Update #28) Sign up for Environmental Day at the Capitol 2025 and Our Prep Workshops!

December 8, 2024

Final Updates -- after the end of 2024 Legislative Session...

Here are details of our "Report Card" -- of the 2024 Session of the AZ Legislature and Governor...

  • #27 = Nov 1)  Mark Your Calendar for  Environmental Day at the Capitol 2025!
    • "...preparing for 2025, including for our Feb 12 annual lobby day, Environmental Day at the Capitol. This is an opportunity to meet with  our legislators, hear from great speakers, and connect with others  who are doing advocacy work both inside and outside the Arizona Legislature.  Please mark your calendar and RSVP.  It is important to register so we know what legislative district you are in and also can plan for food and materials."
  • #26 = Aug 10)  The 2024 Environmental Report Card for the Arizona Legislature is Out! How did your legislators do? 
    • summary...
      • "You can find a recording of the briefing we did on YouTube. Review the report card in English and in Spanish."
      • "Don't forget that we are already beginning to plan our lobby day for 2025, Environmental Day at the Capitol 2025. If you want to be involved in that, just let me know and I will get you in the loop. If you have feedback on making it better or what you really liked about the 2024 event, let us know that too."
  • #25) Aug 3)  Join Us for the 2024 Environmental Report Card Brief!  Learn how your legislators scored.
    • summary = "...in Phoenix, it was the 2nd hottest July on record -- last year was the hottest. The trend is not good and the extreme heat is deadly. We need more funding to provide respite, legislation and rules to protect outdoor workers, more limits on shutting off people's electricity, more trees and ways to reduce temperatures in the short term, and most of all, we need to act on climate! This year's legislature did nothing on any of those issues. Join us on Monday, August 5th at 11:00 AM for a briefing on the 2024 Environmental Report Card for the Arizona Legislature and Governor"

Weekly Updates -- through the 2024 Legislative Session...

