The legislative session may be over for the duration of the year in Arizona, but lawmakers are still working on behalf of their constituents.
On Thursday, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma “announced the creation of a new Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech to learn about emerging legal and constitutional issues surrounding censorship by government officials and social media interference, big tech manipulation of internet platforms, and the use of artificial intelligence.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ New Interim Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech Will Examine Government Censorship and Conduct of State Executive Officials.
Freshman Republican Representative Alexander Kolodin was appointed by the Speaker to lead the interim committee as its chair. Speaker Toma also named Representative Neal Carter to the panel. At least one Democrat is expected to be added in the near future.
Kolodin released the following statement in conjunction with the announcement, saying, “Fighting for the First Amendment is an American’s highest calling. With this new committee, I am excited to have the opportunity to do so on behalf of the people of Arizona.”
According to the news release from the Arizona House of Representatives, “the Committee will hold its first public meeting on September 5, 2023, at the State Capitol to hear from leading experts in the fields of focus and to learn more about how potential legislation should be crafted to protect Arizonans’ constitutional rights, including their rights to free speech guaranteed by the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions. The Committee will also explore the proper role of state officials and conduct relevant investigations to ensure that executive officers are fulfilling their constitutional duties.”
The announcement about this new committee follows a report earlier that day from Arizona Capitol Oversight, which released government emails from then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ Office, showing that she (and at least two staffers) sent communications to Twitter Support in hopes of the social media platform taking restrictive actions against other accounts with dissenting or unfavorable rhetoric. The Office was also requesting similar actions from the Center for Internet Security and Facebook on other posts.
🚨 Today Arizona Capitol Oversight is releasing exclusive emails from @KatieHobbs' office
Among many attempts to plead with social media platforms to censor opposing viewpoints, Hobbs’ Office took aim at one November 2020 Facebook post from Senator-elect Kelly Townsend over an election-related post, calling it “misinformation” in the subject line and transmitting screenshots and links of the lawmaker’s account. Facebook refused to remove the post, but the reviewers did place a banner below the post that linked to the platform’s Voting Information Center.
Arizona Capitol Oversight concluded its exclusive report by stating that “a number of items within the 100+ pages of emails obtained are auto-generated responses from social media companies confirming that they had received complaints and takedown requests from Hobbs’s government office. The specific demands made by Hobbs and her staff in those complaints/requests – likely submitted to Facebook and Twitter through a back-end portal – are unknown… for now.”
Arizona Republicans were quick to react to the breaking news about the Hobbs’ emails. Former Republican nominee for Attorney General in 2022, Abe Hamadeh, tweeted, “Katie Hobbs utter disregard for the rule of law didn’t just start with censorship. She withheld evidence from the court – and then sought sanctions against me for daring to contest the closest race in AZ history with 9,000 uncounted ballots. This is corruption & an abuse of power.”
Katie Hobbs utter disregard for the rule of law didn’t just start with censorship. She withheld evidence from the court — and then sought sanctions against me for daring to contest the closest race in AZ history with 9,000 uncounted ballots. This is corruption & an abuse of power https://t.co/nQXIPyx3C4
Kari Lake, the Republican’s nominee for Governor in 2022, said, “HUGE: Official emails EXPOSE Katie Hobbs’ corruption in the 2022 election. Not only did she run her own election, but she was actively using her office to CENSOR Kari Lake & the AZGOP. Hobbs attempted to silence our movement to manipulate the outcome of an election. She needs to be held accountable for it.”
HUGE: Official emails EXPOSE @KatieHobbs’ corruption in the 2022 election.
Not only did she run her own election, but she was actively using her office to CENSOR @KariLake & the @AZGOP
Hobbs attempted to silence our movement to manipulate the outcome of an election.
High schoolers will learn from firsthand experiences of the evils of communism in a documentary series featuring two Arizona lawmakers who survived it.
The series, produced by the University of Arizona (UArizona) Center for the Philosophy of Freedom, features House Speaker Ben Toma (R-LD27) and Rep. Quang Nguyen (R-LD01) sharing their personal accounts of communism and their emigration to America. Toma escaped from Romania, and Nguyen escaped from Vietnam.
