AZ Legislative Update - February 4, 2022

The 2022 legislative session has entered its second month, most lawmakers have adjusted to participating either in person or virtually from their offices, and hundreds of bills are moving through the House and Senate.

Many of those bills are advancing with bipartisan agreement in policy committees – including proposals to authorize local governments to ban the use of fireworks overnight, except on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, and expand AHCCCS coverage to include diabetes management services, chiropractic care, and postpartum doctor visits. Republicans and Democrats agreed to broaden the study of missing and murdered indigenous people, exempt some tax credit income from debt collectors, outlaw hazing, and increase oversight of massage therapists.

The Senate Transportation & Technology Committee unanimously supported a measure that would allow Maricopa County voters to decide whether to extend the existing half-cent sales tax for transportation priorities.

There were also plenty of controversial measures that sparked division and debate this week. In Senate committees, Republicans voted to penalize schools that don’t display the U.S. flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance, ban abortions after 15 weeks, and use $150 million to build a border fence. In the House, party-line votes advanced new requirements for Corporation Commissioner professional experience, permission for cars on school grounds to carry loaded weapons, compensation for employees fired because they wouldn’t get a COVID-19 vaccine, and a mandatory school policy for parents who want to visit.

Elections committees passed more changes to the state’s election laws – including ID requirements for some early ballots – and expanded requirements for getting a citizen initiative on the ballot.

During contentious floor debates, the Senate Republicans narrowly approved a bill to limit a Governor’s authority during a state of emergency and approved new rules about biological sex for school athletes. House Republicans narrowly passed standards for teaching controversial subjects and what sexually explicit material schools can’t show students.

Floor debates aren’t unusual, and they’re an important part of the legislative process. They started early this session, though, as high-profile and controversial bills moved to the front of the long list of other proposals to be considered this year.

What's Next

This week marked the Senate’s last opportunity to introduce new bills this session, and next Monday is the deadline for bill introductions in the House. Legislators have proposed more than 1,600 proposals so far – not a record-setting number, but much higher than average. Most policy committees just have two more weeks of hearings before bills move to the second half of the legislative process. There are a lot of big ideas and not a lot of time to consider them, so lawmakers are focusing their attention on the priorities they really want to advance this year.

Legislature Starts Discussion of Affordable Housing

Two legislators reached across the aisle this week to jump-start a discussion about Arizona’s rising housing costs and how state and local officials should find new options for affordable housing. Representatives Cesar Chávez (D-Phoenix) and Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix) released their proposal on Wednesday, describing it as “a statewide response to this crisis.” The bill establishes statewide zoning policies for housing construction and development standards and directs $89 million to the Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing initiatives.

Homebuilders and landlord associations praised the measure, describing it as a step forward in the effort to increase Arizona’s housing supply. But it's that “statewide response” that concerns opponents of the proposal. City governments object to the bill’s assertion of state control over local zoning decisions, and housing advocates fear that the proposal removes local governments’ ability to encourage affordable housing options.

Everyone agrees, however, that there’s a shortage of affordable housing in Arizona – especially in urban areas. The debate about how to best address it will begin in a committee hearing on HB 2674 next week and will continue throughout the legislative session.

Bills Target COVID-19 Mandates

Legislators may have eliminated COVID-19 mitigations in the House and Senate, but masks and vaccines are very much still on their minds. More than 25 Republican-sponsored bills this year seek to prohibit – and punish – public health mandates.

The proposals take different approaches, including:

• Employer liability and limits Several bills focus on penalties for private employers that implement COVID-19 mandates for their employees. The bill sponsors say these changes are important to protect the rights of employees in their workplace; Democrats and business coalitions say it’s an infringement into private entities’ rights to make their own decisions.
• Ban on government mandates The debate about the government’s role in public health mandates is somewhat divided along political party lines so far this session, and Republicans have supported a variety of similar measures that ban government requirements for face masks and/or COVID-19 vaccines.
• Ban on school mandates The legislature banned mask mandates in schools last year, but the statute did not become law because of how the legislature enacted it. Numerous legislative proposals would enact that ban again; others would prevent school COVID-19 immunization requirements.
• Ban on public and private requirements Several bills do not distinguish between public and private entities and seek to limit any mandate – from schools, governments, or businesses – related to vaccines.
• Exemption from requirements Two bills require any vaccine requirements to include an exemption for individuals who have or have had COVID-19.
• Antidiscrimination standards Two bills amend state antidiscrimination laws to prevent bias against individuals who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Health Care Practices Several bills would require the Arizona Department of Health Services to post information on COVID-19 vaccine injuries and ban medical professionals from performing treatments – including vaccines – without a patient’s permission.

These bills can’t all pass, and it’s not clear whether any will have the necessary support from every Republican legislator. Several have advanced through committee hearings; others have not even received a committee assignment. Whether or not they reach the finish line, they will continue to influence the discussion about public health at the Capitol this year

In the Elections

The Arizona Senate has questions for the Maricopa County Special Master. The Arizona Supreme Court paused a court order for the Senate to turn over documents related to its ballot count while it considers the Senate’s appeal of the decision.

In the Courts

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that politicians’ right to free speech allows them to say a lot of things on the campaign trail. A U.S. District Court is considering whether Arizona’s prisons can fix the inmate health care system. Another U.S. District Court said the Biden administration cannot require Arizona companies with federal contracts to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for their employees. The Chair of the Arizona Republican Party asked a court to block Congress from accessing her cell phone records.

In the News

Governor Ducey isn’t in a hurry for the legislature to act on school expenditure limits. Arizona has a Statewide Broadband Middle-Mile Strategic Plan. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is still monitoring Colorado River runoff. This water analyst says Arizona has improved its water conservation policies since the 1950s. Steve Nash doesn’t want the legislature to require school employees to break students’ confidences. There’s still money in the Border Security Fund. House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa) blocked a controversial rewrite of Arizona’s election laws.

On the Bright Side...

Dillon’s book is in the library.