Latest Legislative Update
No official action was seen at the Arizona legislature this last week due to the House remaining adjourned until June 4 as well at the Senate still stands at recess.
A few bills were enacted by Governor Hobbs, those included:
- new laws to enhance the regulations of deepfakes during an election
- expand oversight of services to individuals with serious mental illnesses
- permit public-private military training partnerships
- Authorize municipalities to sell some properties without a special election
Ethical complaints (unusual in Arizona Legislature) have multiplied in this term as partisan and personal divides become more evident. Both the House and Senate have seen multiple complaints:
- Senator Brian Fernandez (D-Yuma) filed an ethics complaint against Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) and Senator Anthony Kern (R-Glendale), citing their indictments in the alternate elector case and calling for their removal from committee assignments until the judicial proceedings are complete. The complaint is unlikely to move forward, since Senate leaders dismissed Sen. Fernandez’s earlier effort to remove Sen. Hoffman and Sen. Kern from committees.
- Senate Democrats filed an ethics complaint against Republican leaders after controversial floor proceedings that delayed a vote on the repeal of Arizona’s abortion ban. Senate Ethics Committee Chair David Farnsworth (R-Mesa) blocked consideration of the complaint, expressing his belief that it should be the voters that enforce accountability of elected officials’ behavior
- The House Ethics Committee dismissed an ethics complaint that Representative Lydia Hernandez (D-Phoenix) filed against members of her own caucus for alleged bullying, harassment, and intimidation against her. House Ethics Committee Chair Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) said Rep. L. Hernandez should address her concerns to her party’s leadership instead.
In the news Arizona will be receiving funding for electric school buses, there are budget cuts happening at the Department of Child Safety and the agency is facing scrutiny due to its child protection efforts. The department of health received a grant to enhance newborn hearing screenings and a news report showed that there is a shortage of school counselors in Arizona.
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