by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 18, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republicans again got the better of Governor Katie Hobbs with their second installment of a state budget amid a tenuous divided government.
On Saturday night, the Republican-led Arizona Legislature passed the 2024-2025 state budget and adjourned for the year after finishing its tasks. This latest budget was negotiated between Senate President Warren Petersen, House Speaker Ben Toma, and Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs.
“Following last year’s state budget, where Republican lawmakers provided inflationary relief to everyday Arizonans through $274 million in tax rebates distributed to struggling families, as well as a ban on the tenant-paid rental tax taking effect this January, Republicans are again successfully supporting our hardworking citizens while simultaneously reining in spending,” said Senate President Warren Petersen. “In this year’s budget, we defended more than $520 million allocated last year for much-needed transportation projects statewide. We also cut fees for Maricopa County drivers on emissions testing by 5%, and we banned fee increases on Arizonans from state boards for the next two years.”
House Speaker Ben Toma added, “At a time when Arizonans are having to tighten their financial belts, so is state government. The Arizona House of Representatives has passed a fiscally conservative, structurally balanced state budget that solves the nearly $1.5 billion deficit, without touching the rainy-day fund or using budget gimmickry. The budget trims government and protects conservative priorities. It increases funding for local border support operations and assists fentanyl interdiction efforts by law enforcement. It funds transportation and infrastructure and maintains our state’s commitment to water security.”
According to a press release from the Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus, some of the highlights from the agreed-upon budget included the following:
- Reduction of state spending by $1.7 billion below the 2023-2024 budget (10%);
- Reduction of ongoing spending by $330 million; and
- Addition of $5 million for local border security support and $4 million for fentanyl interdiction and law enforcement response.
The Senate Republicans also noted that their efforts this year produced a budget that did not add any new taxes, tax increases, or debt. Additionally, the budget did not pull dollars from the rainy-day fund, ensuring that the state would have sufficient funds to draw upon should it experience more stormy weather in future years.
“We tightened the state’s belt by trimming fat from state agencies, and we reallocated unspent tax dollars to the general fund to eliminate the deficit, without irresponsibly tapping into our rainy-day fund,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh. “Most government operations within the state received a healthy and manageable 3.5% reduction in spending, with a few exceptions. Safe communities free of crime and a secure border are the biggest priorities to Arizonans and Republicans alike, and we want to ensure our budget reflects that. As a result, funding for the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, and the Arizona Auditor General remains intact, while we’re also investing millions in border security, all without raising taxes or creating new debt.”
“Our budget also reflects our support for our citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” said Senator David Gowan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, Public Safety & Border Security. “We’re funding two full time positions at the Department of Public Safety to address a backlog of concealed carry permit applications and renewals, with a requirement to prioritize Arizona residents first. This move can have a positive impact in our state by ultimately strengthening the safety and security of our communities as our citizens seek avenues to protect themselves, their families, and their private property. Additionally in this budget, we’re infusing crucial dollars into the Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) located in our rural communities, so these residents have convenient access to emergency care.”
Not every Republican was on board with this budget, however. State Representative Matt Gress explained his “no” vote on the most-recent edition, writing, “This year’s [budget] seems more focused on just ‘getting it done’ than ‘doing it right.’ There’s a reason there is bipartisan opposition. This is not a budget that reflects the shared priorities of Arizonans.”
Gress’ fellow Republican colleague in the chamber, Representative Jacqueline Parker, opined, “Literally the ONLY ones saying good things about this budget are Democrats…”
Senator Wendy Rogers weighed in after the vote in her chamber, posting, “This was a solid Republican budget and I voted for it.”
State Representative John Gillette agreed with Rogers’ sentiments, saying, “After a hard fight and two days of voting, we finally passed the 2024-2025 budget with tax cuts and NO new debt. Fiscal responsibility and conservative values prevailed.”
Regardless of their stance on the budget agreement, many Republicans seemed to be excited about the end of another legislative session.
Republicans will now have to make the case to Arizona voters in the all-important November General Election about why they should return to power in the state legislature for another two years in a divided government with Governor Hobbs. Throughout the past two years, Republicans have been mostly united and focused on protecting several of their priorities from the clutches of Democrats eager to dismantle values and principles. That balance of power, though, hangs on a knife’s edge as fall awaits.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 1, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona legislative Republicans have come up with a new way to hold Democrat state officials accountable to the rule of law.
On Tuesday, the Arizona House Republicans Caucus announced that the House Ad Hoc Committee on Executive Oversight had been created. The new committee will “scrutinize the practices of the Arizona Attorney General and other state officials, specifically to investigate allegations of the abuse of power, dereliction of duty, and/or malfeasance.”
