by Terri Jo Neff | Dec 24, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
A fair housing ordinance enacted by the City of Tucson in September violates state law, and could result in the Arizona Treasurer withholding funds to the city if not repealed in 30 days.
That is the opinion issued Dec. 22 by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AGO) following an investigation undertaken in response to a complaint recently filed by State Rep. Ben Toma after Tucson passed Ordinance No. 11959 prohibiting discrimination in housing based on a person’s “lawful source of income.”
Toma, who is now the House Speaker-elect, filed what is known as a 1487 complaint over concerns that Tucson’s new ordinance violates longstanding federal and state fair housing laws.
Under Arizona’s existing fair housing law, a person “may not refuse to sell or rent after a bona fide offer has been made or refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin.”
In addition, a person “may not discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in providing services or facilities in connection with the sale or rental, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin.”
One thing Deputy Solicitor General Michael Catlett notes in the AGO’s investigative report is that Arizona law does not include the right to be free from discrimination based on source of income. Whether such a protection is worthwhile – as city officials argued – was not considered by the AGO because the City of Tucson is 28 years too late in enacting such an ordinance, Catlett noted.
According to the 21-page AGO report, Tucson was given an option by the Arizona Legislature in 1992 to update its fair housing policies. One of the conditions was that any changes were completed by Jan. 1, 1995.
City officials, however, took no action by the deadline which makes the new ordinance inconsistent with Arizona law, Catlett determined. And if city officials do not repeal Ordinance 11959 within 30 days, the AGO “will notify the State Treasurer, who shall withhold state shared monies” in accordance with state law.
Toma called the AGO’s investigative report “an important check” on government.
“We are all bound by the laws of this state and the Constitution,” Toma said in response to the report. “If we hold this expectation for our citizens, then we should do the same for the government. It’s really that simple.”
Tucson has fallen victim to no-growth policies including “not in my back yard” advocates which has put the city in the position of not having enough housing for its citizens, according to Toma.
If Tucson wants to address the housing situation, “then it needs to look inward and remove the barriers that have caused its housing shortage,” Toma said.
And the solution, he added, is quite simple.
“Build more housing. That’s the only answer here.”
Tucson has 30 days to repeal Ordinance 11959. If the City does not repeal, then A.R.S. 41-194.01 requires the State Treasurer to withhold state shared monies until notified by the AGO that the city has come into compliance.
One question will be whether the attorney general’s report will be revised or even overturned by Attorney General-elect Kris Mayes, a Democrat, if she withstands the election challenge filed by Abe Hamadeh, the Republican nominee.
Because the city missed the 1995 deadline for enacting changes to its fair housing policy, the AGO did not address whether Ordinance 11959 and its protection based on lawful source of income is substantially equivalent to federal and state fair housing laws.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 24, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’ endorsement for the new Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) chair indicates a deep party divide.
Hobbs endorsed Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a member of her transition team — but other top Democratic leaders endorsed the apparent successor, ADP Vice Chair Yolanda Bejarano. The announcement confirmed railbird talk that Hobbs’ transition team had someone in mind other than Bejarano.
Hobbs appears to be attempting to gin up greater support for Gallardo. The outgoing secretary of state has issued public endorsements several times over the past few weeks. Additionally, two of her other transition team members — Valleywise Health Board Chairwoman Mary Rose Wilcox and Arizona Education Association (AEA) President Marisol Garcia — endorsed Gallardo.
The current chair, State Sen. Raquel Terán (LD-26), announced earlier this month that she wouldn’t seek re-election due to her appointment as Senate Minority Whip. A day later, Bejarano announced her candidacy in a since-deleted tweet. However, in the remaining tweet thread, Bejarano said that she could end the “dangerous agenda” of Republicans.
“And with Republicans doubling down on their dangerous agenda that has all but ended the right to an abortion, defunded our public schools, villainized immigrants instead of working to fix the system, and denied our fair and free elections, our work has never been more important,” wrote Bejarano.
Bejarano quickly received public endorsements from a number of Democratic leaders, including: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07), Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09), Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02), defeated congressional candidate Jevin Hodge, attorney general-elect Kris Mayes, secretary of state-elect Adrian Fontes, State Rep. Athena Salman (D-LD08), state rep.-elect Analise Ortiz (D-LD24), state sen.-elect Anna Hernandez (D-LD24), Phoenix City Councilwomen Yassamin Ansari and Betty Guardado, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union president Delbert Hawk.