Nguyen praised UArizona for granting war survivors like him a platform to enlighten future generations.
The University of Arizona Center for the Philosophy of Freedom has given war survivors like me a voice to share our stories with the many future generations. Thank you! https://t.co/Dlotf2M9At
The videos were created in response to the state legislature passage of a bill sponsored by Nguyen last year requiring high schools to incorporate a comparative discussion of political ideologies: the principles of communism and totalitarianism compared and contrasted with America’s founding principles.
Nguyen recounted how, a week before the Fall of Saigon, his father boarded him and his brother on an airplane with hundreds of other people. Nguyen was 12 years old at the time; his father advised the brothers that they wouldn’t see their family again. He and his brother were transported to Subic Bay, then Guam, then to Travis Airforce Base, Fort Pembleton, and finally Fort Chaffee.
However, Nguyen and his brother were able to reunite with his family in San Joaquin, California. Nguyen explained that he only ever experienced kindness among American military members, contrary to the narratives he heard that the U.S. forces had invaded his country. To this day, Nguyen says he visits with Vietnam veterans nationwide to thank them.
The representative shared that his quality of life in America was better than in Vietnam: he was able to get a strong college education and well-paying employment as a young man.
Nguyen explained that hallmarks of communism include government control of food source, specifically severely limiting the supply; control of education, specifically focusing on propagandizing children; and confiscation of weapons.
Toma’s video includes his mother and father, Ana and Cornel Toma. They recounted how the Romanian secret police labeled their family as an enemy to the government.
Ana recalled how government indoctrination in schools taught her and her peers false history, such as that the rest of the world loved and admired Romania as a great nation, when in fact she would later learn that few Americans knew of Romania’s existence. Ana also recalled waiting in lines for hours to obtain food, sometimes reaching the front without receiving the few rations available.
Cornel recalled how the government took away people’s cattle and land, only allowing them one cow and a half-acre of land. Those who dared speak out would “disappear overnight.” The government also didn’t allow people to have vocational freedom: similar to the military, the government assigned citizens their vocations and where they would live.
The Toma family was forced to flee Romania after the Secret Police began visiting them. They only managed to escape after a family friend convinced a member of the secret police to assist in smuggling them out of the country under the guise of a vacation: at that point, the Toma family wasn’t allowed to leave the country otherwise. Ana and Cornel were forced to escape first, then send for their children.
Ana and Cornel navigated the legal immigration process for admittance to the U.S., traveling across Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Rome over the course of about a year. Ana said that, upon first landing in America, she witnessed a novel display of patriotism and love for America that touched her deeply.
“I was so impressed that somebody love the country so much. I was impressed by the attitude they had on the flight. I thought, ‘This is the first taste of freedom,’” said Ana.
The Toma family settled in a two-bedroom apartment for their family of seven. Speaker Toma shared his delight in the abundance of America through the simple joy of eating oranges: something not possible in Romania. Ana and Cornel shared that they found work rather quickly.
In addition to Toma and Nguyen, the series will include Mesa Community College economics professor Sylwia Cavalcant, who fled Poland’s communism.
Freedom Center Director Mary Rigdon said that the series would serve to advise students of the realities of communism.
“The mini-documentaries powerfully demonstrate our commitment to inform current and future generations, consistent with the Center’s mission to be an intellectually diverse, inclusive, and nonpartisan resource for leaders and students seeking to address society’s significant challenges. We appreciate the opportunity to highlight the power of freedom in a democratic society,” said Rigdon.
