PHOENIX – Yesterday, Arizona Right to Life filed a desperate lawsuit against Arizona for Abortion Access. Their complaints are deceptive attempts to silence the will of more than 820,000 Arizona voters – the most voters ever unified in support of any citizen-led initiative in state history. Despite these bogus attacks by anti-abortion extremists, we have long been prepared for just this type of unfounded attempt to shut down direct democracy in our state. We are confident that we will prevail, and remain committed to winning in November and restoring abortion access in Arizona once and for all. 

TUCSON, Ariz. – Today, the first independent expenditure urging Arizonans to vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 will be up in the Tucson area on billboards and 15-second videos online. The ads by Free and Fair Democracy PAC center on Harris’s record working for voters, defending the constitution and denouncing fascism in direct contrast to Donald Trump’s felonies and attacks on the constitution.  The $120,000 buy comes as Harris holds her first official campaign events since stepping to the top of the ballot, and as pundits lift up Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly as a strong contender for her vice presidential pick ahead of next month’s DNC convention. Statement from Free and Fair Democracy PAC: “Free and Fair Democracy PAC condemns MAGA extremists who call themselves patriots while launching insurrections against the United States. Donald Trump attacks democracy, insults veterans, and wants to terminate the Constitution to rule for life. “We will not allow Democrats to concede patriotism. We’re proud to launch six figures in advertising, funded by thousands of hardworking Americans, showing who the true patriot is in this race: Kamala Harris.” View the online ads here , and images of billboards below.

PHOENIX – It’s summer in Arizona and with that comes blistering heat and wildfires that can cause travelers delays when there’s an unplanned highway closure. 

 

During these highway closures, the Arizona Department of Transportation sometimes receives questions on social media that ask a variation of: The wildfire isn’t near the highway so why is the road closed?

 

ADOT and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management want people to know that the answer is safety — for the traveling public and first responders. 

 

When a brush fire ignites, there are a few reasons for a full highway closure or for lane restrictions to be implemented.

 

Brush fires can be fast moving and with multiple agencies responding, it can take time to figure out who needs to go where and establish where the fire is spreading. In some instances, the highway will be shut down briefly to allow crews and firefighters the space to assess the situation and position people where they need to be to fight the fire. 

 

“We try to keep the closures as short as possible and give the traveling public at least a lane,” Brett Rupp, an ADOT highway maintenance supervisor in Payson, said. “But depending on the size or location of the fire, it’s not safe for vehicles to travel past a fire. We do what is safest for everybody who is out there, from the boots on the ground to the traveling public.”

 

Wildland firefighters sometimes must park their trucks and vehicles on the highway to do their job effectively, which may necessitate a lane closure for an extended period of time. Helicopters carrying hundreds of gallons of water to dump on the fires may also stage on the highway itself because it’s a convenient location for operators to set up a portable dip tank to replenish water quickly and head back out.

 

Low-flying aircraft dropping retardant is also a safety issue for those on the ground, including motorists.

 

“Those aircraft fly so low it’s a safety concern. They’re trying to get as low as possible to drop the retardant, and they don’t want to impact the traffic. There’s always a risk you take with flying aircraft, and we don’t want to put the public and drivers in harm’s way,” Tiffany Davila, public affairs officer for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said.

 

Smoke coming from fires can also reduce visibility, which is hazardous for drivers. And although a wildfire may appear miles away from the highway, firefighters can often predict the direction the fire is headed and will make decisions to keep everyone safe. 

 

“If they know in an hour the fire will impact, for example, Interstate 17, they’re going to start calling for road closures immediately because it’s going to take that long to clear the highway and get those drivers off the road,” Davila said. 

 

ADOT and AZDFFM work closely with local, state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and others to make determinations of when highway closures may be needed during wildland fires. 

 

“Safety drives these decisions,” Rupp added. “We don’t want motorists driving through raging flames and we don’t want personnel worrying about oncoming cars when they’re trying to get from the median to the other side of the road while a fire burns.”

 

When a highway closes, it’s natural for motorists to consult a navigation app or GPS unit to explore alternate routes. But drivers need to apply common sense to a computer’s suggestions, starting with not taking vehicles that aren’t up to the task down unpaved roads. 

 

We can all do our part to help reduce the chances of igniting wildfires while driving (and the delays associated with it) by doing the following: 

 

• Avoid parking your vehicle on dry grass or driving through tall grass because heat from the underside of your vehicle can start a fire.
• Never throw a lit cigarette out of a vehicle.
• Make sure trailer chains are securely attached. Loose chains can drag on the pavement, shooting sparks off the road and into dry brush and grass.
• Check tire pressure before you travel. Exposed wheel rims can cause sparks on the asphalt.

