by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 3, 2024 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Last week, Arizona State Senator Shawnna Bolick issued a statement about economic calamities affecting families around her state.
Bolick said, “Since Kamala Harris and Joe Biden entered office, Arizona families have felt the weight of crippling inflation caused by their bad policies. In 2022, inflation hit its highest level in 40 years at 9%, and the price of every basic necessity skyrocketed. While the Federal Reserve reports inflation has since eased to near the target 2% threshold, and despite this month’s interest rate cut of 0.5%, conditions are not improving for hardworking Arizonans. Grocery store prices are 25% higher now than just before the pandemic. Homes are no longer affordable for our working class. Eviction filings have hit record highs in the Valley.”
Bolick added, “Republicans at the Legislature have made it our mission to lessen these burdens. We eliminated the tax renters pay on housing. We passed a ban on grocery taxes that sadly every Democrat voted against and the Governor vetoed. I vow to continue fighting for policies that will allow you to keep more of your money next legislative session.”
Last year, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed SB 1131, which Republicans led through the state legislature. This legislation eliminated the rental tax for Arizona tenants.
According to Arizona Senate Republicans, “There are approximately 70 municipalities within our state charging this tax, while cities and towns continue to collect record revenues. From fiscal years 2019 to 2023, state-shared revenues from both sales and income taxes combined grew $733 million, or 59%. This increase is on top of any sales taxes or property taxes individually levied by each city. Between FY 2024 and FY 2025, those shared revenues are expected to grow by an additional $389 million.”
Senate President Warren Petersen issued the following statement in conjunction with the announcement: “Charging a rental tax is bad tax policy. In fact, Arizona is one of only two states in the nation currently allowing this. While our first attempt at eliminating the tax passed out of the Legislature with solely Republican support and was eventually vetoed by the Governor, we’re grateful our Democrat colleagues came to the table with us and realized the real tangible relief this reform will provide.”
Earlier that session, Hobbs vetoed SB 1063, which would have repealed the food municipal tax across the state.
After the governor’s action against the Republican proposal, Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli said, “This veto is a disgraceful windfall for cities and an absolute gouge for families. We’re not only paying inflated prices to feed our families, but we’re also paying more in taxes as the cost of food rises. Food is not a luxury; it is a necessity. A tax on our groceries is regressive and hurts everyone. Over the next four fiscal years, cities and towns are estimated to receive an average of $2.3 billion per year in state-shared revenues, which is an increase of $844 million more than the average for the last four fiscal years. And yet the governor vetoed this bill, only padding cities’ bloated budgets instead of leaving more money in the wallets of hardworking taxpayers.”
Senator Bolick faces a tough General Election fight in November for her bid to return to the Arizona Legislature for another two years. Arizona Legislative District 2 is one of the most competitive in the state, with a 3.8% vote spread in the past nine statewide elections. It is very winnable for Republicans, however, as the party has emerged victorious in six out of those nine elections.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Oct 2, 2024 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Every year, thousands of people flock to Arizona to enjoy the safe, affordable, and free way of life. Most of these transplants are escaping blue states such as Illinois and Washington, but most of all from California. In 2023 alone, 73,000 Californians moved to the Grand Canyon State as their own home state has become unbearably dangerous, costly, and oppressive.
But Arizona is now at a tipping point. Along with that influx of newcomers has come a morphing of political governance. In 2016, Republicans in the state legislature held majorities in the House with 36-24 members and 18-12 in the Senate. Those majorities have dwindled to a bare single seat majority of 31-29 and 16-14. With the Governor’s office changing hands in 2022 to Democratic control, the threat of a Democratic trifecta looms large, and is something Arizona hasn’t grappled with for over 60 years, a long-gone era when Democratic statesmen were rural blue dogs.
Today’s Arizona progressives are definitely not that. Cut from the same cloth as Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris, given all the levers of state government, Arizonans can expect the state to do a complete U-turn. Governor Katie Hobbs has publicly taken up the mantle, pledging millions of dollars (even from her dubious inauguration funds) and her out-of-state billionaire friends to flip Arizona blue and enjoy frictionless implementation of her most radical agenda.
That agenda has been hiding in plain sight for years, and it looks a lot like California…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Matthew Holloway | Sep 30, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) announced the launch of dontCAmyAZ.com on Friday. The website is designed to educate Arizonans about the dangers of adopting California-like policies that have irrevocably damaged what was once one of the most prosperous states in America, and highlighting the growing influence that California politics are having on Arizona.
