| Bill,
The first session of the fifty-sixth legislature finally came to a close last week. What a session!
Representing Arizonans while contending with a new, radical leftist Governor had its challenges. The Governor set records for vetoes, and seemed more comfortable killing bills than engaging in solutions with Arizona’s duly elected representatives.
But we are proud of the many Republican-led bills that were signed and the many bad bills and ideas that we stopped on behalf of our constituents.
We passed Arizona’s budget while stopping taxpayer dollars going to abortion and keeping the Governor from taking Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) away from 60,000+ Arizona students.
Here are some highlights to wrap us up!
25 Republican bills that became law
- HB2168 — (Representative Quang Nguyen, LD01) – Protects Arizonans from prosecution if they seek good-faith medical help for a drug overdose.
- HB2043 — (Representative Selina Bliss, LD01) – Increases access to healthcare by allowing qualifying Physician Assistants (PAs) to practice without a supervision agreement.
- HB2199 — (Representative Justin Wilmeth, LD02) – Gives license reciprocity to out-of-state cosmetologists with one or more years of experience.
- HCR2039 — (Representative Joseph Chaplik, LD03) — Gave Arizona voters the opportunity to respond to overreaching emergency powers from the Governor’s office by allowing their representatives to review and end states of emergency after 30 days (passed in 2023, will appear on the 2024 ballot).
- SB1432 — (with an amendment by Representative Alex Kolodin, LD03) — Solves the Rio Verde Water Crisis.
- SB1291 — (with an amendment by Representative Alex Kolodin, LD03) — Cracks down on medical kidnappings and protects health freedom.
- HB2381 — (Representative Matt Gress, LD04) – Increases financial support and provides stability for Arizona families and seniors who live in mobile homes.
- HB2288 — (Representative David Cook, LD7) — Increases safety for drivers of large vehicles by allowing them to cross multiple lanes around roundabouts, while still showing consideration to other traffic.
- HB2516 — (Representative Barbara Parker, LD10) — Protects vulnerable children’s safety and wellbeing by requiring that children taken into custody be immediately interviewed by a trained forensic interviewer and examined by a licensed physician.
- HB2525 — (Representative Laurin Hendrix, LD14) – Gives unlicensed professionals the opportunity to work in Arizona salons, breaking barriers for people who want to work.
- HB2066 — (Representative Neal Carter, LD15) – Protects your personal information by requiring your former banks and financial institutions to erase it after you are no longer a customer.
- HB2446 — (Representative Teresa Martinez, LD16) – Protects our communities by allowing joint Fire and EMT services to receive funding from the Smart and Safe Fund.
- HB2313 — (Representative Rachel Jones, LD17) – Strengthens requirements for finding the relatives of children taken into DCS custody.
- HB2590 — (Representative Gail Griffin, LD19) – Requires sellers to disclose how a property is supplied with water and any battery storage devices.
- HB2507 — (Representative Lupe Diaz, LD19) – Continues the Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council for 8 years.
- HB2599 — (Representative Michele Peña, LD23) — Clarifies U.S. code relating to active-duty status of members of the U.S. uniformed services and national guard and reserve members on active-duty orders.
- HB2145 — (Representative Tim Dunn, LD25) – Adds historical markers to state routes and highways to help identify dude ranch locations to travelers.
- HB2809 — (Representative Michael Carbone, LD25) — Incentivizes new industry in the state by giving more back to cities and towns that host substantial public infrastructure improvements benefitting a manufacturing facility.
- HB2547 — (Speaker Ben Toma, LD27) – Requires that municipalities consider the impact to housing before adopting new zoning ordinances.
- HB2478 — (Representative Kevin Payne, LD27) — Protects law enforcement by classifying assault of an on-duty employee of a law enforcement agency as aggravated assault.
- HB2485 — (Representative Kevin Payne, LD27) – Increases minimum sentencing penalty for those who lie in wait and commit aggravated assault on a police officer.
- HB2456 — (Representative Beverly Pingerelli, LD28) – Continues the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind for four years.
- HB2028 — (Representative David Livingston, LD28) — Sets retirement contributions for Public Safety Personnel for both individual limits and employer contribution matching.
- HB2473 — (Representative Steve Montenegro, LD29) – Expands the scope of practice for dental hygienists so they can provide more comprehensive care.
- HB2624 — (Representative Leo Biasiucci, LD30) – Accelerates the AHCCCS eligibility review process to protect taxpayers from footing the bill for Biden’s policies and ensure resources aren’t wasted. HB2624 will save the state up to 93 million.
10 of Hobbs’ craziest vetoes
#10
Hobbs VETOES protecting hotels from being forced to serve as homeless shelters (HB2379, Representative Matt Gress, LD04).
#9
Hobbs VETOES prohibiting the Arizona Corporation Commission from incorporating a corporation if an officer, director or trustee has been convicted of specified trafficking offenses (HB2759, Representative John Gillette, LD30)
#8
Hobbs VETOES prohibiting emergency use vaccinations as requirements for children to attend school (HB2474, Representative Steve Montenegro, LD29)
#7
Hobbs VETOES stronger ballot chain of custody standards (HB2691, Representative Justin Heap, LD10)
#6
Hobbs VETOES expansion of cottage food products Arizonans can sell (HB2509 – aka “the taco truck bill,” Representative Travis Grantham, LD14)
#5
Hobbs VETOES prohibition on ranked-choice voting (HB2552, Representative Austin Smith, LD29)
#4
Hobbs VETOES reining in the Governor’s unilateral authority in a public health emergency (HB2545, Representative Corey McGarr, LD17)
#3
Hobbs VETOES the bill to eliminate the grocery tax, amid the rising cost of food (SB1063/HB2061, Representative Leo Biasiucci, LD30)
#2
Hobbs VETOES declaring that fentanyl trafficking is a public health crisis (HB2469, Representative Steve Montenegro, LD29)
#1
Hobbs VETOES requiring life-saving care be given to infants who are born alive (SB1600).
Our Majority has been committed this entire session to conducting the people’s business and passing policies that put Arizona families first, protect the vulnerable, and safeguard individual rights. We hope you’re proud of the way we’ve represented you this session.
There’s more to be done, and we’ll be back stronger than ever. |