by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 24, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Both Republicans and Democrats came together this week at the state legislature to enhance protections for Arizona’s children.
The Arizona House overwhelmingly passed HB 2516, which deals with investigations into child abuse cases. 56 legislators voted to send the bill to the Senate against zero detractors. Four House members did not vote.
The full House vote follows two unanimous votes to free the legislation from committees. On February 1, the House Judiciary Committee voted 8-0 to approve the bill, and likewise with the House Rules Committee on February 13.
According to the overview of the bill provided by the Arizona House of Representatives, HB 2516 “adds a forensic interview as an alternative examination method for a child taken into temporary custody due to exigent circumstances involving sexual abuse or serious physical injury.” (“Exigent circumstances exist if there is probable cause to believe that the child is likely to suffer serious harm in the time it would take to obtain a court order for removal and either of the following is true: 1) There is no less intrusive alternative to taking temporary custody of the child that would reasonably and sufficiently protect the child’s health or safety; or 2) Probable cause exists to believe that the child is a victim of sexual abuse or abuse involving serious physical injury that can be diagnosed only by an appropriately licensed physician or health care provider.”)
Representative Parker’s bill “authorizes a person who takes temporary custody of a child due to exigent circumstances involving sexual abuse or serious physical injury to immediately have the child forensically interviewed by a person who is appropriately trained pursuant to statutory protocols, as an alternative to a medical examination.” Currently, “unless the examination (by an appropriately licensed physician or health care provider) reveals abuse, the person must release the child into the custody of the parent of guardian.”
The bill also “changes the definition of a reportable offense by replacing an Arizona statute, which criminalizes providing harmful items to minors by electronic means with another statute, which criminalizes providing harmful items to minors by non-electronic means.”
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News, Representative Parker explained why she introduced this bill:
“HB 2516 is an example of how important language and wording are in the law. ARS 8-821 was an example of the ‘cart before the horse’ regarding children whom agencies received after a report of child abuse. Well-intentioned laws, not carefully updated, can lead to ambiguity in interpretation. Therefore, bringing the statute into compliance with current professional procedure manuals was paramount. Experienced and trained professionals must first talk to the child in an important forensic interview to determine the appropriate next step.”
Rebecca Baker, Legislative Liaison for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO), represented the Office in supporting this legislation before the full House vote.
HB 2516 now makes its way to the Arizona Senate chamber – one step closer to a potential signature into law from Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 23, 2023 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Republicans and Democrats have generally been divided on ideas to improve Arizona’s public and charter school systems for the benefit of children and their families, but one bill advancing through the state legislature might have a chance at becoming law.
On Tuesday, the Arizona House passed HB 2291, sponsored by Representative David Cook, with a bipartisan 35-25 vote. According to the overview provided by the House, this legislation “authorizes a school district governing board to terminate the superintendent’s employment contract if prescribed criteria are met.” The prescribed criteria in the legislation, that would give the governing board the green light to remove a district superintendent, are if it was “determined by the governing board that the superintendent violated governing board policy; or one or more schools have been assigned a D or F letter grade for at least three years.”
In a release sent out by the House, Representative Cook praised the passage of this bill, saying, “HB 2291 is written to empower local school board members to make decisions that are best for their school districts while being able to protect their limited funding for education that they control. I’m glad to have bipartisan support for this legislation, because making sure that our schools are serving their students and parents is not a partisan matter – it’s something we all believe needs to happen.”
There were four co-sponsors for this legislation – two Democrats and two Republicans. Democrat Representatives Alma Hernandez and Lydia Hernandez co-sponsored HB 2291, along with Republican Representatives Laurin Hendrix and Michele Peña.
Earlier this session, Representative Cook’s bill passed out of the House Education Committee with an 8-2 bipartisan vote, and out of the House Rules Committee with a unanimous 8-0 vote.
The Arizona School Administrators Association, the Arizona Education Association, and the Arizona School Boards Association came out in opposition to this legislation as it was progressing through the Arizona House.
HB 2291 will now be considered by the Arizona Senate.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 23, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
On Wednesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sidelined Governor Katie Hobbs from the headlines with the release of investigative documents related to the 2020 election – a process started by former Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
Mayes unveiled three sets of documents: the March 8, 2022 Previously Unreleased Interim Findings Summary, the April 1, 2022 Draft of Interim Report with edits and suggestions made by AAGO agents, and the September 19, 2022 Previously Unreleased Investigative Summary. The Washington Post claimed the exclusive story just after 11am EST.
