The Arizona House voted on Wednesday to repeal the state’s total abortion ban in a close 32-28 vote. The repeal is now in the Senate’s hands.
Three Republicans joined Democrats to eradicate Arizona’s abortion ban: Tim Dunn, Matt Gress, Justin Wilmeth. The repeal would mean that another existing law restricting abortions after 15 weeks goes into effect.
The historic abortion ban predates Arizona’s statehood and lasted up until the Supreme Court’s codification of abortion in 1973 through Roe v. Wade.
House Speaker Ben Toma, congressional candidate for District 8, said in a press release that the vote was rushed, a grave error that would allow for the slaughter of unborn children for up to 15 weeks.
“It would have been prudent and responsible to allow the courts to decide the constitutionality of the pre-Roe law,” said Toma. “I feel compelled to reiterate my personal view that this decision to repeal the abortion ban in Arizona effectively means that we are allowing the murder of unborn children up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.”
Toma chided Democrats for a lack of decorum on the House floor, citing outbursts and personal attacks. The speaker also warned that the opposing party would continue to push for a wider window for abortions, all the way up to birth — effectively, infanticide.
“Democrats are pushing radicalism and will not relent until Arizona recognizes abortion on demand and abortion through 9 months of pregnancy,” said Toma.
🚨Statement from Arizona House Speaker @RepBenToma on today’s vote on HB 2677:
“I fervently disagree with my Democrat colleagues who advocate for extremism through unlimited, unrestricted, and unregulated abortions. Abortions are not healthcare. Abortion kills life. Abortion… pic.twitter.com/X7QsmWulzK
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) April 24, 2024
One of the three Republicans to join Democrats to repeal the abortion ban, Dunn, defended his vote in a press release insisting that he is pro-life, but that abortions should still be allowed in cases of rape and incest — situations for which the historic abortion ban didn’t grant exceptions. Dunn said his decision was the “most pro-life vote” possible.
“Should the pre-Roe law remain in effect, I firmly believe more lives will be lost over time. The public backlash would result in codifying disturbing and unlimited abortions in the Arizona Constitution, which is something that I cannot allow to happen,” said Dunn.
I hope you will join me in encouraging a culture of life, one that supports mothers, children, families and always stands for the unborn. pic.twitter.com/C6E6916vl5
Gress also issued a press release claiming he is pro-life. However, Gress didn’t go into details about how the abortion ban went too far. Rather, Gress lumped those supportive of total abortion bans and those supportive of unfettered abortion together as extremists.
“As someone who is both pro-life and the product of strong women in my life, I refuse to buy into the false notion pushed by the extremes on both sides of this issue that we cannot respect and protect women and defend new life at the same time,” said Gress.
Democratic lawmakers celebrated the vote. The author of the bill repealing the historic abortion ban, House Bill 2677, was Democratic Representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton.
The House narrowly rejected a motion to transmit the bill immediately to Governor Katie Hobbs, 30-30, should the Senate have returned the bill unamended. Gress was the sole Republican who joined his Democratic colleagues in voting for that motion.
Hobbs praised the abortion ban repeal, calling the law “archaic” and a threat to women’s lives. As Toma predicted, Hobbs indicated that the securing of abortions up to 15 weeks was only the beginning.
“I will do everything I can to stop harmful legislation that strips women’s control of their bodies. But there is much more to do,” said Hobbs. “I encourage each Arizonan to continue to speak out and fight for your reproductive freedoms.”
I’m thrilled the House has finally decided to do the right thing and repeal the archaic 1864 near-total abortion ban, which would have jailed doctors & threatened women’s lives.
It’s time for the Senate to follow suit and send the repeal to my desk. Immediately.
A bill to improve health care in Arizona is on its way to the Governor’s Office.
On Thursday, the Arizona House of Representatives passed HB 2764, which would “require the Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services to establish rules for a licensure subclass for assisted living facilities wishing to provide memory care services” – according to the overview from the chamber. The bill was sponsored by State Representative Tim Dunn.
