AZ State Legislature Week In Review – Week Ending April 12

Arizona capitol

This week we are again presented with proof that there is no limit to the sleaziness and corruption demonstrated by our state legislators. Legislative action on two bills, SB1346 and HB2186, make this perfectly clear.

SB1346 – ALLEN, S.: This bill, as amended by SHOPE (LD8), removes from A.R.S 15-716 subsection (C) that prohibited school districts from promoting a homosexual life style. We are told by supporters of SB1346 that this language had to be removed in order to stop a law suit by supporters of the homosexual life style. But this is a bogus argument. If the intent was really to appease the gay community, then the amendment would have read something like this

  1. No district shall include in its course of study, instruction which PROMOTES ANY SPECIFIC SEXUAL LIFESTYLE
  2. Promotes a homosexual life-style.
  3. Portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative life-style.
  4. Suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex

In other words, the legislature could have made this a non-issue. But by simply removing the language about homosexual lifestyle, they have opened the door for schools to promote any kind of deviate sexual life style they desire. It is doubtful that this is what the AZ voters want.

But the worst part of this bill was not what it did, but how it was done. The amendment, vote, and signature by Ducey was done within a few hours. No way that citizens could have expressed pro or con opinions, or offered suggestions, on such a serious matter. This sort of behavior by our elected officials is more damaging than the bill itself.

HB2186 – UDALL: This is the strike all bill that, among other provisions, modifies the lawful presence requirement for receiving state and local benefits. We will not belabor here what is wrong with this bill, but suggest that those who wish to find out more may check out the Call to Action found at http://bit.ly/2X7lOvx.

What we are concerned with here is the sneaky, stealthy, and underhanded way in which proponents of this bill are behaving.

Originally, this was bill SB1217, introduced by CARTER (LD15). When SB1217 failed to move in the house, it was attached to HB2186 as a strike everything amendment. Then HB2186 failed in the senate rules committee, and that should have been the end. Apparently one of the members who voted NO has requested a reconsideration hearing. But that fact was never disclosed on the AZLEG website. In fact, the only place in which a new hearing is mentioned is on the senate rules committee agenda. If it had not been for watchdog organizations like the AZRRT, we would not have known about the hearing Monday, 4/15. Stealthy and underhanded behavior at its best.

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Among the bills we are watching, two other bills saw action this week:

SB1090 – UGENTI-RITA: This is the bill that limits the use of emergency voting to situations in which there is a real emergency. It cleared the senate final vote almost along party lines 16-13-1. The only Republican voting NO was CARTER (LD15). This bill is now on the governor’s desk awaiting action. For information on how to express one’s opinion on this bill, go to      http://bit.ly/2UhuoWI

HB2693 – PETERSEN: This is a common sense safety bill. It deals with firearms that are secured within a vehicle when entering school parking lots. Current law requires that those firearms be unloaded. HB2693 would have removed that requirement. Current law creates an unsafe situation for two reasons. Loading and unloading firearms in the confined spaces of a vehicle poses a risk of an accidental discharge, no matter how skillful the handler may be. This risk is increased by the need to do the handling out of the view of passers by. Imagine the commotion that would ensue if someone reports a person with a gun in the vicinity of a school. HB2693 failed the senate third reading 15-14-1 because two Republicans, CARTER (LD15) and BROPHY-MCGEE (LD28) joined Democrats with their NO votes.

Here are the links to the bills mentioned in this report:

SB1346 – (NOW: school; assessments; instruction; reporting)

HB2186 – school meals; unpaid fees

SB1090 – emergency voting procedures; board action

HB2693 – misconduct involving weapons; school grounds