It’s a record – we finished the 2023 Fifty-Sixth Legislature – First Regular Session at 204 days (should have been 100). What an honor to be on the Sine Die Committee that got to announce in the Senate Chambers the House has adjourned. pic.twitter.com/wsS3wthwOW
And the 2023 Legislative session is officially Sine Done! Moments ago we adjourned Sine Die, completing the People’s business. It was an amazing session and it’s an honor to serve y’all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. pic.twitter.com/vsxV1RuAA9
— AZ State Rep. Justin Wilmeth (@JustinWilmethAZ) August 1, 2023
Maybe there were bills you liked; maybe there were bills you didn't like. Now that we've FINALLY adjourned, they will become law Oct 30th if they were signed by the governor. https://t.co/13zEBxFuLQ
— Rep. Jennifer Pawlik (@Jennifer_Pawlik) August 1, 2023
And, just like that we wrapped up my first legislative session 👯♀️✨🌟with my sister @repahernandez as the first sister duo! Bringing wins for both LD20 & LD21 💪🏼✨#PoliticalSisters#SquadGoalspic.twitter.com/fK5tbbsje8
— Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) August 1, 2023
As my first year in office comes to a close, I'm reflecting on how grateful I am to have shared the experience with my House @AZFreedomCaucus colleagues and what I admire most about each one of them:@CoryMcGarr – you are true north. Whenever the politics of the capitol has me…
— Rep. Alexander Kolodin (@realAlexKolodin) August 1, 2023
Honored to work for @RepBenToma with this talented team of professionals. Congrats to all of the @AZHouseGOP members on your accomplishments in the 2023 legislative session. And see you in less than 6 months to continue the momentum into 2024! pic.twitter.com/uqvC3soge8
It was an eventful session for the Arizona Legislature as the state experienced a divided government for the first time in over a decade. Though it appeared, at times, that the Republican-led Legislature and the Democrat Governor would not accomplish their required business (for example, the new budget or Prop 400), both sides made concessions and reached accords.
Republicans in the Legislature were led by Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma. Petersen and Toma, along with their chiefs of staff Josh Kredit and Michael Hunter, ensured that their respective Republican caucuses were mostly united and on the offensive against Hobbs’ desired progressive agenda. One of the most significant victories of the year was the Legislature’s defense of the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program, which has been under tremendous political assault since it was expanded in 2022.
While Governor Hobbs had a turbulent time in her first seven months in office (just in the staff turnover alone on the Ninth Floor of the Executive Tower), she claims to have managed to maneuver past a severe learning curve to work with Republican legislative leaders on key issues affecting the state.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
As the Arizona Legislative session may be nearing its final stretch, the state’s premier business organization is highlighting bills that would have had grave consequences for jobs.
On Wednesday, the Arizona Chamber Foundation and the Common Sense Institute released a report, showing that “67 failed bills from the 2023 legislative session in Arizona” would have cost the state’s economy $9.5 billion and deprived individuals of 113,500 jobs. According to the report, those bills would also have “imposed over $25 billion in annual new costs on Arizona’s businesses, including $15 billion in new taxes and fees.”
The two organizations compared Arizona’s path to our neighboring state of Colorado – if the Grand Canyon State would have passed any or all of the 67 bills of note. They reveal that 13 bills that failed this year in Arizona, “have actually passed in Colorado.”
TALE OF TWO STATES: according to our newest report, @CSInstituteAZ finds if Arizona had followed a similar policy path as our neighbor #Colorado, Arizona would have 113,500 fewer workers and an economy that was $9.5B smaller.
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) July 12, 2023
Danny Seiden, the President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued a statement in conjunction with the report, writing, “At the Arizona Chamber, we are committed to protecting the job gains we have seen in Arizona in recent years. This analysis provides important data points for legislators to consider as these failed bills will likely resurface in future sessions.”
Katie Ratlief, the Executive Director of Common Sense Institute Arizona, also weighed in on the announcement, saying, “This study shows that policy matters when it comes to jobs and economic impacts. Policymakers and the public should be informed about the short and long term impacts these pieces of legislation have so they can weigh pros and cons and make informed decisions.”
AZ Free News reached out to Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, one of the key forces behind killing these bills throughout the still-ongoing session, to respond to the report. Petersen said, “This is a great example of why policy matters. Arizona has built on years of sound policy under Republican leadership that has helped grow our state’s economy. We’ll continue to do everything we can to protect Arizona citizens and our economy from the type of policies that have negatively impacted Colorado.”