In a statement that accompanied the release of the documents, Attorney General Mayes said, “The results of this exhaustive and extensive investigation show what we have suspect for over two years – the 2020 election in Arizona was conducted fairly and accurately by elections officials. The ten thousand plus hours spent diligently investigating every conspiracy theory under the sun distracted this office from its core mission of protecting the people of Arizona from real crime and fraud.”
When asked by AZ Free News about the information revealed by his successor, Brnovich provided the following response: “I am proud of the work our office did with the election integrity unit that was created by the Arizona Legislature. While subjected to severe criticism from all sides of the political spectrum during the course of our investigations, we did our due diligence to run all complaints to ground. Where we were able to debunk rumors and conspiracies, we did so. Nevertheless, we also identified areas we believe the legislature and county officials should address to ensure confidence in future elections.”
The document dump from Mayes could close the book on a long chapter in Arizona political history – though questions and varying perspectives remain from thousands of citizens about the state of elections in the Grand Canyon State. The saga began with the Arizona Senate’s audit of the 2020 Maricopa County General Election, which lasted several months. On September 24, 2021, Attorney General Brnovich acknowledged that he was in receipt of the Arizona Senate’s draft report regarding the 2020 Election Audit in Maricopa County, stating, “I will take all necessary actions that are supported by the evidence and where I have legal authority.”
From the end of the November 2020 General Election to the transmission of the draft report to the Attorney General’s Office and through the end of his term in office – Brnovich could not please most Republicans or Democrats on the inflamed issue of election integrity – despite his 2021 victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case Brnovich v. DNC. Former President Donald Trump took repeated aims at Brnovich in attempts to find issues, fraud, or wrongdoing with the 2020 General Election in Maricopa County. Even with immense pressure from countless concerned citizens, elected officials, and candidates for office, though, Brnovich did not take any legal action in response to the Cyber Ninja’s findings contained in the audit report.
Brnovich did, however, deliver an interim report to former-Senate President Karen Fann on April 6, 2022, focusing on what his “office can presently share and the current status” of the
review. In the letter to President Fann, Attorney General Brnovich wrote that the office had “reached the conclusion that the 2020 election in Maricopa County revealed serious vulnerabilities that must be addressed.” Those issues (or vulnerabilities) included “document preservation and production,” “early voting signature verification,” “early ballot drop boxes,” and the “use of private grant monies.”
The interim report also contained several recommendations for the state legislature and an accounting of previous or ongoing actions from Brnovich’s team to “defend election integrity” in Arizona.
The investigation into the Senate’s audit findings was separate from the higher-than-usual number of investigations that the Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit (EIU) undertook into the 2020 election cycle. According to a document on “prosecutions related to voting or elections since 2010,” approximately half of the listed cases appear to be from 2020.
The Attorney General’s Office, under Brnovich’s direction, had already started to publish findings of its investigation in the months leading up to the transfer of power to Mayes. On August 1, 2022, Brnovich sent another letter to President Fann, alerting legislators that his office had “concluded our criminal investigation related to deceased voter allegations,” finding that “only one of the 282 individuals on the list was deceased at the time of the (2020) election.”
Legislative Democrats took the disclosure of investigative documents to counter their Republican colleagues’ attempts to enhance election integrity protections for future elections. The Arizona Senate Democrats Caucus tweeted, “Maybe we should stop hearing all those #BIGLIE bills in the #AZSenateElections committee now?”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Terri Jo Neff | Feb 22, 2023 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The City of Flagstaff can be forced to pay the State of Arizona more than $1.1 million for enacting a minimum wage that is significantly higher than the state wage, according to an Arizona Court of Appeals opinion released Tuesday.
But whether the State gets to keep the money will be determined once a Maricopa County judge conducts a trial on the matter.
Back in 2006, Arizona voters approved Proposition 202 which allows cities and towns to set their local minimum wage, as long as it is not below the state level. Flagstaff did just that in 2016 with the passage of a local voter initiative.
The Arizona Legislature passed a new law in 2019 which allows the State to collect yearly assessments from any municipality with a minimum wage that exceeds the State’s. The assessment entails a detailed process involving state agencies estimating their costs “attributable” to the higher minimum wage.
Each assessment must be approved annually by another act of the legislature, after which the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) is required to issue an assessment to the municipality by July 31.
