Potlucks:
Arizonans are one step closer to having community potlucks without breaking the law.
Current law exempts potlucks from state and local health regulations. But it is worded so that exception applies only to events at a workplace.
Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, said that makes any other social potluck illegal. HB 2341 fixes that language.
“You can have your potluck anywhere you want it and not be subject to the health codes on the food temperatures, that type of thing,” Townsend said Thursday. She said her legislation will “clean up an unfortunate oversight of a former legislature.”
The measure now goes to the Senate.
Firearms preemption:
State senators voted Thursday to punish local communities that pass gun regulations that exceed what the Legislature has allowed.
SB 1266 declares any such local law invalid. And it says if a political subdivision determines the violation were knowing and willful, then a court can assess a civil penalty of up to $50,000 and remove the public official from office.
It also permits local gun-rights groups to bring their own lawsuits.
The measure is aimed at least in part in Tucson which has refused to repeal two gun regulations that former Attorney General Tom Horne concluded in 2013 are beyond the city’s authority.
One allows police to request a breath sample from someone who has negligently discharged a firearm and appears intoxicated. The other requires people to report the loss or theft of a gun to police.
The city has ignored Horne’s formal legal opinion.
Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, the sponsor of the measure said his legislation puts some teeth into existing laws that pre-empt local gun laws. The 18-11 vote sends the measure to the House.
Insurance taxes:
A year after giving insurance companies a tax break, the state House voted Thursday to give them even faster.
Insurers pay a tax equal to 2 percent of premiums. Legislation approved last year cuts that to 1.7 percent by 2027.
HB 2002, pushed by House Majority Leader David Livingston, R-Peoria, accelerates that to a six-year phase down. He said the net effect after 10 years is the same.
But House Minority Leader Eric Meyer said speeding up the process loses the state $86 million over that same period because the lower rate will kick in earlier.
“That is $86 million I think we could use to fund our schools,” he said.
Liquor sales:
The House refused Thursday to allow the sale of beer, wine and liquor within 300 feet of churches and schools.
Rep. Karen Fann, R-Prescott, said the restriction is creating problems.
“We have a number of churches and private and charter schools propping up all over the place,” she said, including in strip malls. That effectively puts a 300-foot no-alcohol perimeter around those locations, making them off limits for new grocery and convenience stores.
Rep. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, said the zone is justified. The measure, HB 2372, was defeated on a 35-22 vote.
Rental taxes:
The state House on Thursday quashed an effort to block cities from taxing residential rentals.
Rep. Darin Mitchell, R-Litchfield Park, said the sales tax on rents is not fair to tenants who pay it. But efforts to eliminate it entirely ran into a wall of opposition from affected cities who objected to losing the $90 million a year in revenues.
His latest bid, HB 2026, sought to narrow the exemption to only individuals who own no more than two rentals.
Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, called the levy “wholly inappropriate.”
But Rep. Karen Fann, R-Prescott, a former city council member, said that’s still not acceptable, saying financially struggling communities are “barely making ends meet as it is.” And Rep. Bob Robson, R-Chandler, also a former council member, said taking away the revenues would be “exceedingly punitive.”
Auto insurance:
On a narrow margin, the House on Thursday rejected a proposal to help the auto insurance industry by allowing it to shed policyholders.
But proponents have vowed to try again.
Current law allows insurers to cancel policies only in certain circumstances, like a drunk-driving conviction, three at-fault accidents or lying on an application. HB 2445 would scrap those laws, allowing cancellation for any reason at all.
House Majority Whip David Livingston, R-Peoria, said the existing laws are too restrictive. He said the change will result in more insurers moving to the state.
That drew an angry reaction from Rep. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, who pointed out that state law requires motorists to purchase liability insurance to drive.
“I didn’t come here to represent insurance companies,” she said. “I came here to represent Arizonans.”
Free speech zones:
Individuals and groups would not be limited to only certain areas of college and university campuses to exercise their free speech rights under the terms of legislation approved Thursday by the House Committee on Government and Higher Education.
Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, said it’s not proper to confine protests, pamphleteering and other activities to certain “free speech” zones, areas he said might be far away from where the students they are trying to reach are located. HB 2615 would essentially make the entire campus open.
That drew concerns from Rep. Macario Saldate, D-Tucson, who said the noise of a protest could undermine the reason most students are on campus in the first place.
“The intent is to promote free speech, not to disrupt classes,” Kern said, saying schools could still have rules about things like amplification.
Kody Kelleher, representing the Arizona Board of Regents, said there are no designated “free speech” zones at state universities. But he said the regents are concerned that the legislation might interfere with the ability of the schools to enact reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner of protests.
License plates:
The Senate on Thursday refused to require that all future license plates conform to a single design.
Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said the state already has 48 different designs for special plates available for everything from universities and sports teams to raising money for causes like breast cancer research and animal neutering. He said that causes confusion when law enforcement officers are trying to figure out whether a vehicle has an Arizona license plate.
“We’re actually putting public safety at risk,” he said. His measure would have a standard design, with a small square on one side to mention the specific cause.
SB 1001 was defeated on a 16-13 vote.
Capitol Media Services
