by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 25, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
One Arizona lawmaker is making a push for greater state sovereignty.
Last week, State Representative Lisa Fink, a Republican, wrote an op-ed, entitled, “Make Arizona Sovereign Again.” In this piece, the first-term legislator makes the case for three of her bills that “push back against federal overreach and empower our citizens to take back control of their lives by restoring transparency in our elections, unleashing economic prosperity with our natural resources, and safeguarding the health and safety of Arizonans, putting the people and economy of our state first.”
The first bill Fink highlights is HB 2059, which would “ensure Arizona and employees of its state agencies are no longer forced to uphold various federal regulations on critical natural resource industries, like mining, coal, oil, and gas, that violate the clear boundaries of the U.S. Constitution. Representative Fink states that Arizona “must have the freedom to prioritize its own economic prosperity and environmental stewardship without being bound by harmful federal mandates.”
The second bill the state lawmaker presents is HB 2060, which would “strictly adher[e] to established laws on voter registration, citizenship, residency, and proof of identification. Fink opined that “securing our polls, free from outside interference, is of the utmost importance to preserving trust in our processes.”
The final bill that Representative Fink addressed was HB 2056, which would “take a proactive stance against federal efforts to alter the environment, protecting our state’s autonomy.” The Republican legislator states that she introduced this legislation because of the “growing issue of environmental manipulation, specifically addressing concerns over weather modification techniques like geoengineering and solar radiation management perpetrated by the federal government and multinational organizations. Fink added that “Arizona’s environment and natural resources belong to the people of this state – not federal agencies and certainly not the global elite.”
As she ended her piece, Representative Fink wrote, “The message is clear: Arizona will not tolerate unconstitutional federal overreach. From energy independence and mineral dominance to election integrity to defending our environment, this series of bills reasserts Arizona’s Tenth Amendment rights over the federal government and puts Arizona first. This is about reclaiming the freedom that is rightfully ours.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 25, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
An influential women’s organization is cheering on the passage of a key sex-definition bill in an Arizona House of Representatives Committee.
This week, the Arizona House of Representatives Committee on Government passed HB 2062, the Arizona Sex-based Terms Act. The Independent Women’s Voice marked the occasion, sending out a press release to announce the progress of this legislation in the House chamber.
“Rep. Lisa Fink’s legislation to define ‘woman’ so women’s rights aren’t erased is so important. Last year the Arizona legislature passed similar legislation, but Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the common-sense, pro-woman bill. Hopefully, after the election mandate of 2024, bipartisan passage of similar legislation in Congress, and executive action by President Trump, the legislature can pass this bill quickly, and Gov. Hobbs can make the right choice this year. 2025 is the year for women’s rights in Arizona to be protected,” said Paula Scanlan, legislative liaison for Independent Women Voice.
According to the press release issued by Independent Women’s Voice, this proposal, if enacted into law would do the following:
- “Define common sex-based terms, such as ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ ‘female,’ and ‘male,’ for purposes of state administrative law;
- “Help protect single-sex spaces and opportunities; and
- “Require publicly collected sex-based vital statistics to accurately reflect biology.”
Freshman State Representative Lisa Fink, the bill’s sponsor, wrote, “I am honored to serve Arizona in my capacity as a new member of the Arizona Legislature and vowed to make it a priority to define sex-based words and women’s rights. In Arizona, common sex-based words are used in 107 state statutes and yet lack legal definitions. That is why I introduced House Bill 2062, inspired by Independent Women’s model to restore common sense and ensure our courts have clarity in how to interpret Arizona statutes. With the recent federal bipartisan support for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, it should be easy for Arizona leaders across the aisle to support this legislation that helps to protect female spaces and opportunities.”
“Rep. Lisa Fink rightly recognizes the need for legislation that defines sex-based terms, and as an Arizona parent, I’m grateful she introduced Arizona House Bill 2062. It’s time to give Governor Hobbs another chance to do the right thing and ensure the 3 million women and girls—including my two daughters—across the state have equal rights and opportunities,” added Christy Narsi, the Phoenix, Arizona, chair and national chapter director of Independent Women’s Network.
HB 2062 advanced from the House committee with a party-line 4-3 vote – four Republicans in support and three Democrats in opposition. It now awaits a vote in the full chamber.
According to the Legislature’s Request to Speak system, a representative from the Center for Arizona Policy signed in to support the bill; while representatives from the AZ Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, National Association of Social Workers for the Arizona Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union of AZ, Arizona Center for Women’s Advancement, Living United for Change in Arizona, National Council of Jewish Women Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, Stonewall Democrats of Arizona, and Human Rights Campaign signed in to oppose the legislation.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