Any impacted municipality then has until the end of the calendar year to remit payment or the Arizona Treasurer must withhold the amount with applicable interest from the municipality’s share of tax revenues.
In the Flagstaff case, the state agencies were asked by the Legislature in 2019 to calculate their “projected costs attributable to Flagstaff’s higher minimum wage” in their 2021 budget estimates. That amount was calculated at $1,110,992, based on Flagstaff’s $15 per hour minimum wage effective Jan.1, 2021.
The Arizona hourly minimum at the time was only $12.15.
The $1.1 million Flagstaff assessment was approved by the Legislature via Senate Bill 1827 on June 30, 2021 and signed the same day by then-Gov. Doug Ducey. ADOA then advised city officials the assessment would be formally issued 90 days later, well after the July 31 deadline.
In the meantime, city officials filed a lawsuit, challenging the 2019 statute as well as the 2021 Senate Bill, arguing both were unconstitutional under the Voter Protection Act (VPA). The effective date of the assessment also plays a big role in the lawsuit.
Without opining on Flagstaff’s constitutional arguments, a Maricopa County trial judge quickly issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the State from enforcing the assessment while the lawsuit is being litigated.
The judge primarily relied on the belief at the time that the June 2021 assessment did not take effect the day it was signed into law, thus making ADOA’s plan to collect the money 90 days later untimely.
The trial judge also briefly noted he was granting the preliminary injunction “out of an abundance of caution” as Flagstaff officials had argued about the “possibility of irreparable harm” with funding critical services if forced to pay the $1.1 million.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office appealed the preliminary injunction order, arguing on behalf of ADOA and Treasurer Kimberly Yee that the Maricopa County judge made multiple errors to support issuing it. And in a Feb. 21 opinion, the Court of Appeals agreed.
The opinion authored by Acting Presiding Judge Randall M. Howe noted the trial court erred in considering Flagstaff’s irreparable harm argument under the set of facts as they are in the case. Howe added that the city had sufficient funds to cover the assessment, and could have gotten the fund back if the State lost the lawsuit.
As a result, Howe was joined by Judge D. Steven Williams and Vice Chief Judge David B. Gass in overturning the preliminary injunction and sending the case back to the Maricopa County Superior Court “for a trial on the merits.”
The opinion also strongly suggests the trial judge consider a 2022 ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court (Ariz. Free Enter. Club v. Hobbs) in which the justices clarified that revenue laws proving “for the support and maintenance” of “existing state departments or state institutions” are valid upon enactment instead of taking effect at a later date.
If applied to SB1827, that would have allowed ADOA to issue the assessment to Flagstaff in plenty of time to meet the July 31 deadline.
The Court of Appeals also unanimously declined a request from the parties for the judges to weigh in on some other key legal issues with the case, including whether the 2019 statute allowing for assessments of costs to cities like Flagstaff “impliedly amend the VPA, violating Arizona’s constitution.”
Howe wrote that the court of appeals “sits as a court of review, not of first view,” and would not decide the merits of the case without the benefit of having a fully developed record from the trial court.
“While the parties are understandably eager to resolve this case as quickly as possible, quickness must not eclipse thoroughness,” Howe wrote. “We respect the role of the trial court and trust in its competence to resolve all legal and factual matters before it in the first instance.”
The opinion does not take effect for at least 30 days, giving both sides time to petition for review by the Arizona Supreme Court.
As of Jan. 1, 2023, Flagstaff’s minimum is to $16.80 per hour ($14.80 tipped) while the state minimum rose to $13.85.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 22, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs is attempting to showcase her policy initiatives in the first 100 days of her fledgling administration, but her efforts are quickly being overwhelmed by her veto threats and lack of transparency surrounding her nominees to lead state agencies.
This week, the Arizona Senate’s Committee on Director Nominations held its second meeting since President Warren Petersen commissioned the panel to vet and provide recommendations to the full chamber. According to Senate sources, the governor’s office has only transmitted eleven of her nominees to the Legislature and continues to withhold a number of individuals from the required constitutional consideration at the present time. Earlier this month, the Director Nominations Committee took up the nominations of two of Hobbs’ appointees, recommending Angie Rodgers for the Department of Economic Security, and disapproving of Dr. Theresa Cullen for the Department of Health Services. The Senate later rejected Dr. Cullen’s nomination after an extensive vetting process.
