by Staff Reporter | Apr 10, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The U.S. leader of a top global feminist organization, Women’s Declaration International (WDI), urged Arizona’s Democratic lawmakers to support a bill protecting women’s rights by ending gender identity codifications.
Senate Bill 1628, the Women’s Bill of Rights by Senator Sine Kerr, was passed in the House last week and will head to the governor’s desk. SB 1628 would codify new definitions for sex-based terms used in statutes, administrative rules, regulations, and public policies. It’s unlikely the bill will be codified: Governor Katie Hobbs has openly expressed her disapproval for similar bills she deems against LGBTQ+ ideology.
“The purpose of this act is to bring clarity, certainty, and uniformity to the laws of this state regarding sexual discrimination, equality of the sexes and benefits or services that are specifically provided to males and men and females and women,” read the bill.
WDI USA President Kara Dansky, a Democrat, wrote in an Arizona Daily Independent op-ed that the popularized replacement of the concept of sex with gender identity results in the discrimination and oppression of women.
“[The victories of women’s rights] are being thrown out, including by Democratic women leaders, because of the nonsensical, psuedoscientific concept of ‘gender identity’ — the idea that somehow sex isn’t real, that a person can be the opposite sex, or that there is some mysterious third sex class (there isn’t),” said Dansky. “There is nothing progressive about pretending sex isn’t real.”
Dansky’s organization most recently filed a brief in the ongoing Washington court case determining whether a female-only nude spa may exclude men.
Significantly, SB 1628 would declare in no uncertain terms that the term “sex” indicated the existence of only two sexes: male and female, biological truths established at birth which are “objective and fixed.” The defined term “sex” further explicitly excludes concepts like “gender identity” or similar terms, which the bill noted imparted subjective senses of self and antonymous with the term “sex.”
The legislation further clarified that differences in sex development wouldn’t establish a third sex, such as those cases in which an individual with a congenital and medically verifiable disorder or difference in sex development. In those cases, the bill specifically directs compliance with accommodations according to federal and state law.
Other definitions given for sex-based terms included:
- “Male,” meaning an individual who has, had, will have or would have, but for a developmental anomaly or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces sperm for fertilization of female ova;
- “Boy,” meaning a human male who has not yet reached adulthood;
- “Man,” meaning an adult human of the male sex;
- “Father,” meaning a male parent of a child or children;
- “Female,” meaning an individual who has, had, will have or would have but for developmental anomaly or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces an ova;
- “Girl,” meaning a human female who has not yet reached adulthood;
- “Mother,” meaning a female parent of a child or children;
- “Equal,” meaning the recognition of the equality of sexes but not sameness or identicality;
With those definitions, Senate Bill 1628 would effectively root out gender identity protections by replacing the term “gender” with “sex” in all laws, rules, publications, orders, actions, programs, policies, and signage. The bill also directed the sex-based segregation of environments like bathrooms, locker rooms, living facilities, athletics, domestic violence shelters, and sexual assault crises centers.
Further, public schools as well as those agencies that collect vital statistics related to sex would identify all individuals as either male or female.
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by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 13, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican proposal for groundwater policy is making its way through the Arizona State legislature.
Late last month, the Arizona State Senate passed SB 1221, which “establishes a process for the designation of a basin management area (BMA) and an active BMA in any location not included in an active management area (AMA), to be initiated by petition to the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, [and] outlines the goals of an active BMA, active BMA council makeup, rights to water, reporting requirements, and requirements for the continuation or termination of an active BMA” – according to the purpose provided by the chamber.
The proposal passed the State Senate with a 16-12 vote (with two members not voting).
In a statement after the vote, Senator Sine Kerr, the bill’s sponsor, sharply criticized the state’s Democrat governor for the process and policies of her work on this issue. Kerr said, “In her State of the State Address, Hobbs made it clear she would work with the Legislature to enact groundwater policy. Sadly, she reneged on this commitment. I sent a letter this week to the Arizona Dept. of Water Resources urging the immediate withdrawal of her Administration’s proposal for an Active Management Area designation for the Gila Bend Groundwater Basin. Circumventing the Legislature sets a dangerous and undemocratic precedent in which our citizens did not approve of.”
The southwest Valley lawmaker added, “For months, I’ve committed time to researching and developing a tool that empowers rural Arizonans to manage, measure, conserve, and protect the groundwater within their communities for the benefit of their citizens and their local economies. Although still a work in progress, SB 1221 reflects the input of the actual water users whose voices were diminished within the Governor’s Water Policy Council. Her executive action promises to have detrimental impacts on rural Arizonans.”
