Department of Justice Concedes No Racial Profiling in Senate Bill 1070

This Statement Attributed to the Honorable Kirk Adams, Speaker of the House

“It‟s nice to see the Obama Administration finally concede there is no allowance for racial profiling in Arizona‟s immigration law. After all the sound and fury about discrimination, it‟s now clear that the Administration‟s entire case against SB1070 rests on a technical claim that the law is indirectly preempted by federal immigration law. The Administration is hoping the federal courts will declare for the first time that state and local law enforcement have no role in enforcing immigration law.

The merits of this lawsuit are superfluous at best. It’s simply ridiculous for the federal government to police what it’s failing to do itself. President Obama should be very, very embarrassed. (more…)

The truth behind Arizona’s immigration law

This article originally appeared in the Washington Post

Lately it seems as though each day brings a new group or city council announcing that it will boycott Arizona in response to our state’s recently enacted immigration law, S.B. 1070. Many organizations and individuals are jumping on the media-hype bandwagon rather than taking the time to read the bill and research the facts.

It is not just incredibly unfortunate that cities such as Boston, San Francisco and Seattle, which are far removed from the problems that we face here on the southern border, have announced boycotts against Arizona. Frankly, it’s offensive. If such drug- and gang-related crimes were affecting public safety in Manhattan or Boston, East Coast elites would be declaring a national emergency.
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Speaker Kirk Adams discusses SB1070 with Neil Cavuto

Senate Votes to Lease State Park with Revenue Sharing

The Arizona State Senate today, voted to approve HB 2464, which would lease Lake Havasu State Park to the City of Lake Havasu. The bill faces one final vote in the Senate and a final vote in the House.

“We are delighted that this bill has cleared another hurdle in the Senate,” said Representative Nancy McLain. “With the amendments that were approved today, I believe we have a plan that benefits all stakeholders. City management and investment in this park will increase park revenue and profits. Those profits will then be split – half will be used to fund continued improvement of the park and half will be sent back to the State Park Board. Most importantly, at the end of the lease, State Parks will have received 100 percent of park profits after any loans are paid off.”

Lake Havasu State Park is a key driver of tourism in western Arizona. According to State Parks Board figures, visitors to this facility support more than 350 private sector jobs and pay more than $3 million each year in state and local taxes. (more…)

Representative Nancy Barto on the restoration of KidsCare

This statement is attributed to Representative Nancy Barto (R-District 7):

“Today’s proposal restores funding for both KidsCare and the Prop 204 rollback by utilizing only enhanced FMAP dollars. In order to draw down these dollars, the statutory language for KidsCare must be restored. This will allow us to trigger the use of the $435.5 million in federal dollars that is expected to be passed and be signed into law this May. The simple breakdown is as follows: $385 million to restore Proposition 204; $9 million to restore KidsCare; $37.5 million for county use related to state healthcare services.

Arizona currently receives around $7.8 billion per year in Federal Medicaid funding, which according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) letter dated April 1, 2010, would potentially be at risk as a result of the elimination of KidsCare. (more…)

Glenn Hamer Defends Jobs Bill on Horizon

Immigration Bill Passes State House With Significant Changes

The Arizona State House of Representatives today passed SB 1070, an updated comprehensive immigration enforcement bill that contains significant changes compared to a previously-passed version.

“We’ve moved forward with a comprehensive immigration enforcement bill that addresses the concerns of our communities, constituents and colleagues,” Representative John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) said. “This updated version gives our local police officers the tools they need to combat illegal immigration, while protecting the civil rights of citizens and legal residents.”

Details of the bill’s primary changes are as follows:

• Protects those engaged in church and community organization activities, along with those providing emergency services, from being prosecuted as criminals as related to the transporting, harboring and/or shielding of an illegal immigration.

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House Jobs Bill Passes Another Hurdle

The Arizona State Senate Finance Committee today passed House Bill 2250, a bill designed to create new, high-wage jobs for Arizonans now and to begin reversing the declining standard of living. The bill is expected to be voted on by the full Senate soon, which passed the House in January.

“Arizona is in a unique situation. Our economic crisis gives us an opportunity to enact meaningful tax legislation and implement successful economic development policies that promote job creation and capital accumulation,” said House Speaker Kirk Adams (R-Mesa), who sponsored the original legislation. “While fixing our budget is incredibly important, it will not be enough to pull our state out of this mess.”

“We need jobs now. Without this bill, unemployed Arizonans will have to wait several years longer for significant economic growth and high-wage jobs to return to our state. For many Arizonans, that timeline is simply unacceptable,” Speaker Adams added.
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Arizona Voters Overwhelmingly Support Passage of State Jobs Bill

New polling data shows strong support from all parties for job-creating legislation

PHOENIX – Over two-thirds of Arizona voters support passage of a comprehensive jobs bill according to a poll commissioned by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Arizona Manufacturers Council.

The poll, conducted March 29 through April 1, has a margin of error of +/- 4.5%. Five hundred voters were interviewed.

“This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who’s paying attention to the Arizona economy that people are looking for real solutions to the state’s job deficit,” Arizona Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Glenn Hamer said. “Voters want the Legislature to act decisively and pass a jobs package to get Arizona’s economy back on track.”
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Unfunded mandates force state to fight

April 6, 2010
by Nancy Barto

The facts are simple: Arizona cannot afford the recently passed federal health-care mandate. The price tag, according to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, is essentially over $1 billion per year in new unfunded federal mandates that will be imposed immediately on Arizona – with no relief until 2014.

Still, state legislative Democrats claim that this noxious bill will not cost our state a single cent. Talk about deluded.

Perhaps petulant is a better word. After all, Democrats continue to assail the GOP and Gov. Jan Brewer for the tough but necessary decisions to balance the budget this year. There was no way the state could continue its vicious cycle of unlimited spending and increased borrowing to fund AHCCCS at its current level – which has grown to a whopping 26 percent of our budget.
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