by admin | Feb 19, 2025 | Elections, News and Updates
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Today, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed SB 1011 / HB 2703, which would have greatly sped up Arizona’s election results to ensure that the state was no longer severely lagging in its vote tabulations.
“Thanks to this foolish, stubborn, and politically minded veto from Governor Hobbs, Arizona will remain the laughingstock of the country when Election Night rolls around again,” said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “Governor Hobbs is more interested in catering to a fringe minority of her party than the vast majority of Arizonans who were calling for this necessary and reasonable election reform. This action from the Governor’s Office is not what our state expects from our leaders when there are clear procedural problems to address on issues that are central to the government’s purview.”
SB 1011 / HB 2703 would have enacted the following procedures for Arizona elections to drastically improve the speed and efficiency of the tabulation process, ensuring that a vast majority of votes are counted on Election Day:
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- Cut off early ballot drop-offs to vote collection locations on the Friday preceding Election Day.
- Require voters in larger counties to confirm their address every election cycle to receive a ballot by mail, and those in smaller counties to confirm their address every four years to receive a ballot by mail.
Read additional insight here.
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by admin | Feb 14, 2025 | Misc, News and Updates
“Drain the swamp” is fun to say, and it makes for a great slogan for an election campaign. But too often, that’s where it stops. How many times have you heard politician after politician use such a phrase only to be elected and leave the swamp intact—or make it murkier? But now, it’s 2025. President Trump is back in office, and he is setting a standard of excellence when it comes to draining the swamp—especially on some key issues. And Scottsdale’s newly elected city council is following his lead.
President Trump unleashed a torrent of Executive Orders that have unleashed fossil fuel production in America, rolled back the Green New Deal climate cult fantasy, ended DEI and other race-based hiring and employment practices, and is taking a sledgehammer to the administrative state by letting Elon Musk identify and eliminate billions in wasteful spending.
As we have watched the Trump team move at warp speed to deliver on their campaign promises, we were curious to see if any other state or local governments would follow Trump’s lead at plowing ahead with DOGE-style meaningful reform. Here in Arizona one city has: Scottsdale.
After years of Scottsdale governance that was far more liberal than its electorate, voters ousted all four incumbents on the council, replacing them with conservative firebrands ready to put their predecessor’s far-left agenda into the woodchipper.
Of course, this didn’t stop the lame-duck council from trying to set up roadblocks for their replacements. Immediately after their defeat, Scottsdale began passing all sorts of woke policies before the end of their tenure. One of those policies, championed by former Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, was the city’s sustainability plan. Passed in the 11th hour before the new city council took office, the plan called for the city government to:
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- Reduce citizens’ household trash output by 90% in 15 years.
- Ration citizens’ electric usage—regardless of power source.
- Ration water usage for single-family homes while giving businesses and apartments a pass.
- Outsource local control to the agendas and politics of county government.
- Redirect your tax dollars to speculative environmental programs.
- Subject citizens’ home and business to monitoring and auditing.
Reduce citizens’ trash by 90%?!? Ration water for families—except for businesses and apartments?!?
The plan was a complete nightmare, and thankfully, the new city council didn’t waste any time. Immediately after taking office, it voted to repeal Scottsdale’s Green New Deal sustainability plan. This is a huge win for Scottsdale residents, but the new city council wasn’t done yet.
Earlier this week, the Scottsdale City Council also voted to end discriminatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) policies. In its place, it adopted a new ordinance that will ensure city employees are “hired, evaluated, and promoted based on merit.” What a concept! You mean an organization should hire someone based on their qualifications? It’s amazing that it takes an ordinance to make this happen, but welcome to 2025.
On top of this, Scottsdale will also be restoring sanity by no longer wasting taxpayer dollars on DEI programming, trainings, and other initiatives—including the Office of DEI. And if that’s not enough, city employees will be required to return to in-person work.
We’re just over a month into the Trump administration—part two—and conservative majorities in key areas around the state. With big wins at both the federal and local level, we can’t take our foot off the gas. President Trump has taken the lead, and it’s good to see city councils like the one in Scottsdale following with strong leadership and a firm commitment to restore sanity. Now it’s time for every jurisdiction throughout Arizona to get on board and follow Scottsdale’s blueprint to drain the swamp.
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 | Feb 14, 2025 | Elections, News and Updates
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Yesterday, the Arizona Legislature passed SB 1011 / HB 2703, sending the bill to the Governor’s Office. The proposal from legislators, which mirrors policies from the State of Florida, would greatly speed up the result of elections every two years to ensure that Arizona is no longer severely lagging in its vote tabulating – especially when there are critical races on the ballot to adjudicate.
“After one too many Election Nights (and weeks) of delayed results, Arizona legislators have done the right thing, crafting a bill that gives our state same-day results,” said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “Voters are exhausted of watching this slow-motion train wreck every November. Other states have same-day election results, and it is high time that Arizona enters the 21st Century in this regard. We call on Governor Katie Hobbs to sign this carefully crafted and negotiated bill into law.”
SB 1011 / HB 2703 would enact the following procedures for Arizona elections to drastically improve the speed and efficiency of the tabulation process, ensuring that a vast majority of votes are counted on Election Day:
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- Cut off early ballot drop-offs to vote collection locations on the Friday preceding Election Day.
- Require voters in larger counties to confirm their address every election cycle to receive a ballot by mail, and those in smaller counties to confirm their address every four years to receive a ballot by mail.
Read more about the efforts here.
