Skip to main content

AZ Legislative Update 4-30-2021

az_state_capitol_building_80635

Much of this week’s political news shifted away from the Capitol and toward the State Fairgrounds, where the Senate Republicans’ review of the 2020 Maricopa County ballots is underway. The Arizona Democratic Party tried to stop the Senate’s plans, but a judge ruled that the ballot recount can continue. The judge also ruled that the companies conducting the work must provide information on the plans and processes associated with reviewing the ballots and that election officials can observe the proceedings. Supporters are raising money to fund it. The process is expected to take another two weeks, and the nation is watching.

At the Capitol, there’s still no sign of a budget agreement – the legislature’s top responsibility each year. Republican leaders continue to say they’re close to a deal, but many legislators have their own ideas about what should be in the state’s spending plan – and which taxes should be cut.

While budget negotiators met behind closed doors, the House and Senate advanced more bills toward the Governor’s desk. Some proposals were divisive and passed with narrow margins – including bills to increase the number of law enforcement officers on panels responsible for investigating officer misconduct, narrow the window for voters to add their missing signature to an early ballot, grant civil liability exemptions to manufacturers and sellers of firearms and ammunition, designate oversight authority for certain navigable waters, prohibit animal abusers from having a pet, and expand the ways anyone can challenge a state agency’s rules.

The House failed to pass a bill to limit schools’ ability to suspend or expel students up to 4th grade, and the Senate postponed a vote on a proposal that requires schools to teach about the Holocaust because the bill’s supporters can’t agree on whether it should define “antisemitism.”

A bipartisan majority of legislators did agree on other proposals – including four-year degrees at community colleges, salary increases for county officials, further study of whether Arizona’s special license plate options need to change, immunity for public officers that provide help in emergencies, a ban on local governments’ ability to prohibit the use of antennas, and broader access to telemedicine.

Priority Bills

This week, the House and Senate appointed a conference committee to consider amendments to HB 2863 (ASDB; local education agencies), which designates the ASDB as local education agencies in order to restore ASDB’s ability to receive IDEA, Title and Medicaid funding.

The House failed to pass HB 2123 (pupil suspensions and expulsions; schools), which limits when students up to 4th grade can be expelled or suspended, on a 29-31 vote. The bill’s supporters plan to motion for reconsideration so the bill gets another chance to pass.

What’s Next?

There are approximately 260 bills still eligible for consideration this year, but almost 40% of those contain funding and are therefore held up by budget negotiations. The House and Senate will continue to hold abbreviated floor sessions to debate and vote on the remaining bills while they wait for a budget agreement and an end to the 2021 session.

Arizona’s New Laws

Governor Ducey signed 28 new laws this week – including stricter penalties and limits on abortions, more reporting on law enforcement’s use-of-force incidents, easier cancellations for gym memberships, and criminalization of publishing someone’s personal identifying information without their consent to inspire harassment. He also vetoed a bill that would have altered laws about the defense against prosecution for a criminal offense, citing concerns that the proposal could hinder county attorneys’ ability to prosecute DUIs.

The Governor has signed a total of 302 bills this year and vetoed three. Another 37 await his action.

Legislature Pauses Discussions on Emergency Authorities

As the legislature moves toward the end of the session, it’s still unclear whether it will approve changes to the balance of political power during a state of emergency – or ask voters to approve those changes. More than 20 proposals on the topic were introduced this year, fueled by frustration over Governor Ducey’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic; most of those bills have stalled at different points in the legislative process.  

Several of the proposals are close to the finish line, however:

