Arizona legislative Republicans are again standing with state attorneys general over an issue of national importance.
This week, both the Arizona State House and Senate Republican Caucuses announced that Speaker Ben Toma and President Warren Petersen had joined a letter to President Joe Biden, “urging (the administration) to either enforce our immigration laws and protect our southern border or get out of the way so Texas can.”
🚨 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Arizona Senate Republicans Stand in Solidarity with Texas' Efforts to Defend Itself Against Biden's Border Invasion@votewarren@ShawnnaLMBolick@AZSenatorShamp ⬇️⬇️⬇️
The letter to the White House follows an escalating disagreement between Texas state officials and the Biden Administration over enforcement of laws and allocation of resources pertaining to illegal immigration into that state. Both sides are looking to the Supreme Court of the United States to adjudicate this politically volatile dispute.
“Arizona is overwhelmed from the same dangers brought on by this invasion as Texas. Biden is literally dismantling our nation as we know it, allowing known terrorists and criminals to enter through our southern border with no consequences,” said President Petersen. “Since our Attorney General is not pushing back against the lawlessness Biden is promoting by working to destroy the border barriers Governor Abbott has built, the Legislature must speak out and stand in solidarity to support our neighbors.”
“Texas has every right to defend itself from the unprecedented flow of illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and countless threats at our southern border because of President Biden’s willful refusal to protect this nation,” said Speaker Ben Toma. “I stand with Governor Abbott and call on Governor Hobbs to follow his lead and invoke Arizona’s constitutional right to defend itself.”
“Texas has every right to defend itself from the unprecedented flow of illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and countless threats at our southern… pic.twitter.com/NP13xTfWzg
The letter that Petersen and Toma co-signed was led by the States of Iowa and Utah and joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In their letter, the attorneys general and legislators write, “The federal government should be working to stop this crisis, but it is not. And the Constitution’s Guarantee Clause requires that the federal government do so. It must ‘protect each [State] against invasion.’ But it has abandoned its duty. Nothing in the Constitution stops Texas from stepping up and doing its part to protect itself, and in so doing also protecting States across the country. To those that contend this power belongs only in Congress, they should take that up with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who stands with Texas. By following the Constitution, Texas is doing what the federal government has failed to do.”
Over the past few months, the two Republican legislative leaders have signaled a more aggressive shift in taking the reins from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to defend the law and Constitution. Attorneys general are not usually joined by outside parties on their amicus briefs or letters, yet multiple coalitions of Republican state prosecutors have included Petersen and Toma on several major filings. In previews for the 2024 legislative session, both the House and Senate Majority Caucuses indicated more of these efforts are to be expected throughout this year.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona’s top two legislative Republicans are standing for the Second Amendment.
Last week, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma joined a public comment letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on its newly proposed rule, Definition of “Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms.”
Petersen and Toma signed on to a letter, which was led by the States of Kansas, Iowa, and Montana – and co-signed by 22 attorneys general of other states. Those States were Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In a statement to AZ Free News, Petersen explained the importance of his signature on this letter, saying, “This is a radical and dangerous proposed rule. You shouldn’t need to be licensed as a firearms dealer to sell a gun to family and friends. In the absence of our Arizona Attorney General defending our citizens’ constitutional rights, I believe it’s imperative state lawmakers push back against this bureaucratic infringement on lawful gun ownership.”
Toma also told AZ Free News, “I am thankful and appreciative for the opportunity to sign on to the letter. Arizona Attorney General Mayes has not expressed any interest in safeguarding Arizonans’ gun rights protected by the Second Amendment. So I felt that it was my duty as the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives to speak up for all Arizonans against the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional proposed rule.”
According to the agency, the U.S. Attorney General “signed ATF’s notice of proposed rulemaking, which proposes to amend ATF’s regulations to implement the provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), enacted on June 25, 2022.” Specifically, the proposed regulation would “incorporate the BSCA’s definition ‘predominantly earn a profit,’ creating a stand-alone definition of ‘terrorism,’ and amending the definitions of ‘principal objective of livelihood and profit’ and ‘engaged in the business’ to ensure each conforms with the BSCA’s statutory changes and can be relied on by the public.”
