The abortion issue continues to dominate the newsworthy activity at the Capitol. This week it was the passing of HB2677 by the House. This bill, if enacted, will repeal ARS 13-3603, the territorial abortion prohibition law. The vote was a close 32-28-0. All Democrats, plus three Republicans voted YES.
HB2677 has now been sent to the Senate, where it appears to have a slightly better than 50/50 chance of passing.
The Senate has its own bill to repeal ARS 13-3603, namely SB1734. It is a common practice to run two identical bills, one in each chamber, when dealing with a controversial issue. In this case, it is likely that the Senate will abandon its bill and take up the House version, HB2677 when it convenes on Wednesday, May 1.
There was not a lot of other activity, but two of the bills we are watching saw action this week:
SB1403 – designated countries; land ownership; prohibition Makes it generally unlawful for specified foreign principals to purchase, own, acquire by grant or devise or have any other interest in (hold) real property. It failed in the House.
HB2591 – forced labor; child labor; prohibitions Prohibits a public power entity or public service corporation from entering into a contract with a person or company that uses forced labor or oppressive child labor. It passed in the House, and was transmitted to governor.
On the governor front, it is business as usual. Her veto count is now 52 of the 235 bills that have been sent to her.
For a list of all the bills that Hobbs has vetoed, go HERE.
To find out what bills have been sent to the governor, click on this link
Then click on “Select Bills to Display” and choose “Sent to Governor”
Those folks who wish to contact the governor regarding these and other bills may do so by using this contact information:
CONTACT GOVERNOR VIA EMAIL:
https://azgovernor.gov/contact/form/contact-governor-hobbs
CONTACT GOVERNOR VIA TELEPHONE:
Phoenix: 602.542.4331 Tucson: 520.628.6580