by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 15, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Earlier this week, Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs continued her effort to break Arizona governors’ veto record, vetoing five bills sent to her from the state legislature.
The bills that Hobbs vetoed were HB 2552, HB 2675, HB 2754, SB 1236, and SB 1251.
Former Gov. Janet Napolitano set the record with 58 vetoes.
HB 2552, sponsored by Representative Austin Smith, would have prohibited “certain entities from using a voting method or nomination process that includes the ranking of candidates or allows candidates to be eliminated through multiple rounds of tabulation.” It also would have required “the person who receives the highest number of legal votes in an election to be declared elected.” Hobbs explained that “ranked choice voting is an election process that is used successfully elsewhere in the country.”
HB 2675, sponsored by Representative Steve Montenegro, would have declared “that drug cartels are terrorist organizations and required the Arizona Department of Homeland Security to do everything within its authority to address the threat that drug cartels pose.” Governor Hobbs justified her veto of this bill by saying, “Labeling drug cartels as terrorist organizations to deploy state resources is not a real solution and is not a state function.”
HB 2754, sponsored by Representative Rachel Jones, would have included “nongovernmental organizations in the definition of an enterprise for purposes of criminal liability and subjected an enterprise to criminal liability for the offense of participating in a human smuggling organization.” In announcing her veto of this proposal, Hobbs said, “This bill has unintended consequences for organizations that support immigrants.”
SB 1236, sponsored by Senator Wendy Rogers, would have declared “the regulation of the imposition of a tax or fee on a person or entity running a node on block chain technology to be a matter of statewide concern and preempted further regulation by a city, town or county.” The Governor stated that “this bill broadly defines ‘blockchain technology’ and prevents local policymaking concerning an emergent and potentially energy-intensive economic activity.”
After Hobbs’ action, Senator Rogers tweeted: “Of course Hobbs blocked my bill…anything that encourages the free markets gets torpedoed.”
SB 1251, sponsored by Senator Janae Shamp, would have prohibited “a city, town or county from enacting any ordinance, resolution or policy that prohibits or restricts a person from using a working animal in lawful commerce or for an animal enterprise.” Hobbs wrote that “SB 1251 is a solution in search of a problem. As the bill sponsor stated, no Arizona city, town, or county restricts rodeos or the use of working animals for agricultural or ranching operations. There are also no pending policy proposals to do so anywhere in Arizona.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 12, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
It’s a tale as old as January 2023: Arizona’s Democrat Governor and Republican-led Legislature aren’t agreeing on much in this session; and they certainly aren’t coming together on issues of election integrity.
Governor Katie Hobbs recently vetoed SB 1074, sponsored by Senator Sonny Borrelli, which would have prohibited “the use of electronic voting equipment as the primary method for tabulating votes in any city, town, county, state or federal election unless the outlined requirements are met.” The legislation would also prescribe “requirements relating to the source codes for electronic voting equipment.”
The governor didn’t provide much information in her veto letter to Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, writing, “The election equipment required by the bill, as well as the problem it purports to solve, does not exist. This bill neither strengthens our democracy, nor ensures that Arizonans can better exercise their fundamental right to vote. I stand ready to receive bills that do.”
The bill sponsor, Borrelli, was outraged at the governor’s decision, issuing a press release to “call out Governor Hobbs for her continued blatant political games after she vetoed a bill that would have established oversight, security and transparency on electronic voting systems.”
Senator Borrelli stated: “In her veto letter, Governor Hobbs stated the election equipment required by the bill does not exist. This is in fact a lie. The equipment exists, but the components are made in the People’s Republic of China and other non-friendly countries. She’s pushing the idea that the United States of America could not onshore the manufacturing of tabulation equipment, which is absolutely absurd. There is nothing the American workforce cannot do given the right opportunities.”
