by Matthew Holloway | Feb 16, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona legislature has passed the combined SB 1011 / HB 2703, sending the bill to the Governor’s desk. SB 1011 and HB 2703 would streamline the state’s election day processes to dramatically speed up election results and bring frustrated voters same-day returns.
To achieve the desired result of a speedier and more precise election outcome, the bills cut off all ballot drop-offs at collection locations to the Friday prior to election day and require voters in Arizona’s most populous counties to confirm their address every election cycle to receive a ballot by mail. For more sparsely populated counties, this would be every four years.
Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, celebrated the passage of the bill saying, “After one too many Election Nights (and weeks) of delayed results, Arizona legislators have done the right thing, crafting a bill that gives our state same-day results.”
He added, “Voters are exhausted of watching this slow-motion train wreck every November. Other states have same-day election results, and it is high time that Arizona enters the 21st Century in this regard. We call on Governor Katie Hobbs to sign this carefully crafted and negotiated bill into law.”
Following the passage of the bill in the State Senate, President Warren Petersen told Fox10, “After the election, we heard from our constituents who were extremely frustrated after waiting days and days to find out who won the election. The first bill to hit the Governor’s desk is a bill that will give us election results the night of the election.”
In a post to X, the AZGOP hailed the passage of the bill and demanded that Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs sign the bill writing, “GREAT NEWS FOR ARIZONA! Both the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate have passed the bill that would give our voters SAME-DAY results in future elections. This is what the people of Arizona have asked for, and our legislators have delivered. Now, it’s up to @GovernorHobbs to listen to the voices of Arizonans who are tired of waiting days and days for the results of critical election races. Governor, leave your partisan politics outside your office and SIGN THE BILL!”
On Friday, the party account posted morning, afternoon and evening calling upon Hobbs to sign the bill and “Give Arizona same-day election results!”
As reported by Fox, Hobbs has voiced serious opposition to the bill, arguing that it makes it harder to vote by cutting off early drop-off and effectively shuttering the state’s Active Early Voting List. “Legislators are attempting to jam through a partisan bill that guts vote by mail and makes it harder to vote,” she claimed. “I offered common sense compromises to count votes faster, and they were rejected. I refuse to let extremists make it harder for Arizonans to vote.”
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 | Feb 9, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
One of Arizona’s most powerful lawmakers was in Washington, D.C., this week to attend a significant event at the White House.
On Wednesday, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen attended an event at the White House, where President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to keep men out of women’s sports.
The executive order stated that, “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
President Trump’s order went on to mandate that, “It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
Petersen has been instrumental in leading legal efforts to defend Arizona’s Save Women’s Sports Act in 2022. After a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled to sustain an injunction against this law, Petersen and other Arizona officials appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States to request a hearing at the nation’s high court. The state is still awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to accept cert on the case.
In a statement previewing his appearance at the White House, Petersen said, “The war against women and girls is now taking a dramatic turn for the better, and sanity is being reinstated. This is exactly the common sense that Arizona and America voted for. Thanks to President Trump, American girls can once again pursue their dreams. No longer will athletic titles be stolen from them by males. An overwhelming 70% of Americans agree on this issue, which is a key reason why approval ratings of Democrat elected officials are at an all time low.”
Petersen added, “I’m proud to join President Trump today in Washington D.C. for this historic moment. He is going to make girls’ sports great again, and I know that he will never stop fighting for us.”
According to a recent poll from Gallup, 69 percent of Americans believe that transgender athletes “should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth gender.” This number was a seven percent increase in public perception over two years.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 7, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A powerful Arizona legislator is continuing to shine the light on the governor’s reported shenanigans with the state’s finances.
Earlier this week, Arizona State Senator T.J. Shope introduced SB 1612 “to hold the Executive Branch accountable and prevent any future conflicts of interest from arising within the state procurement process” by “remov[ing] an exemption allowing the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) to create their own procurement code.” The bill would also “prohibit an agency and state employees from destroying notes and documents created during a request for proposal (RFP) [and] require anyone responding to a state issued RFP or applying for a state administered grant to disclose any donations made to the Governor and campaign affiliates.”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen is a cosponsor of the legislation.
The need for this bill, according to Shope’s press release, became heightened after “an administrative law judge concluded AHCCCS improperly awarded contracts for healthcare services for 26,000 elderly and physically disabled individuals enrolled in the Arizona Long Term Care System…based on several factors, including violations of statutes and rules by AHCCCS, prejudice, a lack of transparency, contract awards based on best interests of the agency and not the state, an arbitrary and flawed ranking system of bid proposals, as well as deceptive criteria provided by AHCCS to health care companies on the evaluations of their bid proposals.”
