by admin | Mar 16, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
The Biden administration and radical environmentalists will do anything they can to enforce their climate change agenda on the American people. And now, they are using ozone control measures to do just that right here in the state of Arizona.
On September 16, 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reclassified Maricopa County as a moderate nonattainment area of ozone limits under the Clean Air Act. This basically means that, according to the EPA, Maricopa County’s ozone levels are too high and therefore our state—including its individual citizens, motorists, and businesses—will be forced to adopt ozone control measures.
So, what exactly caused Arizona’s rise in ozone levels? Was it more cars on the road? A dramatic increase in air travel to our state? Too many cows releasing methane into the air?
No. The main contributor was the adoption of the 2015 EPA guidelines, which dropped acceptable ozone levels from 75ppb to 70ppb. That’s right. Government bureaucrats simply moved the goal posts. On top of that, multiple studies have shown that any higher ozone levels in Maricopa County are simply being caused by natural events, which means that the issue is very much out of the control of our citizens. In fact, just look at the numbers from 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ozone levels increased from 79ppb to 87ppb even though business activity was halted, and we saw a dramatic decrease in cars on our roads.
But that hasn’t stopped the EPA. It still wants to use this issue and our noncompliance (which it manufactured), to impose a slew of restrictions and mandates on Maricopa County residents and businesses. Along with fines and penalties—like the withholding of Arizona’s share of federal transportation dollars—it is considering additional control measures. Among them are:
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- More regulations on business
- Expanding transit (which has seen a steady decline in ridership in Maricopa County)
- Adopting vision-zero zoning programs (which spend millions of dollars until a city achieves zero traffic-related fatalities)
- Removing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles from the roadways
- Vehicle trip reduction requirements
Those last two should stand out to you. The EPA wants Arizona to follow in the footsteps of California, where its regulatory board, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), officially adopted a plan to ban the internal combustion engine. The rationale behind this was that banning ICE cars was needed to ensure ozone compliance. But even the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) admits that removing all 4 million ICE vehicles in the metropolitan Phoenix area would not bring Maricopa County into compliance with the EPA’s ozone requirements.
Then, there’s the push for vehicle trip reduction requirements. In other words, the government is looking to limit your ability to drive—or tax the hell out of you for the miles you do drive. And once again, this would mimic what’s going on in California, where government bureaucrats are looking to advance a vehicle mileage tax in San Diego.
Of course, none of this will bring Arizona into compliance. But perhaps even scarier is that if any of these new measures are adopted, they cannot be rolled back. The Clean Air Act prohibits any “backsliding.”
That’s why we must work to stop the EPA from forcing us to adopt these radical regulations and restrictions. So far, our state legislature has gotten started by issuing HCM2008, which urges the Biden administration and Congress to stop the EPA from imposing these penalties on our state. But we can’t stop there. These measures are coercive, punitive, and likely illegal. And that’s why we intend to fight it through any legal means necessary.
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by admin | Feb 23, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
Racist policies have no business in Arizona. And in 2010, our state’s voters made that clear when they passed Proposition 107. This amendment to Arizona’s Constitution banned affirmative action programs in the state that were administered by statewide or local units of government, including state agencies, cities, counties, and school districts. But as we’ve become all too familiar with here in the U.S. and the state of Arizona, politicians and bureaucrats have figured out ways to skirt the language in our constitution. That’s led to where we are today.
Under the guise of words that sound harmless enough like “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” (DEI), Critical Race Theory (CRT) and similar programs largely flew under the radar and have been used to indoctrinate our students. Floods of parents eventually caught on, making it their mission to stop the invasion of CRT and DEI in our school districts. And while the newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne, has already taken steps to stop such indoctrination in our schools, there’s more work to be done.
After all, it’s not just students that have been affected. Many governmental entities have been choosing who to hire or contract with based on race. Take our state’s universities for example. According to a recent report from the Goldwater Institute, Arizona’s public universities are compelling job applicants to pledge support for progressive, racialized notions of DEI and CRT-based terminology in order to be hired. As of last fall, Arizona State University (ASU) required diversity statements from approximately 81 percent of job applicants. Northern Arizona University required diversity statements from 73 percent of job applicants. And the University of Arizona required diversity statements from 28 percent of job applicants.