Aimee Yentes, Vice President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club introduced the website in a statement: “For years, we have warned about the oppressive, big-government policies of California being imported to our state. Yet, as more people escape the high crime and unaffordability of California and other blue states, Arizona’s safe, affordable, and free way of life is in jeopardy. The ‘Don’t CA my AZ’ campaign will educate residents all over the state about how they can help to keep AZ free.”
The AFEC warned that the Arizona legislature is currently held by a slim Republican majority in both the state house and senate which are effectively holding back the tide. The governor’s office is currently held by Democrat Katie Hobbs who has pledged to apply her full efforts to flipping the legislature rather than attempt to work in a bipartisan fashion with the Republican majorities, and actively vetoes every piece of legislation she can. The club explains that Hobbs is seeking to “put us on a glide path to becoming another California.” They warn, “Should Democrats control both chambers of the state legislature, the Left would control the trifecta of power, which hasn’t occurred in Arizona for more than sixty years.”
DontCAmyAZ.com offers a breakdown of bills and initiatives introduced in the Arizona legislature which would bring about the same policies and systems “that have destroyed the once great state of California.”
The site classifies the bills under three categories:
Dangerous Open Borders & Endless Crime
- “Just like in California, the Arizona Left wants open borders and endless taxpayer incentives for illegal aliens. They’ll invite California-level crime by slashing criminal sentences, legalizing squatting, eliminating bail, and fully decriminalizing theft – attracting sophisticated crime rings to our state.”
Costly High Taxes & High Unemployment
- “Just like in California, the Arizona Left wants to make Arizona one of the highest tax states in the country, shut down building single family homes altogether, and crush small businesses with a high regulatory burden.”
Oppressive Woke Schools & Corruption
- “Just like in California, the Arizona Left wants state-sanctioned racial discrimination, gender mutilation surgeries for minors, to repeal the Parents Bill of Rights, draconian penalties for ‘climate crimes’ and to reward their political allies with taxpayer dollars.”
As AFEC stated clearly, “If given the ability to turn these bills into law, Arizona would see endless crime, high costs and taxes, and woke oppressive culture that now defines California.”
Alongside the website, the club has social media accounts on X, Instagram and TikTok to carry this message to younger voters and alert them to the dangers of such California-esque policies.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 28, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Hobbs Administration is again under political fire for alleged conflicts of interest.
This week, Arizona State Senator T.J. Shope, the Senate President Pro Tempore, issued a statement to announce the recent conclusion of an administrative law judge that “the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCS) improperly awarded contracts for healthcare services for 26,000 elderly and physically disabled individuals enrolled in the Arizona Long Term Care System.” According to the release from Senator Shope, the “determination was based on several factors, including violations of statutes and rules by AHCCCS, prejudice, a lack of transparency, contract awards based on best interests of the agency and not the state, an arbitrary and flawed ranking system of bid proposals, as well as deceptive criteria provided by AHCCCS to health care companies on the evaluations of their bid proposals.”
Shope revealed that “while the judge recommended cancellation of the procurement and issuance of a new request for bid proposals, AHCCCS announced this month it would not do so, and instead, would delay the transition to the newly awarded health plans by one year, commencing in October of 2025.”
In a statement, Shope said, “I’m deeply disturbed by what’s transpired under the Hobbs Administration, from the Sunshine Residential pay-for-play scheme, to now this procurement scandal. The integrity of state government and its spending practices have been compromised. As chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, it’s my goal to get to the bottom of these disputes and determine whether in fact preferential treatment is being provided using the tax dollars of hardworking Arizonans, and whether our citizens who rely on these critical services are being protected.”
The Senate Republican leader added, “I will be on a fact-finding mission in the coming months and will determine the best course of action to address these cases, whether through legislation, or other legal avenues.”
Earlier this year, The Arizona Republic broke a story about the Arizona Department of Child Safety “approv[ing] what amounts to a nearly 60% increase in the rate that Sunshine Residential Homes Inc. charges to care for a child for a day.” The alleged action to approve the rate increase for the one organization was made while “DCS has denied pay increases to home operators and cut loose 16 providers during the contract renewal process.” The Republic also asserted that “no other standard group home provider was approved for any rate increase during Hobbs’ tenure.”
