Sixth Time the Charm?

The Governor called the Sixth Special Session of the AZ Legislature Monday at 1:45 pm. They are going to discuss closing the budget gap by sending a 1 cent sales tax proposal to voters for a May election. They are also going to "roll over" more education funding into the next budget year, rework some tax loopholes for out-of-state tax filers, and borrow more money against the lottery.

You know, what the Republicans used to call "accounting tricks" when Napolitano was at the helm.

Here are some other bills being heard this year at the legislature that impact education. I copied this from an Arizona Guardian article. You should really consider getting a subscription for yourself. There is a special rate for being a teacher. Call and tell them Joe Thomas sent you.

On Monday, Jonathan Paton’s (R-Tucson) Judiciary Committee will take up two bills that would further expand gun rights in Arizona, both sponsored by Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) and both held over from last week‘s hearing.

SB 1098 would allow guns and ammunition manufactured in Arizona to be exempt from federal regulations, mirroring laws in Tennessee and Montana.

SB 1102 would make concealed weapons permits and background checks optional, and do away with the requirement for a firearms safety class. Concealed weapons would be legal at any public event or in any public building. An identical bill, HB 2347, will be heard Wednesday morning in the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee.

Imagine how fun working security at the next game between your school and your biggest rival with half of the crowd armed. magine "wanding" every parent who comes onto campus. That will sure build a positive relationship. Fun.

The House Education Committee will consider a bill Monday to make it easier to become certified to teach in the classroom. Most teachers are certified through universities and community colleges, but HB 2298 would allow new, private companies to offer preparation programs and certify teachers.

Brewer and Republicans say it’s important to ease requirements, particularly for college-educated, second-career professionals who don’t have the time or money to get another degree. But the teachers union [that's me!] is concerned that the standards will be lowered and a glut of teachers will crowd an already crowded market.

I truly believe Governor Brewer is trying to make education part of her "jobs program" by making it so that recently laid off people can apply to teach at schools. This would only work once you decoupled RIF procedures from tenure so you could create job openings by letting go of all of your "expensive", veteran teachers. Oh yeah, the legislature did that already.

On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear Pearce’s bill to put repeal of the Voter Protection Act on the ballot. SCR 1033, held from last week’s agenda, would be a straight repeal of the measure passed by voters in 1998, which prevents lawmakers from tinkering with voter-approved programs.

Brewer has proposed a temporary repeal of the act so that funds for education, health care and early childhood development, among others, could be used to help balance the budget. Under that plan, lawmakers would only be able to tap the funds in fiscal emergencies.

Either one of these proposals would allow the state to "sweep" revenue from the Classroom Site Fund (aka Prop 301), which would result in teachers losing money from their base salary AND those summer performance-pay checks. Classified staff would likely lose money as districts would move funds from the classified to certified to offset a bit of the salary cuts.

The idea of tapping funds only in "fiscal emergencies" is silly. The legislature could slice away vital revenue (like they are proposing now) and artificially create such emergencies every year.

Disconnect

Proposed cuts will end many popular school programs. Are education leaders and legislative leaders even communicating with each other?

"We cannot predict what the Legislature will do" -- Yuma Union High School Superintendent


"Clearly, we're conducting ourselves with education as a priority." -- Senator John Huppenthal, R-Chandler.

Lawmakers Stealing from Kids

Teachers sue state lawmakers for sweeping funds earmarked for education.

Legislature: Teachers Too Vocal

Wow.

AEA stops bad legislation aimed at preventing something as simple as payroll deduction for membership dues, and the press has to wonder what those big bad union people are doing to make everyone so mad.

I mean, they must be doing SOMEthing to deserve this retribution.

Right?

The legislators couldn't just be targeting teachers for political reasons.

Could they?

I don't know if the answer makes me want to laugh or cry.

BeverlyKidd: Yeah, Frank, what kind of tactics is (sic) the education union using that is angered (sic) some of the other unions and the legislators as well?

Frank Camacho: It's because they are very vocal about what they do. Their protests out here at the capitol are indeed very vocal.

In other words, the legislature thinks teachers should just shut up and teach.

