Arizona continues to search for a housing solution for individuals already in-state – or yet to come to the state, and one state senator is working on legislation that could fix the issues towns and cities currently find themselves working through on this front.
On Tuesday, Senator Steve Kaiser issued a press release, announcing his efforts on “a series of bills aimed at increasing the Arizona housing supply by using free market principles to provide real tangible relief for young families and senior citizens struggling with soaring prices.”
Those bills (HB 2536, SB 1161, and SB 1163) would, according to Kaiser’s release, “cut the bureaucratic red tape that’s responsible for creating barriers and slowing home construction. More specifically, these bills would limit government control and speed up home-building timelines for cities and towns, while protecting public input and local zoning regulations. These bills would also provide the market with the necessary tools to create more single room occupancy housing for seniors, where tenants have a furnished bedroom with a shared kitchen and bathroom, as well as accessory dwelling units, like ‘mother-in-law suites’ or ‘casitas.’” The release stated that “these are easy solutions for those living on fixed incomes and struggling to keep a roof over their heads.”
In a statement for his release, Senator Kaiser explained his motivation in fighting for these proposals: “I’m determined to provide immediate relief for those struggling to make their rent payments or pursue the American dream of home ownership within the state of Arizona. After months of meetings and collaboration with stakeholders, developers, residents, local planning and zoning representatives, as well as my colleagues in the Legislature, I’m convinced the solutions to our housing crisis lie in deregulation without gimmicks or subsidies. We have an issue of supply and demand, and my proposals lean heavily on free market principles that will help increase inventory and drop prices.”
HB 2536, sponsored by House Speaker Ben Toma, would establish “residential zoning district regulations and limitations of residential housing design standards;” and it would modify “current municipal zoning and licensing time frame requirements.” It currently resides in the Arizona Senate.
SB 1161, sponsored by Senator Kaiser, would require “municipalities to allow by right the construction of low-income multifamily residential rental property;” and it would establish “municipal reporting requirements relating to housing needs.” It currently sits in the Arizona House.
SB 1163, also sponsored by Kaiser, would “create an at-risk permit relating to grading and earthmoving of property, provide zoning regulations relating to single-family residential uses, and establish municipal reporting requirements relating to housing needs.” It, too, waits in the Arizona House for future consideration.
Kaiser’s release conceded that these bills “will likely be amended further before final votes on the floor in the coming weeks.”
Some Democrats in the Legislature appear to be supporting of these proposals. Representative Analise Ortiz tweeted, “AZ Dems have an opportunity to walk our talk on housing policy by supporting SB 1161, SB 1163, & HB 2563. Let’s rollback decades of exclusionary zoning policies that segregate our communities, keep rents high, and benefit the wealthiest landowners most.”
AZ Dems have an opportunity to walk our talk on housing policy by supporting SB 1161, SB 1163, & HB 2536. Let’s rollback decades of exclusionary zoning policies that segregate our communities, keep rents high, and benefit the wealthiest landowners most. https://t.co/rrKjlEc05d
— Rep. Analise Ortiz (@AnaliseOrtiz_AZ) April 5, 2023
Senator Anna Hernandez also chimed in in support of these bills, writing, “Zoning reform is being addressed across the country and political spectrum. Rolling back exclusionary zoning is critical in achieving housing affordability. AZ has a chance to lead the way with SB 1161, SB 1163, HB 2536, and deliver solutions to our housing crisis.”
Zoning reform is being addressed across the country and political spectrum. Rolling back exclusionary zoning is critical in achieving housing affordability. AZ has a chance to lead the way with SB1161, SB1163, HB2536, and deliver solutions to our housing crisis. https://t.co/rRIht1WslH
— Senator Anna Hernandez (@ahernandezfor24) April 2, 2023
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Water has always been an issue for the desert, but drought conditions have put even more of a premium on this precious resource; and Arizona Republicans are stepping up to provide solutions for their constituents.
This week, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma formed the Joint Legislative Study Committee on Water Security. The purpose of this committee is “to convene and solicit information from water users, stakeholders, and the public regarding state solutions to address water security in Arizona.”
That information, which includes evidence and testimony, includes (1) the state’s existing and future water supplies; (2) methodologies and modeling used to quantify supplies; (3) opportunities and challenges associated with improving water storage and infrastructure; (4) the state’s regulatory and funding framework for augmentation, conservation, efficiency, recharge and reuse efforts; (5) public-private solutions to improve security; (6) the impact of water uncertainty across Arizona’s water users, industry sectors and property owners; and (7) and any other issue the Study Committee deems relevant to its investigation.”
