The third week of the 2022 session saw another 400 or so legislative bills introduced.
This brings the count to 1,305. We are monitoring 457 and will very likely react to around 200. Those numbers will most likely increase because we are not quite done with the legislature’s rush to introduce bills. There will probably be over 1,500 by the time they are done.
The motto at the capitol seems to be “quantity over quality, posturing over substance”. Do we really need 1,500 bills introduced?
Whether we do or not, here are some examples that experienced action this week:
SB1009 – state of emergency; executive powers
This bill aims at curtailing the dictatorial powers that our governor currently has and has consistently misused. How can a state of emergency be sustained or justified for months after months? SB1009 cleared the Senate Government Committee 4-3, but its future is uncertain given the current composition of our legislature and the likelihood that the governor may veto it if it reaches his desk.
HB2161 – parental rights; schools; educational records
This bill seeks to improve parental rights by amending ARS 1-602, 15-102, and 15-117. It also adds ARS 15-143.
The consensus at AZ Peoples Lobbyists is that a bill of rights, like the one found in ARS 1-602, should be somewhat vague to allow wide latitude to potentially wronged individuals, in this case, parents and children. While being specific may enhance the right, it may also limit it to the specified event(s) enumerated in the statute. This leads us to conclude that ARS 1-602 should be left alone.
On the other hand, the specified amendments to ARS 15-102 and 15-117, and the addition of 15-143 do add needed enhancements to the way parents are treated by the education establishment.
HB2161 passed the House Education Committee 6-4.
SB1154 – transportation electrification study committee
This is one of four bills dealing with vehicle electrification mandates that were considered last week. These bills dealt with a variety of mandates, including but not limited to:
- Denying residential construction/remodeling permits unless the home is equipped with a designated vehicle charging outlet.
- Requiring the installation of vehicle charging stations at various government building locations.
- Requiring registration of 100,000 “zero emissions” vehicles by 2028
- Creating a “zero emissions” corridor.
It is hard to decide which of these four bills is most egregious. We chose to highlight SB1154 because, in addition to being egregious, it is totally misleading. Its short title gives the impression that it creates a study committee, but reading the bill we see that it contains the following language: “Foster public acceptance and awareness of transportation electrification by creating an outreach campaign to educate the general public and lawmakers about electric vehicles and their benefits” and “Collaborate with local governments, electric utilities, environmental groups, the transportation industry and interested communities to identify the best ways to encourage an economy-wide transition from carbon-fueled vehicles to electric vehicles.” If this “study” committee is created according to SB1154, it will be involved in very little study and a lot of propaganda.
All four bills passed the Senate Transportation and Technology Committee handily with support from all Democrats and Republicans Boyer, Shope, and Pace.
Next week promises to be even more interesting and eventful, as we consider and ask questions about some controversial bills like:
SB1056 – misplaced ballots; invalidity; misdemeanor; damages
Is it constitutional to disenfranchise voters whose properly voted ballots were misplaced by election officials?
SB1277 – board of supervisors; membership
Is there enough benefit to justify the added cost of increasing the number of supervisors in some counties?
SCR1005 – federal ballot voters; identification
Will this bill, if enacted, cause the same problems we experienced with the enactment of Proposition 200, requiring proof of citizenship for voting?
Regarding the bills we are tracking at the AZ Peoples Lobbyists, you may obtain full information about upcoming activity at UPCOMING and activity report at REPORT