AzCDL Alerts

 

Two bills are scheduled to be heard in committee this week, HB 2166 and HB 2473. Both bills are on the agenda for two different sessions of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday and Thursday of this week. When you log into RTS to vote on these bills and submit your comments, please be sure to do so for both sessions of each committee meeting (see below). HB 2166 was amended by the Senate Finance Committee on March 17th, and sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill would exempt firearms and firearms safety equipment from transaction privilege (sales) taxes. HB 2473 did not fare well in the Senate Finance Committee last week. Senator J.D. Mesnard and committee vice-chairman Senator Vince Leach grilled those testifying in favor of the bill at length, including AzCDL lobbyist Michael Infanzon and Michael Findlay of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry organization that represents firearms manufacturers. HB 2473 would prohibit a public entity from entering into a contract valued at $100,000 or more with a company to acquire or dispose of services, supplies, information technology, or construction unless the contract includes a written certification that the company does not currently, and agrees for the duration of the contract that it will not, discriminate against a firearm entity. Along with the bill's sponsor, Representative Frank Carroll, Infanzon and Findlay laid out the case for HB 2473 and provided many examples of firearms manufacturers and related businesses that have been turned away by banks and other financial institutions simply because they are in the firearms business. Infanzon related his personal story of being denied an account at Bank of America merely because one of his firm's customers was in the firearms industry! It should be noted that Bank of America currently provides banking services for the state of Arizona. Representatives from various banking associations testified that, as with any business in a free market, banks should be able to choose who they will do business with. Mr. Findlay pointed out that under HB 2473 banks would still be free to deny service to anyone they wished, but if those choices do not reflect the values of the people of Arizona, the taxpayers have a right to refuse to do business with them. You can watch the exchange in this video of the Senate Finance Committee hearing. Let your legislators know that you will not tolerate any more foot-dragging on these bills!   Due to some political wrangling, both HB 2166 and HB 2473 are scheduled for two different sessions of the Senate Appropriations Committee. PLEASE LOCATE BOTH SESSIONS OF EACH BILL AND ADD YOUR VOTE AND COMMENTS TO ALL OF THEM WHEN YOU LOG INTO RTS. HB 2166 is expected to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, March 29th at 9:00 AM. HB 2166 is ALSO scheduled to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, March 31st at 10:30 AM. HB 2473 is expected to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, March 29th at 9:00 AM. HB 2473 is ALSO scheduled to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, March 31st at 10:30 AM. Please log into the RTS system today to enter your "For" vote and encourage your legislators to pass these bills out of committee. 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 opinions 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 the other chamber (House bills in the Senate, Senate bills in the House) is Friday, March 25th.   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 © 2022 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. The deadline for bills that were passed out of the House or Senate and sent to the other chamber for consideration has passed. That means some additional bills we have been following are now dead for this legislative session. Here's where things stand.   Good bills still in play: HB 2119 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 24th, and will next be heard by the Senate Rules Committee. The bill calls for the automatic restoration of one's civil rights after successfully completing a prison term and any victim restitution associated with a first felony conviction. HB 2316 passed out of the Senate Rules Committee on March 8th, and will next be considered by the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW). The bill would exempt CCW permit holders from prohibitions against carrying a concealed weapon in most public buildings. HB 2414 passed out of the Senate Rules Committee on March 8th, and will next be considered by the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW). The bill would remove the requirement for firearms to be unloaded while locked in a vehicle on school grounds. HB 2448 passed out of the Senate Education Committee on March 23rd, and will be heard by the Senate Rules Committee on Monday, March 28th, at 1:00 PM. The bill would require school districts and charter schools to provide age-appropriate firearms safety training to students in grades 6-12. SB 1177 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on March 16th, and will now be considered by the House Rules Committee. The bill requires the Department of Public Safety to send renewal reminder notices to CCW permit holders at least 60 days before their permits