aren’t required to provide proof that they underwent any kind of medical treatment for gender transition as a condition of this special treatment.
“A transgender student is not required to provide verification that the student is undergoing or has undergone medical treatment for the purpose of gender transition as a condition for changing a student’s name and/or gender markers in the District’s records,” read the guidelines.
MPS also asserted that students must be allowed to participate in physical education activities and sports in accordance with their gender identity, though they could not compete in teams designated for the opposite sex in accordance with Arizona law.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Phoenix rolled out a new, equity-focused internet subsidy program this week using federal funding.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a $700,000 grant through the $14 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The funds will provide discounted internet of up to $30 off per month for most households but up to $75 off per month for tribal land households. Eligible households must be at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced that 80,000 households were enrolled in the program, with an estimated additional 100,000 who could qualify.
The federal program also qualifies certain households for a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet if they contribute anywhere between $10 to $15 toward the purchase.
Thank you for coming to Phoenix to help promote the Affordable Connectivity Program, @JRosenworcel! Every Phoenician deserves access to high-speed internet, regardless of zip code.
Those who qualify for other forms of federal welfare programs may also qualify for ACP.
Did you know? If you qualify for SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, Supplemental Security Income or other federal benefit programs you may be eligible to receive a monthly discount on your #broadband internet bill through the Affordable Connectivity Program. Learn more: https://t.co/0aTBbdST9L
The Biden administration launched the ACP through the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in November 2021. The administration brokered a deal with 20 of the nation’s main internet providers to offer ACP-eligible households internet plans for no more than $30 per month.
We're throwing it back to last year when our President @ALLO_Brad visited the White House to support the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Flash forward – we've provided more than 3,500 customers with no cost or discounted internet this year! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/vd9TAQKc6S
Effectively, ACP-eligible households get free internet initially if they sign onto the 20 internet providers that worked with the Biden administration. The providers are Allo Communications, altaFiber (Hawaiian Telecom), Altice (Optimum), Astound, AT&T, Breezeline, Comcast, Comporium, Cox Communications, Frontier, IdeaTek, Jackson Energy Authority, Mediacom Cable, MLGC, Spectrum, Starry, Verizon, Vermont Telephone Company, Vexus Fiber, and Wow! Internet, Cable and TV.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel presented the ACP grant in Phoenix on Wednesday.
Rosenworcel served as commissioner under both the Obama and Trump administrations. In a 2018 profile, the Washingtonian noted that Rosenworcel had continued her equity-oriented efforts through the Trump administration.
With the apparent lobbying efforts by these main internet providers to make ACP funding permanent, it appears that Biden’s arrangement for free internet is a limited-time offer. Nearly 18 million households have signed up for ACP.
On Tuesday, Verizon Senior Vice President Kathy Grillo warned that ACP funding was projected to run out as early as the first quarter of next year. Grillo urged for a more permanent subsidy structure for internet access.
Most internet providers set their contracts to last for a mandatory minimum of two years. The ACP subsidies will only last as long as funding is afforded to it.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
In the middle of a hectic week at the Arizona Legislature, Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs signed a wildly popular bill to increase veterinary care for pets.
On Tuesday, Governor Hobbs signed SB 1053, sponsored by Senator T.J. Shope, which “allows a veterinarian to use an audio-video communication medium to establish a veterinarian-client patient relationship and prescribe drugs subject to certain terms and conditions.”
Last week, after the bill cleared the Legislature, Shope wrote, “By now, you’ve heard me talk a lot about SB 1053, a bill I’ve sponsored that would allow veterinarians to utilize telemedicine to care for our pets. After this bill passed out of the House by a nearly unanimous vote, 57-1, it passed out of the Senate on Final Read this week with supermajority support and has been transmitted to the Governor’s desk. I, along with the Arizona Humane Society and many other pet owners, hope Governor Hobbs will do what’s best for our animals and sign this bill into law.”
Senator Shope and Co. got their wish with Hobbs’ signature. The Goldwater Institute had also been a huge proponent of the bill and cheered on the new law. Goldwater’s Director of Government Affairs, Jenna Bentley, tweeted, “A great day for pets in Arizona as SB 1053 is signed into law! This bill expands access to veterinary telemedicine services. Something that cannot happen soon enough for many animal owners, especially in rural areas of our state.”
A great day for pets in Arizona as SB1053 is signed into law! This bill expands access to veterinary telemedicine services. Something that cannot happen soon enough for many animal owners, especially in rural areas of our state. Sponsored by Sen. @TJShopeforAZ🐾@GoldwaterInst
The Goldwater Institute also posted an article from Mark Cushing, who is the Founder & CEO of the Animal Policy Group. Cushing praised the bill and explained why this proposal was sorely needed in the Grand Canyon State, writing, “A chronic shortage of veterinarians has created veterinary deserts throughout the United States. Pet owners of all ages don’t hesitate to seek veterinary advice and care, but such care is often available only through digital tools. Veterinary trade associations resist these changes, ignoring the key principle that telemedicine requires an informed choice by the veterinarian and pet owner to proceed without an in-person examination of the pet.”
It’s a victory for Arizona pets and pet lovers! 🐶
A landmark veterinary telemedicine law allows pet owners to access high-quality virtual care from home. Read about it: https://t.co/xjSMfRSEUx
— Goldwater Institute (@GoldwaterInst) May 11, 2023
Cushing also used the passage of Shope’s bill to encourage other states to follow in Arizona’s footsteps: “During the COVID pandemic, 19 states allowed pet owners to utilize telemedicine to initiate veterinary care with no reports of harm to pets. The Canadian province of Ontario, where 15 million people live, has enjoyed veterinary telemedicine for five years and also reported no complaints of injuries to pets. The Arizona Legislature looked at the lessons from these jurisdictions, considered the experience of human medicine, and made the right choice. The door is now open for more states to follow Arizona’s lead.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona State University (ASU) has replaced its in-person labs with virtual reality (VR) for its introductory biology courses.
ASU officials explained that they made the switch to increase inclusivity after marking a decline in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates. The university soft-launched the switch last spring to conduct a comparison study, with one class using VR labs and the other using traditional labs. ASU reported that “historically underrepresented” students in the class with VR labs performed better versus that category of students in the class with traditional labs.
Inside Higher Ed reported that students in the class with the VR lab enjoyed watching the cartoon animals and storylines presented, and that some cried when the fictional matriarch of a digitized dinosaur family died in one of the storylines.
Since the historically underrepresented students did well, ASU decided to transition all introductory biology classes to VR.
However, Barrett Honors students had media lab grades one point higher than the collective of students attending VR lab classes. (97 percent versus 96 percent).
Once the VR helmet is on and the wrist sensors are snapped in, students in Biology 181 are transported into another world. 🦕
Introductory biology classes aren’t the only use of VR at ASU campuses. The university is looking to use the technology for a wide range of other classes and programs, such as filmmaking and their Learning Futures program.
#ASU students at Learning Futures are developing a VR learning space called Huddle that will be tested by an ASU class this semester.
ASU began expanding its use of VR through its partnership with VR company Dreamscape in 2020.
In addition to logistical fixes with implementing VR for classes, ASU noted that it was seeking to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion arrangements: more diverse narrator voices, and more diverse avatar options to represent a wider array of the student population (such as body types, gender expression, disability).
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