Bejarano is also the Communication Workers of America (CWA) union’s national legislative and policy field director.
Apart from Hobbs and her transition team, Gallardo’s endorsements came from former Arizona Senate President and Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios, primaried State Rep. Cesar Chávez, UFCW Local 99 union, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Arizona chapter.
Over the last few weeks, Gallardo has hit the media trail to inspire more support.
Gallardo is also a board member for the Phoenix Union High School District, and former board member for the Cartwright Elementary School District. Gallardo serves as the second vice chair of the County Supervisors’ Association. He is also on the Ryan White Planning Council and the Valley Metro Regional Transportation Advisory Board.
Prior to serving on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Gallardo served for 10 years in the state legislature, going on to become House Minority Whip and then Senate Minority Whip. Gallardo also served as a campaign finance administrator in the Maricopa County Elections Department for 14 years, engaging in efforts to increase voter turnout.
Gallardo has also served on the Arizona Civil Right Advisory Board and the Maryvale Village Planning Committee, as well as been a member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), and Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).
In 2006, Gallardo chaired a ballot initiative that established minimum wage in Arizona. Since then, the state minimum wage has increased from $6.75 to $13.85 (starting Jan. 1). The federal minimum wage is $7.25.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Dec 24, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The largest wind energy project in the Western Hemisphere is one step closer to generating electricity for 3 million Americans after Pattern Energy received the final approval it needs from Arizona officials for a transmission line that will carry electricity from the New Mexico wind project to Arizona.
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) recently gave its unanimous approval to the Certificate of Environmental Compatibility application for Pattern Energy’s 550-mile SunZia Transmission project. The transmission line will be the conduit for Pattern Energy’s own 3,500MW SunZia Wind facility being constructed across three central New Mexico counties.
The ACC certificate represents the completion of the Arizona permitting process for the ±525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that will enter Arizona from the east, running along the southern end of Graham and Greenlee counties before veering southwest through northern Cochise County.
The line will then head northwest through the far northeast corner of Pima County before heading on to Pinal County where the project ends. There are plans for a third party transmission line to then carry the electricity to the Palo Verde Hub.
Pattern Energy continues to work with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as well as local jurisdictions and stakeholders to finalize the remaining approvals needed to allow construction on the projects to begin on schedule in mid-2023. A Record of Decision from BLM is anticipated in April 2023, the key approval required prior to construction.
Those approvals will bring badly needed temporary and permanent jobs to Arizona, particularly in Cochise County and Pinal County. There will also be associated revenues such as for materials, equipment, fuel, and temporary housing.
“This project is of great economic benefit with more than 2,000 construction jobs and up to 150 permanent jobs, which for our rural communities is a lifeline,” said Mignonne Hollis, Executive Director of the Cochise County-based Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation. “It’s vital for our county, which continues to see a decline in population, to have stable jobs come into our region.”
The SunZia wind and transmission project was first proposed in 2006 and received its first granted accepted rating from the Western Electricity Coordinating Council in 2011. Its first of many federal approvals came in 2015.
Since then, dozens of environmental and sustainability reviews have been conducted for the joint project, which will have a footprint in 13 counties between the two states.
Company officials say the combined SunZia Wind project and Transmission project comprise the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in U.S. history with a total privately-funded investment of more than $8 billion.
“The unanimous decision by the ACC to grant a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for the SunZia Transmission line represents a major milestone towards the completion of this project,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy which owns the SunZia project. “Once complete these projects will combine to increase the reliability of the western grid, create good jobs, and bring millions of dollars in economic benefits to Arizona and New Mexico.”
The operational portfolio of California-based Pattern Energy includes 35 renewable energy facilities that use proven, best-in-class technology with an operating capacity of nearly 6,000 MW in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 23, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) won’t comply with the Arizona Senate’s subpoena for election records. The Senate has attempted to get these records from the county for a month.
In a response letter issued to State Sen. Kelly Townsend (R-LD16), Government Committee chair, BOS Chair Bill Gates said that their staff and attorneys were too busy to respond by Townsend’s Wednesday deadline. Gates also insisted that Townsend’s subpoena wasn’t necessary.