  • HB 2190 (vaccines; governments; businesses) would ban COVID-19 documentation requirements and establish criminal penalties for governments or businesses that seek to implement one. (This is a step further than Governor Ducey’s executive order on the topic, which only applies to governments and businesses that contract with them.) The bill has been sidelined by opposition from Senate Democrats and a small number of Republicans, but its supporters still have hope that they can draft amendments that would allow it to move forward for final votes in the House and Senate.
  • HB 2570 (licenses; pandemics; revocation prohibition) limits state and local governments’ ability to revoke business licenses for entities that do not comply with a Governor’s executive order during emergencies and caps the fines any business must pay for violating executive orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill got preliminary approval from the Senate two weeks ago, but it has not yet moved to a final vote in the House and Senate.
  • HCR 2037 (pandemic emergencies; special sessions) would ask voters to change state law to expand the legislature’s role in decision-making by allowing it to call a special session more easily during a state of emergency and requiring a Governor to call a special legislative session within two weeks of declaring a state of emergency. The measure awaits a final Senate vote, but it hasn’t advanced since April 1.
  • SB 1084 (state of emergency; automatic termination) would prevent a Governor from declaring a new state of emergency based on the same conditions of a prior state of emergency unless the legislature consents to the new declaration. It would end a state of emergency after 90 days unless the legislature extended it and would give any citizen authority to sue the Governor to comply with the limits. The bill awaits floor debate and a vote in the House, but it has not advanced in the House since March 30.
  • SB 1719 (state emergency council; membership; procedures) would require a Governor to consult with the State Emergency Council throughout a state of emergency and would expand the current membership of the Council to include legislative Democratic leaders. It received unanimous support in the Senate, but some House Republicans have blocked the proposal from moving forward because they do not want to support a bill sponsored by the leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
  • SCR 1003 would ask Arizona voters to amend the Arizona Constitution to end any state of emergency after 30 days or earlier, if the Governor or the legislature terminates it. It would require the Governor to call a special session of the legislature within ten days after declaring a state of emergency and would limit a Governor’s ability to call a new state of emergency for the same reasons as a prior state of emergency. Republicans moved the measure through a committee hearing in March, but it has not advanced further.

Several bills related to life during a state of emergency have already become law. Governor Ducey signed HB 2770 (mask mandates; business exception), which authorizes businesses to ignore government mask mandates, and SB 1258 (state of emergency; tolling; permits), which suspends time limits on permits for construction or property improvements during a state of emergency, so those projects are not set back by emergency-related delays. Both bills will go into effect 90 days after the legislative session ends. The Governor also enacted SB 1377 (civil liability; public health pandemic), which establishes civil liability immunity for schools, businesses, and health professionals during a public health pandemic. The change applies retroactively to any time during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in Arizona on March 11, 2020.

 Disagreements Block Increase to Unemployment Aid

Earlier this month, Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) wrote that a boost to Arizona’s $240-a-week unemployment benefit was “too important to struggling Arizonans and Arizona businesses to let anything get in the way.” Political reality has cast doubt on that statement, though, as ongoing disagreements have blocked progress on two separate bills moving through the legislature.

Both bills increase the amount of unemployment benefits from a maximum of $240 to $320 a week. (The Senate’s proposal further increases it to $400 a week when the unemployment fund is fully funded.) President Fann’s proposal also includes a cut to the timeline for benefits, reducing payments from 26 weeks to 20 or 22 weeks, depending on the state’s unemployment rate. She says it helps provide support along with encouragement for unemployed Arizonans to find employment; others in her party believe it is important to continue the existing timeline for benefits. Sponsors of the House version of the proposal, which continues the 26-week timeline for benefits, recently wrote that they believe the Senate proposal version “provides less support when people need it most.”

It’s been more than a month since either bill advanced, and it’s not clear whether the sponsors can find a compromise to allow the issue to go to Governor Ducey. He has not taken a position on either bill; in the past, he has said an increase in the unemployment benefit rates should be up to Congress.

In the Elections

Arizona politicos got a shock this week when the U.S. Census announced that the state does not get a new Congressional seat. Our rapid population growth has led to expectations that the Census data would grant a tenth Congressional district in Maricopa County, but a comparatively low response rate to the census means the population numbers were not enough to merit more representation in Washington, D.C.

The census statistics will impact Arizona’s representation, federal funding, and political dynamics.

Click here for more information on the U.S. Census and redistricting process.

In the Courts

A longstanding lawsuit about water rights is back in Arizona courts.

In the News

The Governor allocated $26.5 million for summer learning programs. Experts are concerned about the upcoming wildfire season. Arizonans don’t need an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The Bureau of Reclamation is closely watching water levels in the southwest. Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) got COVID-19. Rep. Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix) was appointed to the Arizona Juvenile Justice Commission and Rep. Joanne Osborne (R-Goodyear) is an Opioid Policy Fellow. A new website shows groundwater changes across the state. Arizona’s new law to give suicide prevention information to students goes into effect soon. Former U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R) and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D) want Americans to let go of partisanship. Here’s how road projects are scheduled in Arizona.

On the Bright Side…

Mr. O is making a difference, and this Tucson resident celebrated a birthday.

Posted:  12 May, 2021
Author: Susie Cannata
Read more from Susie Cannata

© 2023 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). All rights reserved.