by admin | Apr 13, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
If you enjoy losing your freedom for a goal that is impossible to achieve, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) has you covered.
MAG recently released its proposed measures to bring Maricopa County into compliance with ozone standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and it’s a total disaster. Along with a whole host of regulations on various business activities, the proposed restrictions include banning the internal combustion engine and gas appliances. That’s right, just like in California, they are coming for your cars and your gas stoves. But that’s not all. This proposal would also put limits on things like lawn and garden equipment, motorized boating, and water heaters.
The running narrative for the reason behind all of this is that Maricopa County has become a moderate nonattainment area of ozone limits under the Clean Air Act. This essentially means that, according to the EPA, our ozone levels are too high, and therefore we must adopt certain ozone control measures to get us into compliance. But what they won’t tell you is that the main reason our ozone levels are too high is that the federal government moved the goal posts back in 2015 when the EPA dropped its acceptable ozone levels from 75ppb to 70ppb.
Failure to comply with this EPA mandate could lead to fines, penalties, or the withholding of federal transportation dollars for Arizona. So, MAG contracted with a California-based consulting firm to identify measures to bring us into compliance. And what did they determine in their final report? That we need to cut emissions by 50 percent to achieve the EPA’s standard by the August 3, 2024 deadline. That’s not only impossible, it’s absurd.
An Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Division Director recently commended Maricopa County for its “fantastic job” in reducing ozone pollution by 12.5 percent since 2000. So, in over 23 years we reduced ozone pollution by 12.5 percent, and now they think we can reduce it by 50 percent in a little more than a year! Keep dreaming, Maricopa County.
We could implement every single one of these destructive measures, and we still won’t come close to achieving the ozone standard—especially by that deadline. After all, look at what happened in 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. Does MAG really believe that putting more regulations on businesses and banning gas-powered cars to achieve the EPA’s outrageous air quality standards will somehow magically work this time?
The reality is that these higher ozone levels are being caused by natural events and international sources (primarily China). That means the issue is very much out of the control of our citizens. Now, as Maricopa County works with the ADEQ and Pinal County to complete review of this proposal and prepare an implementation plan to be given to the EPA by June, it should go back to the drawing board. Our state shouldn’t be forced to suffer billions of dollars in economic damage and destroy our quality of life to achieve an impossible standard. And the people of Arizona certainly shouldn’t have to sacrifice their freedom just so government bureaucrats can turn us into another California.
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by admin | Mar 30, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
We’re just over two years into President Biden’s presidency, and it appears the push for the Green New Deal is in full swing. They’re coming for your money. They’re coming for your cars. And now, yes, they are indeed coming for your gas stoves.
Of course, these Green New Deal activists don’t want you to know that. That’s why the mere mention of a potential gas stove ban draws eye-rolling responses from the left—like this piece from The New York Times that wants to assure you that the Biden administration is not planning a ban on gas stoves. Or the White House putting out a statement that the president does not support such a ban.
But it’s all lies.
Under the guise of public health and safety concerns, the Department of Energy issued a new rule in January that could ban up to 96% of existing gas stoves. This would affect nearly 35% of homes in the U.S., or more than 40 million Americans, who use gas stoves. But it’s all about your safety, right? So, shouldn’t we bow down and thank our government for protecting us from this significant danger? Well, if they truly cared about your safety, they would actually take a closer look at electric stoves. After all, the National Fire Protection Association recently found that households using electric stoves have a greater risk of cooking fires than those using gas stoves. And despite the fact that 60 percent of homes use electric stoves, 80 percent of stoves involved in cooking fires were powered by electricity.
But you won’t hear about that from the left because it’s not about safety at all. It’s about control. That’s why it’s essential for Republicans in the Arizona legislature to take action to protect the people of our state from this Green New Deal agenda. And earlier this week, they took an important first step.
Representative Steve Montenegro, who serves as the chairman for the Arizona House Health and Human Services Committee, introduced a strike everything amendment to SB1278 to prohibit cities and counties in our state from banning the gas stove along with other appliances. The amended bill was approved by the committee on a party line vote, but it was the testimony of one lobbyist that was particularly interesting.
While expressing opposition to the proposed amendment, Marshall Pimentel from the Arizona League of Cities and Towns admitted that some cities in Arizona are actively looking to ban gas appliances right now. Could one of them be yours? After all, they already have a good example to follow from our neighbors to the west. Just like Arizona may look to mimic San Diego’s vehicle mileage tax, some of our cities and towns may now be trying to follow California’s plan to ban all natural gas appliances by 2035.
But this trend needs to be stopped. The government should not be using health and safety concerns as a smokescreen for implementing Green New Deal mandates. And no city, town, or state should ever tell an American citizen how they’re allowed to cook food for their families.
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by admin | Mar 24, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, multiple government officials seized the opportunity to grab more power. Perhaps chief among them were the Tucson city council and Mayor Regina Romero, who exploited the moment by declaring a “climate emergency.” Now, the city of Tucson has finalized its plan to solve this “climate emergency”—to the tune of an estimated $326 million. But it’s not just the cost that should concern you.
Tucson’s Climate Action Plan, titled “Tucson Resilient Together,” is ripe with Green New Deal mandates that are aimed at forcing citizens out of their cars, controlling their lives, and destroying the community. By 2050, they plan to force 40% of all people living in Tucson to commute by walking, cycling, taking public transportation, or “rolling” (whatever that means). And that’s just the start.
They actually spell out as part of their strategy that around 25% of people will be walking as their form of transportation by 2050. This is Tucson, Arizona, right? Have these people lived here during any of our summers? Who in their right mind would want to walk (or even cycle or “roll”) as a regular form of transportation when it’s 110 degrees outside?
But maybe they think they can force this to happen with another one of their strategies: putting people on road diets (which, by the way, was recently approved in a Scottsdale City Council meeting). In case you’re not familiar with this approach, road diets reduce the number of travel lanes and the width of the road to make room for other modes of transportation like bike lanes. They have been used in failed leftist cities like Portland, which should tell you all you need to know. And as you probably guessed by now, they will only increase traffic congestion.
Ah…but don’t worry dear citizen. All of this is done with your health and wellbeing in mind. After all, according to Tucson’s plan, you’re just a fat slob who drives too much, which has been resulting in higher absenteeism and loss of productivity. So, your government overlords are going to take care of you by forcing you out of your car and making you walk 150 minutes per week.
But for those who don’t plan on walking, be sure to send Mayor Romero and the Tucson city council a thank you note because they haven’t forgotten about you. As you should probably know by now, no “climate change plan” is complete without investing even more in public transportation. And Tucson has really outdone themselves this time. The massive increase in public transit will include hiring 900 people EACH YEAR to drive all of the buses for a total of 27,000 new full-time transit employees.
Currently, Tucson has a total of 420 bus drivers for their entire system. This increase would make the Tucson Transit Department the largest employer in Pima County. Given the fact that recent public transit reports indicate a significant decline in ridership since the COVID pandemic, this an absolutely absurd investment. And as crazy as all of this seems, the impact can’t be understated: this is now the governing planning document for the 2nd largest city in Arizona, where city staff will be working around the clock to implement their dream of a 15-minute city where cars will be phased out and everything you need will supposedly be available by foot, bike, or public transit. It’s obvious that they hate where we live and how we get around, and this is their solution. But just like with so many of these climate policies, don’t expect politicians or government bureaucrats to be doing any of this. They just want to force it on all of us regular folks.
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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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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 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.
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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