“As you know, Maricopa County has made itself available to answer questions and provide information as requested, regardless if subpoenaed. It is not necessary for you to hand-deliver a letter or have a Senate President signed subpoena issued,” wrote Gates.
Townsend rejected Gate’s excuse, describing it as a “willful and criminal” obstruction.
“[They] claim [they have] “no time due to court proceedings” [but] that would not be happening if they had followed their own policies,” tweeted Townsend.
Townsend issued the subpoena on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation by her committee on potential mismanagement of this most recent election.
Townsend asked Gates to reconcile discrepancies between his Audit Reconciliation report and poll workers’ Precinct Ballot Reports. Gates’ report failed to reflect the poll workers’ disclosure that nearly 17,500 ballots appeared to lack a chain of custody from voting centers.
Townsend also asked Gates to explain why a combined 23,900 ballots were held overnight instead of immediate reception at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC). She also requested delivery of the remaining Incoming Scan Receipts chain of custody documents, and the Goldenrod reports (Voting Location Event Forms) for every voting center.
Further, Townsend requested that Gates reconcile discrepancies between the Election Procedures Manual (EPM) and the county’s procedures pertaining to audit reconciliation and Official Ballot Reports (Precinct Ballot Reports). Gates was to also provide the Goldenrod reports and all communications between the audit manager, the Elections Director, and/or all judges and inspectors regarding the discrepancies.
Townsend also asked Gates to explain why some voting centers calculated Election Day tabulated ballots from memory cards, while others were counted at Central Count.
The senator also requested Gates explain the audit process when a Precinct Ballot Report is missing information like tabulated ballots, door 3 ballots, seals, or inspector and judge signatures; as well as explain how election boards at each voting center account for the provisional and voided ballots on their Official Ballot Report to complete EPM reconciliation requirements, since that wasn’t included in the Precinct Ballot Report fields.
Gates was also requested to explain why the county’s Precinct Ballot Report form wasn’t updated for the voting center model to include a count of control slips as a way to quantify voting center check-ins.
In response to constituent complaints that Townsend should issue an arrest warrant for the board, Townsend explained repeatedly that committee chairs don’t have the power to issue warrants on their own.
“[A warrant] requires a vote of the body and a majority prevailing,” stated Townsend.
Townsend has attempted for about a month to receive complete election record data from Maricopa County.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 22, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The following are some of the controversial carve outs within Congress’ 4,155-page, $1.7 trillion spending bill, “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.”
Fiscal Responsibility
- Waives PAYGO budgetary enforcement – $130 billion
Law Enforcement
- Jan. 6 prosecuting attorneys – $2.6 billion
- FBI investigations of extremist violence and domestic terrorism – $11.3 billion
- Capitol Police – $132 million
Criminal Justice Reform
- First Step Act of 2018 (enables prisoners to earn sentence reduction credits) – $409.4 million
- Restorative justice responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking – $15 million
- Culturally-specific services for female domestic/intimate violence victims – $11 million
- New restorative justice national center – $3 million
- Alternative sentencing programs – $3.5 million
- Drug courts – $95 million
- Mental health courts – $45 million
- Grants supporting community-based alternatives and restorative justice – $10 million
- Community violence intervention and prevention initiative grants – $50 million
- Community policing development activities, programs – $275.88 million
Social Justice
- Health and Human Services for diversity training – over $100 million
- Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund – $200 million
- Women’s Leadership Program – $50 million
- Foreign gender-based violence prevention – $250 million
- Foreign female empowerment – $150 million
- Hate crime outreach and training by state, local, and tribal law enforcement – $25 million
- Establishing Office of Diversity & Inclusion in the legislative branch – $3.5 million
- LGBTQ+ Pride Center in California – $1.2 million
- Community space for gender-expansive people – $1 million
- American LGBTQ museum in New York City – $3 million
Globalism
- Ukrainian military and economic aid – $45 billion
- Foreign food security and agricultural development – $1 billion ($265 million specifically for smaller enterprises by the poor, especially women)
- Foreign racial reconciliation – $25 million
Honors
- Nancy Pelosi Fellowship Program – $2 million
- Renaming and boosting funding for the Lake Champlain Basin Program after Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) – $35 million
- President Jimmy Carter Museum upgrade – $7.25 million
- President Ulysses S. Grant Museum upgrade – $6 million
Welfare
- Child Care and Development Block Grant – $8 billion
- Head Start – $12 billion
- Pell Grant increase by $500 (7.2 percent) – up to around $3 to $3.5 billion
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program – $5 billion
- Community Development Block Grant formula program – $6.4 billion
- 21,500+ affordable housing units – $388 million
Environment
- Environmental Protection Agency – $576 million
- Sustainable landscapes – $185 million
- Foreign clean energy programs – $260 million
- Foreign indigenous environment protection, including species preservation – $20 million
- Climate crisis response – $15.3 billion
- Multimodal, transit, bicycle and pedestrian, and passenger rail grants for green infrastructure – $1.7 billion
- “Defense” funding for climate crisis – $2 billion
- Foreign family planning/reproductive health, namely in “areas where population growth threatens biodiversity or endangered species” – $575 million
Pandemics
- Global Health Programs fund for future pandemics – $200 million
- COVID Response – $5 million
- COVID-19 American History Project – $1.5 million
The 4,155 page spending bill may be accessed here.
