New Bills Coming from Republican State Senators Seek to Give Greater Protection to Arizona Children and Victims of Abuse

Three new Senate Bills (SB) have been introduced between State Senators Sine Kerr (R-Buckeye) and Janae Shamp (R-Suprise), which aim to provide more protections to children and victims of abuse. Kayleigh Kozak, the Arizonan behind the state’s new “Kayleigh’s Law,” called on residents to support these bills’ passage.

“Prioritize protecting children, victims and our communities,” Kozak shared. “Attend the Arizona State Senate this Thursday, February 9th at 8 am in Senate Hearing Room 1. Sign up to speak or simply show up.

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New Arizona Senate Republicans Appointed to Serve as Majority Caucus Leaders

The Arizona State Senate Republicans have announced new leaders who will serve the majority caucus in the next legislative session, with Senator Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) taking the reigns as Senate President.

“Senator Petersen is a third-generation Arizonan and has worked in the real estate industry for more than two decades. His duties as Senate President will include being the primary leader of the Senate, presiding over legislative sessions and ensuring senators abide by procedural rules,” as stated in a press release from the Senate Republicans.

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Attorney Rachel Mitchel Shares Support for Arizona’s New Law Protecting Victims of Abuse

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell spoke in favor of one of Arizona’s new laws, known as “Kayleigh’s Law,” which aims to protect victims of sexual abuse further.

“As you know, I spent much of my career working with victims of crimes involving crimes against children and sexual assault, and so it’s very important to me that victims have protection and a voice in the system,” Mitchell said at a press conference. “So it was an incredible honor to work on the statute that I’m going to talk to you about that’s going to go into effect Saturday that will provide additional help for victims.”

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Arizona Democratic Party Requests Investigation of Redistricting, Claims It Protects Incumbent GOP State Senators

The Arizona Democratic Party submitted a complaint on Monday to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, asking him to investigate whether a couple of members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) violated the Arizona Constitution by drawing district boundary lines to protect at least three incumbent Republican state senators. Executive Director Charlie Fisher, who signed the letter, also asked the attorney general’s office (AGO)to determine if the members violated Arizona’s Open Meeting law, and whether members, as well as senators and their staff, improperly used state resources and funds.

The moves may have been done to include significant Republican enclaves in heavily Republican districts, not to just grab a single senator’s residence. State Senator Vince Leach (R-Tucson), one of the senators who was accused of being gerrymandered into a heavily Republican district, explained to The Arizona Sun Times about the area he lives in that was included, “Catalina has always been in LD 11. Since the election of 2012.”

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Gov. Ducey Signs 12 Bills, Including Banning Unions from Politicking on the Taxpayers’ Dime, and Stopping Religious Discrimination in Adoptions

As the 2022 Arizona Legislative season winds down, Gov. Doug Ducey is signing a slew of bills. On Wednesday, he signed 12, including the Goldwater Institute’s Release Time Reform Act and a bill protecting religious freedom in adoptions and foster care.

The Goldwater Institute (GI) drafted SB 1166, which was sponsored by State Sen. Vincent Leach (R-Tucson), to address the problem where public employees at the local, state, and federal level are “released” from their government responsibilities and instead are assigned to work for a private union — all while receiving full government pay, benefits, and retirement. 

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