by admin | Mar 8, 2022 | Corporate Welfare, News and Updates, Tax
Arizona lawmakers are currently living in “La La Land.” No, really. They want to dole out $150 million of your dollars to sign checks to woke Hollywood producers to literally California our Arizona.
SB1708, sponsored by Senator David Gowan, passed out of the Senate last week by a vote of 21-7. It provides a tax credit for a percentage of movie production costs: 15% for productions up to $10 million, 17.5% for productions between $10 and $35 million, 20% for productions over $35 million, and the opportunity for an extra 2.5% on top for positions held by Arizona residents, if the production is filmed in a qualified facility or primarily on location, or if it was produced in association with a long-term tenant in a qualified production facility.
The worst part—it’s refundable. This means that if Hollywood producers wipe out their tax liability to zero, the remaining tax credits come as a check from you, the taxpayer.
Movie production is a multi-billion-dollar industry. They do not need a subsidy. But because one state was willing to cut them a check a few decades ago, they now seek the highest bidder. It’s a race to the bottom for Arizona. Very soon, $150 million won’t be enough, and the industry will send more lobbyists down to the Capitol to razzle dazzle lawmakers into doling out more taxpayer dollars.
These production companies are more than able and happy to pick up and jet-set from one location another—even in the middle of production. If Arizona isn’t willing to pay more, another state or country will, and we’ll be left in the dust.
Georgia taxpayers gave the movie industry $1.2 billion last year. To keep up, California, home of actual Hollywood, is doubling its cap from $330 million a year to $660 million. Kevin Costner is currently lobbying the Utah legislature to provide a carveout in their $8.3 million cap for credits, raising it for movie productions in rural areas. Costner is telling Utah he wants to film 5 films there if the cap is raised. And star struck New Mexico recently more than doubled its cap, after spending hundreds of millions from their general fund to pay off a backlog of credits.
But while these states are fighting to out-bid each other, others have scrapped the idea. 13 states have eliminated their Hollywood subsidies in the past 10 years, and several others have scaled theirs back. And for good reason. A recent study of the subsidies in New York, Louisiana, Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts found that despite $10 billion in taxpayer dollars spent, there was no statistically significant impact on employment.
If this seems like such a bad idea that it should be illegal—it likely is. The Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled that the government cannot include “anticipated indirect benefits” such as projected sales and tax revenue as part of the consideration with a private party under the Gift Clause in the Arizona Constitution. In other words, Hollywood dazzling lawmakers with projected economic development leading to increased tax revenue is an “irrelevant indirect benefit” that cannot be included in the consideration.
In addition to the bill’s terrible tax policy and obvious unconstitutionality, Arizonans do not want their hard-earned dollars being used to send checks to Hollywood. We do not want to subsidize their woke movies, and do not want thousands of liberal California voters shipped into Arizona on our own dime.
Tell Your Lawmakers to OPPOSE SB1708!
Right now, lawmakers are considering a $150 million REFUNDABLE tax credit for woke Hollywood producers.
Arizonans have been shouting “Don’t California my Arizona” for years. But SB1708 pays to literally California our Arizona, shipping in thousands of Hollywood voters on the taxpayer’s dime. Regardless of the industry, Arizona taxpayers don’t want their hard-earned dollars going to corporate welfare with any refundable credit.
Send a message to Arizona lawmakers today and tell them Don’t California our Arizona: OPPOSE corporate welfare and OPPOSE SB1708!
by admin | Mar 3, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
This week got off to a great start. On Monday, the Arizona House passed HB2492, a bill that would safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring that only qualified, U.S. citizens are registered to vote, able to vote in Presidential elections, and eligible to vote by mail.
But the good news didn’t stop there.
The House also passed SCR1012, known as the Arizonans for Voter ID Act. And with the Senate already passing this ballot referral late last week, that means the people of Arizona will now get to decide on universal voter ID in November.
This is an important step to ensure the integrity of our elections. “Easy to vote and hard to cheat” should be the benchmark for every election we have. And in Arizona, voters certainly have many ways to exercise their vote, including day-of-polls, early voting, and mail-in voting.
But the security of our elections has been a different story—as the audit report showed this past September. Universal voter ID here in Arizona would help solve this critical issue. If passed by the voters in this November’s election, this initiative would:
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- Improve existing in-person voter ID requirements.
- Establish voter ID for mail-in ballots.
- Deter ballot harvesting by enhancing voter ID requirements for in-person ballot drop off.
- Provide a free voter ID option to lawfully registered Arizona voters who need it for voting.
This is a common-sense approach to election integrity that’s being increasingly implemented around the country. And it ensures that no matter when you vote, where you vote, or how you vote, identification will be required.
