What’s Happened In the Arizona Legislature?
The LWVAZ Legislative Analysis Team Reports.
With the Second Session of the 55th Arizona Legislature scheduled to end on June 30, LWVAZ’s Legislative Analysis Team gave an overview of the fate of bills of League interest and concern at LWVAZ’s Council on May 20.
The Legislative Analysis Team is part of the LWVAZ Advocacy Committee, which is guided by their analysis and tracking of state legislation. Maryann Kenney reported that through the League’s calls to action, requests to speak, committee testimony, lobbying, and collaboration with coalition partners, we have been effective at blocking many bad bills this session.
The LWVAZ Advocacy Committee is open to all Arizona league members.
The May 20 panel focused on four areas of legislation:
Voting Rights and Election Security: Out of the 149 bills dealing with voting rights and election security introduced this session, two have been signed into law, one will be on the ballot via the referendum process, four are awaiting the Governor’s signature, and five are in the final stages of limbo, reported Maryann Kenny. Many of the bills that would have made voting harder, for example by limiting ballot boxes, early voting, or vote centers, died early in the session.
The two bills signed into law are SB 1638, which requires a remote vote by mail system for voters who are visually impaired, and HB 2492, which expands to all elections Arizona’s proof of citizenship requirement when registering. The Supreme Court invalidated a similar requirement with respect to federal elections in Arizona in 2013.
SCR1012, the "Arizonans for Voter ID Act,” will be on the ballot in November. If approved, it will add ID requirements to both mail in voting (date of birth and a voter ID number, like the last four digits of the voter’s social security number, or their driver’s license number) and to voting at the polls, where a photo ID will be required.
Women’s Rights and Reproductive Healthcare: Alexis Lane reported that SB 1164, which bans abortions after 15 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest, was signed into law. However, if Roe v Wade is overturned, and Arizona’s pre-Roe laws come back into effect, this new law becomes moot.
HB 2811, which would have criminalized medical abortions (that is, the use of medicine to terminate a pregnancy), was successfully blocked.
Gun Safety: While none of the bills affecting gun safety have become laws this session, Meg Pradelt reported that many of the bills are likely to resurface in the future. She identified as “perennial favorites” those bills that would allow people with concealed carry permits access to unsecured public places and allow loaded weapons in vehicles on K-12 school grounds. “Dangerous new ideas” include lowering the age for concealed carry to 18, justifying the use of deadly force to protect property, and prohibiting universities from imposing certain limits on campus.
Similarly, several bills designed to provide greater safety were unsuccessful, but may reappear in the future. These involve background checks, secured storage requirements, broadening the definition of prohibited possessor, and providing a procedure for petitioning a court to remove firearms from someone who has been judged a danger to themselves or others.
Criminal Justice: Abdi Lopez reported that of the seven criminal justice bills enacted, the team opposed five of them and had been monitoring two. Two new laws impose harsher mandatory sentencing (assault against a healthcare worker – mandatory felony with minimum 3 months in prison; anyone tried as an adult and convicted of a dangerous crime against children (which could include a fight between high school students) – mandatory 39-111 years in prison). One creates a misdemeanor if a person allows a minor to be in a building where someone is preparing for an animal fight. Another vaguely expands the misdemeanor crime of “hazing.”
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