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ Arizona Legislature Passes Representative @TimDunn_AZ's #HB2764 to Enhance Memory Care Services
“The memory care patient population continues to rise in Arizona, and our state needs to be a leader in providing high-quality services. HB 2764 ensures that… pic.twitter.com/nRP1I0OZz9
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) April 4, 2024
“The memory care patient population continues to rise in Arizona, and our state needs to be a leader in providing high-quality services,” said Representative Dunn. “HB 2764 ensures that individuals with memory care needs receive the highest standard of compassionate and competent care. It establishes training requirements for memory care services and, importantly, will help cut down on bad actors in the industry. I look forward to Governor Hobbs signing the bill so we can implement these necessary reforms and improvements and raise the standard of care and protection that our most vulnerable citizens deserve.”
In February, the proposal passed the House with a 49-10 vote (with one vacant seat). On Wednesday, the Senate passed an amended version of the bill with a 18-7 vote (with five members not voting). After the legislation was transmitted back for concurrence, the House approved the final piece with a 59-0 vote (with one member not voting).
According to the press release from the Arizona House of Representatives, the bill included the following key provisions:
The establishment of minimum memory care services training standards for staff and contractors, ensuring they are well-equipped to provide specialized care to residents with dementia and other memory-related conditions.
The creation of the Vulnerable Adult System Study Committee to evaluate and recommend improvements in care.
An increase in civil penalties for non-compliance with health care statutes.
Prohibits bad actor facilities from hiding or erasing violation history.
Requires employers to ensure staff isn’t on the Adult Protective Services registry which lists persons who have abused or neglected a vulnerable adult.
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona, Alzheimer’s Association Desert Southwest Chapter, Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona Public Health Association, Arizona Hospital & Healthcare Association, Health System Alliance of Arizona, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona Department of Economic Security, Vitalyst Health Foundation, Arizona Chronic Care Together, and Right Care Foundation, Inc., indicated their support for the bill. Representatives from the Arizona Assisted Living Federation of America, Arizona Assisted Living Homes Association, Arizona Health Care Association, and LeadingAge Association signed in as neutral on the proposal.
The Arizona House Democrats’ Caucus “X” account shared a picture of former State Representative Jennifer Longdon in the chamber to watch the bill receive its final stamp of approval. The account added that “this reform to standards and requirements for licensing health care institutions was borne out of the Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse and Neglect of Vulnerable Adults [that Dunn and Longdon] both shared,” and “that committee was formed after the Hacienda Healthcare abuse scandal of 2019.”
Former Representative @JenLongdon returned to the chamber to witness the passage of HB 2764, along with GOP sponsor Tim Dunn. This reform to standards and requirements for licensing health care institutions was borne out of the Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse and Neglect of Vulnerable… pic.twitter.com/TBwUlvpgR8
— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) April 4, 2024
HB 2764 now awaits action from Governor Katie Hobbs.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
State Rep. Alex Kolodin (R-LD03) is urging the Arizona Senate to do away with a bill allowing the export of the Valley’s emergency water reserve.
The bill, HB2201 sponsored by State Rep. Tim Dunn (R-LD25), passed the House with bipartisan support, 33-23, on Monday. Kolodin said that such a measure would inevitably raise utility bills.
“HB2201 allows part of Scottsdale’s emergency water supply to be transferred to out-of-county users, raising our utility bills,” said Kolodin. “I voted no. Needs to die in the Senate!”
HB2201 allows part of Scottsdale's emergency water supply to be transfered to out of county users, raising our utility bills. I voted no. Needs to die in the Senate! pic.twitter.com/29I46oHCsA
Kolodin told AZ Free News that HB2201 will serve as a detriment to suburban ratepayers and force cities to compete for the dwindling supply.
HB2201 enables the interbasin transport of cities’ emergency groundwater supply from within the Harquahala Irrigation Non-expansion Area (INA) to any location within La Paz County. Dunn explained during last month’s hearing on the matter in the Natural Resources, Energy, & Water Committee that the bill would allow La Paz County to grow their existing water resources.
The Harquahala INA covers approximately 766 square miles within La Paz and Maricopa counties in the west-central portion of the state. Currently, Harquahala INA water supply may only be withdrawn and transported by the state and political subdivisions to the following initial Active Management Areas (AMAs): Phoenix, Tucson, Santa Cruz, Pinal, and Prescott.
