AzCDL Legislative Update and Action Alert

 

Thanks to your activism, five AzCDL supported bills passed the next step towards becoming law. HB 2119 (restoration of civil rights) passed its final vote in the House 57-2-1 and is now off to the Senate. HB 2316 (CCW carry in public buildings) passed out of the House Government & Elections Committee and will be heard in the House Rules Committee on Monday. HB 2414 (removes the requirement to unload firearms locked in vehicles on school grounds) was passed by the House Judiciary Committee and will be heard in the House Rules Committee on Monday. SB 1177 (CCW renewal reminders) passed its final vote in the Senate 29-0-1 and is now off to the House. SB 1251 (updates the definition of "armed robbery") passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be heard in the Senate Rules Committee on Monday. HB 2166 (sales tax exemptions) and SB 1252 (justification of physical force) were held in their respective committees and will be placed on future agendas.   It will be another busy one in the legislature this week and AzCDL needs your support to ensure that the following bills move forward. HB 2447, prevents Colleges and Universities from prohibiting concealed carry by CCW permit holders (House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday 2/9/2022 at 8 AM). HB 2448, requires school districts and charter schools to provide public school students with firearms safety training (House Military Affairs & Public Safety Committee, Monday 2/7/2022 at 2 PM). HB 2489, allows those between 18 and 21 years of age to obtain a provisional CCW permit (House Military Affairs & Public Safety Committee, Monday 2/7/2022 at 2 PM). SB 1252, clarifies the conditions that justify the use of physical force (Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday 2/10/2022 at 9 AM). We need YOU! AzCDL's  lobbying effectiveness at the Capitol is dependent upon you contacting legislators, letting them know that as a voting constituent you are watching what they are doing, expecting them to vote for bills you support and against bills you oppose. To voice your opinion on these bills, visit the AZ Legislature Applications page, sign in to your RTS account, click on the big blue “Request to Speak” icon in the middle of the page, then click on the “New Request” tab on the left side of the page. Note:  If you do not see the “New Request” tab, it means your RTS account was not created or activated at an official RTS terminal at the Capitol.  If that’s the case, we can help.  Let us know in a reply to this message.   A new window will open up.  In the “Search Phrase” line, enter the bill number without HB or SB (i.e., 1123, 1177, etc.) and click on the blue “Search” button below the Search Phrase.    Your search results will appear below the “Search” button as in the example below.    Click on the blue “Add Request” button on the right side of your search results to bring up your voting page.  For these bills we ask that you click on the “For” (thumbs up) button.  Unless you plan on attending and testifying at the hearing, always answer “No” to the “Do you wish to speak?” question.   About RTS AzCDL does not control the RTS system  Several years ago, the Legislature set up the RTS system.  With the automation of RTS a feature was added to allow citizens with RTS accounts to state their positions about a bill online, without having to testify.  However, to access this feature, RTS accounts must first be created at dedicated computer terminals at the Capitol in Phoenix or the state offices in Tucson. Please do NOT be tempted to create an RTS account online.  It is essentially useless and cannot be used to comment to committees on legislation unless it is activated at an official RTS terminal. If you are a current AzCDL member and do not have an existing RTS account, we will be happy to assist you in setting up an account.  Simply reply to this message and request our help. If you have ever created an existing RTS account, a duplicate account cannot be created.  You must use your existing account.  If you log in and receive a message that your RTS account must be “activated”, that too must be done at an official RTS terminal. We can also assist you with that.  Those who want to disarm you understand the importance of RTS.  Their followers are flooding RTS with demands to committee members to defeat the same bills we are asking you to support.  Their goal is to have every peaceful Arizona gun owner tagged, tracked and targeted for registration and confiscation.  You can defeat them by using your RTS account to tell committee members to support good legislation and to prevent bad bills from progressing. Committee hearings will be a priority in the coming weeks.  The deadline for bills to be heard in committees in their originating chamber (House or Senate) is Friday, February 18th.   As important bills are scheduled for committee hearings, we will notify you via these alerts. We encourage you to share this and all AzCDL emails with anyone you know who is interested in protecting their right to keep and bear arms in Arizona.  They can click here to subscribe to AzCDL email broadcasts. A list of firearms related bills we are monitoring this session can be found on AzCDL’s Bill Tracking Page. These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all-volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization.  AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom.  Copyright © 2021 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.