Both Petersen and Toma issued statements with the announcement of this committee’s formation. Petersen said, “Water policy is dictated by statute. From the 1980s Groundwater Management Act to last year’s historic investment in WIFA, the Legislature has led and will continue to lead the water policy solutions that require legislative action to implement.”
And Toma stated, “The availability of water for the success of all industries in our state is critical to our economy. Strengthening our existing water resources while we secure our future water supply is a top priority as we work to achieve common-sense solutions for our state. We need to study all issues related to water carefully and work to identify any remaining issues that need to be resolved.”
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE🚨
House & Senate Leaders Announce Joint Legislative Water Committee to Strengthen Existing Water Supplies & Secure Our Water Future. 💧
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) April 11, 2023
Six members will be appointed by legislative leadership to serve on this committee: three out of the House of Representatives by the Speaker and three out of the Senate by the President. Senator Sine Kerr was first selected by Petersen, and Representative Gail Griffin by Toma. Both were named co-chairs of the committee.
Senator Kerr released the following statement after the news of her appointment to the committee: “Unlike other ‘top-down’ efforts, this Ad Hoc Committee on Water Security will enlist the participation of actual water users to find collaborative water management solutions. The Legislature will continue to be proactive and deliberative in balancing the realities of our water supply with the state’s economic objectives.”
Representative Griffin also provided a quote to accompany her appointment, saying, “Arizona must take an ‘all of the above’ approach to water and find a balance that protects private property rights while promoting the interests and economy of the state. This includes urban and rural, augmentation and conservation, and surface and groundwater, not to mention residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural users and property rights across all land types. I appreciate Speaker Toma for affording the opportunity to explore this issue and for making water a top priority in this legislative session.”
The Director of Communications for the Arizona Senate Republicans told AZ Free News that the Legislature would have the remaining appointments and the agenda for the first meeting by next week.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Upset parents and community members who showed up to voice their opposition to Catalina Foothills School District’s (CFSD) secretive gender identity policies during the governing board meeting on Tuesday were prevented from doing so.
CFSD parents and community members organized in protest following revelation of CFSD’s longstanding unwritten policy that doesn’t require parental notification if boys are entering girls’ restrooms and locker rooms. CFSD declared it wouldn’t reconsider this policy.
The parents and community members were also in protest of another secretive practice dating back several years, in which district staff would acknowledge students using a different gender identity without informing parents. In a September 2021 email, CFSD Principal Mark Rubin-Toles shared a confidential list of the pronouns and preferred names of his students at Orange Grove Middle School.
“If you are like me, you may have been challenged recently to keep some of our kids’ pronouns and preferred names straight — and to remember what can and can’t be shared with families,” stated Rubin-Toles. “It is our responsibility to protect student privacy in these matters.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, CFSD warned that it had reduced its public comment time, prioritized district parents and local community members, and deprioritized those who spoke on the same subject at previous meetings.
“Lack of discussion does not mean we haven’t heard you. I assure you, we have,” stated Board President Eileen Jackson.
CFSD has indicated in past emails and recent board comments that student privacy and the relationship between educators and their students takes precedence over parental rights. That caused an uproar among some within the Tucson community, but their voices weren’t heard on Tuesday. CFSD indicated during the meeting that those upset with their administration had spoken out enough on the subject.
CFSD had 11 pro-LGBTQ+ students defending their policies speaking first. The students emphasized that they had a right to privacy, and that the district should be able to keep student information secret from parents.
After the students, CFSD parents and community members had their turn to speak. However, the only ones allowed to speak were 17 individuals who were also supportive of CFSD’s policies.
Following an earlier meeting this month, CFSD asked KGUN 9 to correct their reporting to say that many of the upset speakers at that last meeting weren’t CFSD parents or community members.
In response, an organized group of CFSD citizens accused CFSD of lying. The group, CFSD Concerned Citizens, cited the district’s unwillingness to improve policy or allow public discussion on their concerns as the reason for their organization.
Last weeks media coverage and board’s response lied saying majority of speakers were activists from a church and non-district affiliated. This is not the case. Attendees included CFSD families, residents and community members who want transparency and items to be put on the (1/4) pic.twitter.com/zOav23A9uc
— Cfsd ConcernedCitizens (@Concerned4CFSD) April 10, 2023
CFSD Concerned Citizens partners include School Board Watchlist, Protect Arizona Schools Coalition, Heritage Foundation, Moms for Liberty, Alliance Defending Freedom, Center for Arizona Policy, Goldwater Institute, and AZ Women of Action.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The threat of fentanyl is becoming too great for any political party to ignore, but Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs jettisoned a bipartisan proposal to protect Arizona children from this deadly drug.
