The 2023 legislative session saw legislation dubbed The Tamale Bill. The bill passed both chambers but was vetoed by the governor. The veto letter stated safety concerns.
HB2042, the current version of the food cottage bill, AKA the Tamale bill, expands cottage kitchens to produce potentially hazardous food, but with many restrictions and reporting rules. The bill is up for a floor vote on Monday.
Unfortunately, many local tamale vendors have been in violation of current law.
The coming week will have long Committee Hearing agendas. Bills need to be out of Committee by Feb. 16. The exceptions are the Appropriations and Rules Committees. They get an extra week to hear bills. After this coming week there will be fewer bills to use RTS until the bills cross over to the second chamber and Committees begin again.
Senator Kavanagh's resolution, SCR1013, on biological sex: pronouns and shower/bathroom facilities will be heard in the Rules Committee on Monday. It could make it’s way to the floor for a vote late in the week.
In addition to the above Resolution, Sen. Kavanagh sponsored SB1182 banning trans kids from using showers at school that align with their gender identity. This bill passed the Education Committee and will also be heard in Rules this week.
Sen. Kavanagh’s bill SB1187 requires public schools to offer a polling location if their district has a bond or override on the ballot. While the bill states the requirement is in effect only if another government building is not available it voids safety and available place language present in current statute. It passed out of Elections and will be heard in Rules this week.
The election date crisis was avoided this week due to long hours of negotiations led by Rep. Kolodin and Rep. Laura Terech-D. R's and D's needed to come to an agreement as a 2/3 vote was required.
Two republicans voted against HB2785.
In addition to changing the 2024 Primary election date to July 30th it makes changes to signature verification and curing. It also changes dates for the Board of Supervisors to canvass an election. Some changes will not take place until 2026. The election crisis was caused by a change in the number of ballots that will need to be hand counted. Elections officials determined July 30th could allow time for Primary winners to be determined and military/oversees ballots send in time for the General election. The change came with a bill by Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita in 2022.
Note: The canvass is the official tally of votes for any given election. The purpose of the canvass is to account for every ballot cast and ensure that every valid vote cast is included in the election totals.
Summary of the compromise bill is here.
Rep. Kolodin’s HB2181 would ban the governor from calling the National Guard to active duty without a request from Congress or the AZ Legislature. Bill will be heard in the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee this week.
HB2748, sponsored by Joseph Chaplik, would make it a state crime to cross a federal border without the required documentation and give local police immunity to arrest migrants crossing the border. In 2012 the US Supreme Court ruled Arizona had no right to enforce federal immigration laws. Bill will be heard in the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee.
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