Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law a bill which raises the passing score of the Arizona Civics Test from 60 to 70 percent while noting that Arizonans have “a real responsibility to equip the leaders of tomorrow with knowledge of our nation’s founding principles.”
House Bill 2632 was among several pieces of legislation the governor signed on Thursday and Friday. It allows students to take the mandated test as early as middle school and requires that schools make test score data publicly available online. The enhancements to the test become effective with the graduating class of 2026.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Quang Nguyen, said HB2632 is important to ensure future generations understand our government, history, and principles.
“There are far too many Americans who aren’t equipped with this vital information to make decisions,” said Nguyen (R-LD1). “We must have an appreciation of our federal structure, separation of powers and fundamental respect for natural rights.”
In 2015, Arizona became the first state in the country to pass the American Civics Act which requires high school students to pass a basic civics test before graduation. It was the first bill Ducey signed after becoming governor.
And in 2020, Ducey signed legislation to establish Sandra Day O’Connor Civics Celebration Day, a day in which most classrooms across the state devote to civics education.
Then on Friday, the governor signed 17 more bills into law, including one which extends the temporary licenses of more than 2,000 health care workers until the end of the year.
Senate Bill 1309 was sponsored by Sen. Nancy Barto, who called it a simple, but necessary move to provide licensing boards with time to process full licenses or reissue licenses of health care workers. About 1,200 of those temporarily licenses have been given to nurses, who are in high demand.
“If these licenses were to expire, our critical health professionals would need to scramble to get relicensed,” said Barto (R-LD15). “This proactive bill ensures a timely renewal process to keep more people employed.”
Ducey’s signing of SB1309 was also welcomed by Dawna Cato, CEO of the Arizona Nurses Association.
“With an existing shortage of nurses, now is not the time to let temporary health professional licenses expire,” said Cato. “The Arizona Nurses Association fully supports the signing of this bill into law, as it helps the board process license renewals and will keep more of our frontline nurses where we need them – taking care of us.”
The other bills signed by Ducey on Friday were:
HB 2053 Department of Environmental Quality; continuation (Rep. Griffin)
HB 2057 Water Supply Development Fund; revisions (Rep. Bowers)
The Democratic Party’s “go-to lawyer,” Marc Elias, promised he would sue Arizona over its election integrity laws passed recently by the state legislature if Governor Doug Ducey signs them into law. Elias was sued by former President Donald Trump on Thursday for his role in the Russigate hoax.
Elias has an expansive and varied portfolio of nearly 30 years among Democrats and corporate capitalists like the major Big Tech companies Facebook and Google. He played an integral role in Hillary Clinton’s Russiagate hoax. He hired intelligence firm Fusion-GPS for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Fusion-GPS then obtained the debunked dossier from former British spy Christopher Steele, dubbed the “Steele dossier,” who relied on a Russian analyst living in Virginia, Igor Danchenko, for the majority of its information.
My team has already sued Ohio and Arkansas this week.
For those of you following the new voter suppression law moving through the Arizona legislature today, take a look at #7…👀 https://t.co/QRxRuM7Rli
As AZ Free News reported earlier this month, Elias already submitted a motion to intervene in a case challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s no-excuse mail-in voting system.
Elias has filed suit in numerous states over their new election integrity laws. He characterized Arizona’s most recent legislation passed, HB2492 requiring proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, as voter suppression and disenfranchisement. The bill mainly impacts those who register using federal forms, which don’t require proof of citizenship.
🚨ALERT: Arizona Legislature passes #HB2492, a bill requiring all voters to prove citizenship. The bill risks disenfranchisement for voters who registered before 2004 or used federal forms as they didn't have to submit proof of citizenship when registering.https://t.co/p70k5ydEX0
Other laws that Elias has watched under threat of lawsuit include: HB2237, HB2238, HB2170, and HB2243, which recently passed their Senate committees, and SB1058, which hasn’t been passed by the Senate yet.
Gov. Doug Ducey had a productive Friday, signing 19 bills that will take effect later this year, including legislation which makes adoption hearings more accessible and ensures more thorough vetting of those working at nursing homes.
One of the bills signed by Ducey is Senate Bill 1242 which made it to the governor’s office with strong bipartisan support to enhance background checks for those working at and managing by nursing care and assisted living facilities. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tyler Pace, also prohibits licensure of individuals who have a felony conviction involving acts of violence or financial fraud.
