AZ Legislature Week In Review – Week Ending February 10, 2023

az capitol

On this fifth week of the legislative session, we were treated to a slew of activity in both chambers. That activity centered around three major issues; election integrity bills, the education Aggregate Expenditure Limit override, and the budget.

Of the election integrity bills that we are tracking and saw action this week, all but one passed. SB1140, which calls for prohibiting voting centers, was held.

The vote to override the constitutional limit on school spending cleared both chambers by the required 2/3 majority. In the House, it needed 40 votes, got 46. In the Senate, it passed by the same ratio; it needed 20 votes, got 23. The result is that the schools will get their extra $1.4 Billion. It will be interesting to see how they show their gratitude to the Republicans that made it happen.

On the budget front, Republicans were on their way to presenting a united front in the inevitable battle that will take place with the governor. But the Republican barrel had a rotten apple in it. Liz Harris, a newly elected representative, torpedoed the effort when she sided with the Democrats and Hobbs and voted NO. It is not clear how that matter will be resolved, but it is not good news for the Republicans.

One other issue that is worth mentioning is the quest to provide relief to lower and middle level wage earners via a break in municipal rent and food sales taxes. On the food front, bills advanced in both chambers. On the rental front, the House bill advanced and the Senate bill actually cleared the whole chamber. That project appears to be moving along very well.

Here is the chart of what happened last week with the bills we are tracking:

HB2332 – firearms safety; training; schools ADVANCED
SB1140 – elections; voting centers prohibited HELD
SB1141 – early ballot drop off; identification ADVANCED
SB1143 – voting registrations; ballot requests; source ADVANCED
SB1144 – electronic ballot adjudication; prohibition ADVANCED
SB1170 – ballot drop boxes; prohibition ADVANCED
SB1201 – early ballots; signatures; electronic pollbooks ADVANCED
SB1264 – officials; political action committee prohibition. ADVANCED
SB1265 – voting; elections; tally; prohibition. ADVANCED
SB1273 – early ballot delivery; instruction requirements ADVANCED
SB1243 – STOs; individual income tax credits ADVANCED
SB1106 – social media platforms; standards; notification ADVANCED
SB1312 – vehicle mileage; tracking; tax; prohibitions ADVANCED
HB2303 – employment; vaccination record; prohibition HELD
HB2555 – businesses; requirement to accept cash ADVANCED
HB2523 – schools; pledge of allegiance; requirement ADVANCED
HB2537 – school transparency portal; reporting; requirements HELD
SB1221 – health information organizations NO ACTION
SB1250 – employers; vaccines; religious exemption NO ACTION
HB2517 – government documents; sex identification HELD
HB2078 – counties; elections; state audits ADVANCED
HB2231 – early absentee voting; limitations; conflicts ADVANCED
HCR2033 – primary elections; eligible candidates HELD
SB1231 – repeal; results-based funding; schools; appropriation HELD
SB1024 – public rights-of-way; unlawful acts ADVANCED
SB1428 – political subdivisions; gun shows; preemption ADVANCED
HCR2001 – school district expenditures; authorization. PASSED
SCR1009 – school district expenditures; authorization.. PASSED
SB1184 – municipal tax exemption; residential leases ADVANCED

Next week will be the last week in which bills may be heard in the chamber-of-origin committees. The exceptions are the Appropriations committees, which get another week. Therefore, there is a mad dash to get as many bills as possible to be heard before the deadline. As a result, our Call to Action will have 38 bills in it, which is a lot. You may get full details by clicking HERE