by Corinne Murdock | Jul 6, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The $60 million promised by Gov. Katie Hobbs to house the homeless in this latest budget is now being used to house, feed, and provide resources to illegal immigrants as well.
Gov. Katie Hobbs hailed the funding as a means of affordable housing for “every Arizonan” — which now apparently includes illegal immigrants.
“With the Homeless Shelter and Services Fund and the historic $150 million deposit into Arizona’s Housing Trust Fund, we are making real progress toward ensuring affordable housing for every Arizonan,” said Hobbs.
$20 million of the $60 million was deployed immediately in early June through the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH). The agency neglected to mention in its press release that illegal immigrants would also benefit from the millions.
The funds are dispersed through ADOH’s newly-established Homeless Shelter and Services (HSS) Fund. ADOH advised applicants that it would prioritize those who served those impacted by the court order for the city of Phoenix to clean up its mass homeless encampments in Freddy Brown v. City of Phoenix, the expiration of Title 42 which enabled the expedited expulsion of illegal immigrants, and the closure of sober living homes and residential facilities.
On Wednesday, the city councils for Scottsdale and Phoenix approved their portion of ADOH HHS funding. Unlike Scottsdale, Phoenix approved their funding without discussion.
The following received a cut of this recently-allocated $20 million:
- Phoenix: $13.3 million
- Tucson: $2.73 million
- Mesa: $1 million
- Scottsdale: $940,000
- Tempe: $929,000
- Flagstaff: $840,000
- Coconino County: $133,000
Apart from Phoenix and Scottsdale, the other city councils or boards have yet to discuss their awarding of funds during a regular meeting.
As part of their agreement to receive the ADOH funds, Scottsdale will take in the “overflow” of Phoenix’s homeless population displaced by the breakup of the mass homeless encampment known as “The Zone.”
Scottsdale will pay $500,000 to rent hotel rooms at McCormick Ranch, as well as issue $400,000 for supportive services and $40,000 for nutrition and all other “essential needs” for a year.
Up to 120 individuals will benefit from this arrangement. 30 percent of the rooms must go to homeless individuals from “The Zone” — Phoenix’s mass homeless encampment that the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled in May must be cleaned up.
Councilman Barry Graham, who voted against Scottsdale’s recent measure, expressed consternation that city leaders chose to prioritize outsiders over Scottsdale’s homeless population.
“I voted ‘no’ based on responses to my questions about vetting participants and community safety,” stated Graham. “Scottsdale residents are compassionate — however there are better ways to demonstrate compassion.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jul 4, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican Senator is working to hold the Governor’s Office accountable to its constitutional constraints in the wake of three controversial Executive Orders.
Senator Jake Hoffman, the Chairman of the Committee on Director Nominations, recently announced, with the support of fellow Republicans on his panel, that outstanding nominations from Democrat Governor Hobbs would be held from consideration, pending a meeting with the Governor’s Office. The Senator sat down with AZ Free News for an exclusive interview to discuss his thoughts and hopes for the path forward.
Hoffman first touched on the importance of all elected officials adhering to the rule of law and separation of powers, saying, “The people of Arizona are best served when our three branches of government follow the law, honor our Constitution, and refrain from partisan game playing. Instead of joining legislative Republicans in solving the real issues that impact the lives of struggling Arizona families like food prices, rent and housing affordability, and protecting the innocence of children, Katie Hobbs has chosen to abandon her oath of office with these politically-charged PR stunts in an attempt to pander to her far-Left base.”
He then moved to the necessity of Arizona Republicans acting to quell the constitutional overreach of the Democrat governor – especially with the three Executive Orders over the past week – stating: “The legislative branch has a constitutional obligation to act as a check and balance on the executive branch, especially when that executive branch grossly oversteps their authority. Hobbs’ reliance on unconstitutional executive dictates is reminiscent of the unconstitutional abuses of power by DC Democrats; however, unlike our establishment counterparts in DC, Arizona Republicans are resolved to exercise the full authority afforded to us by the Constitution in order to hold Hobbs accountable.”