The Arizona legislators concurred with the arguments that the proposed rule “violates the Second Amendment, is arbitrary and capricious, and is bad public policy.” The signatories wrote in their comment letter that “this overreach is both shocking and unconstitutional. Although longstanding regulations of large commercial enterprises that sell firearms might be consistent with the Second Amendment, that is not what this proposed rule does. This proposed rule seeks to require a license of every individual who sells a firearm for anything the Bureau sees as a profit to include currency, exchange of another firearm, or a service.”
They added, “If the Bureau was serious about combatting violent crime, it would focus on enforcing the laws that are already on the books to hold violent criminals accountable for their actions. That would be the type of work that could save lives. Unfortunately, the Bureau has instead targeted innocent people who sell firearms. That is not only unlawful but wrong and the Bureau must change course.”
On March 14, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order, directing members of his cabinet – the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to “submit a report to the President within 60 days…describing what actions their respective agencies have taken to implement the Act, data, and analysis regarding the use and early effects of the Act, and additional steps their respective agencies will take to maximize the benefits of the Act.” On May 14, President Biden announced “13 actions his cabinet has taken or will take to maximize the benefits of the legislation, including new steps to keep guns out of dangerous hands, ensure BSCA’s mental health funding helps those dealing with the grief and trauma resulting from gun violence, make our schools safer, and expand community violence interventions.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Legislative Republicans continue to search for avenues to reach an accord with the Governor’s Office on the new fiscal year budget, and on Tuesday, the leaders of the House and Senate took a new approach to bring Arizona’s chief executive to the negotiating table.
House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen sent a joint letter to Governor Hobbs, requesting a meeting with the Ninth Floor over the stalled budget negotiations. After receiving the Governor’s budget proposal in January, both the House and Senate passed a budget that was then vetoed by Hobbs.
Toma and Petersen’s letter references the vetoed budget and the Governor’s actions to bring Arizona dangerously close to a shutdown: “The Legislative Budget you vetoed on February 16th represented shared, ongoing funding priorities. That budget would have prevented a government shutdown, while leaving the available one-time funds untouched for executive and legislative negotiation of priorities. Our budget was the responsible approach to governing in a time of economic uncertainty.”
The legislative generals struck a balanced and reasonable approach in their letter to Governor Hobbs, highlighting an alleged unwillingness to negotiate by her office: “In our first and only meeting to discuss the budget, your office stated it was unwilling to receive feedback or take questions. Obviously, we need some level of agreement to pass a budget. We believe we can achieve most of our priorities and include yours that are reasonable. For example, we have several members who support additional funding for School Facilities Building renewal, the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), and transportation projects.”
Tuesday’s letter is the latest salvo in a continuing saga between the two sides on the budget negotiations. Both parties remain far apart on key details needed to forge an agreement before the June 30th deadline.
Daniel Scarpinato, one of former Governor Doug Ducey’s Chiefs of Staff, responded to the allegations of Hobbs’ refusal to negotiate with Republican legislators: “I cannot imagine inviting legislators up to the 9th floor and refusing to take questions. We always took questions from Republicans, Democrats and the media. They didn’t always like the answers – but I just can’t imagine saying something like this to elected leaders.”
I cannot image inviting legislators up to the 9th floor and refusing to take questions. We always took questions from Republicans, Democrats and the media. They didn’t always like the answers — but I just can’t imagine saying something like this to elected leaders. https://t.co/CBSm2osqRB
In a press conference shortly after the receipt of the letter, Governor Hobbs was asked about the request for enhanced negotiations and what her response would be to President Petersen and Speaker Toma. The governor inferred that her office had, in fact, reached out to legislative leadership after her veto of the budget, saying that she saw the letter “as a response to (her office) reaching out,” and that she was “encouraged that we can move forward on a process of negotiating a budget that we can all agree on.”
Hobbs’ characterization of her office reaching out to Republicans in the state legislature appears to correspond with a line in Petersen and Toma’s letter that outlines “a request from (Hobbs’) office to discuss priorities and identify differences to avoid a government shutdown.” However, as the letter highlights, this request came one day after Hobbs “created and committed funding to her ‘Flip the Leg Fund,’” which took place on the heels of unanswered legislative questions about her controversial Inaugural Fund. This announcement from Hobbs’ political operation left Republicans in no mood to work with a governor who is simultaneously financing election challenges to vulnerable legislators at the state capitol.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A new bipartisan committee has been established by Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma to help the state cultivate its international trade opportunities.