Holy cow! REAL news!

What a refreshing change from the normal local newstertainment...

KJZZ's Legislative Preview

Here and Now looked at the challenges ahead for state lawmakers as the legislature begins a new session.

KJZZ capitol reporter Mark Brodie and reporter Dennis Welch of ArizonaGuardian.com discussed Governor Jan Brewer's State of the State, address, legislative reaction, and what issues other than budget lawmakers make deal with.

Rep. Chad Campbell talked about Democrats' hope for the session. Senator Jim Waring talked about Republicans hope to achieve. And the Arizona Republic's Bob Robb discussed the difficulties that lie ahead for lawmakers.

Birther Legislation Submitted in Arizona

Some of our legislators never cease to amaze me.

Rep. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley, is crafting a measure to require anyone running for president or vice president to provide proof to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office that they are legally eligible to seek the office. The U.S. Constitution requires the president - and, by extension, the vice president - to be "a natural born citizen."

More to the point, Burges would require the secretary of state to verify, independently, that the information is accurate.

"And if it's not certifiable, then that person's name would not go on the ballot," she said.

Burges told Capitol Media Services the measure is not necessarily about Obama, though she admitted she has her doubts that he was born in Hawaii as he claims and, even if so, that he can show he is a U.S. citizen.

"With what's happening throughout the world, we need to make sure that our candidates are certifiable," she said.

Someone's certainly certifiable.

Democratic Response to State of the State

I have not yet found a link to the governor's speech, but there are plenty of videos of the reaction to it. Here is the Democratic response.

Harper's Gun Fetish

Senator Jack Harper (R-Surprise) is now training his sights on colleges. His latest guns-on-campuses iteration would allow college instructors-- but not deans nor clerical staff nor students-- to pack heat.

His rationale is unwavering.

"It's a long-time goal of mine to make sure there are no defense-free zones where criminals know they can go into an establishment and there'll be no law-abiding citizens there that can legally protect themselves,'' Harper said.

I wonder why he never drops a "guns at the capitol" bill.

Legislative 101

The Ahwatukee Foothills News gives a pretty good primer on how a bill becomes a law in Arizona. Maybe a later installment will describe riders and strike-everything amendments.

Since we are talking about it, here's the original lesson watched by millions.

No So Fast, Captain

Representative Steve Farley (D-Tucson) stops senator Al Melvin (R-Tucson) from using fuzzy math to downplay the severity of the recent cuts to education passed by the Republicans. This is a clip from a longer piece which aired last week on Arizona Illustrated.

I cannot stand it when they say it was only a 1 or 2% cut!

Called out on his fuzzy math, senator Melvin falls back on the "we get a lot of bang for our buck" argument. True, but at the cost of losing talented people every year who tire of crowded classrooms and a lack of resources.

Notice how ready the senator is to move on to a new question toward the end of the piece. We must call them out when they lie!

Finding the right symbolism

He's not sure if it's like a car wreck or more like a patient on life support, but senate president Bob Burns is pretty sure the budget is in bad shape.

Destroy the State to Save the State

Today starts the first day of the 2nd session of the 49th Arizona Legislature. Ninety elected representatives from around our state will meet in Phoenix and take up the hard task of balancing the budget.

Again.

Arizona faces one of the worst budget deficits in the nation. Our elected officials have grappled with what to do for well over a year now. They speak in simple and vague phrases (e.g. we need to cut spending and lower taxes) but rarely offer real solutions.

Arizona Speaker of the House Kirk Adams unveiled his plan recently. He believes our path should include [surprise!] reduced spending, lower taxes for businesses and individuals, and debt financing. He calls his legislative plan the Arizona Economic and Job Recovery bill.

Pretty words.

What he is really saying, though, is we need to destroy the state in order to save the state. His “reduced spending” means that teachers, firefighters, policemen and all manner of other people who provide basic, necessary services to the citizens of Arizona will lose their jobs. The money we "save" will then go toward tax reductions for businesses to (maybe) create new jobs.

Destroy jobs to create jobs.

Fewer teachers, more fast food.

Is that the Arizona we want?