As you might expect, some Democrat leaders are having a meltdown, most especially Sen. Martín Quezada (D-LD29), who couldn’t help but tweet that not everyone has access to an ID. Apparently, Sen. Quezada didn’t read the bill because, as we mentioned above, this initiative gives every citizen access to a free voter ID.
But we do have to ask. If Sen. Quezada and other Democrats are so concerned about this, why don’t they also have a problem with other daily activities that require basic identification? The people of Arizona already have to provide ID for things like purchasing alcohol or cigarettes, obtaining a driver’s license, boarding a commercial flight, donating blood, opening a bank account, purchasing a firearm, receiving unemployment benefits, obtaining auto insurance, purchasing or renting a home, and more.
Isn’t the security of our elections equally—if not more important—than each of these?
Perhaps what’s most eye-opening is that Democrat leaders pushing back against universal voter ID are actually pushing back against their very own people.
Statewide polling from April of last year shows that an overwhelming majority of Arizona voters support voter ID requirements, including every race and ethnicity. And even a large majority of Democrats, 69%, support the idea of requiring all voters to provide ID prior to voting.
Now the people of Arizona will get a chance to decide once and for all this November. And if they want to protect the ballot of every qualified Arizona voter, they should choose to make universal voter ID a reality in our state.
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 26, 2022 | News and Updates
Perhaps no issue has taken our nation by storm during the past year quite like Critical Race Theory (CRT). This cleverly disguised Marxist indoctrination uses words that sound harmless enough like “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion.” But floods of parents caught on early last year. And many made it their mission to stop CRT’s invasion of school districts across the nation.
Some people even believe it may have been the central issue that swung Virgina’s gubernatorial election to Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin. But right here in Arizona, the battle is not over.
As you may recall, Arizona lawmakers and Governor Ducey took important steps to prevent children from being indoctrinated in public schools by CRT through a budget reconciliation bill this past July. But in November, the Arizona Supreme Court struck down that ban, ruling that it was integrated in a bill that was a violation of the single subject requirement of the state constitution.
With the Arizona legislature back in session for the past two months, Republicans have made CRT a top priority. Earlier this month, the House already took an important step forward by approving a bill that would ban it from K-12 curriculum.
And now, the House has also passed House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 2001, which would put a ban on teaching Critical Race Theory in Arizona’s K-12 schools on the ballot.
HCR2001 is currently awaiting action in the Senate, and not surprisingly the Democrats are irate. But what do you expect?
The more CRT has been exposed, the more the left has lied about its true nature and their ultimate agenda. They’ve tried to say it’s not taught in schools. Or that’s it’s not Marxist. Or that Republicans are just using it to get support.
But then, why did over 200 Arizonans who identify themselves as educators recently pledge to teach CRT and all other social justice-oriented curriculum to children, regardless of the law or the wishes of parents?
If it’s not taught in schools, then these so-called educators would have never made such a statement.
The fact is that slavery, legal racial discrimination, and racism are inconsistent with the founding principles of the United States. That’s why our nation fought a civil war to eliminate the first, waged political campaigns to get rid of the second, and has made the third unacceptable in the court of public opinion.
But by allowing an ideology like Critical Race Theory, our schools are in direct violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Arizona Constitution.
That’s why the Club thinks it’s a great idea to put this issue in front of voters. The people of Arizona would finally have a chance to make their voices definitively heard. And there’s no doubt it would show that Arizonans believe that CRT does not belong in our state—or anywhere near our students.
Our nation was founded on the principle of the inherent and equal dignity of every person as an individual. But the Democrats don’t believe that. And that’s probably why a ban on CRT makes them so nervous.
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 17, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
The Left is determined to shove their so-called “election reforms” down the throats of the American people. After gaining control of Congress, the US House passed House Resolution 1 (HR1) in March of last year.
But their federal takeover of elections has been held up in the U.S. Senate for months, so they have moved to ‘Plan B’—taking over the election process in Arizona.
Earlier this month, a group called the Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections—which is nothing more than a consortium of liberal groups here in Arizona—dropped a ballot initiative that might as well be a leftist wish list of election law changes. But while they’ll tell you that this measure is about “expanding voting rights,” make no mistake. Just like with HR1, this ballot measure is about eliminating all meaningful safeguards in our voting process.
Take a look at the actual ballot language and see for yourself. Some of the provisions in this bill include:
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- Stipulating that anyone who applies for an Arizona driver’s license will be automatically registered to vote.
- Providing for same-day registration on election day.
- Making it easier for illegal immigrants to register and vote.
- Expanding taxpayer funding of political campaigns.
- Repealing Arizona’s ballot harvesting ban.
- Expanding and protecting early voting in Arizona.
