by AZ Free News | Mar 6, 2021 | News
On the same day he announced increased steps to open the state, Governor Doug Ducey announced the retirement of one of the key players in state’s efforts to tackle the pandemic, Maj. Gen. Michael T. McGuire. McGuire serves on the Governor’s cabinet as both the Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and as the Adjutant General for the state.
“General McGuire’s solid leadership and expertise has been critical, especially during the COVID-19 emergency response,” said Governor Ducey in the announcement. “Arizona is grateful for General McGuire’s exceptional service to the state and nation.”
McGuire has served in the role since 2013. He planned to retire last year but extended his service because of the pandemic. His last day will be April 10.
McGuire is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of a nearly 8,300-member department, which includes the Arizona’s Army and Air National Guard, Joint Programs, and the Division of Emergency Management.
by Terri Jo Neff | Mar 5, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Gov. Doug Ducey has issued a lot of statements during his time in office, but the one he made Friday to allow most businesses across Arizona to reopen without capacity restrictions may be the most welcome of all.
“We’ve learned a lot over the past year,” Ducey said in his announcement. “Our businesses have done an excellent job at responding to this pandemic in a safe and responsible way. We will always admire the sacrifice they and their employees have made and their vigilance to protect against the virus.”
For businesses, physical distancing and mask protocols must still remain in place. In addition, Ducey will continue to order that mayor, counties, and municipalities cannot implement “extreme measures” over and above the state’s order.
Ducey and other state officials point to seven weeks of declining new COVID19 cases in Arizona, and the distribution of more than 2 million vaccines. Friday’s announcement that capacity restrictions will be removed for restaurants, gyms, theaters, water parks, bowling alleys, and bars providing dine-in service came just days after the Arizona Free Enterprise Club called for a reopening sooner than later.
The AFEC’s March 2 statement noted Arizonans were on “day 351” of what was announced at the time as a 15-day closure effort to show the spread of COVID19, but instead many businesses were still under very restrictive capacity limits…”
Several bills introduced this legislative session aimed to help Arizonans recapture a sense of normalcy by getting kids back to school and employees back to work. Rep. Bret Roberts (R-LD14) has sponsored or co-sponsored several of those bills, including one that defines the limits of a governor’s emergency powers.
Roberts said he is glad Ducey made the announcement but is mindful that more is needed.
“I would prefer we repeal it all in one fell swoop as other states are doing,” Roberts said. “However, I am happy to see were moving in that direction albeit incrementally. It’s a good first step…but we need to do more.”
Ducey’s new order will likely also have a huge impact on Arizona’s struggling tourism industry. He will now allow Major League Baseball and other major sports organizations to seek approval from the Arizona Department of Health Services of a crowd-public health plan that demonstrates implementation of safety precautions and physical distancing.
“Today’s announcement is a measured approach; we are not in the clear yet,” Ducey added. “We need to continue practicing personal responsibility.”
by Terri Jo Neff | Mar 5, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The Arizona Supreme Court announced Thursday it will hear oral arguments on April 20 in an attempt to quickly address whether a lower court judge should have put Proposition 208 on hold pending a trial on the measure’s constitutionality.
“Small business owners are already leaving the state due to this poorly crafted measure, and we are hopeful that the Supreme Court will do the right thing and stop this illegal law from going into effect before more damage is done,” Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, said after the announcement.
Prop 208 mandates a 3.5 percent surcharge tax on income above $250,000 (single filers) or $500,000 (joint filers) in addition to whatever regular income tax is due. The Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Senate President Karen Fann, House Speaker Russell Bowers, and others impacted by the surcharge are asking the Supreme Court to invalidate the measure approved in November with less than 52 percent of the vote.
Attorneys affiliated with the Goldwater Institute, including Timothy Sandefur, are among those representing the plaintiffs. He welcomed Thursday’s news that oral arguments will be held in less than seven weeks on the plaintiff’s previously rejected request for a temporary restraining order.
“Today’s order shows that the Supreme Court understands how important these constitutional challenges are,” said Sandefur, the organization’s vice-president of litigation. “Rather than having the case go through the slower procedures for appeals, the Court announced that it will hear the case right away.”
