by Jonathan Eberle | Apr 10, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona has enacted a new law that aims to boost the state’s environmental health workforce and combat foodborne illness by making it easier for health professionals to become registered sanitarians.
HB 2145, sponsored by Representative Selina Bliss (R-LD1), was signed into law by Governor Katie Hobbs following unanimous passage through the legislature. The bill shortens experience requirements and clarifies educational standards for those seeking to register as sanitarians in Arizona.
Under the new law, aspiring sanitarians can qualify for registration with three years (reduced from five) of experience as a sanitarian aide in a public health agency or related private sector role; three years (down from five) of full-time military duty in environmental health; or 30 semester hours of college credit in relevant subjects, including 22 hours in natural sciences (clarified from a general 30-hour natural science requirement).
“I have had food poisoning five times in my life, so I can testify that this is important!” Bliss posted on X. “This law addresses our workforce shortage to protect the public from food-borne illness.”
These updates aim to expand the pool of eligible candidates while maintaining rigorous standards for public health professionals.
Sanitarians play a critical role in public safety, conducting environmental health investigations, evaluating hazardous agents, ensuring compliance with public health regulations, and advising on disease prevention efforts. The Arizona Sanitarians’ Council sets the standards for registration and professional practice.
The need for reform became apparent as agencies across Arizona cited difficulties recruiting qualified professionals, especially in rural areas and during public health emergencies. Advocates for the bill said modernizing the law would help meet demand without compromising safety.
Environmental health staffing shortages are not unique to Arizona. Across the United States, state and local agencies have struggled to fill roles vital to preventing outbreaks and ensuring food safety. The COVID-19 pandemic further strained these systems, bringing renewed attention to public health infrastructure and prompting efforts to expand the workforce.
Arizona’s passage of HB 2145 signals a bipartisan acknowledgment of the need for proactive measures to strengthen the state’s public health readiness. The new law will take effect later this year.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 3, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
One chamber in the Arizona Legislature is taking action over environmental issues with abandoned mines.
Last week week, the Arizona House of Representatives approved three pieces of legislation with the purpose of “ensuring accountability and environmental responsibility when dealing with hazardous and abandoned mine sites.” The bills were HB 2127, HB 2128, and HCM 2007. According to the press release announcing the bills’ progress in the state legislature, the three proposals were introduced as “a direct response to a troubling situation in Yavapai County involving the Senator Mine, where a Chinese-owned company abandoned its operations after causing widespread public safety risks.”
The bills were all sponsored by State Representative Selina Bliss. In a statement accompanying the press release, Bliss said, “We cannot allow foreign entities and bad actors to exploit our natural resources, and violate our laws, only to skip town while Arizonans are left holding the bag. These bills ensure that Arizona communities aren’t left vulnerable to environmental hazards, while also giving good actors an opportunity to earn support in our local communities. I’m proud to see them pass the House, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support them.”
Bliss added, “Right now, there are groups willing to step up and help clean Arizona’s environmental messes, but they’re afraid of being saddled with liability for problems they didn’t cause. These measures fix that. They open the door for more voluntary remediation, allowing experts to restore these sites without fear of legal repercussions. This is a win for Arizona’s environment and our economy.”
HB 2127 would “establish clear notification requirements when regulated entities seek to sell their contaminated properties to third parties in order to avoid pending litigation, ensuring that buyers, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), and the State Mine Inspector are aware of the potential sale.”
HB 2128 would “expand Arizona’s existing Prospective Purchaser Agreement program to allow responsible third parties – such as environmental organizations and reputable mining companies – to clean up contaminated sites without being held liable for the damage caused by previous bad actors.
HCM 2007 “is a legislative memorial that urges state officials to take advantage of the newly established Good Samaritan Act, created under federal law. The program works in tandem with HB 2128 to enable nonprofit groups and private entities to clean up abandoned mines without facing regulatory roadblocks.”
The three bills will now be considered by the State Senate.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Jan 11, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A report released by the Arizona Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT) has generated severe backlash from Arizona State Representatives Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss, who serve as Chair and Vice-Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The backlash came after the CFRT made the blatant unconstitutional recommendation to “remove all firearms in households with children,” claiming that “the presence of firearms in a household increases the risk of suicide among adolescents.”
According to a press release from the Arizona House of Representatives, Reps. Nguyen and Bliss penned a letter to Jennie Cunico, Cabinet Executive Officer of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), voicing in the strongest possible terms their objections to the CFRT’s report.
In their letter, Nguyen and Bliss wrote:
“We are appalled that the CFRT, speaking on behalf of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is actually advocating for stripping Arizonans of their Second Amendment rights in their own homes. This radical proposal is reminiscent of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s 2023 gun control order, which attempted to prohibit carrying of firearms in public for self-defense. You may recall that Governor Grisham’s order—accurately characterized as ‘insanely unconstitutional’ and ‘outrageous’—was swiftly blocked in court.
“The CFRT’s ‘do something’ approach to child-fatality legislation would not only violate the constitutional rights of millions of Arizonans; it is also irrational from a policy perspective. The CFRT’s Report notes that 31 children drowned in 2023 and that the majority of these deaths occurred in pools and hot tubs. Yet the CFRT does not recommend the elimination of pools and hot tubs. Instead, the CFRT advocates for common-sense ideas: ‘close, constant supervision of children when around water, increased availability and affordability of swim lessons for children, and proper pool enclosures.’
“Effective policy solutions—even for problems that are difficult and complex—must be designed to fully protect constitutional rights and liberties. We urge you to direct the CFRT to reconsider its unjustified attack on the Second Amendment and amend its Report.”