- Allowing for people to vote not just out of precinct, but out of county.
- Implementing campaign finance law changes that violate our free speech rights.
- Increasing taxes on Arizona business owners. (Because…of course. Raising taxes on businesses will somehow improve our election process.)
Think about what this could mean for the future of our elections. In 2018, over 1,700 individuals in Arizona who had not provided Documented Proof of Citizenship voted in elections for federal office. But in 2020, the number of individuals ballooned to 11,600! A ballot measure like this would potentially make it even easier for illegals to vote and cultivate fraud.
It’s clear that the left is using this Arizona-based version of HR1 to attempt their election takeover at the ballot box. They must be stopped. And that’s why the Club is actively working to pass election integrity reforms at the legislature and is sponsoring the Arizona Voter ID initiative.
HB2492 would safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring that only qualified, U.S. citizens are registered to vote, are able to vote in Presidential elections, and are eligible to vote by mail. (You can sign our petition in support of HB2492 right here.) And HB2237 would prohibit election officials from registering individuals and allowing them to then vote on election day.
On top of that, the Arizonans for Voter ID Act Initiative consists of four key provisions that would:
- Improve existing in-person voter ID requirements.
- Require voter ID on mail-in ballots.
- Prevent ballot harvesting by enhancing voter ID requirements for in-person ballot drop off.
- Provide a free voter ID option to lawfully registered Arizona voters who need it for voting.
The people of Arizona are already used to providing basic identification in their daily lives to purchase alcohol or cigarettes, obtain a driver’s license, board a commercial flight, and more.
And this common-sense solution has plenty of support. Statewide polling from last year shows that an overwhelming majority of Arizona voters support voter ID requirements. In fact, every race and ethnicity support it along with the majority of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats.
That’s right. Even the majority of Democrats support voter ID requirements. Maybe someone should tell the Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections. It looks like even their own supporters are inclined to support our ballot measure.
Help Stop Illegals from Voting!
U.S Citizenship is a qualification for voting in both the Arizona constitution and Arizona law. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 200 in 2004 to ensure only US Citizens could register to vote by requiring that “the county recorder shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.”
Unfortunately, through the well-funded lawfare of the left, this requirement has been whittled away and the Federal Only Voter list has exploded. HB2492 will safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring only qualified, U.S Citizens are registered to vote, are able vote in Presidential elections, and eligible to vote by mail.
Will you sign our petition to PROTECT our voter registration process and SUPPORT HB2492?
by admin | Feb 10, 2022 | News and Updates
This is probably hard to believe, but there once was a day when journalists didn’t feel the need to include their own slants and biases. When they didn’t make themselves a part of the story. When they would simply report the news.
Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Today’s establishment media is much more concerned with protecting its own interests—and the interests of those they’re in bed with. We’ve seen this mentality at the national level for quite some time, but now it’s taken over our local media as well—especially right here in Arizona.
The latest comes from ABC15 news anchor Steve Irvin. If you’re not sure what Steve stands for, you don’t need to look much further than his professional Twitter account where he regularly spews liberal talking points, refers to people he disagrees with as “bigots,” and shares his disdain for school choice.
Now, that last one has won him an award. Recently, the Arizona Education Association—a local teachers’ union led by Red for Ed activist Joe Thomas—gave Steve its Presidential Award for Excellence in Education News Coverage.
While the need for such an award is more puzzling than the latest Wordle, all of this does beg the question: If Steve was so excellent in his education news coverage, why wasn’t he on the frontlines reporting about the Scottsdale Unified School District scandal back in November? And where was he when Higley Unified School District’s former superintendent Dr. Denise Birdwell was indicted on 18 felony counts related to procurement fraud, misuse of public monies, fraudulent schemes and practices, and more?
Like most of the establishment media in Arizona, Steve conveniently ignored these stories. And as we’ve come to expect, zero journalists in Arizona’s mainstream media have criticized so-called “investigative reporter” Steve Irvin for his blatant Red for Ed advocacy.
But we really shouldn’t be surprised at this point. After all, this sort of activism from Arizona’s “journalists” has been going on for quite some time.
In 2014, 12 News anchor Brahm Resnik hosted LGBTQ advocacy group Phoenix Pride’s sixth annual gala—which then-state senator Katie Hobbs couldn’t help but celebrate. And in 2019, Brahm stirred up his own controversy when he compared Republicans to Nazis on his professional Twitter account.
But 12 News isn’t done yet. You don’t have to scroll very far through anchor Mark Curtis’s Twitter account until you understand where his political leanings lie. (Hint: It’s to the left.) And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the liberal and anti-school choice AZ Central, which is kind enough to document its leftist rhetoric all throughout its website.