It’s bad enough that over 200 educators from across Arizona voluntarily pledged to teach CRT and all other social-justice-oriented curriculum to children, regardless of the law or parents’ wishes. But ASU is forcing 81 percent of job applicants to sign these DEI loyalty oaths in order to have a chance at getting hired?!?
It’s time to put a stop to this blatant racism. And SCR1024 is the perfect solution. This bill would refer to the ballot an amendment to Arizona’s Constitution that would stop DEI and CRT from being pushed in our K-12 public schools and public universities. And it would prohibit governmental entities from making any-race-based decisions related to hiring or contracting.
Most importantly, SCR1024 would put the issue in front of voters and give the people of Arizona a chance to make their voices heard. And just like with affirmative action in 2010, there’s no doubt that it would show that Arizonans want CRT and DEI out of our state for good.
The fact is that slavery, racial discrimination, and racism are inconsistent with the founding principles of our nation. That’s why we fought a civil war to eliminate the first, waged political campaigns to get rid of the second, and made the third unacceptable in the court of public opinion. But CRT and DEI policies only create division while threatening to make racial discrimination legal again. Enough is enough. It’s time to give voters the chance to prohibit these racist policies once and for all.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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by admin | Feb 16, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
Katie Hobbs’ reign as governor of Arizona is off to a rough start. She was booed at the Phoenix Open this past weekend. She looked foolish in an interview before the Super Bowl with Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream—who called out Hobbs for opposing school choice even though she attended a private school. And her pick to lead the Arizona Democratic Party, Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, was rejected.
That’s not a good look for a governor who’s been in office just over a month. And it’s probably why, at this point, Hobbs has chosen to rule by executive action. But her latest failure may be her worst to date.
Earlier this week, Hobbs’ pick to lead the Department of Health Services (DHS), Dr. Theresa Cullen, failed miserably when the Senate rejected her nomination. Back in December, Dr. Cullen was among the first cabinet members Hobbs announced for her term as Arizona governor. And it was destined to be a disaster. As the Director of the Pima County Public Health Department since June 2020, Dr. Cullen mandated masks, shuttered schools, and prided herself on locking down the county during COVID. She imposed an illegal “voluntary” curfew from 10 pm to 5 am for residents. And she tried to force vaccines while even going so far as to say, “It’s the ultimate arrogance and privilege to think that you don’t need to get immunized.”
This is who Katie Hobbs nominated to oversee our state’s health department. And it was Radical Left appointees like Dr. Cullen that prompted Senate President Warren Petersen to form the Arizona Senate Committee on Director Nominations to recommend a course of action for the Senate to take on each individual. After vetting Dr. Cullen’s past, that committee called into question her ability to lead the DHS and voted against recommending her nomination to the Senate. The Senate then followed suit and officially rejected her. But it can’t stop there.
Hobbs is well aware that we have a divided government that can keep her in check at the legislature. And it’s clear that she plans to do most of her damage through the administrative state. That’s why Republican lawmakers must be prepared to fight back against her radical appointments to various boards, commissions, and state agencies. After all, Dr. Theresa Cullen isn’t the only one.
Just look at who Hobbs nominated for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Karen Peters is currently the Deputy City Manager for the city of Phoenix, and she is responsible for the city’s environmental plan that dictated it become a C40 city. C40 is a network of mayors who are committed to forcing Green New Deal mandates in their respective cities. As a part of this absurd plan, Phoenix essentially wants to reduce emissions and ban fossil fuels. And to do so, it would require transportation demand management, which basically means that it would track people’s mileage and fine them for driving too far.
It’s bad enough that Hobbs has already pledged to install more electric vehicle charging stations—which have been proven to provide no environmental friendliness—while pushing for an ill-advised commuter rail in Phoenix. If Peters’ nomination is approved, we can expect even more extreme policies when it comes to so-called climate change.