According to the press release issued by Arizona House Republicans, the committee will be “tasked with developing recommendations for potential legislative action and other measures to promote the rule of law and deter partisan abuse and weaponization of the office of Arizona Attorney General or other state offices.”
House Speaker Ben Toma created the committee and released the following statement in conjunction with the legislative announcement: “The Arizona House of Representatives has an inherent obligation under the Arizona Constitution to conduct appropriate oversight of officers in the Executive branch to protect the rule of law and the separation of powers. I established this Committee because the public and members of the House have raised serious concerns suggesting that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has engaged in a pattern of malfeasance in office. It is critical that this Committee fully investigate those allegations, thoroughly review Arizona laws, and solicit more information as necessary to advise the House on any and all appropriate measures that should be taken.”
The press release from the Speaker revealed that State Representative Jacqueline Parker would “serve as chairman of the committee.” Parker is also the chair of the Committee on Municipal Oversight and Elections; she will be maintaining that role.
In acknowledgement of her appointment, Parker said, “Attorney General Mayes has refused to defend state laws in court, harassed parents who have elected to use the ESA program to educate their children, threatened elected county officials with illegitimate prosecutions, and diverted funds and resources of her office to serve her own partisan purposes that are not authorized by the Legislature or state law. These are among the allegations that I expect the Ad Hoc Committee will thoroughly investigate.”
The five Republican State Representatives who will serve on this committee were already named: Parker, Austin Smith (Vice Chair), John Gillette, Neal Carter, and David Marshall. There are three vacancies for Democrats on the committee; those positions are expected to be named at a future date.
Representative Smith weighed in on his new assignment, writing, “As Vice Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Executive Oversight, it is imperative that the legislature exercise its constitutional authority as a check on the executive branch. We have heard from many concerned citizens that Kris Mayes recent behavior is unwarranted, weaponized and partisan. We will thoroughly investigate potential partisan activity in the Attorney Generals office for the protection of this Constitutional Republic.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 25, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
As a pivotal election year approaches, Arizona Republican legislators are still working to strengthen election integrity and security across the state.
Last week, Arizona State Representative Jacqueline Parker and State Senator Wendy Rogers sent a joint press release to “announce their firm commitment to rectify issues arising from conflicting federal and state deadlines in the forthcoming elections.”
The legislators shared that the genesis of their concerns lies with a 2022 law, SB 1008, which “elevated the automatic recount threshold from an arbitrary, below national average margin of 200 votes, to a standard of less than one-half of 1-percent (0.5 percent),” adding that “this change brought Arizona in alignment with several states, including Florida, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.”
SB 1008 may have passed out of both legislative chambers with broad bipartisan support, as Parker and Rogers noted in their release, but it does not appear to be a perfect fix to the issues that lawmakers were attempting to resolve, hence the reason for the push to provide a patch for this bill. In commentary with their release, the two legislators wrote, “As the state approaches the next election cycle, an increased incidence of automatic recounts, expected as a result from the change in law, poses a potential challenge to counties in meeting certain deadlines.”
Both legislators issued statements to accompany their announcement. Parker said, “This challenge presents us with a unique opportunity to correct the underlying problems that have plagued Arizona elections, rather than approach it as a temporary band-aid fix that fails to move us forward.” Rogers said, “A true legislative fix will provide clarity, promote transparency, and will save taxpayer dollars.”
In a follow-up release later that day, Parker revealed that the legislators had met with stakeholders, wasting no time in starting the process of fixing the holes from the bill. Parker stated, “We hosted the first of many stakeholder meetings today to hear from the boots on the ground who are in the thick of administering our elections, as well as legal experts. We want to make sure we have in-depth conversations with these stakeholders, so that we can identify the proper fix needed to strengthen the integrity of our elections and the confidence voters have when they cast their ballots.”
Senator Rogers also weighed in, saying, “In order to remedy the unintended consequences of this law, we must first draft proposed legislation, and that certainly won’t happen overnight. This is a painstaking process that will require feedback from everyone involved with our elections procedures. We plan to resolve this conflict before the 2024 election, but we must first thoroughly and methodically work with all parties involved. This could very well take several months, but as Republicans, we are committed to coming up with a solution that is transparent, organized, accurate, secures our elections, and saves taxpayer dollars.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jul 29, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Two Arizona Republican legislators are raising concerns over a draft of the new Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) from Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
On July 18, Representatives Jacqueline Parker, the Chairwoman of the Arizona House Committee on Municipal Oversight & Elections, and Alexander Kolodin, the Committee’s Vice Chair, transmitted a letter to Secretary Fontes, highlighting certain issues with the initial copy of the EPM that they had seen from his office.