He continued, saying, “Furthermore, Governor Hobbs falsely stated that this bill purports to solve a problem that does not exist. I beg to differ. Any electronic device can be manipulated to have a certain outcome. You need source codes to determine this, but they’re not being provided with the current system. You would think the former Secretary of State would know that in 2013, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated elections systems as critical infrastructure. This means these systems should be subjected to the same national security standards that the U.S. Department of Defense would apply to any critical infrastructure. Having a third-party vendor with total autonomy is not good for security, voter confidence, nor democracy. This bill would have taken the politics out of the voting process and created a neutral party that works for the Legislature. Fair and honest elections are a bi-partisan concern, albeit only when Democrats are the ones to benefit. Hobbs’ obstructive and cavalier attitude has been part of the destruction of transparency and oversight within our elections.”
SB 1074 originated in the Senate and was considered by the Elections Committee in February, where it passed by a vote of 5-3. The full Senate then approved of the measure in March, 16-13, with one member (Senator Gonzales) not voting. Borrelli’s proposal was then transmitted to the House and heard in the Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, where it received six Republican votes compared to four Democrat votes (with Representative Jacqueline Parker absent for that vote). The full House then gave the bill the green light with a 31-27 tally, with two Democrat members not voting, making it possible for the legislation to be sent to the Governor’s Office.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 11, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A bill to protect children on the internet is nearing the finish line in the Arizona Legislature, though some partisan opposition puts its fate in jeopardy with Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs should it reach her desk.
SB 1503, sponsored by Senator Wendy Rogers, “directs a commercial entity to verify that any person attempting to access an internet website containing a substantial portion of material harmful to minors is at least 18 years old.” The bill “authorizes the age verification to be made through a commercially available database that is regularly used by businesses or governmental entities for the purposes of age and identity verification; or any other commercially reasonable method of age and identity verification.” It “subjects a commercial entity that violates the verification requirement to civil liability for damages, including attorney fees and costs, resulting from the minor’s access to the material.”
Rogers was joined on her bill by co-sponsors (and fellow Senators) Ken Bennett, Sonny Borrelli, Frank Carroll, David Farnsworth, Jake Hoffman, Steve Kaiser, John Kavanagh, Janae Shamp, T.J. Shope, and Justine Wadsack.
The bill first cleared the Arizona Senate Transportation and Technology Committee in February with a bipartisan vote of 5-2. Democrat Senator Christine Marsh joined four other Republicans to advance the legislation out of committee. After a Rogers’ amendment was adopted on the floor, the full chamber approved the bill with a bipartisan 19-11 vote, though Marsh did not vote in favor.
Senator Rogers cheered the passage of her proposal after the Senate vote, tweeting, “Need to be age 18 to view ‘content harmful to minors’ (pornography) on the internet. My SB 1503 passed the Arizona Senate. #ProtectChildInnocence”
SB 1503 was then transmitted to the Arizona House of Representatives where it was assigned to the Regulatory Committee. In March, the Committee took up and considered this bill, passing it with a party-line 4-3 vote. It awaits the green light from the House before it travels to the Governor’s Office for her final decision.
During the House Regulatory Committee hearing, Representative Nancy Gutierrez explained that she thought this legislation was “an infringement on our First Amendment rights,” and she found it “ridiculous” that anyone would suggest that a company would be at fault for a child looking at inappropriate websites. Gutierrez was baffled that anyone would also suggest that “there is a mechanism that would even be able to verify age.”
Her Democrat colleague, Representative Alma Hernandez, agreed with these sentiments. Before Hernandez voted against SB 1503, she first stated that she didn’t want children looking at pornography on the internet, but that this was “almost impossible to actually enforce.” She argued that the United States is “not North Korea, China, or Iran, where those countries have internet censorship,” and she challenged her Republican colleagues to return to their freedom-loving roots when coming up for solutions of problems that are perpetrated on the internet. Hernandez stated that she believes “it should be up to the parents to decide if they want to put screening mechanisms on their children’s phones.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 10, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs and Arizona Legislative Republicans may not see eye to eye on much this session, but there’s one issue that has united Republicans with the state’s chief executive.
Last week, Governor Hobbs signed an executive order, dated April 4, to force “all State Agencies to remove TikTok from State-owned and State-leased information technology and personal devices used for State work.”