In February, Judge John Hannah of the Maricopa County Superior Court refused to put Prop 208 on hold pending a trial on several constitutional challenges. His ruling requires the Arizona Department of Revenue to prepare to collect the surcharge, although the judge noted the funds could be refunded if Prop 208 is later invalidated.
Among the legal issues is whether a tax surcharge is simply a tax increase in disguise, and if so, whether it can be enacted without the same two-thirds majority required when the legislature wants to hike taxes. That two-thirds requirement was added to the Arizona Constitution in more than 20 years ago.
“But you can’t override the Constitution except by a constitutional amendment, and Proposition 208 isn’t a constitutional amendment,” said Sandefur, who appealed Hannah’s denial of the restraining order to the Arizona Court of Appeals per normal court rules. He also took the unusual path of simultaneously seeking expedited consideration from the Supreme Court.
Among those who encouraged the Supreme Court to hear the matter was Gov. Doug Ducey, who campaigned against Prop 208 as a “crippling” tax increase with no guarantee of much of the funds would reach teachers. Estimates that $800 million or more in additional annual K-12 funding would be generated under Prop 208 have been recently called into question in light of post-COVID income impacts.
The oral arguments proceeding will be closed to in-person attendance, but a livestream will be available via www.azcourts.gov/AZSupremeCourt/LiveArchivedVideo.
by B Hernandez | Mar 5, 2021 | Education, News
By B. Hernandez |
Parents, like those in the Peoria Unified School District, are praising a bill, SB1058, which requires district and charter schools to post a list of procedures used to review and approve learning materials and procedures by which a parent can review learning materials in advance.
If the district does not have procedures used to review and approve learning materials, the bill requires them to post a “clear statement that no such procedures or processes are in effect at the school.”
While the bill has been stripped of meaningful reforms, supporters say the bill is a baby step in the right direction even if it only brings much needed attention to what is going on in Arizona’s K-12 classrooms.
Last week, Peoria parents attempted to share their concerns with district officials about lesson plans that involve and appeared to be based on the principles forwarded by the political organization, Black Lives Matter.
Not only were parents not advised that students would be exposed to curriculum of a highly controversial and clearly partisan nature, they were denied access to review the learning materials.
Barto’s bill at least provides them with a clear path to curriculum review, say education experts.
RELATED ARTICLE: Peoria Parents Grow Frustrated As District Officials Block Access To Curriculum
This week, the Arizona Department of Education released a report showing a dramatic decrease in public school enrollments compared to last year. Public enrollment is down by approximately 38,000 students for the 2020-2021 school year compared to last year.
by Corinne Murdock | Mar 4, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona businesses are one step closer to freedom from state and local governments requiring them to enforce mask mandates. On Wednesday, the House passed HB 2770 in a close vote of 31-28, with one representative abstaining. The decision was made along party lines – all Republicans voted in favor of it, all Democrats voted against it.
State representative Joseph Chaplik (R-23) introduced the bill; 11 Republican co-sponsors signed onto it. The only Republican representatives that didn’t sign on were Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-25), Joel John (R-4), John Kavanagh (R-23), Joanne Osborne (R-13), Bret Roberts (R-11), and Jeff Weninger (R-17).
In a press release following the vote, Chaplik commended the House members who voted in favor of the bill for deferring to their constituents’ judgment when it comes to enforcing mask-wearing in their businesses.
“Business owners are intelligent enough to make their own decisions with their private companies and this bill restores their rights,” stated Chaplik. “Employees should not be forced to police other citizens on private property and be in confrontational situations risking their safety when their job duties did not require this role.”
Although a majority of customers complied with business’ imposition of mask mandates last year, there also came to be a continued pattern of highly-publicized incidents of retaliation or protests. This occurred frequently enough for major retailers like Walmart to relax its requirement that employees enforce customer mask-wearing.
At present, Arizona doesn’t have a statewide mask mandate. However, the state does mandate that schools and businesses enforce mask-wearing. Certain counties and cities have enforced a mask mandate, such as Maricopa County.