 

ADOT wants to make sure that drivers are prepared when they head out on road trips, and unexpected delays, like wildfires, can add extra travel time. Make sure you pack an emergency travel kit that includes plenty of extra water, healthy snacks, sun protection — such as sunscreen, sunglasses or a hat — a fully charged cell phone and any prescription medication.    Be patient and be prepared. If you are waiting in a backup on a highway that is closed (whether it’s for a brush fire, a crash or other active incident) stay in your lane and do not exit your vehicle. Do not drive onto the shoulders of the highway as first responders use that lane. 

 

“Give crews room to get by,” Rupp said. “The sooner we can get to the incident scene, the sooner responders can do the work that needs to be done and open the highway safely for everyone.”

The Arizona Legislature adjourned its 2024 regular session on June 15. At 160 days the session was well over a month shorter than last year’s record of 204 days. Overall, legislators considered more than 1,700 different bills and resolutions. More than 250 were signed into law by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, and more than 70 were vetoed.

 

With divided government, and narrow partisan splits in both legislative chambers, any major legislation affecting free enterprise was unlikely to pass this session. Overall, the final result generally favored free enterprise, as several positive bills were signed into law, and the most harmful pieces of legislation died in the legislature or were vetoed.

 

KEY TAKEWAYS We applaud Republican leaders in the legislature and Governor Hobbs on passing a budget deal that largely protects free enterprise by balancing the budget with across-the-board spending cuts and without major tax increases while also preserving school choice programs in the state. Two other major positives from the legislative session are worth highlighting:

1. The session included some bright spots for Arizona entrepreneurs and small businesses like the so-called Tamale bill—which made things easier for entrepreneurs by expanding the list of foods that can be prepared for sale in a home kitchen; a bill relieving youth entrepreneurs of burdensome regulations; and a bill that created an organized retail theft task force in the Attorney General’s Office. All three were enacted into law with bipartisan support and will help small businesses in the state.
2. After Governor Hobbs vetoed bills that would have further simplified occupational licensing, cracked down on retail theft, and required costly regulations face legislative review, as well as dozens of other bills, Republicans sought to circumvent her opposition by referring measures to the ballot for voters to decide in November. Several of these ballot measures would be particularly beneficial to free enterprise, including a measure to require legislative approval of certain regulations, a measure that would allow property owners to apply for a property tax refund if municipality doesn’t enforce nuisance laws, and a measure protecting the tipped minimum wage. If passed by voters, each of these measures would be a victory for free enterprise.

HARMFUL LEGISLATION DEFEATED Nearly as important as the positive bills that passed the legislature were the numerous harmful bills that didn’t make it into law. Harmful bills this session would have raised taxes, imposed costly new regulations on small businesses, dismantled school choice, or generally rolled back free enterprise in Arizona.

1. Among the worst bills of the legislative sessions were those that would have done the bidding of anti-school choice activists by dismantling Arizona’s robust school choice programs. These bills included proposed roll backs of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program and the School Tuition Organization (STO) tax credit program, both of which fund scholarships for students to attend the school of their choosing and help keep kids from getting trapped in failing public schools.
2. There were a number of bills introduced that would have been detrimental to Arizona workers, including: radical minimum wage increases that lead to fewer hours and reduced consistency for workers; proposals to increase the corporate tax rate, which leads to decreased investment, productivity losses, less economic growth, and lower standards of living; and costly, extreme environmental rules that would enable frivolous lawsuits and undermine free enterprise. However, the most egregious bills were a set that would repeal Arizona’s Right to Work protections in the state constitution and force workers to join labor unions whether they want to or not.

Bottom Line: The 2024 legislative session was generally positive for free enterprise, as the most harmful bills were stopped, and the most damaging proposals were left out of the final budget. While free enterprise victories were hard to come by, Arizona voters will have an opportunity to provide a few more wins by advancing certain ballot measures in November.

 

WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema addressed the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police – led by her brother, Paul Sheldon – in honoring fallen Arizona police officers and thanking law enforcement for their bravery and tireless service to keep Arizona communities safe.   “Arizona’s police officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities – and I’m grateful to join the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police in honoring the memory, service, and courage of fallen officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe,” said Sinema.   “The Arizona Fraternal Order of Police was proud to host our Honorable U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema at our State Conference yesterday. For twenty years Senator Sinema has been a strong FOP ally and we were honored to present her with a small token of our appreciation for her years of service and dedication to the state of Arizona and the FOP.  All in attendance were thrilled to give her a standing ovation and she will truly be missed,” said Paul Sheldon, President of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police.   Sinema comes from a military and law enforcement family and flies a Thin Blue Line police flag in her Senate office. As Arizona’s senior Senator, she works to ensure Arizona law enforcement has the tools and resources needed to keep Arizonans safe, and she recently announced over $2.5 million in bipartisan appropriations for Arizona law enforcement.   This Congress, Sinema introduced bipartisan legislation reauthorizing the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods program that brings together federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, community leaders, and partners to stop crime and protect Arizona communities.