“Our nursing homes and assisted living facilities deserve accountability and leadership from their supervisors,” Ducey said Friday. “SB 1242 accomplishes this. Our seniors – grandmothers, grandfathers and family members – deserve nothing less to ensure their safety, happiness and health.”
Another provision of Pace’s bill requires the Arizona Board of Nursing Care Institution Administrators and Assisted Living Facility Managers (NCIA) to work with the Arizona Department of Health Services to establish an expedited process for identifying and referring complaints between the agencies.
Five of the 19 bills signed by Ducey on Friday were sponsored by Sen. TJ Shope. They cover a variety of issues, including liens, healthcare directives, tribal college enrollment, postsecondary education, and one which reduces the time period that a nonprofit organization must be in continuous existence prior to conducting a raffle down from five years to one year.
Sen. Nancy Barto sponsored four of the signed bills, including Senate Bill 1069 which allows adoptive families to invite members of the public to adoption hearings. Under current law, only persons with a “direct interest” in an adoption case could gain access to such hearings.
Municipalities will gain new authority when one of the 19 bills goes into effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends. That authority is courtesy of Senate Bill 1275, one of three bills signed by Ducey which were sponsored by Sen. J.D. Mesnard.
SB1275 allows local governments to reduce noise disturbances by limiting fireworks between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., except for New Year’s Eve and Independence Day. On those two national holidays, the setting off of fireworks could be banned after 1 a.m.
House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding (D-Laveen) said that those elected officials celebrating the elimination of the income tax increase weren’t leaders in any sense of the word. The Maricopa County Superior Court ruled on Friday that the increased income tax, Prop 208, was unconstitutional because it exceeded the allowed spending limit for what the tax dollars would be purposed for: education.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Standing on the table beating your chest because you were successful taking money from our classrooms & teachers (while overturning the will of voters) isn't leadership, it's a lack thereof! #Prop208
The remark came after Governor Doug Ducey tweeted that the court ruling was a “win for Arizona taxpayers.” Ducey did note that he anticipated the ruling would be appealed but expressed confidence that the Arizona Supreme Court would also find Prop 208 to be unconstitutional.
This ruling is a win for Arizona taxpayers. It’s another step in undoing the damage of Prop 208 and making sure we continue to benefit from having the lowest flat income tax rate in the nation. 1/
Bolding issued similar sentiments in 2018, vowing that Ducey’s support for the demise of a similar tax hike would cost him his election that year. Ducey won comfortably, earning 56 percent of the vote over the Democratic candidate, David Garcia, who earned under 42 percent of the vote.
Mark my words. Today is the day @dougducey loss the election for Governor of Arizona. Removing @investinedaz from the ballot and going against the will of the people and the #REDforED movement will have consequences. Our kids & communities shouldn't have to beg for resources.
According to the latest data released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), law enforcement encountered nearly 154,000 illegal immigrants crossing the Southwest border. This number doesn’t include those illegal immigrants who evaded apprehension, known as “gotaways”: different than those who evade encounters entirely, or go through the catch-and-release process.
According to CBP data obtained through Border Patrol and by Townhall, CNN, and The Washington Postcompiled by the Republican National Committee (RNC), over 504,600 estimated gotaways have occurred since President Joe Biden was sworn in. Former and current border officials clarified that those estimates are conservative. National Border Patrol Council’s Rio Grande Valley Chapter Vice President and Spokesman Chris Cabrera told Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) that the actual number of gotaways is likely “twice, if not three times” the Biden Administration’s November estimate of around 400,000 — which would be around 1.2 million.
As evidenced by the CBP chart “Southwest Land Border Encounters by Month,” encounters remain far above those over the last three years. Unlike the last three years, however, there’s been a sharp downturn in encounters from December to January. Similar sharp downturn trends occurred in 2016 and 2017. Overall, Southwest border encounters dropped about 14 percent from December to January: 19 percent for the Office of Field Operations (OFO) and nearly 14 percent for U.S. Border Patrol.
CBP’s latest numbers come nearly a month after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) toldReuters that the country should expect the border crisis to worsen throughout 2022. A majority of Arizona law enforcement expressed support for mitigation efforts proposed by Governor Doug Ducey: federal legislation to increase border security through completing border wall, physical barriers, and virtual surveillance; requiring asylum seekers to show proof of attempt to claim asylum prior to crossing and at a port of entry; increasing the number of immigration judges; and increasing funding for local law enforcement and humanitarian efforts.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