On Feb. 16, Toma announced formation of the House Committee on International Trade, which will focus on growing Arizona’s international trade presence and stature, build relationships with international partners, enhance trade and foreign investment, and strengthen border security.
“Our state has tremendous opportunity to grow our trade footprint with international partners, and that is the intention behind this new committee,” Toma said, adding that trade “fuels our state’s economic growth, generating business and job opportunities – all which is also critical for the prosperity of Arizona families.”
The Committee on International Trade members appointed by Toma are Rep. David Cook and Rep. Justin Wilmeth as chair and co-chair, respectively, along with House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci, Minority Whip Melody Hernandez, and Reps. Tim Dunn, Mariana Sandoval, and Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton.
“We’re eager to work on building Arizona’s economy while strengthening our international relations,” Hernandez said after the announcement.
According to Toma, the Committee will be responsible for organizing visits to Arizona by international dignitaries, as well as identify and work with outside organizations to strengthen Arizona’s international trade relationships. The members are also expected to hold various hearings related to foreign trade, international affairs, and border security.
Thrilled to be a part of this new committee! I’ve enjoyed promoting Arizona on an international stage, most notably leading the way on the establishment of trade offices in Germany and Asia. Arizona is a worldwide star and we need to keep the momentum going! https://t.co/SBLfLSgRwD
Senate Bill 1783, legislation that further reduces and streamlines taxes, was signed by Governor Doug Ducey on Friday. Sen. JD Mesnard and Rep. Ben Toma led the fight for the bill in order to protect small businesses from the threat of a 77 percent tax increase.
“This tax cut will keep Arizona competitive for small businesses already operating here and new businesses flocking here every day,” Ducey said in a press release. “After a year as tough as the last, we should not be raising taxes on our small businesses — we should be cutting their taxes. That’s exactly what Senate Bill 1783 does. Arizona has now passed the largest tax cut in state history and will have the lowest flat tax in the country. My thanks go out to Senator J.D. Mesnard and Representative Ben Toma for their leadership on this issue.”
Senate Bill 1783 establishes a new and lower alternative small business income tax structure. Under the plan, “small business income” is defined as interest, dividends, profits and certain capital gains.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and integral to the future success of our state,” Mesnard said. “Small businesses should be able to grow and reinvest in themselves without being forced to pay astronomical taxes. Rather, government should get out of the way so that they can thrive. That’s why I’m so grateful for the support of Governor Ducey and my colleagues in the Legislature.”
This tax relief will ensure small businesses continue to choose Arizona to start, expand or relocate operations. Small businesses are a core component of our state’s economy, making up more than 99 percent of Arizona’s businesses and employing more than one million people. Because of the structure of the 3.5 percent surcharge on individual income tax under Proposition 208, small businesses will not be subject to this crippling tax hike.
“It’s a no-brainer to have a separate tax structure for small businesses,” said Toma. “It should be our goal as public servants to make filing taxes easier for Arizonans. This session has been a massive win for Arizona taxpayers. Thank you to the governor and the many who supported this bill.”
The bill allows taxpayers to exclude small business income from their total individual income. Instead, small business income will be subject to an alternate small business income tax. A flat tax on small business income will phase in over time:
3.5 percent in 2021
3.0 percent in 2022
2.8 percent in 2023 and 2024
2.5 percent in and after 2025
Governor Ducey signed this year’s budget on June 30, which fulfills his commitment to ensuring working families, small businesses, veterans and all Arizona taxpayers get to keep more of their hard-earned money.
The budget implements the largest tax cut in state history. Arizona taxpayers will see a 2.5 percent flat tax phased in over three years and subject to certain revenue thresholds being met beginning on January 1, 2022. The tax plan saves money for every Arizona taxpayer no matter their income, eliminates income taxes on veterans’ military pensions, and increases the optional charitable contribution deduction over time to 100 percent.
The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board published columns about the tax plan and the positive effects it will have on Arizona. Additionally, Governor Ducey, Senate President Karen Fann and House Speaker Rusty Bowers authored a joint op-ed about the historic tax reform in the Phoenix Business Journal.