When Senator Kerr introduced her bill, she compared her legislation to the “alternative proposals that would hand over the fate of local basins to the Executive Branch located hundreds of miles away, and under appointments all made from Phoenix.” Kerr was previously a member of Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ Water Policy Council, which was created last year “to analyze and recommend updates, revisions and additions to the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act (GMA) and related water legislation, which shall include without limitation, analysis and recommendations for groundwater management outside current Active Management Areas.” Hobbs referred to this council as “bipartisan,” though Senator Kerr, resigned from her post in October, alleging that the Council was “nothing more than a forum to rubberstamp the progressive environmental goals of special interest groups,” and that “this community (of Arizona citizens and stakeholders) is not being provided with fair representation at the table.”
Along with Kerr, the Arizona Farm Bureau also announced its withdrawal from the Council that month, opining, “…the outcome of the greater Council appears to be pre-determined as essentially a cross between the seriously flawed attempts of the past and an AMA (Active Management Areas).”
At the end of November 2023, the Governor’s Water Policy Council reported back with its recommendations. Those included “a launch point and guidance for drafting new rules for an Alternative Designation of Assured Water Supply (ADAWS) program,” as well as “a foundational framework to craft legislation for creating a new groundwater management program for rural Arizona.”
In Hobbs’ second State of the State address this past January, she took time to discuss the importance of water for Arizona and her past and future work on this front. Hobbs said, “Let us remember that water and drought do not care about party registration or job titles or whether you live in an urban or rural community. We can only protect our water supply by working together. I stand ready to work with you to pass legislation that makes the changes we need today – all to safeguard Arizona’s water for tomorrow. And those who have spent years refusing to act: if you don’t, I will.”
That last line earned the Democrat governor an ovation from her allies in the Arizona House chamber, yet a warning of legal repercussions from two powerful lawmakers who were listening to her words.
Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope responded, “Yeah, I don’t think she has that type of authority to act alone but she seems willing to bend the State Constitution to her will pretty often so I’m sure she’ll try and I’m sure we’ll see her in court.”
Shope’s colleague, Senate President Warren Petersen, added on to the comment, writing, “Kind of like when she broke the law by appointing 13 fake directors?”
SB 1221 will now be considered by the Arizona House of Representatives.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 11, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
An Arizona lawmaker is taking action to protect women across the state.
This week, Senator Sine Kerr introduced SB 1628, the Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights, which would “bring clarity and uniformity to state laws governing sex discrimination and equality of the sexes.”
The bill would define “sex” as a “person’s biological sex, either male or female, for all purposes of state law.” The proposal would also “preserve single-sex spaces to ensure girls’ and women’s safety and privacy in those spaces, while not changing current law or creating new restrictions on anyone’s legal rights.”
In a statement that accompanied the announcement, Senator Kerr said, “Laws should be based in objective reality and uniform for all Arizonans. Men and boys have been encroaching on girls’ and women’s private spaces, like locker rooms and showers, as well as sports teams, robbing women from athletic opportunities and putting them in danger as they face physically stronger males in competition. SB 1628 supports women and girls in their rights to privacy, fairness, and safety on the playing field.”
Kerr hosted a press conference at the Arizona Capitol to highlight her efforts. Paula Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer and current Independent Women’s Voice Ambassador, was at the event to support Kerr’s legislation. During her time in collegiate athletics, Scanlan “was forced to share a locker room and compete with a trans-identifying male swimmer.”
Scanlan also released a statement to endorse the Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights, writing, “I am happy to support the introduction of the Women’s Bill of Rights in Arizona. With more than 3.5 million women living in the state, this bill would have an incredible impact in providing scientifically-sound protections for women and their personal spaces. Having experienced firsthand the injustices of inviting males into women’s private areas and allowing them to steal athletic accolades from young ladies dedicating their lives to their chosen sports, I know the incredible importance of having legislation that stops these reckless new norms.”
Joining Kerr as co-sponsors of the bill were Senators Bennett, Bolick, Borrelli, Carroll, Gowan, Kavanagh, Mesnard, Petersen, Shamp, and Shope.
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Arizona Center for Women’s Advancement, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Council of Jewish Women for Arizona, Stonewall Democrats of Arizona, and the Human Rights Campaign registered their opposition to the legislation.
SB 1628 has been assigned to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and is expected to be heard next week.
“Girls and women deserve to be safe in the places where they are most vulnerable, and we have seen far too many examples of girls and women physically injured, relegated to the bench, and bumped off the winner’s podium by males competing as females,” added Senator Kerr.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 30, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
More schisms have appeared between the state’s Democrat Chief Executive and Republican legislative leadership.
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Whip Sine Kerr, the Chair of the chamber’s Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water, announced her resignation from the Governor’s Water Council. Senator Kerr sent a letter to Governor Hobbs, which outlined the rationale behind her thinking.