But the Republican-led legislature can put a stop to Peters—and any other radical leftists that Hobbs tries to push as a part of her cabinet. Stopping Dr. Theresa Cullen was a great start, but there’s more work to be done. Now, our lawmakers must be willing to do whatever it takes to expose Hobbs’ nominations. Otherwise, Arizona could start to look like another California.
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Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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by admin | Feb 9, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates, Uncategorized
Katie Hobbs certainly seems to like power. That’s probably why she was so giddy with laughter and excitement during her swearing-in ceremony last month. Now, she’s gotten to work. And despite her claims that Republicans and Democrats will have an open door to her office to get to work on bipartisan compromise, her preferred method appears to be executive action.
In just over a month since beginning her reign as governor, Hobbs has already signed seven executive orders. And there’s no sign that she’ll stop there. Her first executive order, prohibiting gender identity discrimination in state employment and contracts, was particularly eye-opening. Consider it a small taste of the woke agenda Hobbs is looking to implement over the next four years. And while it’s good to see that groups like the Arizona Freedom Caucus are planning to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of such an order, it will take more than that to stop Hobbs from overstepping her authority.
If there’s anything that the past few years should have taught us, it’s that Democrats, in particular, have a strong thirst for executive overreach. In just his first two months in office, President Biden signed 37 executive orders, 13 presidential memoranda, 24 proclamations, and seven notices. And in his first two weeks alone, he had already signed more than double the number of executive orders signed by President Trump in his first month. Biden loves to talk about protecting democracy, but his actions prove otherwise.
Then, of course, there’s Michigan’s infamous Governor Gretchen Whitmer, whose appetite for power rose to new levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Whitmer signed one of the most restrictive stay-at-home orders in the country. It prevented the people of Michigan from traveling to in-state vacation residences and using a motorboat. And it mandated large stores to close areas dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, and paint. Some stores even went so far as to put caution tape around such areas. And while the Michigan Supreme Court eventually struck down Whitmer’s orders months later, the damage had already been done.
Arizona certainly hasn’t been immune to government overreach in the past. During COVID, various government officials throughout the state used emergency powers to restrict freedom and some even used it as an opportunity to declare climate emergencies! Now, with Hobbs in office and Arizona’s broad allowance of emergency powers for the executive, we can expect more of the same—or maybe even Gretchen Whitmer 2.0. Given her chosen person to head up the Department of Health Services—a radical social justice warrior that wants “health equity”—Hobbs is the single biggest threat to medical freedom in the state of Arizona.
That’s why it is critical to put this issue in front of Arizona voters as soon as possible. And a new bill sponsored by Reps. Joseph Chaplik (R-LD03) and Alex Kolodin (R-LD03) is designed to do just that. HCR2039, which would be subject to voter approval, would terminate a governor’s state of emergency and any emergency powers after 30 days, unless extended by Concurrent Resolution of the legislature. It would also allow the legislature to declare the end of a state emergency before the 30-day period by Concurrent Resolution.
With Hobbs prepared to rule by executive action for the foreseeable future, this bill is an important first step to limiting her powers. The people of Arizona have been through a lot over the past few years. Now, the Republican-led legislature needs to show that it won’t let the governor’s emergency powers destroy their lives again by passing HCR2039.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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by admin | Feb 2, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
It’s always a good day when an elected official holds to his campaign promises. And as the newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne has done just that. During his campaign, Tom said he would make it a priority to stop indoctrination like Critical Race Theory while fighting back against cancel culture and improving student performance. Last week, he took important steps to make this a reality.
Under Tom’s direction, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has eliminated social-emotional learning (SEL) from its administration. Among his first moves, Tom has not only removed references to SEL, but he has gotten rid of other leftist initiatives from former Superintendent Kathy Hoffman like the division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion along with sex chat rooms for minors like “Queer Chat.”
But while Tom is working hard to end the woke indoctrination of our students, he’s not stopping there. He’s actually placing a renewed focus on what our schools should be prioritizing: academics. Take the ADE’s recent annual conference for teachers, principals, and other educators, for example. Before the conference, the ADE canceled SEL presentations that had been planned under the previous administration on topics like racial trauma, creating a culture of care, and diversity and equity skills for school leaders. And what did Tom replace them with? Sessions on improving math instruction and how to improve a student’s academic performance.