Earlier this month, Governor Hobbs vetoed SB 1027, sponsored by Senator Anthony Kern, which would have established “knowingly manufacturing carfentanil, fentanyl or fentanyl memetic substances under any circumstance that causes physical injury to a minor who is under 15 years of age as a class 2 felony offense punishable as a dangerous crime against children and makes changes to existing sentencing provisions for certain narcotic drug offenses.”
Hobbs didn’t elaborate much in her veto letter to the Arizona Legislature, writing, “Last week I signed a bill continuing Arizona’s ‘Good Samaritan Law.’ I fear that this bill, particularly Section 2, would undermine the purpose of that law. I encourage the legislature to send me a narrower bill that focuses on the manufacture of fentanyl.”
Senator Kern, the bill sponsor, issued a press release following the governor’s action on his legislation, “expressing concern and dismay,” stating: “We have been fighting the opioid epidemic not just in Arizona, but nationwide for decades. The least we can do is try to protect our children and future generations from exposure to a deadly drug often laced into opioids. This bill had the support of many Democrats, yet Governor Hobbs continues to show her priorities are out of line.”
Kern then addressed Hobbs’ reference to the ‘Good Samaritan Law,’ saying, “In her veto letter, she claims she didn’t sign the bill out of fear it would undermine the Good Samaritan Law which protects individuals who intervene to save someone experiencing an opioid overdose. Not only is it a misleading stretch to reach this conclusion, Hobbs is more concerned with protecting fentanyl manufacturers and providers than implementing real measures that protect our children and communities from these dangerous drugs. We as legislators have done our job. We created a bill with bipartisan support to tackle a very real and serious issue. Why is Hobbs not doing hers, and instead continuing to play political games?”
In January, the bill passed through Kern’s Senate Judiciary Committee, garnering six votes against one in opposition; Democrat Senators Marsh and Epstein voted with four Republicans on the committee. The full Senate then approved of the measure, 21-8 – with one member not voting. The bill was transmitted to the Arizona House and assigned to the Judiciary Committee, where it passed along party lines, 5-3. The full House then cleared the bill by a bipartisan vote of 35-24 (with one member not voting).
Democrat Representative Analise Ortiz, who voted against the bill in the House Judiciary Committee and on the floor, cheered on the governor’s veto, tweeting, “Thank you, Gov. Hobbs for vetoing SB 1027, a bill that would’ve caused far more harm than good. The evidence shows us that broad criminalization of addiction is not effective. We must get serious about addressing the fentanyl crisis by investing in drug treatment and prevention.”
Thank you, Gov. Hobbs for vetoing SB 1027, a bill that would've caused far more harm than good. The evidence shows us that broad criminalization of addiction is not effective. We must get serious about addressing the fentanyl crisis by investing in drug treatment and prevention. https://t.co/7FOQS63yCt
A Christian university’s case against a Phoenix school district over alleged religious discrimination got a hearing on Tuesday.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Arizona Christian University (ACU) against the Washington Elementary School District (WESD), spoke with AZ Free News after the hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction in the Arizona District Court.
ADF lawyer Jake Reed said they felt confident in their legal arguments and that the judge that heard the case, Steven Logan, was well-versed on the arguments ahead of Tuesday’s hearings. Reed said they’re hoping for a ruling within the next few weeks, considering ACU needs to place their student teachers for the upcoming year by the end of this semester.
“This is a pretty simple case about religious discrimination,” said Reed. “A public body is telling a university they can’t place their teachers because of their religious faith.”
WESD terminated its contract with ACU in February. Its governing board members cited ACU’s Christianity as a principal factor for their decision. Leading on the effort was board member Tamillia Valenzuela, who said that ACU’s Biblical perspective that traditional sexual morality and the standard of marriage between one man and one woman directly opposed her and other LGBTQ+ community members. Valenzuela received support from fellow board members Kyle Clayton and Nikki Gomez-Whaley.
“[W]hen I went and looked into not only [ACU’s] core values but then the statement of faith that they ask their students to sign and live by, what gave me pause was it’s not just teaching but it’s teaching as they say with a Biblical lens, with a proselytizing is embedded into how they teach, and you know, I just don’t believe that belongs in schools,” said Clayton. “I would never want, you know, my son to talk about his two dads and be shamed by a teacher who believed a certain way and is at a school that demands that they, you know, teach through [a] Biblical lens.”