In a subsequent statement, Kerr explained her reasoning for the decision, writing, “The Governor’s Water Policy Council is nothing more than a forum to rubberstamp the progressive environmental goals of special interest groups. Its ultimate objective has nothing to do with serving the best interests of our Arizona citizens and stakeholders who will be greatly impacted by any newly adopted groundwater management policy. The radical agenda being pushed has the potential to damage our economy and kill the livelihoods of our farmers and ranchers. Sadly, this community is not being provided with fair representation at the table.”
Kerr vowed to keep up her efforts to effect legislative change over the state’s water policies in spite of her perceptions of Hobbs’ current track with those endeavors. She said, “I’m incredibly disappointed in the Governor’s approach that seeks to alienate the voices of Arizona’s multi-generational land and water stewards. This extreme departure from Arizona’s historical, collaborative approach to water management favors her own political gains over sound policymaking. Had her approach been taken over the last forty years, we would not have the tools we have today under the Groundwater Management Act, or the major victories for water augmentation, conservation, reuse, recharge, and irrigation efficiency we have adopted at the Legislature in recent years. I plan to continue my work at the Legislature, in collaboration with the agriculture community, to adopt solutions on basin management issues that will benefit all Arizonans and help with continued efforts in security our water future.”
On January 9, Governor Hobbs created the Water Policy Council “to analyze and recommend updates, revisions and additions to the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act (GMA) and related water legislation, which shall include without limitation, analysis and recommendations for groundwater management outside current Active Management Areas.”
On May 4, Hobbs rolled out the members of the Council, saying, “I’m committed to passing water policies that meet this moment and tackle the challenges we face. I know that with our new Water Policy Council, we will develop the path forward and ensure our state’s natural resources are available for generations of Arizonans to come.”
The Republican Senator wasn’t the only member to leave the Council. The Arizona Farm Bureau, on October 13, also announced that it would be withdrawing from the Governor’s panel, citing a “disappointment in what has been the works of the Rural Groundwater Committee of the Council. Stefanie Smallhouse, the President of the Bureau said, “After months of deliberation, the committee’s direction, and thereby the outcome of the greater Council, appears to be pre-determined as essentially a cross between the seriously flawed attempts of the past and an AMA. At best, our priorities have been given very little committee consideration or, at worst, have been totally dismissed. This is unacceptable to our members, farm and ranch families who will undoubtedly be impacted directly and immediately by any rural groundwater regulatory framework.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 6, 2023 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s housing costs continue to climb at a concerning rate for minimum-wage workers.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently released its annual report, showing how much renters need to earn to afford a modest apartment in each state across the United States. Arizona checked in with the 12th highest housing wage among all 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
According to the report, Arizonans need to bring home $29.93 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental home. Individuals would need to work 86 hours each week at the state’s $13.85 minimum wage to hold onto that two-bedroom apartment – or 71 hours for a one-bedroom rental.
In comparison, Arizona’s neighbor to the west, California, has the highest housing wage in the country. California renters must make $42.25 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental home, and the state’s minimum wage workers ($15.50/hour) would need to toil for 109 hours each week to maintain their living arrangements.
Arkansas took the trophy for the State with the lowest housing wage around the union with a $16.27 per hour rate required to afford a two-bedroom rental home and only 59 hours of employment per week at minimum wage ($11.00/hour).
Arizona has 2,683,557 total households according to the report, and 917,899 of those households classified as renters (34% of households in the state). The percentage of renters in California is 45% of total households, while that number is 34% in Arkansas.
The report shows that the fair market rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Arizona is $1,287 and $1,556 for a 2-bedroom apartment. The median renter household income ($52,391) would support a monthly payment of $1,310 for an apartment.
Addressing the increasing housing costs for the state was a priority for Arizona legislators, though those efforts produced few results. Republican lawmakers were able to strike a deal with Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs during the final stretch of the extended session to prohibit the rental tax for Arizona tenants. Arizona Senate Republicans claimed that “approximately 70 municipalities within our state charge this tax,” and that “this tax can cost as much as $200 per month.”
Senate Majority Whip Sine Kerr applauded the signing of this bill, explaining how important the removal of rental taxes across the state would be for countless Arizonans. She stated, “Rental prices aren’t going down anytime soon, and Arizona tenants are agonizing over just how much more expensive it is now to rent an apartment or house than ever before. For Metro Phoenix, June of this year saw the second-highest monthly total of evictions since the 2008 Great Recession. According to Maricopa County records, landlords filed to evict nearly 7000 times last month. We needed to act promptly. This bill will provide some help, and I’m proud the Majority Caucus spearheaded this change in tax policy.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
