> Home > Grand Canyon Chapter Arizona Bill Tracker

Grand Canyon Chapter Arizona Bill Tracker

"The ultimate authority . . . resides in the people alone." - James Madison  May 22, 2013 The Senate debated and passed a budget package last week, including the Medicaid expansion, the key sticking point. Meanwhile, however, the House is doing nothing, so the end of the session is not in sight. The budget in the Senate contained nothing of note for environmental protection, but at least there was nothing egregiously awful either. Last week, the House made sure that we would have another blatantly unconstitutional measure on the ballot in 2014 when it passed SCR1016 rejection of unconstitutional federal actions (Crandell, Burges: Melvin, et al.) It refers to the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that allows the Arizona Legislature or voters to determine if a federal action or law violates the U.S Constitution and then to not spend any dollars or use any state resources implementing it. So, if the Arizona Legislature decides the Clean Air Act is unconstitutional, it could vote not to implement it in Arizona. Apparently, legislators missed the part of civics class that talked about checks and balances and separation of powers.  Along with the budget package, the Senate also introduced SB1493 elections; omnibus (Biggs, Driggs, McComish, et al.) It combines many of the worst elections bills in one package. It shifts the review standard for initiatives from substantial to strict compliance, meaning that it would be next to impossible to get a measure on the ballot as it could be thrown out for any number of minor reasons. This bill requires that petitions filed for an initiative be organized by county, circulator, and notary. If they are not, the signatures can be thrown out. SB1493 would also make it more difficult for people to be included on the Permanent Early Voting List and more difficult to stay on that list once they are added. Why are they trying to discourage voting? To read about the hearing on this bill, go to GOP Lawmakers weaken the people's power. Please ask your state Senator to oppose SB1493 and to protect our constitutional rights. HB2551 NOW: off-highway vehicles; use; authority; enforcement (Gowan) passed out of the House on 34-25-1 and the Senate 19-10-1. It still needs a Final Read in the Senate, however, so contact your state senator right away on this important issue. HB2551 is an attempt by Arizona Game and Fish to sanction lawlessness by off-highway vehicles (OHVs) on our public lands -- just to make a point and to the detriment of wildlife and wildlife habitat. HB2551 says that law enforcement can ignore damage to wildlife habitat from OHVs and do no enforcement on federal public lands that have been closed to off-road vehicles. Unmanaged OHV use significantly harms wildlife, wildlife habitat, and cultural sites. Please thank legislators who voted no on HB2551. HB2404 NOW: building codes; energy efficiency (Carter) did not come to the House Floor again this week, which means they do not currently have the votes. Please continue to let legislators know that you oppose this bill. HB2404 prohibits local government from adopting more energy efficient building codes, which is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce energy use and save ratepayers money. Please make a phone call to your representatives as well as sending an email via the take action link below. To find your representatives' phone numbers, go to Arizona Representatives. If you are not sure who your representatives are, just use the take action link below and it will give it to you automatically. Contact your representatives right away and ask them to vote NO on HB2404!