LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – Week Ten Legislative Update, 3/18/23

…Back at the ranch, the pace was almost back to normal in the early part of this week as both chambers chugged through committee and floor action.  But by Wednesday so many members were MIA from the House as the rain came; many skipped floor votes on Thursday, and the Senate elected to hear only Bills that had roughly unanimous support.

Time does not stop for the lawmakers though.  There are only two more weeks remaining for Bills to be heard in committee in the opposite chamber.  March 31^st will come very quickly, so committee Agendas will likely be packed, and Bills not heard in committee by the deadline will die.

So hang on to your hats and shuffle those boots as the 1,626 Bills that were introduced can still have a life or die on the vine.  After spending a full day with Senator Gowan this past week, and Senator Kaiser the previous week, my boots need more leather to keep pace with their schedules.  Many of those introduced Bills are already wilting, and expect to see lots more over the next couple of weeks.

BILL ACTION

1. The House Judiciary Committee passed SB1092 by a vote of 5-3 along party line vote. This Bill would prohibit the State Bar and the Arizona Supreme Court from infringing or impeding the political speech rights of any attorney by disciplining or revoking an attorney’s license for bringing a good faith, nonfrivolous claim that is based in law and fact to court.  Here is the Fact Sheet for more information: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/1R/summary/S.1092JUD.pdf
2. Keep a close eye on a Bill getting a great deal of attention.  That is SB1117  This Bill establishes residential zoning district regulations, limitations of residential housing design standards and municipal housing needing assessments. It also modifies current municipal zoning requirements.  The Fact Sheet is:  https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/1R/summary/S.1117COM_ASPASSEDCOW.pdf
3. Another good Bill passing out of committee protecting employees from taking a jab is SB1250  This Bill requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee that requests a religious exemption from taking an influenza A or B, flu or U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorized vaccine and provides a vaccine exemption form.  Directs the Arizona Attorney General (AG) to investigate vaccine exemption complaints.  It also talks about the COVID vax….  Here is the Fact Sheet on this Bill:  https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/1R/summary/H.SB1250_031323_CAUCUSCOW.pdf

Other Bills of interest are:

1. HCR2039  This House Concurrent Resolution (HCR), short title, governor; state of emergency; would limit the powers the Governor would have in a state of emergency.  Please tell your legislators to support this Resolution. Here is the Fact Sheet: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/1R/summary/H.HCR2039_021523_HOUSEENGROSSED.pdf
2. HB2427  This Bill classifies, as aggravated assault punishable as a class 3 felony, assault against a pregnant victim if the person knows or has reason to know the victim is pregnant and circumstances exist that classify the offense as domestic violence.  Here is the Fact Sheet: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/1R/summary/S.2427JUD.pdf
3. HB2675  This Bill is long overdue!  It declares that drug cartels are terrorist organizations and requires the Arizona Department of Homeland Security (AZDOHS) to do everything within its authority to address the threat that drug cartels pose.  Here is the Fact Sheet for this Bill: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/1R/summary/H.HB2675_020823_HOUSEENGROSSED.pdf

There are many other Bills of interest as well, as we each have our own issues to follow.  The above Bills seem to be garnering much attention.

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR

The RTS (Request to Speak) system is a necessary component to our legislative process.  This is an excellent way to share your positions on a particular Bill and let your legislator know that you support his/her legislation.  Please review this site and make sure you know how to use it properly.  The legislators depend a lot on your opinions and this is where you share them.  The link to sign up for the RTS system can be found here:  https://www.azleg.gov/alispdfs/Using_the_Request_to_Speak_Program.pdf

THE CITIZEN LEGISLATOR

Having talked to many people this week, I am finding more often than not, that many patriots do not know How A Bill Becomes A Law. 3-18-23 ARIZONA BILL HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW 2   Sooooo…instead of writing a long brief on this subject, I am adding to this email a number of attachments; two of which are describing How A Bill Becomes A Law 3-18-23 HOW AN IDEA BECOMES A BILL THEN TURNS LAW.  One document is only about 16 pages (including a list of definitions, and one is about a picture version.  Take your pick!)  I also have a 79 page version which really gets into the weeds!

Other attachments are:

1. Election Integrity Bills
2. List of Abbreviations 3-11-23 2023 Abbreviations 2 (003)
3. List of All Republican Introduced Bills (ones I normally send out) 3-18-23 2023 AZ STATE LEGISLATIVE BILLS AND ACTIONS 031823 VERSION    3-18-23 2023 AZ STATE LEGISLATIVE EI BILLS AND ACTIONS 031623 SEN S KAISER
4. FAQ/ANSWERS on How A Bill Becomes A Law, is forthcoming soon.

In the meantime, thank you for continuing to read these updates.  If you know of anyone wanting to receive the Legislative Updates, send them this Report and tell them to email me their email address.  I appreciate the feedback I receive from my readers!

GENERAL INFORMATION 

Once again, as a gentle reminder to all of the people who just joined these updates, this is how to read the attachments.  All the Bills listed on the attachments are mostly ALL the Republican Introduced Bills.

The Bills highlighted in Green are the GOP Bills I monitor on a daily basis.  The Bills highlighted in Blue are Democratic Bills I thought were necessary to follow.  The Bills highlighted in Gray, are ones introduced by LD2 legislators, Senator Kaiser and Representative Wilmeth.  And, the Bills highlighted with yellow in the status and date columns, are noted for your review to see their progression in the legislative process.  Al Bills are up to date through 3/18/23.

Remember, each Bill Number listed is a link to the Bill itself and you can access the status, documents and Agenda’s by clicking onto the link.  Even though I monitor and keep track of the Bills daily, I only send out Updates on the weekends.  So, if you want daily updates on any Bill, just click onto the Bill Number, and go to Overview or Status, for real-time information.

As always, if there are Bills that I am not specifically monitoring, PLEASE let me know and I will add them to my list for you.

By  Line:

Linda Brickman,
Chairman of LD2 Legislative Committee
Email:  Luvbug1611@cox.net 
Cell:  602-330-9422

SESSION STATISTICS

 Days of Session: 69

Bills Posted: 1626

Bills Transmitted to the Governor: 18

Bills Vetoed: 16

Bills Signed: 2

Resolutions Posted: 98

Resolutions Passed: 7

Bills Vetoed: 

1. SB1184: Municipal tax exemption; residential leases
2. SB1248: Scope of practice; process; repeal
3. Senate Budget Bills SB1523 through SB1535 (13 Bills)
4. SB 1305:  race; ethnicity; prohibited instruction [CRT Bill]

UPCOMING DEADLINES 

March 31: Last day for committee hearings