That should be something we can all get behind, right? After all, data from the National Assessment of Education Progress shows that students in Arizona suffered severe learning losses in math and nominal losses in reading as a result of remote learning during COVID.
But as you might expect, the Left is already in an uproar. Believe it or not, several “education consultants” who had their presentations canceled at the ADE conference actually claimed that it would hurt students. That’s right. They think that replacing SEL training with training on how to improve academic achievement—especially in math—will be harmful to children. You can’t make this stuff up.
These so-called “education consultants” must have missed the part where the majority of Arizona’s students have been failing the statewide assessment. And they must not have been paying attention to the latest ACT scoring data, which shows that the average Arizona student doesn’t achieve an ACT score recommended as a minimum by our state universities. Or maybe they just have their own agenda.
The fact is that SEL has been receiving millions of dollars in funding right here in the state of Arizona. And plenty of our state’s school staff—like counselors—have been trained in its controversial theories and ideologies. But what has that gotten us? Learning loss and lower test scores.
It’s time to purge SEL from our schools entirely and put that money toward students and improving teacher salaries. Our children deserve a real education that gives them the best opportunity for success in the future. Thankfully, Tom Horne is proving he’s the right man for the job.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
by admin | Jan 19, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
The people of Arizona do not want to turn our state into the next California. But just a few weeks into her reign as governor, Katie Hobbs has made it clear—that’s exactly what she intends to do. Last week, Hobbs released her first budget plan, and it’s nothing more than a liberal wish list of big spending, extreme proposals, and corporate welfare designed to reward her special interest friends.
Her first target is education, and she wasted no time going after Arizona’s expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs). Yes, the program that is so popular that it overwhelmed the Department of Education’s website immediately after launch—the one that even some Democrats have openly supported. Despite being a private schooler herself, Hobbs wants to dismantle school choice for all with a full repeal of universal ESAs. And that’s just the start.
While seeking to prohibit minority children and low-income families from choosing their K-12 school, Hobbs also wants to use your tax dollars to subsidize college tuition for illegal immigrants. On the heels of the narrow passage of Prop 308 in this November’s election, Hobbs proposed a budget of $40 million to establish a new tuition scholarship program for Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) eligible students. This means that, using your taxpayer dollars, illegal immigrants will now be paying less for college than in-state students! (But hey, at least we have Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. Oh wait…that turned out to be the complete failure we predicted it would be.)
In addition to her focus on public education spending, Hobbs’ plan contains a massive expansion of government-funded health care. It includes $463.5 million and $115.8 million in federal fund expenditure authority to utilize year three of federal funding given directly to AHCCCS and the Department of Economic Security respectively. It sets aside $257 million for AHCCCS program caseload growth and the unwinding of federal COVID-19 policies. And consistent with her view that no laws limiting abortion should exist, Hobbs put $6 million toward “family planning services.” But that’s not all.
No liberal budget is complete without bowing down at the altar of AOC’s Green New Deal. So, of course, Hobbs pledged $15 million to install more electric vehicle charging stations despite evidence that debunks their so-called “green” benefits. And along with a myriad of other “green” transit projects, she proposed using $7.5 million toward an interstate commuter rail in Phoenix. That seems like it would go well with another decision in her budget—to eliminate Arizona’s border strike force. Illegal immigration is at an all-time high, and our state has seen a stark increase in the amount of illegal immigrants apprehended with one or more prior criminal convictions. But Hobbs wants to turn a blind eye to the problem while providing illegal immigrants with easier access to Phoenix through a commuter rail. What could go wrong?
We are at a crucial moment in our state, and now is not the time to waver or give in. The Decline to Sign movement to defend school choice showed us that when we fight back, we can win. Now, Republicans need to stand united against Katie Hobbs’ radical budget. Otherwise, she’ll get her ultimate wish—that Arizona resembles our neighbors to the west.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
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