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AZ advocate pushes for voting and immigration reform
As Tania Lopez marched on Wednesday towards the White House alongside faith leaders from all over the country, she thought about her privileges as an immigrant who votes. Lopez, a Phoenix resident, traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of a gathering hosted by Faith in Action, a network of faith-based advocacy groups, to continue pressuring […]
Republicans pass ban targeting transgender girl, women athletes
Senate Republicans approved a bill barring transgender women and girls in Arizona from playing on girls’ and women’s teams in K-12 and university sports. The legislation, which won the support of all 16 Republican senators, would change state law to categorize transgender girl student athletes as “biological males.” Republican lawmakers, some of them invoking their […]
Push to repeal English-only education appears abandoned in 2022
After three consecutive years of Republican lawmakers championing a proposal to repeal the decades-old law that prohibits bilingual education for English-language learners in Arizona, it appears the effort won’t get a push this legislative session. Since 2019, Rep. John Fillmore, an Apache Junction Republican, has backed measures allowing voters to repeal Arizona’s English-only model, which […]
Senate committee approves measure targeting transgender girls in school sports
Vanessa Anspach fought back tears as she told state legislators about her 10-year-old daughter. “When I became a parent I never imagined I’d be standing here today begging you for my child’s right to be a child,” she said, her voice cracking. “This bill is about little kids. No child wakes up wanting to be […]
Police: Kyrsten Sinema intentionally went into a bathroom to dodge activists filming her at ASU
On the morning of Oct. 3, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema gave her students in an advanced fundraising class at Arizona State University a break. She stepped out of the classroom to go move her car to another location near the downtown Phoenix campus, but instead found a group of four activists waiting to talk to her. […]
AZ gets $5.6 million from feds to assist newly arrived Afghan families
The federal government has sent more than $5.6 million to Arizona to help care for families that arrived in the Grand Canyon State after fleeing Afghanistan in 2021 when the nation’s government collapsed in the wake of the U.S. military’s withdrawal. The federal funding is part of a short-term spending bill President Joe Biden signed […]
A wave of legislative resignations means there are a bunch of new faces at the Capitol this year
In the barely six months since last year’s legislative session ended, there’s been a wave of resignations at the Arizona Legislature: three state senators, all Democrats, left their seats and nine House members are no longer in the lower chamber. So when the legislature returns to the Capitol on Jan. 10 for its annual session, […]
Two proposals target trans youth in sports, medicine
Arizona medical professionals who perform gender-affirming surgery or provide hormonal treatment to transgender or gender nonconforming minors would face felony charges and prison time under a proposed law from a northern Arizona legislator. Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, proposed Senate Bill 1045 to prohibit medical procedures that affirm the gender identity of children and teens who […]
Sen. Peshlakai resigns, headed for Dept. of Interior role
Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai resigned on Wednesday from the state Senate to work with the Department of Interior, the Democratic legislator from Cameron said. Peshlakai chaired the Indigenous Peoples Caucus in the legislature. She pushed for legislation for the state to recognize Indigenous People’s Day and advocated for water, education, and infrastructure issues. “As an indigenous […]
In lieu of path to citizenship, advocates cheer immigration reforms in spending bill
While a pathway to citizenship was nixed in the most recent version of the Build Back Better Act, a flagship legislation part of President Joe Biden’s agenda, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and immigration advocates still welcome the protections from deportation expected to impact about 6.5 million undocumented immigrants. Under the House version of the spending […]
Income tax cut referendum qualifies for ballot, secretary of state says
Arizona voters will get the final say on Gov. Doug Ducey’s legacy income tax cut package that was signed into law earlier this year, after a coalition of public education groups successfully forced a public vote in 2022. The Secretary of State’s Office announced Friday that the referendum effort gathered more than the 118,823 signatures […]
GOP senator wants to cancel 2022 vote on in-state tuition for Dreamers because GOP senators were in the minority
A Republican lawmaker says voters shouldn’t get to weigh in on a ballot measure next year that would repeal a state law prohibiting undocumented students from accessing in-state tuition at public universities and community colleges because not enough Republicans supported the proposal. Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita on Tuesday introduced a proposal to reverse the passage of […]