Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

Right now, politicians in Arizona are intent on criminalizing abortion care in cases like ours. They are pushing a bill, SB1457, that makes it a crime to provide an abortion due to a “genetic abnormality.” This bill is a political stunt meant to stigmatize abortion care but it will have very real effects on people and their families.

People are eager to get back to work, and to travel. It’s safe to say most of us are eager to get out of the house. The new normal seems to be changing month to month. It’s my hope that a simple mobile app will help usher in a post Covid normalcy now and in the future.

We are counting on Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly to do the right thing and put Arizona’s interests over politics and loyalty to Biden and Majority Leader Schumer.

All of this brings me to the recent vote on SB1452, legislation that would provide ESAs to low-income families, which will allow them to use their tax dollars to provide the best education for their children. Even though Democrats like myself (and the 73-75% of Democrats surveyed that support school choice and ESAs for low-income kids), not one Democrat has yet to vote for this needed legislation.

The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, strives to strengthen union leverage and labor density. However, it does so at the expense of Arizona’s businesses, workers and economy. If ...

We implore you to continue to follow CDC guidelines, mask-up in public places and physically distance. If you are fully vaccinated and in a small group of others who have also been fully vaccinated, that is when you can take off your mask and enjoy each other’s smiles. Until we hit the herd immunity milestone, please continue to take the precautions that matter -- lives and livelihoods still depend on it.

And now legislators are thumbing their noses at those voters, resorting to tricks and bullying to try to undo an election – whether through SB1783 or under cover of the state budget. It is unacceptable for elected officials to play games with the future of our students. Legislators, voters are watching.

Life without the possibility of parole accomplishes the needed goals of punishment without these frightful costs and risks. If a state with the troubled history of Virginia can reach this conclusion, a state like Arizona can eliminate the death penalty, too.

There is optimism within the health care community that those we have trusted to represent us will see the merits of passing SB1270 and vote a resounding ‘YES’ to health, safety, and protecting the patient-physician relationship.

As a state with one of the largest and fastest growing Latino student populations in the nation, we must close the achievement gap that leaves so many students behind, especially students in low-income households or those in communities of color. Let’s all embrace this opportunity for a better future.