  • #24) June 21) Sine Die! Finally, We can all Breathe Easier!
    • summary = "Phew! The AZ Legislature finally adjourned sine die -- They did more than their fair share of harm, including a godawful budget that does little to prepare AZ for the challenges we face, a plethora of bad water bills, and a couple more bad referrals."
  • #23) June 7) More Harm Headed to the Ballot from the Legislature!
    • summary = "AZ Legislature sent another bad measure to the ballot, to allow more racial profiling and persecution of immigrants -- It is being challenged as unconstitutional -- If the courts don't reject it, the people should -- Also, more bad legislation on water."
  • #22) May 31)  Speak Up, Show Up for Democracy, Human Rights, & Water!
    • Summary = "This week, please help us fight a bad water bill, a harmful immigration measure, and a bill to hinder early voting. Your voice makes a difference!  The Senate will be back on June 12th and is likely to consider HCR2056, which as amended in the Senate Elections Committee, will hinder early voting, especially for those in rural areas and Tribal communities"
  • #21) May 24) Speak Out on Bad Immigration Bill & Terrible Water Bill  [3-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "Ask your reps to vote NO on HCR2060 (which allows law enforcement to engage in racial profiling and to investigate and detain suspected undocumented individuals) -- The Senate passed HB2201 (a Christmas tree of bad water provisions, and a great big present to developers, land speculators, hedge funds, private water companies, and two places -- Buckeye and Queen Creek -- that want water rules changed..."
  • #20) May 17) Harmful Referrals and Bad Water Bill Considered this Week [3-pg PDF] 
    • Summary = "This week, the Arizona Legislature tried to pass a referral to target immigrants and another one to restrict early voting. As if that was not bad enough, the Governor is trying to help the development interests get a bad water bill through that weakens assured water supply requirements. Overall, it was a bad week for public policy."
  • #19) May 10) Arizona Legislature Queues Up More Hate-Based Legislation  [4-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "This week at the Legislature, only the Arizona Senate met and most of their focus was on HCR2060, a bill that aims to refer to the ballot a measure to make it easier for law enforcement to engage in racial profiling and to investigate and detain suspected undocumented individuals. It is very likely unconstitutional, would be costly, and is certainly inhumane."
  • #18) May 4) Arizona Moves Out of the 19th Century with Vote to Reverse Abortion Ban  [3-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "This week at the Legislature, the action was in the Senate and it focused on the repeal of the Civil War-era abortion ban. After many hours of vote explanation and with the usual suspects -- Senator Hoffman and Senator Kern -- being as nasty as possible, they passed the bill and sent it to the Governor to sign on Thursday. The House is adjourned for two weeks and will be back on May 15th. The Senate will meet on May 8th."
  • #17) April 26) Another Week -- well really just one day -- at the AZ Legislature and still no budget  [4-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "This week, Governor Hobbs vetoed HB2646 "power plants; public service corporations". This was a bad bill that sought to extend the life of outdated, expensive, dirty coal plants at the expense of utility ratepayers, setting out-of-reach parameters for their closures, and requiring the Attorney General to be engaged in opposing federal rules that would expedite their retirement."
  • #16) April 19) Legislature Continues Its One-day-a-week Schedule [5-pg PDF]
    • Summary ="Every day is certainly not Earth Day at the Arizona Legislature, where they continue to move along bills to whittle away at protections for air, water, lands, and more. This week, they came back to the Capitol on Wednesday for not quite a full day of work. They passed along a few bills and transmitted some to the Governor -- none of them good. The Senate passed a motion to hear the bill to repeal the 1864 ban on abortion. The House did not. Neither took action. Stay tuned."
  • #15) April 12) GOP Legislators Backpedal All the Way out the Door [6-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "It was an interesting week/day/half-day at the Arizona Legislature. After the Arizona Supreme Court reached back in time to 1864 and sanctioned a Civil War-era complete abortion ban, some in the GOP could not backpedal fast enough. Rather than consider a bill to eliminate the total ban, the majority shut down the session for another week, so stay tuned for next Wednesday..."
  • #14) April 5) Legislators Press the Pause Button, But There are Still Many Actions to Take  [5-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "Legislature has finished most bills (70 remain) -- Meeting just once a week for the next month -- Budget talks with Governor -- Our Priority: Stop the 6 worst referrals (as they will clog up ballots with bad policies and bypass the Governor) -- See details"...
  • #13) March 30) 'Committees are done, but there are plenty of actions to take' [7-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "Committees are done, but there are plenty of actions to The committees are done, except for the budget hearings -- whenever those might be -- Rules, and Senate committee confirmation hearings. This means we know the universe of bills remaining. For a lot of the environmental bills, it looks like it will be mostly party line votes and, we hope, a veto by the Governor. Sadly, there are few positive bills moving. Legislators never heard bills to advance environmental justice, bills to limit groundwater pumping, bills to protect rivers and streams, bills to help address climate change, and bills to protect our air and water."
  • #12) Mar 23)  'Take Action Against Bad Referrals and Legislation!'   [8-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "Vote No on HCR 2040!  Ask your Senator to oppose prohibiting climate action and clean air plans! -- a week full of bad legislation -- lots of last-minute bad strike-everything amendments, such as exemptions from public records law for water deals"
  • #11) Mar 16)  'Strike that! Strike out! Legislators Strike-everything!'   [9-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "Bills: 23 Oppose, 0 Support) The Arizona House was back in action this week after a pause when several representatives were out of the country. Both houses will have long committee agendas next week and those agendas are filled with strike-everything amendments, where they totally change the content of a bill and replace it with a new bill, but keep the number -- a confusing practice that does not serve the public and mostly helps to get controversial bills through the process"
  • #10) Mar 9)  'Some Good and Mostly Bad Bills and Referrals Advance'   [7-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "Bills: 35 Oppose, 1 Support) The House did little this week (members were in Israel) -- The Senate passed bad public policies, such as a water market to further deplete our aquifers -- They did stop HCR2018, a referral that would prohibit actions to limit vehicle miles traveled"...
  • #9) Mar 1)  'Speak up on lots of bad policies -- and a few good ones.'   [5-pg PDF]
    • Summary = "Bills: 9 Oppose, 2 Support) House and Senate moved lots of bills through the floor process -- They neglected to vote down the many godawful water, lands, democracy, and immigration bills -- They advanced lots of referrals, meaning a crowded ballot maybe -- These HCRs and SCRs do not go to the governor, they go to the secretary of state to be placed on the ballot for 2024"...
  • #8) Feb 23) 'A Billapalooza of Bad Policy at the Legislature'   [5-pg PDF]
  • #7) Feb 17) 'Phew! What a week and crossover week'   [5-pg PDF]
  • #6) Feb 10) 'Long Agendas, Too Many Bills, and So Much Bad Policy'   [11-pg PDF]
  • #5) Feb 3) 'Resignations, Appointments, and More and More Bills!'   [8-pg PDF]
  • #4) Jan 27) 'Worst Water Bills on the Agenda -- and other bad ideas!'   [6-pg PDF]
  • #3) Jan 19) 'Jan 25 is Environmental Day at the Capitol!'   [6-pg PDF]
  • #2) Jan 12) 'State of the State, Budget Proposal, Bad Legislation'   [6-pg PDF]
  • #1) Jan 5) 'A New Year and a New Legislative Session'   [4-pg PDF]

Environmental Priorities for AZ Legislature:

Jan 3:  full News Release (2 pages) for 'Groups Release 2024 Environmental Priorities for Arizona Legislature and Governor'

Here is our sign-up for AZ Legislative Newsletter

2024 Legislative Session Bill Tracker = up-to-date detailed overview of all bills -- with status, etc

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