Despite Arizona’s Divisive Legislature, Here are Seven Progressive Wins for the 48th State
Written by Jenny Guzman | 2021 Instituto Monzón Fellow Alum
The Arizona Legislature dealt with everything, from attacks on voting rights, attempts to further restrict reproductive rights, and direct attacks on some of the state's most marginalized identities. It's easy to get lost in the negative among the Arizona Legislature. But, AZ’s community organizations were on the ground for the entire session and were an integral part in successful attempts to prevent some extreme bills from becoming law. Here are seven of the most vital wins of the 2022 Arizona Legislative Session!
House Concurrent Resolution 2031’s Death Was Workers’ Win
Credit: @IntoAction
In 2016, Arizona voters passed Proposition 206, granting workers a much-needed minimum wage increase and guaranteed sick time. Although the state's minimum wage is still by no means at a liveable rate, the Arizona Legislature has been going above and beyond to try to chip away at the ballot measure. They attempted to do so with HCR2031, a ballot referral that would have prevented cities, towns, and voters from being able to raise their minimum wage or create other employee benefit programs such as paid family and medical leave. Thankfully, due to movement leaders such as Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) mobilizing Arizonans to contact their lawmakers, the referral ended up being held in the Senate, where it ultimately died!
2. Arizona's Copycat OF Texas Senate Bill 8 Fails
Credit: @creative-courage
Before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Texas State Legislature made national headlines for their infamous SB8, a law that banned all abortions once a "heartbeat" (which is just cardiovascular activity) was detected. This can be detected as early as six weeks, many times before people even know they're pregnant. Additionally, the Texas bill added a vigilante element that would allow people to report anyone who plays any role in helping someone access abortion care.
Rep. Teresa Martinez introduced House Bill 2483, a copycat version of SB8, in the Arizona Legislature, sparking a strong opposition response from groups such as the Arizona chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, among others. Thankfully, HB2483 did not receive a full hearing and died in its chamber of origin. Although Roe v. Wade was overturned, HB2483 becoming law would have heightened the hostility towards those seeking abortion care in Arizona.
3. Budget Surprises BRING SILVER LININGS
The Arizona Legislature passed a historic budget this year, with many people touting it as the first "bipartisan budget" in years. Although the branding of it being a "bipartisan budget" can be heavily debated, a few inclusions brought a silver lining to the budget. These highlights included $5 million to the Arizona Department of Education Indian Education Office. 2022 was the first year the office received state funding, allowing it to advance its work. Additionally, $2 million were allocated to the Department of Law for investigations regarding missing and murdered Indigenous people.
Lastly, the Arizona Legislature took a much-needed first step in addressing the major gaps in education funding, allocating an additional $500 million for base-level spending. Although education funding still has a long way to go, education advocates revered it as a crucial initial step in the right direction.
4. HCR2039 Cap Lift Keeps Rural, Low-Income Schools Operating
Credit: @IntoAction
At the beginning of the year, schools in rural and low-income areas faced the threat of potentially being shut down. This is due to the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL), a cap on education spending. Every year, this cap is typically lifted due to the limit being extremely outdated as it was set in the 1980s. However, this year, legislators decided to use it as a bargaining tool to make deals with one another. If the cap was not lifted by the deadline, school spending would have been limited, even though the money was already allocated for them to use. Thankfully, due to community pressure, a deal came in shortly before the deadline with HCR2039, temporarily lifting the cap and allowing schools to continue operating.
5. HB2617 Veto Protects Arizonans’ Voting Rights
Credit: @buildingback
As an epicenter for attacks on democracy, it comes as no surprise that the legislature passed a bill to make it easier to remove voters from registration rolls. HB2617 was an extremely vague bill that would have allowed county recorders to remove voters at their own discretion — including if they merely "believe" someone is not a U.S. Citizen. With pure bigotry at the forefront of the bill, democracy groups such as the Arizona Voting Rights Coalition came together to push for a veto on this racist bill. The Arizona Voting Rights Coalition consists of advocacy groups such as Progress Arizona, Fuerte, Arizona Democracy Resource Center, All Voting is Local, LUCHA, and others. Thankfully, Gov. Doug Ducey listened to the voting rights experts and vetoed the bill!
6. Money Flows Toward Arizona’s Water Conservation!
Credit: @studioclip
The Arizona water crisis is a constant point of contention among lawmakers, making any agreement on water rare and monumental. This year, water advocates had a win with more money allocated toward water conservation and other water protection projects. Thanks to groups such as Chispa Arizona and The Sierra Club sounding the alarm about the water crisis, the state has taken a step further in finding a solution. The Arizona Legislature approved $200 million toward water conservation efforts to protect the water we already have within the state. Although the water deal is by no means perfect, this step allows Arizona's water crisis to be treated as a priority.
The conversations on protecting water in Arizona will remain ongoing as the Arizona Legislature also approved over $1 billion for the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority fund, meaning that water acquisition and conservation projects will receive backing. Funds have historically been the missing key for water projects in Arizona. The money was officially approved, and lawmakers need to listen to the water experts in the state — not corporate interests.
7. SB1412 — Teacher Gag Bill Flunks OUT OF LEGISLATURE
Credit: @creative-courage
Arizona's teachers were able to escape more coordinated attacks against their profession during this legislative session. Disinformation regarding "Critical Race Theory" has spread like wildfire, with many concerned folks not being able to explain it properly. As part of a nationwide coordinated attack on teaching racial equity in schools, some lawmakers in Arizona have taken steps to attempt to ban this topic. Although, CRT is an advanced social theory that is not taught in K-12 classrooms. This has caused anti-CRT lawmakers to utilize vague language in their proposals. SB1412 would have banned most mentions of race and equality in the classroom and opened the door for lawsuits against educators if a student or parent felt uncomfortable with the material. If SB1412 had become law, teaching topics such as the Holocaust or the history of slavery could have potentially become obsolete or heavily restricted to avoid lawsuits. Fortunately, this teacher gag bill eventually failed, preventing a serious legal battle that would have undoubtedly shaped education across the country.
Thank You Community Organizations!
The 2022 Arizona legislative session has finally adjourned, emphasizing how organizing together against attacks on our communities has been proven successful, time after time. Community organizations make the legislature accessible and provide educational resources on what is happening at the state level and ways to take action!
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Editor’s note: If you want to learn more about how your legislator voted, you can check out Progress Arizona’s The Progress Score. It's a legislative scorecard put together by our very own 2021 Monzón Fellow and Progress Arizona Deputy Executive Director, Jenny Guzman, who wrote this blog!