When asked by AZ Free News to predict the future of this political battle, Hoffman responded, “Sadly, given the chaos and instability of Hobbs’ administration it seems unlikely that she’ll take the reasonable approach that we’ve requested. I can only expect that she’ll instead choose to continue her radical virtue signaling regardless of the significant harm it inflicts on the people of this state. No matter what route Katie Hobbs chooses, the majority in the Senate will continue to act as a check and balance to maintain sanity and stability in our state government.”
The east valley lawmaker’s leadership will be pivotal to determining how this unpredictable legislative session will proceed for the Grand Canyon State. After the governor’s Executive Order that centralized “all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in applications of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions,” Hoffman and his committee took the first real action in pushing back. Hobbs has seemingly been unfazed by the Senator’s response, signing several more Executive Orders, including two that arguably generated more controversy than the abortion document.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 30, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona elected officials continue to react to Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ recent Executive Orders.
Earlier this week, Governor Hobbs signed two Executive Orders to “restore rights and protect LGBTQ+ Arizonans.” According to Hobbs’ Office, the Orders “ensure the state employee health care plan covers medically-necessary gender-affirming surgery” and bar “state agencies from funding, promoting, or supporting conversion therapy against LGBTQ+ Arizonans.”
Hobbs’ most-recent Executive Orders came just days after she signed another Order that would “centralize all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in applications of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions.”
On Wednesday, Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope issued the following statement regarding the governor’s latest Orders: “Instead of helping families struggling to keep a roof over their heads, fill their tanks with gas and put food on the table, Governor Hobbs is making sure taxpayer dollars are instead going towards elective, sex change surgeries. The Governor continues to show just how tone deaf and out of touch she is with the majority of hard-working Arizonans. Director nominations hearings were suspended on Monday, and yet the Governor is already doubling down with another unilateral overreach. The Arizona Senate Majority Caucus is committed to checks and balances and will be reviewing all legal options to ensure appropriate constitutional separation of powers.”
Representative John Gillette took to Twitter to pose several questions to the state’s chief executive, writing, “Hobbs Signs EO to Allow State Employees to Have Sex Change procedures paid by State Health Insurance. 1. What happens to premiums? 2. Was the contract renegotiated? 3. What other elected surgery will get covered? Will BC/BS just cancel the contract as terms changed?
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell also responded to the governor’s order on abortion prosecutions, saying, “Our current governor took an entire category of potential offenses and is attempting to prevent locally elected county attorneys from reviewing and making charging decisions on those matters. But what happens next? What happens in three-and-a-half years? What happens when another person occupies the governor’s seat and attempts this kind of power grab? What other set of offenses might a governor in the future not like and remove from local prosecutors?”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 26, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s reliably pro-life status is getting whiplash this week thanks to its Democrat Governor’s efforts to legislate by an executive order.
Last week, as the nation prepared for the anniversary of the landmark opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs worked to remake the state’s pro-life reputation and to reclaim her standing within the Arizona Democrat Party as a devoted champion of its platform.
First, Governor Hobbs held a Thursday press conference to announce her support for future passage of the Arizona Right to Contraception Act. The governor tweeted, “Reproductive freedoms are under threat. That’s why I was proud to join Rep. Athena Salman to announce my support for the Arizona Right to Contraception Act, which will ensure all Arizonans have the right to access birth control. I will never back down in the fight to protect our freedoms.”
Representative Salman was thrilled with the governor’s endorsement of her legislation, writing, “Thank you Governor Hobbs for your leadership in protecting our reproductive rights and freedom. Birth control is a human right with overwhelming public support. The Arizona Right to Contraception Act will enshrine this right into law for every family in our state.”
This bill is likely to languish in the Republican-led Legislature next session – as was indicated by the Speaker Pro Tempore for the Arizona House of Representatives, Travis Grantham, who tweeted, “Dead on Arrival.”
Hobbs saved her most noteworthy action for the end of the week, though, signing an executive order that would “centralize all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in application of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions.”
Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes cheered on this move by the governor, tweeting, “Together, Governor Hobbs and I will continue to do what the voters of Arizona elected us to do – fight like hell to protect the rights of Arizonans to make their own private medical decisions without interference.”
The governor’s order also “directed state agencies to not assist in any investigations relating to providing, assisting, seeking or obtaining reproductive health care that would be legal in Arizona; and established the Governor’s Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom to make recommendations that expand access to reproductive healthcare in Arizona.” She also highlighted that “Arizona will decline extradition requests from other states seeking to prosecute individuals who provide, assist, seek or receive abortion services legal in Arizona.”
Republicans were quick to assail Hobbs’ order and highlight the potentially tenuous nature of this action. Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma told AZ Free News that “We are thoroughly reviewing the executive order to determine its legality. At a minimum, this order shows disrespect and contempt for the judiciary. Arizona’s abortion laws are still in litigation in light of the Supreme Court’s historic Dobbs ruling. The Governor cannot unilaterally divert statutory authority to prosecute criminal cases from Arizona’s 15 county attorneys to the Attorney General.”
Senate President Warren Petersen also weighed in on the governor’s order, telling AZ Free News: “Instead of focusing on pressing issues everyday Arizonans are struggling with, like inflation and the economy, Hobbs is setting a dangerous precedent by pulling a PR stunt to appeal to special interest groups and attempting to usurp law enforcement. In the end, this is another do-nothing executive order meant to pander to her liberal base and create unnecessary division on polarizing topics.”
Senator Jake Hoffman told AZ Free News that “This partisan PR stunt by Katie Hobbs is a gross, unconstitutional overreach intended to do nothing more than pander to her far-Left extremist base, and distract from her pathetic track record of failure, chaos, and instability. From getting rolled on the budget to historically high turnover of her senior staff, Hobbs continues to demonstrate how politically and intellectually weak she is with these halfcocked schemes that will never hold up in court.”
Freshman Republican Representative Cory McGarr tweeted, “The sitting governor does not have the authority to make law! Lawless tyrants and authoritarians abuse their power and abuse the people by stripping away their representation through the legislature. This can not stand.”
Former Arizona Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh, who is still engaged in litigation over his historic, razor-thin defeat to Mayes last November, also condemned the governor’s order, saying, “Lawless government. The legislature makes laws, not the executive branch unilaterally.”
In a press release, Cathi Herrod, President of the Center for Arizona Policy, pointed out that state law likely does not bestow the power that the governor took upon herself in this executive order. Herrod stated, “Arizona law, A.R.S. 41-101, Section 8 states that the governor ‘may require the attorney general to aid a county attorney in the discharge of his duties.’ Aid does not mean supplant or replace. In her zeal for abortion, Gov. Hobbs has exceeded her authority as governor. The law does not allow her to strip county attorneys of their clear enforcement authority as granted in various Arizona laws. On the anniversary of Dobbs, the better approach would be for Gov. Hobbs to fulfill her pledge to serve all Arizonans, starting with coming together to find ways to serve the needs of pregnant women.”
These actions from Hobbs may signal an abrupt end to Arizona’s standing as one of the most pro-life states in the nation, leaving behind a strong body of work from the state’s past two governors and attorneys general. After the Dobbs decision last year, then-Governor Doug Ducey posted, “I am proud that Arizona has been ranked the most pro-life state in the country. Here, we will continue to cherish life and protect it in every way possible.”
Former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich was a staunch defender of life during his two terms in office. Most notably, Brnovich took his defense of SB 1457, which prohibited discriminatory abortions based on genetic abnormalities, to the U.S. Supreme Court. After the high court granted the Attorney General’s request to allow this law to go into effect in June 2022, Brnovich stated, “I am pleased with today’s ruling and proud to defend Arizona’s law that protects the unborn.”
