Week Six: Fifty-Fifth Legislature — Second Regular Session
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A Moment of Silence for Senator David Bradley
For more than a decade, Senator David Bradley was a constant, gentle presence in our lives. Earlier yesterday, he passed away with family by his side at the age of 69 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
“Senator Bradley led a life that embodied kindness and service. His devotion to helping mankind has made Arizona better,” said Senate Leader Rebecca Rios.
David was a United States Navy veteran, counselor and healthcare administrator, and dedicated public servant. To summarize David Bradley: he was devoted to helping children.
In honor of his legacy fighting for young people, a bi-partisan group of Senators introduced, SB1635, a bill to appropriate a Community Schools pilot program, an issue that was always important to former Senator David Bradley.
Today, the Governor ordered all state buildings to lower their flags to half-staff in honor. We send our condolences to his family and loved ones. Rest in power.
Story of the Week: Aggregate Expenditure Limit in Limbo
This week the House passed the Aggregate Expenditure Limit override. We thank public school teacher and ranking Democrat on the House Education committee, Rep. Jennifer Pawlik, who led our fight to ensure public schools won't close for the last quarter of the academic year.
We only have five more legislative days until March 1 for Senate Republicans to find the remaining six votes to override the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL), or public school districts will be forced to give back the $1.2 Billion that they have already budgeted the last 12 weeks of the school year.
We are asking the Governor to help us find the six remaining Senate Republicans who care about our State’s children to join with legislative Democrats to pass an override of the AEL and avoid catastrophic damage to our economy.
House Republicans who voted against the waiver:
Brenda Barton, Judy Burges, Neal Carter (represents a battleground district), Joseph Chaplik, Lupe Diaz, John Fillmore, Mark Finchem, Travis Grantham, Gail Griffin, Jake Hoffman, Quang Nguyen, Jacqueline Parker, Kevin Payne, and Beverly Pingerelli.
The Good
HB2750 – Rep. Andrés Cano sponsored a bill that allows former inmates who worked on forest fire and restoration crews to petition the court to expunge their record, passed out of House Judiciary.
HB2433 – Dr. Rep. Amish Shah sponsored a bill that allows easier access to HIV testing passed out of House Health and Human Services.
SB1279 – Senator Victoria Steele sponsored a bill that would remove hurtful and racist insults for Indigenous women from Arizona monuments, roads and more, passed out of Natural Resources, Energy, and Water.
HCM2002 – Rep. Andrea Dalessandro sponsored a resolution that urges Congress to restore the Cherrybell mailing center which serves more than 1.8 million people in Tucson, passed out of the House and heads to the Senate.
HCM2003 – Rep. Jennifer Jermaine sponsored a resolution that urges the Department of Interior to make Arizona a priority in their investigation of Indian boarding schools, passed out of the House and heads to the Senate.
HB2707 – Rep. Alma Hernández sponsored a bill that would require students to start their day with a moment of silence, passed out of House Education.
HB2820 – Rep. Alma Hernández sponsored a bill that ensures student resource officers receive proper training, passed out of House Education.
HB2426 – Rep. Mitzi Epstein sponsored a bill that directs the Auditor General to conduct a cost study of Arizona online instruction, passed out of House Education.
HB2747 – Rep. Deigo Espinoza sponsored a bill that requires wholesale buyers to disclose their profession to sellers, passed out of House Commerce.
HB2160 – Rep. Cesar Chavez sponsored a bill that provides an opportunity for the wrongfully arrested to petition the court for their record to be cleared, passed out of House Judiciary.
HB2825 – Rep. Cesar Chavez sponsored a bill that requires a mobile home inspection before its title being transferred, passed out of House Transportation.
HB2639 – Rep. Jennifer Pawlik sponsored a bill that establishes the month of May to be observed as Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, passed out of Government and Elections.
HB2294 – Rep. John Fillmore sponsored another awful anti-trans bill that failed because of floor speeches from Rep. Andrés Cano and Rep. Daniel Hernández that compelled Speaker Bowers to side with our Caucus.
The Bad
SB1164 – Sen. Nancy Barto will introduce a 15 week, Mississippi-style, ban on abortion passed the Senate on a party line vote and heads to the House.
HB2811 – Rep. Jacqueline Parker sponsored a bill that makes the manufacturing, distribution, prescribing or transferring of an abortion medication a class 3 felony in Arizona, passed out of House Judicary on party lines and heads to the House floor.
HB2808 – Rep. Michelle Udall sponsored a bill that would force struggling public schools to be taken over by out-of-state, private corporations, passed on party lines in House Education.
SB1657 & SB1707 – Sen. Paul Boyer sponsored several bills that expands ESAs to almost every public school student, passed the Senate and are headed to the House.
SB1138 – Sen. Warren Petersen sponsored a bill that prohibits medical and osteopathic physicians from providing irreversible gender reassignment surgery to any person who is under 18 years of age, passed out of Senate Health and Human Services.
HB2447 – Rep. Quang Nguyen sponsored a bill that allows faculty members and registered students to carry or possess firearms on the property of public universities and community colleges, was retained on the House Committee of the Whole calendar and could be brought up at any time.
HB2448 – Rep. Quang Nguyen sponsored a bill that requires firearm safety training for public school students in grades 6 through 12, passed Military Affairs and Public Safety and heads to the House floor.
HB2453 – Rep. Neal Carter sponsored a bill that prevents government buildings from requiring masks passed the House and heads to the Senate.
HB2616 – Rep. Chaplik sponsored a bill that prohibits any school or government entity from requiring a person under 18 from wearing a mask without consent from a parent, passed the House and heads to the Senate.
HCR2001 – Rep. Steve Kaiser sponsored a resolution to rob children of the opportunity to learn who they are and how we got here (ban on Critical Race Theory), passed the House and heads to the Senate.
The Ugly
Too many to pick just one this week. Here are the lowlights:
Protect Trans Youth
While discussing SB1138 on the floor, Senator Raquel Terán said that trans youth experience higher rates of suicide (citing the American Academy of Pediatirics) and that bills that prevent trans youth from reciving the medical health care that they need exacerbate those feelings.
Kelly Townsend then went on to imply that trans youth lie about feeling suicidal to manipulate and abuse others.
15 Week Abortion Limit
On the floor this week, Senator Christine Marsh questioned why SB1164 does not include language to protect a pregnant mother in cases of rape and incest.
Battleground State Senate candidate Nancy Barto, the sponsor of the measure, said she sees no problem with the lack of exemption, “the baby inside of a woman is a separate life and needs to be protected.”
Gun Training for Kids
While discussing mandatory gun safety course training for all Arizona students, Rep. John Kavanagh said, “I would forward the name and address of the parent to child protective services if they opted out of this.”