In what could be a major rebalancing of powers between the executive and legislative branches, the State Senate passed legislation earlier this week to rein in a governor’s state of emergency powers.
Lawmakers have tried since January to pass legislation to ensure a governor confers with the legislature in certain instances once a public health emergency has been declared. The intent was to ensure a governor cannot issue unending emergency executive orders which impact business offerings, public health decisions, school functions, and whether families can see loved ones in nursing homes.
Many Arizonans do not realize the state remains under a declared emergency even though Gov. Doug Ducey has lifted many of his COVID-19 executive orders. Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita introduced a bill, SB1084, in an attempt to reassert the legislature’s power. Her bill was heard in the House and Senate but stalled in April due to concerns by some within the Republican caucus which holds a majority in both chambers.
Fast forward to the Senate’s marathon consideration of the 11-bill budget package on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ugenti-Rita proposed the text of her bill as a floor amendment to a budget reconciliation bill, SB1819. Her amendment passed on a 16 to 14 party line vote, as did SB1819 itself.
It is now up to House Speaker Rusty Bowers to secure 31 votes in his chamber to get the legislation to Ducey’s desk.
Current state law allows lawmakers to void a public health state of emergency based on a general majority vote in both chambers. However, if the legislature is not in session then two-thirds of lawmakers would have to authorize a special session, or the governor would have to call a special session.
According to the amendment language, a governor’s initial state of emergency
proclamation with respect to a public health emergency will be capped at 30 days beginning Jan. 2, 2023. It allows a governor to extend the public health state of emergency up to 120 days, but any single extension could not be for more than 30 days.
Once the 120 day period is up, the state of emergency will terminate unless extended in whole or in part by a concurrent resolution of the legislature. Lawmakers could vote to extend the state of emergency as many times as necessary in periods of not more than 30 days at a time.
Another key provision of the legislation prohibits a governor from proclaiming a new state of emergency upon termination of a state of emergency based on the same conditions unless there is passage of a concurrent resolution of the legislature consenting to the new state of emergency.
Another amendment which passed with SB1819 makes it clear what emergency powers cities, towns, and counties will have -and won’t have- in the future. It includes a ban on curfews, business closures, and other public health declarations such as mask mandates which run counter to a governor’s orders.
For the last three weeks the Arizona Legislature has spent more time not working on the state budget slated to start July 1 than they have spent working on it. But optimism is rising -particularly within the Republican caucus- that the impasse may be over.
Gov. Doug Ducey warned lawmakers at the end of May that he did not want to see any legislation hit his desk unless it was the 11 bills contained with the budget packet. He even vetoed 22 bills, all of which had Republican supports, to show he was serious.
On Monday, a number of people involved in the budget process signaled that compromises were being worked out to ensure 31 House and 16 Senate “aye” votes will be put forth for all 11 bills, or at least a significant number to get things moving forward.
According to Sen. Vince Leach, the proposed budget compromise provides money for education, public safety, road infrastructure, debt reduction, and “significant tax relief.” The first four of those items have been the key areas of disagreement, while the latter involves both tax cuts and a transition to a flat rate income tax.
Ducey also released a letter of support for a revised budget package which would now provide cities and towns with an 18 percent share of the state’s Urban Revenue Sharing Fund rather than 15 percent. The increased percentage is intended to cover $225 million in revenue municipalities were estimated to lose if Ducey’s proposed flat rate income tax is approved by lawmakers.
The transition to a flat tax would take place over a few years, and would limit the top rate at 4.5 percent, although Arizonans making less than $250,000 would have a rate of 2.5 percent.
Another compromise expected to be introduced would cap the amount of tax cuts next year at $1.3 billion unless certain revenue thresholds are hit. In that case, the tax cuts could go as high was $1.8 billion.
The Arizona Education Association has come out against the tax cuts and the flat tax. However, the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona threw its support behind Ducey’s efforts to reach a compromise on the budget package. According to a statement released Monday by HBACA, the budget “enhances Arizona’s economic environment, provides more resources to keep Arizona growing, and promotes housing affordability.”
The mayors who signed the letter to Ducey are from Avondale, Buckeye, Camp Verde, Chandler, El Mirage, Gila Bend, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Lake Havasu City, Kingman, Marana, Mesa, Payson, Peoria, Prescott, Sahuarita, Surprise, Winkenburg, Youngstown, and Yuma.
Governor Doug Ducey today signed a bipartisan relief package to support firefighters and safety officials as they battle wildfires, ensure Arizona communities have the resources necessary for post-fire disasters such as flooding and reduce the risk from future wildfires.
The $100 million package passed with strong bipartisan support during a legislative special session called by the Governor after a visit to the Telegraph and Mescal Fires last week.
“We are in the midst of another catastrophic wildfire season, and it’s clear that we need to do more to fight these wildfires,” said Governor Ducey. “Many Arizona communities have already felt the impacts of this year’s wildfire season — people and pets have been displaced, homes have burned down, swaths of land have been decimated. I’m grateful that we were able to quickly come together in a bipartisan manner for the safety and protection of our communities. My thanks goes to our first responders working tirelessly to combat these fires, local and state agency leaders for their leadership during this time, and the legislators who worked across the aisle to get this bill passed.”
The wildfire relief package was led by a bipartisan group of legislators representing both rural and urban Arizona, including House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Representative Gail Griffin, Representative David Cook, House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding, Senate President Karen Fann, Senate President Pro Tem Vince Leach, Senator Sine Kerr and Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios.