Hobbs justified her decision, writing that “TikTok has been found to have security vulnerabilities that, if unresolved, could expose State-owned or State-leased devices to malicious actors creating potential security and privacy risks to State agencies and the systems and data the State is charged with protecting.”
As Hobbs’ order concedes, the Arizona action was not the first in the nation: “TikTok has been banned on government devices by the federal government, several other states, countries, and organizations due to security concerns and concerns about the application’s potential to spread misinformation and propaganda.”
Freshman Representative Matt Gress, the sponsor of the “No TikTok on Arizona Government Devices Act” (HB 2416), cheered on the governor’s action, stating, “I applaud the Governor for taking action to address the security and data collection threats posed by TikTok and similar apps.”
Gress, though, urged the governor and his colleagues in the Legislature to pass and sign his bill, saying, “The Legislature still needs to act, and the Governor should sign HB 2416, a comprehensive plan to keep the state’s critical information secure and strengthen public safety. It would expand on the Governor’s order, codifying it permanently into state law, and apply to all government entities, employees, and contractors.”
HB 2416 passed the Arizona House at the end of February with a 31-28 vote – with one Democrat Representative not voting. It recently cleared the Senate Government Committee, and it awaits final action from the full chamber.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes also chimed in on the TikTok news with an announcement, dated April 5, that the use of TikTok was banned on “all computers, mobile phones, and tablets owned by the (Attorney General’s) office.” Mayes explained that “Data security is paramount, especially for government agencies that handle sensitive information. We cannot risk the potential exposure of our data to foreign entities. Banning TikTok on state-owned devices is a necessary measure to protect our operations.”
Mayes revealed that “she was not reassured by recent testimony given by the CEO of Tik Tok to a Congressional panel,” adding, “Given the inability of TikTok’s CEO to definitiely state that the Chinese government cannot access data collected from U.S. users, I remain unconvinced that the app’s security risks have been adequately addressed.”
The action out of Mayes’ Office appears to have taken place earlier in the week. In the release from her office, it was stated that “Attorney General Mayes announced the ban in an email to Arizona Attorney General Office employees earlier this week.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Apr 9, 2023 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Gov. Katie Hobbs ended the free learning loss summer program established by her predecessor, former Gov. Doug Ducey. The remaining funds intended for Ducey’s program, $37.5 million, will now be doled out at the Hobbs administration’s discretion via grants.
While discussing the termination of Ducey’s summer program, an unnamed Hobbs spokesperson erroneously claimed to ABC15 that the free summer camp program, OnTrack, was designed to be a one-time arrangement. Yet, Ducey promised prior to leaving office that OnTrack would occur once more this summer.
Hobbs announced the grant solicitation last month.
According to a pre-app solicitation video, the Hobbs administration will prioritize programs that lend themselves to equity-oriented outcomes.
This would include programs that emphasize social-emotional learning (SEL) as well as those targeting students from low-income families, students of color, children with disabilities, English learners, migratory students, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth.
The grant process also requires applicants to explain how their program would be “culturally competent” and “gender-responsive”: key words for SEL education. The former refers to acknowledging cultural differences and addressing cultural inequalities; and the latter refers to fixing gender inequalities. Both concepts lend themselves to the greater goal of equity.
Hobbs has committed her administration to advancing equity and social justice. Unlike equality, which proposes equal treatment that may result in unequal outcomes, equity proposes disparate treatment in order to achieve purportedly equal outcomes.
Ducey launched the program in March 2022 with $75.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to offset the learning losses and mental health blows caused by COVID-19 pandemic remote learning.
The program funded just under 700 summer camps offering over 110,000 camp opportunities statewide. Over 70,600 students participated in the free program, 68 percent of whom were from Title I schools. Campers reported positive outcomes on 86 percent of learning goals, and those in credit recovery programs earned nearly 5,600 credits.
Hobbs’ administration proposed an initial award distribution of 40 percent rural, 20 percent tribal, and 40 percent urban. However, they noted that this allocation structure could be changed to meet internal diversity quotas.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
