AzCDL Legislative Update

 

Last week we informed you that two important bills had been heard in the Senate Finance Committee, HB 2166 and HB 2473. HB 2166 passed out of that committee with an amendment and moved on to the Senate Appropriations Committee, while HB 2473 was reassigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which heard both bills last Tuesday, March 29th. HB 2166 was passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee and will next go to the Senate Rules Committee. The bill would exempt firearms and firearms safety equipment from transaction privilege (sales) taxes. After struggling in the Senate Finance Committee the previous week, HB 2473 also passed out of the Appropriations Committee and is headed to the Rules Committee. The bill 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. As in previous hearings, testimony was taken from those in the banking industry as well as those impacted by policy decisions made by their financial institutions. Speaking in favor of the bill were Cheryl Todd, AzCDL Foundation Vice President and Arizona Director of the DC Project, Michael Findlay, Director of Government Relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and Tim Lowney, Vice President of Operations for Ruger's Prescott Division. Among those speaking in opposition was Paul Hickman, President and CEO of the Arizona Bankers Association. Todd explained that she and her husband had a firearms business for 20 years and relied heavily on credit card processing services provided by her bank. During one transaction with a customer, they were called by the processing company and told they would not receive their funds unless an itemized inventory of the items sold was provided. That is unheard of in any industry. After struggling with ever increasing mountains of paperwork, her husband called Chase bank and was told that it would be best if they took their business to another financial institution. Lowney told the story of Ruger being dropped by Bank of America after decades of history together. Although Ruger found another bank, that institution is now indicating that they wish to terminate the relationship, too, simply because of the products Ruger produces. Ruger has heard from a number of dealers that they are also facing the same situation. Most dealers do not enjoy the financial strength Ruger does and depend upon banking and credit card services for their day-to-day operations.  Opponents of the bill claimed it violates free market principles and that it does not infringe on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms because companies in the firearms industry have been able to find alternate banking services when their banks sever ties with them. AzCDL would like to thank Senator Vice Leach and Senator David Livingston for asking some tough questions and helping to move the bill forward. You can watch the latest exchange in this video of the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. We expect these bills, and several others, to be headed to floor votes soon. AzCDL will provide pre-written letters you can email to your legislators through our Action Center when needed. Watch these Alerts for the latest news and updates. 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.