Gomez-Whaley said she would be open to those who claimed to be Christians who were accepting of LGBTQ+ lifestyles.
“[E]ven though [ACU] may not do anything illegal where they are preaching or using Bible verses, I do believe that we owe it to especially all of our students when we’re working in equity but especially our LGBTQ students and staff who are under fire who are not protected, and who we have already pledged to support,” said Gomez-Whaley. “We cannot continue to align ourselves with organizations that starkly contrast our values and say that we legitimately care about diversity, equity, and inclusion and that we legitimately care about all of our families.”
Reed shared that in the 11 years of WESD and ACU’s relationship, there were well over 100 students placed as either student teachers or in teacher shadowing positions. Of those students, 17 went on to be hired by WESD.
When asked whether WESD could attempt religious discrimination in future contracting decisions under the guise of other reasons, Reed said that those incidents, if they were to occur, would have to be scrutinized.
“The government can’t treat certain people worse than everyone else. Students shouldn’t be denied opportunities because of their religious beliefs,” said Reed. “The government can’t pick and choose what beliefs they allow.”
WESD proposed to settle by extending a separate agreement with ACU for one more year — but not the agreement at issue.
Ahead of the hearing the judge denied an amicus brief filed last week by The Goldwater Institute, a public policy research and litigation organization. Logan stated in his order that the WESD didn’t consent to the brief and that the Goldwater Institute didn’t present relevant matters that hadn’t already or couldn’t be brought to the court by either party.
“The parties’ briefing on Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction is complete, thorough, and more than sufficient for this Court to make a ruling,” wrote Logan.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Three years and some change later, President Joe Biden signed Rep. Paul Gosar’s (R-AZ-09) bill to end the national COVID-19 emergency. Biden signed Gosar’s resolution, HJR 7, on Monday.
“The legislation drafted by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) passed the House 229-197 in February, with a handful of Democratic supporters, and then the Senate 68-23 last month with about half of the chamber’s Democrats voting in favor.”https://t.co/qKfifQSXxf
In addition to the national emergency that Gosar’s resolution terminated, there’s another declared emergency in play concerning COVID-19: the public health emergency declared in January 2020 by Health and Human Services (HHS), which impacts the ability of the federal government to use Title 42 for expedited illegal immigrant expulsion. The Biden administration said that it would end the public health emergency, which allows Title 42 to take place, on May 11.
There was also the emergency declared by former President Donald Trump via the Stafford Act. That declaration enabled Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance for 75 percent federal matching on disaster-related costs, like law enforcement and state emergency operation centers.
An end to the national emergency per Gosar’s resolution would have lifted the pause on student loan repayments — however, the Biden administration announced its student loan forgiveness program last August to work around the end of the emergency. That program is being considered currently before the Supreme Court (SCOTUS). Repayments are scheduled to resume either 60 days after the SCOTUS ruling or after June 30.
The end of the national emergency also means federal agencies will return to regular protocols, such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s COVID-19 mortgage forbearance program ceasing by the end of May.
The lift of the emergency will also tighten up rules on Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP programs, impacting eligibility, as well as waivers for alternative provider settings, or for forgoing application fees or criminal background checks. It will also cease the provision of free COVID-19 rapid tests, and allow states to cease COVID-19 data tracking.
Gosar’s resolution passed the Senate last month with bipartisan support, including both Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema. Only two Arizona representatives opposed the resolution during House consideration in February: Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07) and Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04).
My bill, H.J.Res.7, terminates the COVID-19 national emergency. It has passed the House & Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and has been presented to Biden.
I call on the President to immediately sign H.J.Res.7 & terminate the COVID-19 national emergency declaration. pic.twitter.com/mBlkA58vrz
Leading up to Biden signing the resolution, some Democratic leaders expressed frustration with a perceived lack of communication from the White House. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI-08) reported that the Biden administration hasn’t communicated with House Democrats.
“The White House’s lack of communication with House Democrats has been frustrating,” said Kildee. “Going forward, we’re going to need greater clarity out of the administration. They’ve got to do better.”
Biden voiced opposition to the resolution leading up to and after the Senate’s passage of Gosar’s resolution. Despite his opposition, a White House spokesperson told media outlets that the president would sign the resolution.
“The President strongly opposes HJ Res 7, and the administration is planning to wind down the COVID national emergency and public health emergency on May 11,” said the spokesperson. “If this bill comes to his desk, however, he will sign it, and the administration will continue working with agencies to wind down the national emergency with as much notice as possible to Americans who could potentially be impacted.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