After the story ran in the Republic, Shope sent a letter on June 5 to both Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, asking both officials to “examine the facts surrounding the Department of Child Safety’s alleged decision to approve a nearly 60% rate increase for Sunshine Residential Homes and determine if conduct by any of the involved parties warrants a criminal or civil investigation.”
State Representative Matt Gress followed up with a letter on June 6 to Mitchell, letting her know that “the Auditor General’s Office stands ready to partner with you in getting the facts about this troubling matter,” and that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee “will allocate the resources the Auditor General needs to help restore what appears to be a major breach of trust in our government.”
That day (June 7), Mayes fired off two letters to both Mitchell and the Arizona Auditor General, Lindsey Perry, over the investigation. Mayes told County Attorney Mitchell that “it would not be appropriate or in the best interest of the state to conduct parallel investigations into the same matter,” and that “a separate process conducted by the MCAO could jeopardize the integrity of the criminal investigation that my office will now proceed with.”
Mayes similarly told Auditor General Perry that “while [the Auditor General’s] office is statutorily authorized to examine records and conduct audits at the direction of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, at this time, the assistance of [her] office is not needed by the Attorney General’s Office for our investigation.”
After the letters from Mayes, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee sent a letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, requesting “that [she] investigate the allegations that have occurred in [her] jurisdiction.” Yee also delivered a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, highlighting that the state’s top cop’s assertion that her office had singular control over any investigation “is not appropriate or authorized by law, as those entities have separate jurisdiction to investigate this matter.”
After receiving the letters from Senator T.J. Shope and Gress, County Attorney Mitchell informed them that her office was “contacted by the Arizona Auditor General asking that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office serve as the prosecution office that will work with them while they conduct an investigation into this matter.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 20, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizonans are pessimistic about the future of their state.
Last month, Noble Predictive Insights (NPI) conducted a poll of over 1,000 registered voters in Arizona, showing “a picture of a state grappling with general pessimism and shifting priorities for voters.”
The survey from NPI indicated that 60% of respondents believed that Arizona is going in the wrong direction, compared to 40% who believe that the state is on the right track. The negative responses were up from the start of Governor Katie Hobbs’ administration in January 2023, when 55% believed the state was headed in the wrong direction, and 45% believed Arizona was headed in the right direction.
According to NPI, “In August, Republicans were overwhelmingly pessimistic, with 77% believing the state is on the wrong track. Within the party, the discontentment is slightly more pronounced among Trump-First Republicans (81%) compared to Party-First Republicans (77%). Democrats, on the other hand, are broadly optimistic – two-thirds say Arizona is on the right track, with Party-First Democrats (68%) and Harris-First Democrats (67%) in general agreement. Independents’ views on Arizona’s direction line up closest to the toplines with 64% unhappy with the trajectory of the state.”
“It’s not hard to see why pessimism increased in this period. In early 2022, a COVID-19 survey hit the state. And since then, Arizonans have told us that inflation has become more and more of a pain point,” said David Byler, NPI Chief of Research. “Partisanship plays a role too. Longtime Republican Arizonans are watching the state turn purple – and they blame newcomers from Oregon, Washington, California, and other blue states. Democrats – whether longtime residents or new arrivals – are greeting this political change with more warmth. So, partisanship plays a role – but so do real-life conditions.”
Additionally, the release from NPI highlighted that “the poll also found that the length of residency in Arizona correlates with outlook on the state’s trajectory. The longer a respondent has lived in Arizona, the less satisfied they are with the direction of the state. Recent transplants – those who have moved to Arizona within the last five years – were more likely to believe the state is headed in the right direction (56%).”
In an exclusive comment to AZ Free News, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen said, “Republicans in Arizona have been passing good policies for more than a decade, prompting hundreds of people to move to our state every day. We used to be able to keep up with the demand for affordable housing. Unfortunately, since the Governor entered office, she has implemented policies restricting our housing supply, which have forced prices to rise. The pessimistic attitudes are a direct result of the partisan games being played by the Governor, and our citizens are paying the price.”
House Speaker Ben Toma added, “Arizonans are bearing the brunt of an economy weakened by the Biden-Harris administration’s inflationary policies. Hardworking families are desperate for relief, but the failure of Democratic leadership in Washington and locally continues to erode the successful conservative policies that once drove record economic growth, reduced costs, and fueled confidence in our future.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
