This 10th week of the 2023 legislature had all the appearances of being a very uneventful week. Legislators were busy at work, but there were no earth-shaking events. The governor’s office also was quiet. The governor could not veto any bills because none were sent to her. So far, she has a dismal record because of the 18 bills sent to her, she has signed into law 2 housekeeping bills and vetoed the other 16, which dealt with substantive matters.
But on Friday, St. Patrick’s day, the governor appeared to be having a bad hair day, and she decided that she would make the rest of the state also have a bad hair day by issuing a very idiotic executive order. This executive order purports to end discrimination against some people based on their hair style. It is hard to find anything good about this order, but there is plenty wrong with it.
To begin with, in the whereas portion of her order, with one exception, she cites a series of statistics without providing the sources or any means to verify their validity. The one exception is the claim that 66% of black women change their hair for a job interview. But that statistic is irrelevant without providing the percentage of non-black women who change their hair for a job interview. Who knows, based on anecdotal input, it could be equally high.
Additionally, this executive order does not apply to Hobbs and her office! Section 2 of the order reads in part,
“For the purposes of this Order, the term “State Agency” has the same meaning prescribed in A.R.S. § 41-741(15). This Order does not apply to, (i) state governmental entities that are not included in A.R.S. § 41-741(15) and (ii) one or more offices headed by one or more statewide elected officials”
Notwithstanding claims to the contrary made by some, the office of the governor is generally considered to be headed by an elected official, and thus exempt from the provisions of this order.
Lastly, there is no mechanism for victims of alleged discrimination to obtain redress. Section 3 of this order states that,
“This Order does not confer any legal rights or remedies upon any persons and shall not be used as a basis for legal challenges to a State Agency’s…” In other words, this is an executive order without teeth.
Actually, this last point may be a good thing. Since there is no intention of enforcing the provisions therein, it is apparent that this order is merely a publicity stunt by a very inept governor.
The full text of this order may be read by clicking HERE
For a full report on what is happening with the bills we are tracking, click HERE
Next week is supposed to be the last week to hear bills in standing committees, but it appears that there will be an extension of one more week.
Among the bills scheduled to be heard in committees next week, two are extremely important. Both are referrals to the voters, so the governor cannot interfere:
| HCR2039 – governor; state of emergency | Senate Government | 03/22/2023 | Chaplik – Refers to the voters a constitutional amendment to modify the governor’s role regarding states of emergency. They must terminate in 30 days unless certain conditions are met | This is a very important bill. There has to be a balance of power regarding states of emergency. This amendment will provide that balance | y |
| SCR1034 – general appropriation bill; continuing appropriation | House Appropriations | 03/22/2023 | Mesnard – Subject to voter approval, amends the Constitution to continue the prior fiscal year’s general appropriation bill if no general appropriation bill is enacted by the start of the new fiscal year. | This is an extremely important bill. If there is no agreement on a budget, the previous year budget is continued. This effectively heads off the threat of a government shutdown, thus removing a favorite tool of those who want to do mischief | y |
For a full list of scheduled actions on bills we are tracking click HERE to see our weekly update and call to action.