AMAs rely heavily on mined groundwater and therefore come with higher levels of management than INAs. INAs regulate wells in rural farming areas where groundwater overdraft — the removal of too much water — is less severe. There are two other INAs in the state: Hualapai Valley and Joseph City.
These distinctions are outlined by Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act (GMA), passed over 40 years ago, which restricts interbasin water transportation for the state’s 51 groundwater basins in order to ensure AMAs maintain a 100-year water supply, also known as an assured water supply.
Healthy interbasin water transport hinges on a concept known as safe-yield: ensuring a safe balance between groundwater withdrawals and the natural and artificial recharging of water to AMA aquifers. Overdrafting can damage aquifer structure and limit future water storing capacity, increase the costs of drilling and pumping, and reduce the water quality.
Harquahala INA is considered an emergency savings account of sorts for water, saved in the event of prolonged drought: no groundwater has been transported out of the basin since 1990, according to the latest report from the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), the authority on water management. Yet, ADWR also reported that in almost all years from 2004-2022, the Harquahala INA had more water leaving the basin than entering mainly due to agriculture, which have made up 98 percent of the INA’s demand.
ADWR projected that annual supply would be insufficient for annual demand under any projected scenario over the next 50 years.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona Women of Action are urging the state legislature to pass a bill preventing children from accessing pornography.
“This non partisan bill needs SUPPORT,” the activist group said on Twitter. “It would effectively protect AZ kids from accessing pornography. Age verification is a must!”
🚨 Use Your Voice to PROTECT ARIZONA KIDS 🚨
This non partisan bill needs SUPPORT. It would effectively protect AZ kids from accessing pornography. Age verification is a must!
Sponsored by Republican state representatives Tim Dunn and Ben Toma, House Bill 2586 adds a new section to a statute regulating the “publishing and distribution of material harmful to minors on the internet.”
The bill subjects commercial entities to civil liabilities for damages if they knowingly publish or distribute material harmful to minors on the internet on a website without age verification.
The legislation “Specifies that a commercial entity that fails to perform the age verification method described above is liable to an individual for the damages that result from a minor accessing the material harmful to minors, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees.”
If the bill passes, Arizona would be the tenth U.S. state to pass legislation requiring some form of age-verification for access to certain materials on the internet.
The other nine states include Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
The Protect Arizona Children Coalition also voiced its support for the bill.
“We can’t believe this needs to be said…Pornography isn’t for kids,” the PACC tweeted, asking citizens to voice their support for the bill at its hearing on Jan. 31.
We can’t believe this needs to be said…
Pornography isn’t for kids.
Please voice your support for this common sense bill, HB 2586-Harmful Website Content Age Verification, drafted by Rep Tim Dunn on RTS being heard Wednesday, Jan 31st at 9 am.
A water-related measure is clearing its final hurdles in the Arizona Legislature.
On Monday, the Arizona Senate passed HB 2022, sponsored by Representative Tim Dunn, which deals with reports on water fees and levees.
HB 2022 is “an emergency measure that extends the date, from July 1 to August 15, for the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to annually provide a report of the ADWR’s operations to the Governor and the Legislature.” The bill also “outlines ADWR fee maximums for applications,” and it “requires the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) to distribute monies to Navajo County for the Little Colorado River Levee budget line item.”
The proposal cleared the Senate with a 28-0 vote (with two members not voting) and was transmitted to the House for concurrence. Earlier in the session, the House approved of the bill by a 58-2 tally.
In the Senate’s Committee of the Whole session this week, Senator Sine Kerr amended the bill, which earned applause by Democrat Senator Priya Sundareshan, who highlighted the efforts to reduce ADWR application fees and exempt ADWR from rulemaking requirements. Senator Sundareshan stated, “We need to support better groundwater management and help our rural areas.”
When HB 2022 was considered before the Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, Ben Alteneder, the Legislative Liaison for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, briefly testified before the members, informing the panel that ADWR was neutral on the bill and had no issues with it. In February, a representative for the Western Growers Association signaled support for the legislation.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