The lawmakers were grateful that Fontes allowed them to see his draft, and they expressed optimism that “with legislative guidance, the 2023 EPM will not meet the same fate as the 2021 EPM, and that Arizonans will be assured that all drafts, including the final draft presented to the Governor and Attorney General, are legally consistent with Arizona election law.” They called the 2021 saga “both unprecedented and unacceptable,” writing, “Your predecessor’s failure to issue a lawful EPM ultimately led a court to decide that the 2019 EPM was in effect for Arizona’s 2022 elections, rather than an updated, legally compliant 2021 EPM.”
In their letter to Secretary Fontes, Parker and Kolodin identified eight possible violations of Arizona statutes in four chapters of the draft EPM:
– Chapter 1: Early Voting
o “Part I, page 5 moves ‘date of birth’ from required information to additional information that may be provided by a voter to receive an early ballot.”
o “Part I, page 3 allows the County Recorder to send a requested early ballot ‘after 5:00pm the 11th day preceding the election if the County Recorder has sufficient time to do so.”
o “Part I, page 16 requires the County Recorder or officer in charge of elections to supply printed instructions that ‘provide the voter instructions on how to make their intent clear if they inadvertently mark the target area for a candidate or ballot measure.’”
o “Part I, page 18 includes the exclusion of an established Ballot Replacement Center.”
– Chapter 2: Ballot-by-Mail Elections
o “Part I, page 31 refers to ‘precinct with 300 or less registered voters.’”
– Chapter 7: Pre-Election Procedures
o “Part II, page 34 allows the officer in charge of elections to allocate specified duties to any board member as deemed appropriate, including ‘taking appropriate measures to preserve order, prevent voter intimidation, and manage voter lines.’”
– Chapter 8: Election Day Operations
o “Part III, page 8 adds additional examples ‘potentially intimidating conduct’ that supersedes statutory law.”
o “Part III, page 19 adds language that prohibits a challenger from speaking to a challenged voter to ‘prevent harassment and intimidation of the challenger voter.’”
The two Representatives also requested that “future drafts of the EPM contain statutory references for each provision to provide county officials with the statutory source of each EPM provision.” Parker and Kolodin pointed out two sections in the draft EPM where there were no statutory references – as examples to illustrate their issue.
As they concluded their letter to the state’s elections chief, the legislators commented that they “are looking forward to seeing these provisions addressed prior to the EPM’s submittal to the Governor and the Attorney General on October 1, 2023.” They promised to communicate in a timely manner with the Secretary’s Office “about any other concerns that might arise,” and they asked for a written response to their letter by July 25.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 24, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Both Republicans and Democrats came together this week at the state legislature to enhance protections for Arizona’s children.
The Arizona House overwhelmingly passed HB 2516, which deals with investigations into child abuse cases. 56 legislators voted to send the bill to the Senate against zero detractors. Four House members did not vote.
The full House vote follows two unanimous votes to free the legislation from committees. On February 1, the House Judiciary Committee voted 8-0 to approve the bill, and likewise with the House Rules Committee on February 13.
According to the overview of the bill provided by the Arizona House of Representatives, HB 2516 “adds a forensic interview as an alternative examination method for a child taken into temporary custody due to exigent circumstances involving sexual abuse or serious physical injury.” (“Exigent circumstances exist if there is probable cause to believe that the child is likely to suffer serious harm in the time it would take to obtain a court order for removal and either of the following is true: 1) There is no less intrusive alternative to taking temporary custody of the child that would reasonably and sufficiently protect the child’s health or safety; or 2) Probable cause exists to believe that the child is a victim of sexual abuse or abuse involving serious physical injury that can be diagnosed only by an appropriately licensed physician or health care provider.”)
Representative Parker’s bill “authorizes a person who takes temporary custody of a child due to exigent circumstances involving sexual abuse or serious physical injury to immediately have the child forensically interviewed by a person who is appropriately trained pursuant to statutory protocols, as an alternative to a medical examination.” Currently, “unless the examination (by an appropriately licensed physician or health care provider) reveals abuse, the person must release the child into the custody of the parent of guardian.”
The bill also “changes the definition of a reportable offense by replacing an Arizona statute, which criminalizes providing harmful items to minors by electronic means with another statute, which criminalizes providing harmful items to minors by non-electronic means.”
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News, Representative Parker explained why she introduced this bill:
“HB 2516 is an example of how important language and wording are in the law. ARS 8-821 was an example of the ‘cart before the horse’ regarding children whom agencies received after a report of child abuse. Well-intentioned laws, not carefully updated, can lead to ambiguity in interpretation. Therefore, bringing the statute into compliance with current professional procedure manuals was paramount. Experienced and trained professionals must first talk to the child in an important forensic interview to determine the appropriate next step.”
Rebecca Baker, Legislative Liaison for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO), represented the Office in supporting this legislation before the full House vote.
HB 2516 now makes its way to the Arizona Senate chamber – one step closer to a potential signature into law from Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