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 | Feb 13, 2025 | News and Updates, Tax
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Yesterday, the Arizona House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means approved HCR 2035 – the freedom to move ballot referral. The measure passed along party lines. If given the green light by both the Arizona House and Senate and a majority of voters in November 2026, the proposal would amend the constitution to prohibit the state government from tracking, taxing, or limiting miles of travel.
“As we have seen in other states, governments left to their own devices will succumb to radical attempts to track, tax, or limit their citizens’ transportation miles,” said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “These environmental schemes have no place in a free and prosperous society. In this divided state government, it is critical for our Republican-led Legislature to proactively send this constitutional amendment to the voters to protect our state from these authoritarian policies. I’m thankful to the lawmakers who have supported this bill, and I look forward to seeing it pass the full House in the near future.”
HCR 2035 is the first of its kind in the nation. As a constitutional amendment, it would prohibit the state, cities, towns, and counties from imposing a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax and limiting or monitoring vehicle miles traveled by an individual – whether they are using a gas-powered car or an electric vehicle. If approved by the Arizona House and Senate, the measure would then be transmitted to the Secretary of State to be included on the November 2026 General Election ballot to be considered by voters, bypassing the Governor’s Office.
Last month, the Senate Government Committee approved the mirror version of the legislation, SCR1004.
Read more about this issue here.
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 | Feb 10, 2025 | Elections, News and Updates
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Today, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club filed a criminal complaint with Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell over the nearly 40,000 duplicate signatures that were discovered during the petition review on Proposition 140, which had taken place last year before the November General Election. Proposition 140 sought to enact a California-style election scheme built around ranked choice voting and jungle primaries. It was soundly defeated by Arizona voters at the ballot box.
Of the nearly 40,000 duplicates that were included when the Prop 140 Committee submitted their signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State, it was uncovered that 253 people had signed petitions five or more times. One individual had signed 15 times.
“Double or even triple-signing the same initiative petition over the span of several months may well evince merely carelessness or forgetfulness. Signing one’s name five, ten, or even fifteen times, however, is not susceptible to that excuse,” said Scot Mussi, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “There is certainly, at the very least, ample reason to believe that the individuals identified in Exhibit A knowingly violated Arizona law. I accordingly request that your respective offices open an investigation and pursue all appropriate criminal charges.”
Read the complaint here. See the exhibit of duplicate signatures here.
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 | Feb 7, 2025 | Misc, News and Updates
President Trump’s historic victory in the November election gave him a clear mandate from the American people. And so far, he hasn’t wasted any time getting to work. In his first month back in office, Trump signed 45 Executive Orders (EO) in an effort to put America first and undo much of the damage created by the Biden administration. And that’s especially true with his executive actions to unleash American energy.
Ending the Net Zero Climate Cult Fantasy
For four years under President Biden, the American people were forced to endure an administration that was hellbent on pursuing a net zero agenda. Across the country, they pushed these radical and costly climate action plans to fundamentally transform and restrict the energy options available to consumers. Along with this came calls from the Left to ban gas stoves, gas cars, gas-powered lawn equipment, and hundreds of other draconian ideas to limit the freedom of the American people.
If the high cost of these plans wasn’t enough, they have also proven to be unreliable. States and countries that have committed to energy sources like solar and wind as part of this net zero fantasy have experienced rolling blackouts, continually demand that their customers use less, and eventually have to make haste to open reliable sources of generation they had closed down. Isn’t that right, California?
But Trump’s Executive Order 14154 unleashes fossil fuel production and use in America while unwinding much of the damage caused by the Biden administration. Under Trump, the government will promote the production, distribution, and use of reliable domestic energy supplies, including oil, natural gas, and biofuels. And it will also eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate in order to promote consumer choice across the country.
On top of this, a recent memo directs federal agencies to eliminate anything approved under the Biden administration that references climate change; greenhouse gas emissions; racial equity; gender identity; “diversity, equity, and inclusion” goals; environmental justice; and the Justice 40 Initiative. This is a big win for America, but there is still more work to do.
Next Step: Rolling Back the Administrative State
Trump’s executive actions were the critical first step in freeing the country from this net zero madness, but the pushback can’t stop there. The Trump administration must begin the difficult work of stripping the administrative state of their ability to coerce states into adopting Green New deal policies through brute bureaucratic enforcement.
Just look at how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been weaponizing their ozone rules to force states into adopting California’s net zero agenda. We’ve seen it right here in Arizona.
According to the EPA, Maricopa County is an ozone nonattainment area under the Clean Air Act. As a result of this determination, they are threatening heavy sanctions against the state unless we adopt “control measures” to deal with the problem. And it just so happens that those control measures align perfectly with the goals of the radical climate cult lobby—banning gas cars, stoves, leaf blowers, and all gas-powered industrial equipment that make our economy function.
But here’s the thing. Arizona and, more specifically, Maricopa County, doesn’t even have an ozone problem. Current levels of ozone in the region are lower today than they were 20 years ago. And it turns out that most of the ozone we do have in the atmosphere doesn’t even come from anyone in the county—it is either naturally occurring or comes from international sources, primarily China and Mexico.
Other states across the country have the exact same problem, yet the EPA doesn’t care because it’s not really concerned about where the ozone comes from. They just want to use it as a cudgel to beat states into submission.
This sort of bullying from the administrative state must be stopped by the Trump administration. It is critical for the federal government to curb and repeal any agency rules designed to force states to adopt Green New Deal policies like banning gas cars and gas stoves. And we certainly should not be allowing any federal agency to punish U.S. citizens and businesses for pollution coming from China and Mexico. In his second term, our 47th President has shown a knack for fixing some significant problems in the government. Now, the Club is excited to get to work with his administration to fix this problem—and take the next step in unleashing American energy.
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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