House Speaker Ben Toma, another stalwart defender of conservative principles in the Legislature, added, “The far left has tightened its grip on the Democrats in Arizona and it shows in the bills they introduced this session in the State Legislature. They propose business and environmental regulations that would stymie growth, kill jobs, and make energy costs higher. In my term as Speaker of the House, I will continue to work to stop these policy proposals so we can continue to be a state on a positive trajectory with low taxation, high growth, and maximum freedom.”
Freshman Republican Representative Matt Gress shared his thoughts on the report in a tweet, stating, “POLICY MATTERS. Arizona succeeds when leaders trust people over government. @CSInstituteAZ’s report reveals that some politicians think they know better than you with terrible ideas like, tax hikes, higher energy costs to fund more ‘green’ regulations, greater compliance with the ‘Mother, may I?’ administrative state. That’s everything Arizona is not.”
POLICY MATTERS. Arizona succeeds when leaders trust people over government.@CSInstituteAZ’s report reveals that some politicians think they know better than you with terrible ideas like:
❌ tax hikes ❌ higher energy costs to fund more “green” regulations ❌ greater compliance… https://t.co/PzSmQohdDD
Arizona Republican legislators are fighting back against the Biden Administration’s environmental schemes.
On Thursday, Republicans in the state legislature publicized the transmission of two letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma. The submissions were written to oppose the EPA’s proposed regulations on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles-Phase 3 and Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles.
The Arizona Senate Republican Caucus argued that “through these massive EPA regulations, the Biden Administration wants to force a transition from gas-powered vehicles, radically transforming our nation’s entire automotive industry and costing billions of dollars to achieve such lofty standards.” The Caucus added that “if these rules go into effect, two-thirds of all new vehicles sold in the United States are expected to be electric.”
In the letter to the EPA on the rule for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the legislators asserted that the “EPA’s proposed rule will hurt Arizona families and workers by forcing them to buy vehicles they cannot afford, increasing the cost of goods they need, costing them jobs, decreasing the reliability of the electricity they depend on, and weakening our national security by making us dependent on China.”
While Hobbs uses taxpayer dollars for sex change surgeries and Mayes won't carry out her constitutional duties as AG, the @AZSenateGOP and @AZHouseGOP are stepping in to protect Arizonans from promised economic turmoil caused by the Biden Administration.https://t.co/mvz38bUEBO
And in the letter to the EPA on the regulation for Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards, Petersen and Toma presented ten reasons why the federal agency should reject the rule, making the case that the proposed rule “relies on unlawful and faulty calculations for the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, fails to consider safety issues, makes erroneous estimates about grid reliability, and makes erroneous estimates about energy security and critical mineral availability.”
Two additional legislators also weighed in on the EPA’s pending efforts. Senator Sine Kerr, the Chairman for the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water, said, “Not only does the production of these vehicles contribute to hazardous impacts on the environment, but their power source creates huge health and safety risks to drivers and first responders in the event of a crash or a fire. These radical regulations will have catastrophic impacts on lives and livelihoods, as well as an already strained power grid. We urge the EPA to do the right thing and protect our citizens by rejecting these rules.”
Senator Frank Carroll, the Vice Chairman for the Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology stated, “Forcing a transition to electric cars will make our country more dependent on China, threaten our national security, stretch our electric grid to the breaking point, make traffic crashes more dangerous and more deadly, increase the cost of goods and kill countless American jobs. The federal government’s assumption that the average person can afford a $60,000 electric vehicle is completely out of touch with reality and will greatly jeopardize our economy.”
Petersen and Toma’s actions on this front earned recognition from National Review, which featured the letters in a recent article. The Senate President spoke to the publication, saying that “we are stepping in the gap to hold the line against federal overreach.”
Josh Kredit, Chief of Staff for the Arizona Senate Republicans, shared the National Review letter on his Twitter account, adding, “The Arizona Legislature is working to protect consumers and filling the role of what an AG should be doing.”
