2013 Legislative Session Wasn't all Bad

By Tom Jenney, Americans for Prosperity, Arizona ChapterAs you probably know, Governor Jan Brewer, with the help of Democratic  legislators and 14  Republicans, managed to force the ObamaCare  Medicaid expansion through the Legislature.  (That battle is  not over.  Click  here to take action.)  And almost nothing was done during the  2013 legislative session to curb the power of government employee unions.But the 2013 session did bring some good news for taxpayers.   Several bills supported by AFP-Arizona were passed by the Legislature and  signed into law by the Governor, and several of the bills we opposed were  blocked.  More info is available at this  link, but below is a quick summary.HB  2531 — This bill, sponsored by Rep. J.D.  Mesnard, reforms Arizona’s tax code to allow businesses to get an  immediate income tax deduction for equipment purchases.SB  1363 — Sponsored by Sen. Rick  Murphy, this bill expands eligibility and funding for Arizona’s  system of school choice education saving accounts.HB  2458 — Sponsored by Rep. Paul  Boyer, this bill will help to prevent fraud in Arizona’s  recently-created system of school choice education savings accounts.HB  2608 — This bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Phil  Lovas and was a key policy priority of House Speaker Andy  Tobin, is an important first step in the reform of government  employee pensions.  HB 2608 converted the Elected Officials Retirement Plan  (EORP) from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan.HB  2045 — This bill mandates that health care providers make  some cash prices available to their consumers.  By doing so, the  reform will introduce greater price competition to health care in Arizona, help  to prevent some fraud and over-billing, and let the market guide  consumers toward better health care choices.  Thanks to the efforts of Sen. Nancy  Barto, this reform was included in the AHCCCS payments overhaul  bill sponsored by Rep. Heather  Carter.AFP-Arizona is grateful to report that two corporate welfare bills were  blocked.  Governor Brewer vetoed HB  2342 and the Senate held HB  2646.  (Both bills were sponsored by House Speaker Andy  Tobin.)While a bill increasing local bonding authority and property taxes  (HB  2399 — Rep. Heather  Carter) passed and was signed by the Governor, a bill creating  new local taxing districts (HB  2456 — Rep. Phil  Lovas) was successfully blocked.AFP-Arizona will soon publish its 2013  Legislative Scorecard (the 29th annual scorecard put out by  AFP-Arizona and the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers).  On the Scorecard,  you will be able to see how your Legislators performed on these bills and dozens  of others. Grassroots Education Events in JulyOn July 25, our sister organization, AFP Foundation-Arizona, will co-sponsor  an all-day Scottsdale simulcast of the Western  Conservative Summit, with live presentations by Arizona Congressmen  Trent Franks, Paul Gosar and Matt Salmon.  And on the evening of July 31,  AFPF-Arizona will celebrate Milton  Friedman’s birthday with a panel discussion on Common Core.   (Click on the links to register.)For Liberty, TomTom Jenney Arizona Director Americans for Prosperity www.aztaxpayers.org tjenney@afphq.orgRead more: http://americansforprosperity.org/arizona/legislativealerts/it-wasnt-all-bad-news/#ixzz2aGEVG5zU