READ MORE: Arizona’s Congressional Leaders React to Omnibus
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 22, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona’s congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle didn’t appear too fond of the Democrat-led Congress’ $1.7 trillion, 4,000-page spending bill.
Republicans decried the plan entirely, first noting the Democrats’ last-minute submission of the legislation for review and demand for a vote. They admonished what they considered excessive spending, especially given the nation’s current financial insecurity. Democrats that commented on the spending bill, which were few, were more vocal about the aspects they disliked than the virtues of the package. However, Democrats ultimately voted for the bill.
READ HERE: THE $1.7 TRILLION SPENDING BILL
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) declared that the omnibus was an “assault” on the people, separation of powers, and fiscal responsibility. He warned it would devalue the American dollar to “unprecedented levels.”
Biggs and representative-elect Eli Crane signed onto a letter led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21) urging the Senate GOP to unify their 41 votes to kill the bill.
Biggs said that Republican resistance on the spending bill would allow the incoming Republican-led House to hold the FBI accountable for suppressing free speech online.
Biggs also shared commentary from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) disputing Democrats’ claim that Republicans were holding up the spending bill. Paul reminded the public and press that the Democrat-led Congress, just as with every other Congress, knows the deadline.
Watch here for Biggs’ full remarks on the omnibus:
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) said the bill was “America Last” in nature. He criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for prioritizing Ukraine over America.
Gosar listed a litany of real issues facing the country: inflation, declining wages, World War II-era shortages and supply chain issues, record crime levels, a weaponized Department of Justice (DOJ), FBI censorship and political persecution, Big Tech monopoly colluding with the DOJ, Biden family corruption with illegal Ukrainian bribes, record levels of broken families, a transgenderism crisis, failing infrastructure, record low confidence in government, broken elections systems, inept public health systems, COVID-19 vaccine harms, declining military, over $31 trillion in debt.
“Yet the Omnibus bill failed to remedy a single one of these very real problems. Not one. In fact, it rewards the DOJ, the FBI and the failed military leadership with more money and no reforms and no investigations. Not a dime is allocated towards securing our own border,” said Gosar.
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) said the plan was “reckless.” Lesko noted that the country’s interest payments would surpass the entire Department of Defense (DOD) budget on a yearly basis ($742 billion).
Lesko also noted that 63 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
“We cannot continue spending money that we don’t have,” said Lesko.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) backed the bill, declaring that further funding for Ukraine was a good thing. However, Sinema did break with her former party (she now identifies as an independent) to speak out on border policy within the bill. Sinema reaffirmed dedication on a bipartisan solution with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) for border legislation.
As AZ Free News reported last week, Sinema has been attempting to broker a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers in exchange for increased border security measures.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) hasn’t commented on the omnibus as of press time.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07) hasn’t commented either, though he did signal support for Ukraine once again.
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09) criticized the decision to leave out the Afghan Adjustment Act, legislation to expedite the legal status process for Afghan evacuees. Stanton signaled his support for Ukraine as well.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02) had the most favorable view of the spending bill. She championed the legislation as a great increase in funding for Arizona.
READ MORE: Controversial Expenditures in Congress’ $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
