Empowering Voters/

Defending Democracy

New: News on "Request to Speak"!

(Thanks to Civic Engagement Beyond Voting for the Alert on this.)

You can select "thumbs up" or "thumbs down"

on bills headed to the floor or not yet in committee.

Good bills to do this for, if you haven't, are the ERA bills:

SCR 1006 or SCR 1009; HCR2028 or HCR2030

HOW?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIyFl2UYyXY&feature=youtu.be

--In the "Request to Speak" portion of your account, click on "My Bill Positions", left-side menu.

-- In the space provided, enter the bill number you're interested in (click on the entire number/bill description that comes up).

-- Select your position, and click on "Add"

Your position available to members when they are on the floor voting on a bill.

*It will not show up on a Committee Agenda, and you cannot make a comment when you select this method.

EDUCATION

These 2 bills were approved in their Senate committees and are on their way to the Senate floor:

SB1320 -- Transfer of ESA program oversight to Treasurer

SB1395 -- Expansion and micromanagement of ESA program

(details for both in this Action Alert)

In cooperation with Save Our Schools,

we ask you to sign this petition to protest these bills,

and share it with others.

Senate Education Committee

Tuesday, 2 pm, Senate Hearing Room 1 (could change)

Contact the folks below, use RTS from home, or you can always come and watch!

You can also sign up to speak  at  the hearing, on a kiosk outside the hearing room.

SB1394 . (Brophy McGee, Udall, Boyer, et al.) Bipartisan!

Charter School training, posting, accountability

Provisions: Lots of detail, but in general, mandates that:

-- the State Charter School Board provide a training course for governing board bodies and key administrative personnel of charter schools.

-- the charter school governing boards have at least 3 members, with not more than two who are immediate family members, who cannot be a majority of the board. 

-- reporting occur and processes be implemented that increase transparency and accountability around many aspects of charter school operation: tax filings, procurement, board membership, conflicts of interest, etc.

Why support? Requirements should increase professionalism and effectiveness, deter self-dealing and mismanagement, and bring accountability more in line with other public schools.

Elections and Voter Suppression

Now on to a bunch more bills!

House Elections Committee

Tuesday, 2 pm, House Hearing Room 4 (could change)

Contact the folks below, use RTS from home, or you can always come and watch!

You can also sign up to speak  at  the hearing, on a kiosk outside the hearing room.

HB2032 - Striker; now early ballots tabulation period

Provision: Allows tallying of early ballots to begin 14 days prior to election day. (Currently must wait until 7 days prior to election day.)

Why Support? This will increase efficiency by decreasing number of ballots left to be counted after the election.

HB2076 - ( Fillmore) Clean Elections support

Provisions:

-- Increases from 10 to 15% ( of the combined original primary spending and general election limits) the amount of early contributions that may be received for a statewide candidate;

-- Allows a clean candidate to spend early contributions at any time during the candidacy;

--Clarifies that the Commission can also monitor reports/financial records and enforce contributions limits on NON-participating candidates .

Why Support? These rules help create a more level and thus more fair playing field for candidates running clean, in relation to those who are not. It reinforces the Commissions ability to monitor ALL candidates financial reports.

HB2237 - Striker; now early voting locations

Provisions: If the County Board of Supervisors approves the locations in advance, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections can establish early voting centers, and if established, they may operate until 5 p.m. on the Monday preceding Election Day.

Why Support? Allowing the operation of early voting centers until election day would eliminate the need for emergency voting, which is more flexible for voters and has all the advantages of out-of-precinct voting - thus likely to lead to fewer provisional ballots and overall would reduce lines on election day.

HB2238 - Striker; now SOS Election Manual; deadline

Provisions: R equires the Secretary of State to issue an instructions and procedures manual for State elections administrators no later than 12/31 of each odd numbered year (so prior to a general election).

Why Support? Adds needed time for elections officials to adapt to mandated changes in elections procedures. ( Currently the deadline for issuing this manual is 30 days prior to each election.)

 HB2489  (Townsend) -  Establishment of an Election Procedures Oversight Committee (this bill was held in committee last week)

Provisions:

-- A committee composed of appointed members of the Senate and House (not requiring equal numbers of Dems and Reps) will meet at least annually to examine the collection and transfer of ballots from the voting location to the registrar, in order to audit for accuracy and reliability and security.

-- Allows the Committee access to voter registration rolls and elections results for the purpose of determining whether federal only voters received and voted the appropriate ballot.

Why oppose? Not necessary!

-- There are already detailed and exacting procedures and oversight within the Elections Dept., used and updated by those with training and experience in the field, to ensure the reliability and security of ballot transfers and other election security issues.

-- Such a Committee could easily become overtly political, helping to promulgate the repeatedly unfounded suspicion and myth/fear that those who have registered to vote only for federal candidates are illegally voting in State elections.

Also for HB2489 !

If it passes,

it will move to House Government

so "thumbs down" there, also!

Thursday, 2/21, 9 am,

Hearing Room 1.

Find all House Government Committee members  HERE.

Chair, John Kavanagh , 602-926-5170, [email protected]

Vice Chair, Kevin Payne, 602-926- 4854, [email protected]

HB2616 - (Townsend) Registration of voters; payment prohibition

Provisions: Makes it a class I misdemeanor for a person to be paid or receive anything of value for registering a person to vote, other than an employee of a political party. 

Why Oppose? This is blatant suppression of a right and duty to vote and therefore to get registered to vote. T heoretically if people conducting a voter registration drive -- say, high school students -- are given water, a granola bar, a ride, coffee and donuts . . . let alone money.... it becomes a crime!!  And by the way, as currently written this would keep any government employee (e.g. at the MVD and DES) from registering clients, as they are required by federal law !

Send your legislator a message on this bill! http://act.progressnowarizona.org/sign/tell-your-rep-its-not-be-crime-register-voters/

HCR2005 - (Kavanagh) Initiative/referendum; signatures

Provisions: Currently, to propose a citizen initiative or referendum, a certain percentage of the signatures of all electors must be collected from within the entire state boundary. This bill would mandate that the percentage be collected from each Legislative district.

Why Oppose? Take a situation where signature gatherers are able to obtain the required percentage, or more, of signatures in all legislative districts (LD's) but one. The one LD which lags will have veto power over the entire initiative. This could make it almost impossible to get a citizen initiative/referendum on the ballot, and it is therefore an infringement of citizen's Constitutional rights! Also, from a strictly fairness standpoint, why is this not being suggested for nominating petitions for statewide candidates?

Senate Judiciary Committee

Thursday, 2/21, 9 am , Senate Hearing Room 109 (could change)

SCR1023 - (Kerr) Initiative/referendum; signatures

Provisions: Mirror of HB2005 (above)

Oppose for same reasons!

Local Leagues around the State

Greater Tucson:  lwvgt.org

Metro Phoenix:  lwvmetrophoenix.org

Greater Verde Valley:  lwvverdevalley.com

Northwest Maricopa County:  nwmc.az.lwvnet.org

Central Yavapai County:  centralyavapai.az.lwvnet.org

Thanks for being

an involved citizen!

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