Earlier this year, Republican leaders at the Arizona Legislature celebrated their “successful intervention(s) in cases to defend state laws and fight against federal overreach.” One of those cases was the SB 1457 (or Isaacson) litigation, where “a federal court granted Speaker Toma’s and President Petersen’s motion to intervene to defend a law that prohibits abortions based solely on a child’s genetic abnormality after Arizona Attorney General Mayes stated she would not defend the law.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 17, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
An Arizona Republican legislator has renewed his efforts to hold the state’s Democrat chief executive accountable to the rule of law.
On Wednesday, Representative David Livingston filed a complaint and request for investigation with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, regarding Governor Katie Hobbs’ use of state resources to influence elections pursuant to state statutes. This action from Livingston follows an earlier attempt from the legislator to obtain a legal opinion on “whether Arizona law allows a Governor-Elect to fundraise for political entities that make expenditures to influence elections through a state website promoting inaugural events.” In this latest effort, Representative Livingston revealed that Attorney General Mayes had “declined to provide a legal opinion, stating there were factual questions that made the issue inappropriate for a legal opinion.”
Livingston released the following statement in conjunction with his announcement: “State law prohibits using public resources, including websites, to influence elections. As the Attorney General has already acknowledged, there are unanswered factual questions here that warrant an immediate and thorough investigation. If Governor Hobbs had simply transferred the leftover funds to the state protocol account like former Governors have done, it would not be necessary to file my complaint. But the Governor’s unprecedented actions and refusal to provide information to me about where the funds went, who controls the funds, and how the funds will be spent left me with no choice. As the state’s chief legal officer charged with investigating potential violations of Title 16, the Attorney General must scrutinize these transactions and seek judicial relief if necessary to remedy past violations and prevent future violations of state law.”
The state lawmaker argues that the Arizona Attorney General’s Office “is empowered to investigate potential violations of Title 16,” pointing out that “Mayes invoked this authority earlier this year when she filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Cochise County, citing concerns that without taking legal action, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors might hide actions that should be done publicly in compliance with Arizona’s open meeting law.”
This issue rose to importance earlier this year as Arizona lawmakers received murky and incomplete information about Hobbs’ inaugural fund, which totaled more than $1.5 million in the lead-up to her inauguration at the State Capitol on January 5. After multiple weeks of questions, Hobbs’ campaign manager released the donor list, showing 120 contributors to the fund.
Even with the uncovered donor list, lawmakers wanted more transparency from Hobbs, but they weren’t finding the level of cooperation they sought from her Office. Reports showed that the inauguration cost $207,000, which was a fraction of the funds received from the Hobbs’ Inaugural Fund. With knowledge of how much was raised and spent from the fund, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma sent a letter to the Governor on January 26, asking her to “commit the balance of her $1.3 million inaugural fund proceeds to the state, as past governors have, for the sake of transparency & accountability to the people of Arizona.”
The legislative leaders wrote that “Given….the Inaugural Fund’s own descriptive title, Arizonans would have reasonably anticipated that any excess funds would be used for state interests. In any event, given the public resources that were utilized to solicit funds for the Inaugural Fund and to host the inauguration, it would be inappropriate to utilize any monies in the Inaugural Fund to influence an election.”
The governor’s actions in this matter prompted the introduction of SB 1299, sponsored by Senator Wendy Rogers, which dealt with the governor reporting inauguration expenses. The bill required “the Governor’s Office to publish on its website, within 15 days after the inauguration ceremony, information detailing each organization that organized, supported or funded the ceremony.” The proposal was passed out of both legislative chambers with broad bipartisan support and signed into law by Hobbs.
Representative Livingston’s communication to Attorney General Mayes references this legislation, stating that SB 1299 “is no impediment to your investigation. Because SB 1299 requires all inaugural donations to be deposited directly into the state protocol account, it prohibits future Governors and Governors-Elect from unlawfully using state resources to engage in political fundraising. However, SB 1299 does not have retroactive application and does not remedy past violations of A.R.S. 16-192.”
The legislator ends his referral letter with an exhortation for the state’s top cop to take his complaint seriously, writing, “No one is above the law, including Governor Hobbs.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