“Proposals to strip citizens of their firearms are not only unconstitutional but also lack common sense,” Nguyen explained. “While the report suggests reasonable safety measures for other risks, such as drowning, the CFRT overreaches by advocating for the elimination of firearms entirely from homes with children.”
“Our state should focus on education and safe practices, not on extreme measures that undermine individual liberties,” Representative Bliss agreed. “We stand firm in defending the Second Amendment rights of Arizona families.”
In a later post to X, Nguyen acknowledged an op-ed from AZCentral’s Laurie Roberts criticizing him for his stance writing, “Anytime Roberts writes about my work negatively, I know I’m doing the right thing. I’m very sure she’s okay with abortion of innocent children.”
Roberts suggested the report’s call to remove guns from Arizona homes does not violate the Constitution and “goes on to recommend that ‘parents of adolescents should remove all guns from their homes, especially if there is a history of mental health issues or substance abuse issues.’ This because more children are dying by suicide, with close to half killing themselves with guns.”
However, as the Representatives point out, the language explicitly used by the report is as follows:
“Since the CFRP determined that access to guns was the biggest risk factor for firearm deaths, CFRP believes that the most effective way to prevent firearm-related deaths in children is to remove all firearms in households with children because the presence of firearms in a household increases the risk of suicide among adolescents.”
The recommendation of the CFRT is direct, unambiguous, and lacks the nuance suggested by the local columnist.
The CFRT is comprised mostly of appointees nominated by the state officers who were in turn appointed or nominated by Democrats Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes.
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 | Dec 3, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Arizona Legislature’s two Second Amendment hawks achieved a major victory for their constituents’ freedoms.
Earlier this month, the Sedona City Council announced plans to reconstruct a local ordinance that had caught the ire of two Republican state legislators this fall, Representatives Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss. The news came after the lawmakers had taken their dispute to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office over the City of Sedona’s Ordinance 12.30.090, which prohibits individuals from carrying firearms on “any trail or open space area.”
Nguyen had previously written, “The City of Sedona has had ample time to address these concerns and has chosen not to act. We are left with no choice but to seek the Attorney General’s involvement to ensure the rule of law is followed.”
The letter to Mayes followed Representative Nguyen’s prior communication to Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow and city councilmembers over the ordinance. Nguyen had highlighted that the Ordinance’s prohibition “on carrying firearms is not consistent with Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-3108,” thus making it “invalid and unenforceable because it exceeds what state law authorizes. He pointed out that “cities may…enact ordinances ‘[l]imiting or prohibiting the discharge of firearms in parks and preserves’ when certain statutory conditions are met.”
In a comment to another local publication, a City of Sedona spokeswoman said, “In the new ordinance, a person will be able to carry the firearm in the park but can’t discharge it unless in self-defense.” This ordinance is expected to be updated on December 10, at the next city council meeting.
Bliss responded to the announcement from the municipality, saying, “A message to cities and towns…don’t violate the rights of the people!”
Nguyen and Bliss, two seatmates in a Yavapai County legislative district, have quickly proven themselves to be some of the top Second Amendment advocates in the state. Over the past two years, both lawmakers have won the “Legislator of the Year” award from the Arizona Citizens Defense League for their protection of Second Amendment rights. They will look to continue their defense of Arizonans’ constitutional rights to keep and bear arms in the upcoming legislative session in yet another divided state government.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 23, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Two Arizona Republican lawmakers are escalating their defense of the Second Amendment in a dispute of a local ordinance.
On Monday, State Representatives Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss announced that they had sent a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes over the City of Sedona’s Ordinance 12.30.090, which prohibits individuals from carrying firearms on “any trail or open space area.”
In a statement that accompanied the announcement, Nguyen said, “The City of Sedona has had ample time to address these concerns and has chosen not to act. We are left with no choice but to seek the Attorney General’s involvement to ensure the rule of law is followed.”
The letter to Mayes follows Representative Nguyen’s prior communication to Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow and city councilmembers over the ordinance. Nguyen had highlighted that the Ordinance’s prohibition “on carrying firearms is not consistent with Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-3108,” thus making it “invalid and unenforceable because it exceeds what state law authorizes. He pointed out that “cities may…enact ordinances ‘[l]imiting or prohibiting the discharge of firearms in parks and preserves’ when certain statutory conditions are met.”
The northern Arizona lawmaker requested that the city leaders “conduct a legal analysis of the validity of Ordinance 12.30.090 and contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss your findings and any next steps you intend to take to ensure that Ordinance 12.30.090 complies with state law.”
In their most recent communication over the issue, Representatives Nguyen and Bliss told the state’s attorney general that Sedona “has not responded to our letter and, to our knowledge, has not taken any actions to remedy the Ordinance’s legal flaws.” The lack of response or corrective action led the legislators to request that Mayes “review the question identified above and issue a written report within 30 days as required by [state law].” They added that if the Arizona Attorney General’s Office were to find a violation of state law, there should be a pursuit of special action in the state’s Supreme Court to resolve this matter.
Nguyen and Bliss, two seatmates in a Yavapai County legislative district, have quickly proven themselves to be some of the top Second Amendment advocates in the state. Over the past two years, both lawmakers have won the “Legislator of the Year” award from the Arizona Citizens Defense League for their protection of Second Amendment rights. They will look to continue their defense of Arizonans’ constitutional rights to keep and bear arms in the upcoming legislative session in yet another divided state government.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
