PHOENIX β A Senate panel voted Wednesday to provide a legal basis in law for any Arizonan to file suit against any level of government they contend is βfurthering Marxist ideologies.ββ
On a party-line vote, Republicans on the Government Committee agreed to open the door for litigation designed to stop public funds from being used on a laundry list of ideas.
Peoria Republican Sen. Anthony Kernβs measure, SB 1195, would also bar spending taxpayer dollars to promote, advocate or plan to, among other examples, reduce motor vehicle traffic through biking or public transit, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, limit increases in global temperatures, reduce consumption of meat or dairy products, or anything βfurthering Marxist ideologies including stakeholder capitalism.ββ
The original version of his bill also would have barred using public funds to recycle and reuse water for drinking βthat has touched human feces.ββ
But Kern conceded that, as worded, that would do more than undermine citiesβ efforts by cities to reclaim wastewater. It even would have barred the use of water from the Colorado River.
So that provision is gone, at least for the time being.
Everything else remains. Kern said his legislation is designed to stop public dollars from being used on all sorts of ideas he finds unacceptable, whether they actually are occurring or not.
One provision says taxpayer dollars cannot be used for any efforts to limit the number of articles of clothing an individual may purchase or own. βThatβs kind of out there to most of us,ββ Kern told the Senate Government Committee.
βBut there is a move in our country to bring in Marxism, to bring in anti-God, pro-Marxist ideology, anti-freedom, anti-Constitution,β he said.
The bill would allow any Arizona resident, no matter where they live, to sue a public entity, including a university, over how it was using public dollars and, if they win, get their legal fees paid by the government.
The provisions worry Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club.
βThey appear to be more of a culture war manifesto against a collection of unrelated issues and items,ββ she testified, calling setting the stage for litigation βirresponsible.ββ
Leaving aside the provision about recycling water, Bahr said barring communities from trying to reduce vehicle traffic has health implications.
βCleaning up our air improves and saves lives,ββ she said. βActions to hinder that have real impact on your constituents.ββ
She said the measure would prohibit state or local governments from even collecting information on greenhouse gas emissions, at a time of climate change effects, including bigger and more intense wildfires.
βI donβt know why you would want to tie the hands of our government overall in trying to address one of the biggest issues that we face,ββ Bahr said.
Sen. Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, had a more immediate question.
She said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero is a member of U.S. Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network involving more than 500 cities with the stated goal βto demonstrate leadership on climate change.ββ
βAre you saying that some disgruntled Tucson resident might be able to sue over that?ββ Sundareshan asked. βMaybe not even a city of Tucson resident, maybe a city of Mesa resident?ββ
Bahr said thatβs exactly what the measure would allow. And she said that, as worded, SB 1195 also would subject universities to risks of litigation for just doing research in any of these areas.
The panel also advanced a backup plan should Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs veto the measure if it reaches her desk.
By the same 5-3 party-line vote Republicans also approved the identically worded SCR 1015. The only difference is that measure would send the proposal to the November ballot, bypassing the need for gubernatorial approval.
Both measures now go to the full Senate.(tncms-asset)17e8b642-f427-5626-a732-ed4f680e60e5[0](/tncms-asset)