The second meeting featured two more of the governor’s nominees – this time for the Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Department of Administration (ADOA). On January 6, during Governor Hobbs’ first week in office, she announced Jennifer Toth and Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson to lead ADOT and ADOA, respectively. Hobbs introduced these nominees in a press release, saying, “The expertise represented in this group makes me excited about the bright future we will be able to build together.”
Jennifer Toth was previously the Director for the Maricopa County Department of Transportation, and she also served as the State Engineer and Deputy Director of ADOT. After facing questions from lawmakers on the committee, she earned a favorable recommendation with a 5-0 vote.
The Governor’s Office was very pleased with this progress and issued a statement following the hearing, stating, “Jennifer Toth’s nomination to lead the @ArizonaDOT is moving forward to a full vote in the Senate. She is the perfect person to help lead Arizona toward becoming one of the most reliable transportation systems in the nation.”
Much like the first hearing, though, the second nominee of the day brought the greatest controversy and an unfavorable result for the Ninth Floor. Alvarado-Thorson, the Deputy Director of ADOA since 2018, was accused by lawmakers of evading their questions and displaying a lack of knowledge about- Hobbs’ agenda for ADOA. President Petersen was clearly tuning in to the hearing, releasing the following statement after the questions and (non)-answers were complete: “Looks like the new tactic of the 9th floor is to tell their nominees to evade or not answer questions. Glad the committee made it clear that no one will advance who does not directly answer questions. Citizens deserve direct and honest answers.”
The lack of advancement that President Petersen was referring to was Chairman Jake Hoffman’s decision at the end of the meeting to hold Alvarado-Thorson’s nomination from an official recommendation. When addressing his decision, Senator Hoffman told AZ Free News, “Katie Hobbs’ nominees should not expect to disrespect the confirmation process by dodging legitimate questions and still gain the approval of the committee. Hobbs needs to appoint nominees who will give honest and truthful answers during their confirmation hearing, instead of playing political games.”
In a release sent a day after the hearing’s conclusion, Senator Hoffman listed the issues uncovered from the questioning of Alvarado-Thorson, including that Alvarado-Thorson “does not know what the Hobbs Administration’s vision is for ADOA,” that she “was not included in the conversations about the decision to block $210 million in federal COVID grants authorized by former Governor Doug Ducey,” and that during her gubernatorial campaign, Hobbs had “made it abundantly clear that she wanted specific pro-abortion directors to oversee the Department of Administration.”
On Tuesday, Toth was confirmed by the Arizona Senate by voice vote, making her the first Hobbs’ nominee to cross the finish line of a transparent constitutional process spearheaded by President Warren Petersen and Chairman Jake Hoffman.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Terri Jo Neff | Feb 22, 2023 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
While U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) led a group of Republican lawmakers to Cochise County last week, the beleaguered U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas made news for his own border visit – in Poland.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ) hosted the Feb. 16 visit of McCarthy and three other first year members of Congress to southern Arizona. They arrived just days after the National Sheriffs Association met in Washington, D.C., with many sheriffs renewing a call for lawmakers to get educated about the southwest border crisis.
Such visits have occurred in the past, by both Republicans and Democrats, but McCarthy appears committed to keeping attention on the border for at least a few more weeks.
A visit to Arizona is already planned for this month by the House Judiciary Committee, which is promoting the trip as a “field hearing.” A similar road trip is being arranged for the House Homeland Security Committee in March, although the destination has not been announced.
McCarthy also promised there will be hearings in Washington, D.C. in an effort to secure the border with or without the cooperation of the Biden administration.
But as U.S. lawmakers focus on securing America’s southern border, fallout continues from the visit Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made to Poland, as he continues to downplay the crisis in the U.S.
Much of the focus of McCarthy’s recent visit revolved around the continued flow of illegal border crossers and an unprecedented flow of deadly fentanyl. Unlike Yuma County and much of the Texas / Mexico border, Cochise County typically does not see large groups of crossers, and certainly not the kind of groups who turn themselves in to federal authorities.
Instead, U. S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement officials deal with small groups that go to extreme efforts to avoid detection and capture. McCarthy also addressed the national impact of the increase in drug smuggling incidents, with unprecedented volumes of fentanyl making its way to the Midwest and Northeast after coming through Arizona.
“Today more than 300 Americans will be poisoned and die from fentanyl,” said McCarthy. “Tomorrow there will be 300 more. That’s the equivalent of an airline crashing.”
Accompanying McCarthy and Ciscomani were Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR), Jen Kiggans (VA), and Derrick Van Orden (WI).
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