Somehow, all these people have the nerve to claim that they are unbiased and don’t pick sides. And yet, they can’t figure out why trust in the news media is in the toilet.
But perhaps there’s a solution.
Maybe these “journalists” should start wearing NASCAR type suits with patches showing their special interest insignias. Then, at least the people of Arizona will know what they’re dealing with.
But if they don’t like that, then maybe it’s time to find some good, alternative sites that are committed to something unique in today’s media culture—simply reporting the news without becoming a part of the story.
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 8, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
Two weeks ago, we outlined the history of the federal only voter list. As a summary, in 2004 Arizona voters approved Prop 200 which required county recorders to reject any application for registration that did not include Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). After passage, Arizona did reject applications without DPOC—those made on both the state voter registration form and federal voter registration form established by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993.
In 2014, Arizona began accepting federal voter registration forms that did not include DPOC and registering voters as “Federal Only Voters” eligible to vote for President, U.S House, and U.S. Senate following the 7-2 Supreme Court decision, Inter Tribal Council, deciding that the NVRA preempts Prop 200’s DPOC requirement.
Then, in 2019, Arizona began accepting all applications for registration that did not include DPOC after Secretary of State Michelle Reagan and Maricopa Recorder Adrian Fontes entered into a consent decree with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) agreeing that the state could accept applications for registration without DPOC and somehow stay in compliance with the Prop 200 requirement to the contrary – to reject them.
HB2492 tackles this complicated issue with five main provisions.
First, HB2492 mandates that county recorders shall reject any application for registration made on our own state voter registration form that does not include DPOC. If an election official accepts one of these applications, he or she is guilty of a class 5 felony.
Our power to do this is affirmed several times. In Inter Tribal Council Justice Scalia, for the court, writes, “States retain the flexibility to design and use their own registration forms.”
Additionally, the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC), to whom Congress delegated power to design the federal registration form, in 2006 responded to a request by Arizona to include our DPOC requirement on the federal form by affirming that “Arizona may apply Proposition 200 requirements to the use of its state registration form in Federal elections (if the form meets the minimum requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).”
Second, HB2492 requires election officials to check a multitude of databases to determine the citizenship status of an applicant using the federal form who did not include DPOC. Again, in Inter Tribal Council, Justice Scalia writes that the NVRA “does not preclude States from ‘deny[ing] registration based on information in their possession establishing the applicant’s ineligibility’”.
Further, a 2014 response from the EAC on an additional request to include the DPOC requirement on the federal form acknowledged that the NVRA does not prevent us from rejecting applications if we ascertain information indicating the applicant is not a U.S citizen and outlines several databases states can use to check for the information. HB2492 utilizes each of these databases recommended by the EAC.
Third, depending on what is found from the database checks there are three possible outcomes. If the election official finds the applicant in a database and confirms that the applicant is a U.S. citizen, the applicant would be properly registered to vote. However, if the election official finds in a database that the applicant is not a U.S. citizen, the election official would be required to reject the application and inform the Attorney General and county attorney because the applicant lied on a voter registration form, which is a crime. Lastly, if election officials cannot find the applicant in any database, they are required to send a notice to the applicant requesting DPOC within 30 days.
Fourth, HB2492 makes DPOC a requirement to vote in Presidential elections. The power of states over the conduct of Presidential elections is plenary. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the US Constitution states that “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.”
Going back further in court precedent, Chief Justice Fuller writes,“it is seen that from the formation of the government until now the practical construction of the clause has conceded plenary power to the state legislatures in the matter of the appointment of electors.” McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U.S. 1 (1892).
Fifth, HB2492 would make DPOC a requirement to vote early by mail. There is no right to vote by mail and as recognized by Justice Alito in Brnovich v DNC, “Arizona law generally makes it easy to vote.” And when the “totality of circumstances” is considered, HB2492 would not place a significant burden on voters by requiring DPOC to vote early by mail.
Taken together, each of these five provisions will largely prevent individuals from being registered if they do not provide DPOC and, as for persons already on the Federal Only Voter list, assert our constitutional power to prevent these individuals from voting for Presidential electors and from voting by mail.
Help Stop Illegals from Voting!
U.S Citizenship is a qualification for voting in both the Arizona constitution and Arizona law. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 200 in 2004 to ensure only US Citizens could register to vote by requiring that “the county recorder shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.”
Unfortunately, through the well-funded lawfare of the left, this requirement has been whittled away and the Federal Only Voter list has exploded. HB2492 will safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring only qualified, U.S Citizens are registered to vote, are able vote in Presidential elections, and eligible to vote by mail.
Will you sign our petition to PROTECT our voter registration process and SUPPORT HB2492?
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