expire. SB 1251 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on March 24th, and will now be considered by the House Rules Committee on Monday, March 28th, at 1:00 PM. The bill adds to the list of actions constituting "armed robbery" to include taking, or attempting to take, possession of a deadly weapon while in the commission of a robbery. Good bills that have failed: HB 2447 has been retained on the House Committee of the Whole (COW) calendar since February 17th. It is being held because House leadership does not have the votes to move it forward. The bill would prevent colleges and universities from prohibiting CCW permit holders from carrying firearms on campuses. SB 1123 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 20th and the Senate Rules Committee on January 25th but is being held in the Senate, likely because Senate leadership does not believe they have the votes to move it forward. This is the Senate version of HB 2447, which would prevent colleges and universities from prohibiting CCW permit holders from carrying firearms on campuses. SB 1125 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 27th and the Senate Rules Committee on February 1st but is being held in the Senate. The bill codifies the right to possess and transport firearms and related equipment by anyone who is not a prohibited possessor. HB 2472 would have prevented government entities and financial institutions from discriminating against those engaged in lawful firearms commerce. HB 2489 FAILED in the House on February 22nd, 29-30. The sponsor used a legislative maneuver called "reconsideration" to bring it up for a second vote on February 24th but it failed again, 30-29. Representative David Cook (R-LD 8) joined all of the democrats to defeat the bill, which would have created a new "provisional" CCW permit for those 18-20 years of age. SB 1030 would have required the courts to order compensation for those accused of homicide by the state but not convicted. SB 1037 would have removed noise suppressing devices from the list of "prohibited weapons." SB 1057 would have prohibited the federal government from placing an Arizona resident on a "no fly" list without due process of law. SB 1124 would have exempted those in the armed services from fees associated with CCW permitting by DPS. SB 1220 would have prohibited rental agreements from forcing tenants to agree not to possess, transport or store firearms that are otherwise legal.   The list of bad bills that have bitten the dust is long, but satisfying: HB 2193 would have repealed existing law requiring the Attorney General to investigate official actions taken by county or municipal officials that violate the state Constitution or state law. HB 2304 would have added trigger cranks, bump-fire devices or anything that accelerates the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle to the list of "prohibited weapons." HB 2361 would have instituted a 3-day waiting period for all firearms sales. HB 2362 would have added a long and convoluted process to be followed by firearms dealers to prevent "straw purchases." HB 2363 would have required DPS to maintain a secure web portal that dealers could use to verify the validity of CCW permits presented for purchasing a firearm. HB 2364 would have compelled physicians and nurses to lecture parents or guardians of a child on firearm safety in the home. HB 2365 would have implemented Severe Threat Orders of Protection (STOP), denying due process of law to those accused of being a danger to themselves or to others. HB 2366 would have required ALL firearms transfers to be conducted through a licensed dealer and include background checks. HB 2367 would have required all firearms and ammunition in a residence to be locked in a securely locked box or safe. HB 2404 would have expanded the definition of "prohbiited possessor" to include anyone convicted of domestic violence...and greatly expanded what qualifies as "domestic violence." HB 2519 would have repealed most justifications for the use of physical force from state law. HCR 2013 would have placed a measure on an election ballot allowing the public to vote on whether private firearms sales must be conducted through a licensed firearms dealer and include background checks. SB 1388 would have removed the justification for police officers to threaten or use physical force. SB 1426 would have repealed current laws requiring the Attorney General to investigate county and municipal actions that violate the state Constitution or state law. SB 1538 would have created the crime of "unlawful securing of a firearm" if a minor obtains access to a "readily dischargeable firearm." SB 1545 would have required legislators requesting the Attorney General to investigate violations of state law by counties or municipalities to represent the county or municipalities being investigated or receive written support from a legislator that does. SB 1546 would have required ALL private firearms transfers to be conducted through a licensed dealer who would perform background checks. SB 1547 would make it a felony for a firearms dealer to fail to honor a 3-day waiting period for a sale. SB 1662 was yet another STOP order bill. 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 © 2022 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.