In a statement accompanying the announcement of his bill, Senator Shope said, “The Hobbs Administration has a track record of engaging in questionable and unethical practices where favoritism is given, using taxpayer dollars, to those who are close to or have provided benefits to the Governor, her cabinet, and her allies. This legislation should help address these scandals and prevent future unfair advantages from being provided. Arizonans expect their elected officials to make decisions based on what’s best for the state and its citizens; not what’s best for their own personal agendas and political bank accounts.”
Last year, The Arizona Republic broke a story about the Arizona Department of Child Safety “approv[ing] what amounts to a nearly 60% increase in the rate that Sunshine Residential Homes Inc. charges to care for a child for a day.” The alleged action to approve the rate increase for the one organization was made while “DCS has denied pay increases to home operators and cut loose 16 providers during the contract renewal process.” The Republic also asserted that “no other standard group home provider was approved for any rate increase during Hobbs’ tenure.”
After the story ran in the Republic, Shope sent a letter on June 5 to both Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, asking both officials to “examine the facts surrounding the Department of Child Safety’s alleged decision to approve a nearly 60% rate increase for Sunshine Residential Homes and determine if conduct by any of the involved parties warrants a criminal or civil investigation.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 5, 2025 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A bill to keep unwelcome tax increases away from unsuspecting Arizona taxpayers cleared its first body of the state legislature.
On Monday, the Arizona Senate passed SB 1013 with a 17-12 vote. One Democrat member of the chamber, Senator Burch, did not vote. All Senate Republicans voted to approve the legislation, while all Democrats in attendance voted in opposition.
If passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed into law, the bill would “prohibit the common council of a municipality or the board of supervisors of a county from increasing an assessment, tax or fee without a two-thirds vote of the governing body.”
In a statement accompanying the news of the Senate vote, President Warren Petersen, the sponsor of the bill, said, “I’ve received a number of concerns and complaints from Arizonans who are frustrated with recent hikes on taxes and fees, especially in this era of inflation. We want government to be more efficient with taxpayer dollars, and this is a step in the right direction. This commonsense taxpayer protection requires the same threshold from local governments as the Legislature when raising or imposing fees. We want to make sure government fully funds its obligations, but we also want to protect our citizens from unnecessary taxation.”
Last month, the proposal cleared the Senate Government Committee with a 4-3 vote. All Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while all Democrats registered votes in opposition in committee.
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona, Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research, Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Arizona Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business, Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona, and Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, signed in to support the bill. Representatives from the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, City of Casa Grande, Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter, City of Bisbee, Coconino County, the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, League of Arizona Cities and Towns, City of Tucson, signed in to oppose the legislation.
SB 1013 now makes its way to the Arizona House of Representatives for consideration. If passed by the state House, it would then make its way to the Governor’s Office for its fate. Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, would likely veto the bill.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 3, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen has formally announced his interest in running for State Attorney General and ousting Democrat incumbent AG Kris Mayes in 2026.
Petersen filed his statement of interest with the State of Arizona on last week, and the effort to gather signatures for his nomination has begun according to reporting from KJZZ. Petersen, who has been consistently critical of Mayes’ performance as AG, has regularly opposed her in litigation in his capacity as Senate President, supporting legislation challenged by the AG on largely political grounds.
He has also stepped in to defend state laws that Mayes has refused to defend in good faith, a core tenet of her role as Attorney General, and described her as an “activist.”
“We have been defending laws she has not. Not only have we done our job but hers as well,” Petersen told KJZZ via text.
In a statement reported by AZCentral, Petersen said, “Voters have delivered a message: they want legislators and top law enforcement officials to secure the border and make our neighborhoods safer. They want someone who will abide by and enforce our laws. Unfortunately, we have an activist Attorney General who has blatantly failed to enforce our laws.”
In an op-ed published by AZ Free News in December, Attorney Steve Twist and Phoenix radio host & Claremont Institute Senior Fellow Seth Leibsohn offered a fulsome endorsement of Petersen writing, “Whether as Judiciary Chairman, or now as Senate President; time and time again, he has demonstrated the ability, courage, and leadership to put Arizona first and fight for its interests, whether at the legislature, or in the courts. In many ways, for the last two years, Petersen has been the moral voice for justice in our legal affairs. Now is the right time for him to run to become the actual Attorney General.”
In a post to X announcing his intent to run, Petersen wrote, “Incredible endorsement from respected lawyer and former Assistant Attorney General Steve Twist and conservative radio show host Seth Leibsohn. At their behest and that of many in the legal community I have taken the first step to run for AG. Yesterday I filed a statement of interest.”
According to AZCentral, former Democrat and 2022 GOP Primary candidate Rodney Glassman has also filed a statement of interest for the 2026 race, and Duwayne Collier of the Green Party has as well.
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.