House Bill 2001 includes:
$24.6 million for a partnership between the Department of Forest and Fire Management and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry to reduce wildfire risk to Arizona communities by removing fire-prone vegetation; and
$75 million for fire suppression efforts, recovery efforts including post-fire floods, economic assistance for those displaced, and assistance to landowners for emergency repairs to infrastructure damaged by wildfires.
“Thank you, Governor, for allowing us to work together, and thank you, Minority Leader Bolding and Leader Rios, for your help on an issue where we can come together for a common goal,” House Speaker Rusty Bowers said. “People who aren’t Republicans or Democrats – they’re just our friends and people.”
“I look forward to partnering with my colleagues on continuing bipartisan success because wildfires don’t care which party you belong to,” said Senator Sine Kerr, who introduced House Bill 2001’s mirror legislation in the Senate.
Arizona is currently in the midst of fire season, having already experienced 918 wildfires burning over 245,000 acres this year. The Telegraph Fire visited by the Governor last week is currently the sixth-largest wildfire in state history.
“There is no question that there was an enormous need to dedicate as many resources as possible to fight the currently active wildfires as well as to prevent future ones from occurring,” Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios said. “I applaud the governor for calling a special session to address this extraordinary wildfire season. This was clearly a major issue that needed immediate attention, and I’m grateful for Governor Ducey’s action in bringing bipartisan leadership to work together to address this critical need.”
“We must do what we are doing today to react to this emergency, but we must also do everything in our power to mitigate the crisis for future generations – and we must do that together,” House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding said. “Thank you again, Governor Ducey. My colleagues in both the Republican caucus and our caucus stand ready to work together and ready to move forward.”
The Governor was also joined by Department of Forestry and Fire Management Director David Tenney, Department of Emergency and Military Affairs Director and Adjutant General Kerry Muehlenbeck and Gila County Supervisor Steve Christensen.
“I’d like to thank the Governor for calling this special session on behalf of Gila County and rural Arizona,” said Gila County Supervisor Steve Christensen. “The leadership in Gila County says thank you for being an advocate for Arizona. I’d like to extend my thanks to the Legislature and their willingness to work in a bipartisan way.”
On June 9, the Governor issued two Declarations of Emergency in response to the Telegraph and Mescal Fires in Pinal and Gila Counties. The orders made up to $400,000 available for response efforts, and followed a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant on June 6.
In March, the Governor signed Senate Bill 1442 to prevent wildfires by allowing for additional partnerships to employ Arizona inmates to clear forests of debris. The legislation aligns with the Arizona Healthy Forest Initiative proposed in the Governor’s budget which builds on proven methods to protect communities, while engaging individuals in state correctional facilities to equip them with new skills and reduce recidivism.
On Tuesday, June 15, the Arizona Legislature will convene for the special session and is expected to vote on a proposal by Governor Doug Ducey later this week. Ducey and legislative leaders announced the special session’s goal is to approve $100 million to combat and prevent wildfires, equip firefighters and communities with the resources they need, and prepare for after effects such as flooding and mudslides.
— AZ State Forestry (@azstateforestry) June 14, 2021
“This wildfire season has already been devastating, and we still have a long, hot summer ahead of us. While Arizona has strong wildfire suppression and prevention efforts in place, we need to do more,” said Governor Ducey. “Our brave firefighters must have all the necessary tools, resources and support to fight the blazes and stay safe. We need to protect our communities from floods and other disasters that could result from these wildfires. Hard-hit communities and nonprofits offering support need financial assistance to weather the devastation of this wildfire season and protect families in need. We can get this done — and we can do it in an urgent, bipartisan manner. Thank you to Legislative leadership for coming together to develop an investment package that will help so many Arizonans.”
Governor Ducey, state fire professionals, and legislative leadership have identified targeted investments for wildfire preparedness, response and recovery in consultation with impacted local communities. The investments include:
$24.6 million for a partnership between the Department of Forest and Fire Management and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry to reduce wildfire risk to Arizona communities by conducting hazardous vegetation removal; and
$75 million for fire suppression efforts, recovery efforts including post-fire floods, economic assistance for those displaced, and assistance to landowners for emergency repairs to infrastructure damaged by wildfires.
On June 9, the Governor issued two Declarations of Emergency in response to the Telegraph and Mescal Fires, making available up to $400,000 for response efforts.
Governors Doug Ducey and Greg Abbott today urgently requested all U.S. governors to send available law enforcement resources to their states along the U.S.-Mexico border as illegal border crossings, apprehensions and unaccompanied migrant children in federal custody increase.
This week, the Customs and Border Protection apprehension numbers for the month of May were released sending shock waves across border states. The data showed more than 180,000 illegal aliens were apprehended crossing the border over the course of the month, a 674% increase from the 23,237 illegal aliens apprehended at the border in May 2020.
May’s numbers makes it the fourth month in a row of more than 100,000 apprehensions by CBP, and three consecutive months above 170,000—the highest totals in two decades.
In a joint letter from Governors Ducey and Abbott, fellow governors were told: “In response to the ongoing surge of illegal border crossings, with the accompanying threats to private property and to the safety of our citizens, Governor Abbott has declared a disaster and Governor Ducey has declared an emergency.”
The letter notes that Arizona’s Border Strike Force has intercepted 284 pounds of fentanyl since its inception. A lethal dose is a mere 2 milligrams, so the Border Strike Force’s actions helped prevent 64,410,064 deadly doses from making it to Arizona’s streets or other states.
“Texas and Arizona have stepped up to secure the border in the federal government’s absence, and now the Emergency Management Assistance Compact gives your State a chance to stand strong with us,” the letter states.
Law enforcement support from other states will provide additional manpower in Arizona and Texas, allowing for the apprehension of more perpetrators of state and federal crimes before they can cause problems in border communities and all states across the nation.
