On Monday, Mar. 25, Senate Bill 1217 (SB 1217) was scheduled for a hearing in the House Education Committee, but it was pulled and most folks thought that this horrible bill was dead. Even the Capitol Times characterized it as likely dead.
But the cunning and sneakiness of SB1217 supporters has no limits. They have introduced a strike-all amendment to House Bill HB2186, which is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate’s Health and Human Services on Thursday, Mar. 28.
SB1217 creates a tuition rate for students Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients who apply for admission to an Arizona university or community college after graduating from an Arizona school, but do not qualify as in-state residents.
ACTION REQUESTED
Contact the members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and request a NO vote on HB2186. BUT BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:
Three of the committee members have already voted against B1217 when it came up for a vote in the full senate. They are Senators Allen, Gray, and Pace. Please thank them for their previous vote and encourage them to continue to oppose this horrible piece of legislation.
SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER – WHY A NO VOTE MAKES SENSE
- Legislative rules call for strike-all amendments to be attached only to bills that deal with common or similar issues. That rule is violated here because the underlying bill, HB2186 deals with what to do about parents that do not pay for children’s meals. It has nothing to do with university tuition or determination of lawful presence, as SB1217 does.
- The topic of the bills considered must match the appropriate topics for the committee in which they are to be heard. It is not appropriate for a bill dealing with lawful presence and college tuition to be heard in a committee that deals with health and human services.
- SB1217, and now HB2186, violate the letter and certainly the spirit of Proposition 300
- If Prop 300 (or any other voter protected measure) should be modified, it has to be done via a vote of the voters. Any other steps taking by the legislature are both illegal and unethical.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SENATORS TO CONTACT
SENATE – HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES | ||||
NAME | DISTRICT | PARTY | E MAIL | PHONE-602 |
## Sylvia Allen | 6 | R | SALLEN@azleg.gov, | 926-5409 |
Kate Brophy McGee * | 28 | R | KBROPHYMCGEE@azleg.gov, | 926-4486 |
Heather Carter | 15 | R | HCARTER@azleg.gov, | 926-5503 |
## Rick Gray | 21 | R | RGRAY@azleg.gov, | 9265413 |
## Tyler Pace | 25 | R | TPACE@azleg.gov, | 926-5760 |
Otoniel Navarrete | 30 | D | TNAVARRETE@azleg.gov, | 926-4864 |
Rebecca Rios | 27 | D | RRIOS@azleg.gov, | 926-3073 |
Victoria Steele | 9 | D | VSTEELE@azleg.gov, | 926-3022 |