A major mission of the Arizona People’s Lobbyist group is to pay attention to what happens with a selected number of legislative bills at the state capitol. We watch, issue alerts about upcoming activity, encourage citizens to participate in the process, and report on the results. We are now at the final stage, which is reporting on the results.
It should be pointed out that this year our state legislators introduced 1,827 bills, which is probably either a record or very close to being a record. A significant portion of those bills were either feel-good bills, or making-a-statement bills, never intended to be passed.
We also had our share of housekeeping bills. We at the AZ People’s Lobbyist group, tracked 220 of the more important and/or controversial bills. The way we chose what bills to track was via input from activists and the general public. We are not single-issue advocates. The bills that we tracked were the kinds of bills important enough to be the subject of discussions around the office water cooler.
| BILL # AND SHORT TITLE (*) | VOTE | SPONSOR AND/OR WHAT THE BILL DOES |
RESULTS (*) P = PASSED F = FAILED |
FINAL DISPOSITION | COMMENTS |
| HB2190 – reporting; criminal justice case information
Now: Vaccine Passport prohibition
Strike all amended |
House 3rd Reading
Senate 3rd Reading |
ROBERTS – Prohibits the state or a county or local government entity or official from requiring a person to receive a vaccine, except for required student immunizations. Prohibits a business entity, ticket issuer, the state or a county or local government entity or official from conditioning service or access on if a person has received a vaccine. Prescribes penalties for violations. Covid Vaccine Passport Bill | P-59-0-1
F-13-16-1 |
Failed in Senate | Killed by Shope (LD8) and Ugenti-Rita (LD23)
Borrelli voted NO so that he may bring it up for a reconsideration vote. |
| HB2310 – (NOW: executive orders; review; attorney general) |
House 3rd Reading
Senate 3rd Reding
House Final Reading
|
ROBERTS – The legislature and the Attorney General may review presidential executive orders to determine whether they are legal. If not legal, file a suit in court | P-31-29-0
P-16-14-0
P-31-28-1 |
Signed by Governor | |
| HB2524 – counties; cities; towns; COVID expenditures | House Government & Elections | KAVANAGH – Requires all political subdivisions of the state to account for the money they got in connection with COVID
|
HELD | Killed in House Committee | |
| HB2549 – probable cause hearing; pandemic liability | House Third Reading | KAVANAGH – subject to Arizona rules of court, the court shall conduct a probable cause hearing for every civil action that is filed and that claims a party is liable for damages based on contracting an illness that is also the subject of a public health pandemic. | P-31-28-1 | Died in Senate Committee | Designed to head off the inevitable flood of ambulance chaser law suits in connection with COVID. |
| HB2570 – licenses; pandemics; revocation prohibition
|
House 3rd Reading
Senate 3rd Reading
House Final Reading |
HOFFMAN – Specifies that statutory state of emergency and public health emergency powers do not allow a state agency, city, town or county to revoke a license held by a business or used to operate a business for a failure to comply with a Governor’s order, unless certain conditions are met. Caps any civil penalty assessed by the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC) at $500 for any violation of an executive order issued pursuant to the March 11, 2020, state of emergency related to COVID-19 and requires DLLC to refund the payer of any civil penalty above $500. |
P-31-29-0
P-16-14-0
P-31-28-1
|
Signed by Governor | |
| HB2606 – state of emergency; termination | House Government and Elections Committee | CARROLL – state of emergency ends after 14 days unless the governor calls a special session of the legislature | Killed in House Committee | Good bill. Did not get a committee hearing | |
| HB2648 – religious services; essential services | House 3rd Reading | TOMA – Declares a religious service as an essential service during a state of emergency. Requires religious organizations to be allowed to continue to operate during a state of emergency in the same or greater extent as other organizations and businesses that provide essential services. Outlines requirements for legal action relating to violations of requirements for religious services as essential services. | P-38-22-0 | Held in the Senate | |