The guidance on mask-wearing has changed frequently over the past year of this pandemic. Whereas before the CDC didn’t state initially that masks protected the wearer, they now claim that they do – and that practices such as wearing more than one mask (“double-masking”) and knotting the mask more tightly to the face further reduce the spread of COVID-19. Although experts don’t recommend storing masks in a ziplock bag between uses, which ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ has claimed is a safe method of storage.
Following the lift of the stay-at-home order in mid-May, cases began to rise up until the beginning of July. Around mid-June, Governor Doug Ducey began to implement mitigation measures such as business closures, mask and social distancing requirements, and public event limitations. Cases reportedly began to decline around July. A subsequent report by the CDC issued in October didn’t connect mask wearing with the reduction in cases exclusively, but attributed all the mitigation factors imposed collectively.
Wednesday marked other advances made to move communities out of pandemic-imposed restrictions. Ducey announced that schools must offer in-person learning options for their students.
The legislature is also contemplating bills addressing Ducey’s emergency powers. The Senate passed SB 1084 to terminate a state of emergency after 90 days unless the legislature extends it. They also passed SCR 1003, a resolution to allow voters to decide whether a state of emergency should be terminated after 30 days unless the legislature extends it.
Other bills in the legislature inspired by the pandemic include several bills addressing vaccine exemptions, neither of which have advanced in the legislature since they were introduced.
Corinne Murdock is a contributing reporter for AZ Free News. In her free time, she works on her books and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter, @CorinneMurdock or email tips to corinnejournalist@gmail.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Mar 4, 2021 | News
Terri Jo Neff |
Two pieces of state legislation aimed at protecting gunowners’ rights made it out of the Senate on Wednesday, and it is now up to House Speaker Rusty Bowers to assign the bills to House committees.
SB1382 deems stores which sell firearms, ammunition, or components of either as “an essential business” during a state of emergency. The bill cleared the Senate Judiciary and Senate Rules committees in early February and passed on the Senate Floor by a 16 to 14 vote along party lines.
The bill impacts ARS § 26-303 under Military Affairs and Emergency Management, which currently guarantees emergency powers shall not allow the imposition of additional restrictions on the lawful possession, transfer, sale, transportation, carrying, storage, display or use of firearms or ammunition or firearms or ammunition components.
Under SB1382, the statute would be amended to add one sentence that specifies stores that sells firearms, ammunition, or components of such are essential businesses “and there may not be any restrictions imposed on the store’s normal operations” during a state of emergency.
The legislation would not require a store’s primary source of revenue to come from gun or ammunition sales, thus allowing businesses which sell other retail items in addition to firearms to remain open. One such business that would benefit from the legislation is Lilly’s Tombstone Memories, a specialty gift store on historic Allen Street in Tombstone.
If SB1382 had been the law when COVID-19 first hit, owners Lillian and Bob Hritz would have been able to remain open without fear of retribution against their business license. They, like a number of gun store owners, saw an increased customer demand starting last March but due to Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive orders many had to close.
Among those supporting the bill are the Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona and the Arizona Citizens Defense League.
Another gun rights bill passed out of the Senate on Wednesday, this one by a 17 to 13 vote.
SB1328 -known by its working title of the Second Amendment Firearm Freedom Act- would declare any federal act, law, treaty, order, rule, or regulation to be null and unenforceable in Arizona if the action violates the right to bear arms as provided by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or by the Arizona Constitution.
The bill sponsored by Sen. David Gowan (R-LD14) would also prohibit the State and any of its political subdivisions from using personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with any federal act, law, treaty, order, rule, or regulation deemed in violation of the U.S. or Arizona Constitutions.
But unlike many bills, SB1328 as currently written includes a provision putting teeth into the new law by making the impairment of a citizen’s right to bear arms a Class 1 misdemeanor for the first offense. Each subsequent offense would be a Class 6 felony, and a judge would be required to impose the maximum fine and sentence allowed by law for anyone convicted of such conduct.
The bill also contains a provision allowing citizens to sue any “entity, agency, bureau, employee or official of Arizona or a political subdivision of Arizona” that engages in such infringement for judicial relief, damages, and attorney fees. However, it excludes persons working under the authority or orders of a government entity, agency, bureau, employee or official from the outlined prohibitions.