| HCR2006 – state of emergency declaration; termination. | House Government and Elections Committee | ROBERTS – That pursuant to section 26‑303, subsection F, Arizona Revised Statutes, the Legislature declares that the Declaration of Emergency issued by the Governor on March 11, 2020 due to the COVID‑19 outbreak is at an end and is terminated. | HELD | Killed in House Committee | |
| HCR2026 – state of emergency; termination; referral | House Military Affairs & Public Safety | CARROLL – the state of emergency terminates fourteen days after the date on which the state of emergency is proclaimed, unless, on or before the fourteenth day after the date on which the state of emergency is proclaimed, the governor calls for a special session to assemble the legislature for the purpose of legislating on subjects relating to the state of emergency. | P-8-5-0 | Held in House | Balance of Power bill |
| HCR2037 – pandemic emergencies; special sessions | House 3rd Reading | KAVANAGH – Adds a constitutional provision relating to special sessions of the Legislature during a state of emergency related to a pandemic. |
P-31-28-1 |
Held in Senate | Supports the establishment of a balance of power between the executive and the legislative branches |
| SB1084 – state of emergency; automatic termination | Senate Third Reading | UGENTI-RITA – Terminates a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor after 90 days, unless extended by the Legislature. Prohibits the Governor from issuing a new state of emergency proclamation for the same conditions as a terminated proclamation without the consent of the Legislature. | P-16-14-0 | Held in House | |
| SB1258 – state of emergency; tolling; permits | Senate 3rd Reading
House 3rd Reading |
MESNARD – An emergency measure that suspends, for the duration of certain Governor-issued state of emergency proclamations, the period remaining to exercise the rights under a permit, license, approval or other authorization issued by the state or a county, municipality or political subdivision (government authorization) and extends the remaining period for six months. | P-30-0-0
P-60-0-0 |
Signed by Governor | |
| SB1377 – civil liability; public health pandemic | Senate 3rd Reading
House 3rd Reading
Senate Final Reading |
LEACH – For civil suits resulting from damages during a pandemic related state of emergency, the burden of proof is elevated from the customary preponderance of evidence, to clear and convincing evidence. | P-18-12-0
P-31-29-0
P-16-14-0
|
Signed by Governor | Aimed at preventing the customary onslaught of ambulance chasers and opportunists that these conditions generate.
Lacking good tort reform, this is a good step in the right direction. |
| SB1382 – essential businesses; firearms; ammunition; sales | Senate 3rd Reading
House 3rd Reading
Senate Final Reading |
ROGERS – Provides that a store that sells firearms or ammunition, or firearms or ammunition components, is an essential business, and there may not be any restrictions imposed on the store’s normal operations. | P-16-14-0
P-31-29-0
P-16-14-0 |
Signed by Governor | |
| SB1430 – highly fatal; definition | Senate 3rd Reading | TOWNSEND – Modifies the Governor’s powers during a state of emergency or state of war emergency in which there is a public health emergency or the occurrence or imminent threat of smallpox, plague, viral hemorrhagic fevers or a highly contagious and highly fatal disease. | P-16-14-0 | Killed in House Rules Committee | |
| SCR1001 – state of emergency declaration; termination | Senate Government | UGENTI-RITA – Legislature exercises its power to terminate state of emergency, under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 26, Section 303, Subsection F | P-5-3-0 | Died in the Senate | Never got to a floor vote in the Senate |
| SCR1003 – executive orders; emergencies; reauthorization; termination | Senate 3rd Reading
House 3rd Reading
Senate Final Reading |
PETERSEN – Subject to voter approval, constitutionally terminates a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor after 30 days, unless extended by Concurrent Resolution of the Legislature. Requires the Governor to call a special session of the Legislature within 10 days of proclaiming a state of emergency. | P-16-14-0
P-31-25-4
F-13-15-2 |
Failed in Senate | Senate Final Vote:
All Democrats voted NO Three Republicans voted NO Pace Shope Ugenti-Rita |
| SCR1014 – automatic termination; state of emergency | Senate Government | UGENTI-RITA – Statute amendment. State of emergency proclamation terminates in 21 days unless extended by the state legislature.
|
P-5-3-0 | Died in Senate |