Lovas is Arizona Legislator of the Week

By Tom Jenney, President, Americans for Prosperity, Arizona DirectorThis past week (Feb 3-7) was an eventful one at the Arizona State Capitol. Several of AFP-Arizona’s priority bills progressed through committee. Below is a brief recap of our successes, and further below is our Legislator of the Week.HB 2465:  Blunting the Damage from an Internet Sales TaxHB 2465, sponsored by Rep. J.D. Mesnard, passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee last Monday by a vote of 5-3. This bill would use potential revenue increases to the state of Arizona from passage of the federal Marketplace Fairness Act (which we oppose) to offset harmful state income taxes.   Reps. J.D. Mesnard, Debbie Lesko, Adam Kwasman, Justin Olson, and Warren Petersen deserve our thanks for voting in favor of HB 2465.HB 2508: Criminal Background Checks for Obamacare NavigatorsHB 2508, which passed out of the House Insurance and Retirement Committee on Tuesday, would require persons who want to be Obamacare “navigators” to undergo criminal background checks and other protective hurdles. We must do what we can to ensure that ObamaCare navigators do not compromise the personal financial and medical information of Arizona citizens. Sponsor Rep. Phil Lovas — as well as Reps. John Allen, David Livingston, and Bob Robson — all deserve credit for helping pass the bill by a 4-3-1 (one “not voting”) margin. And, of course, thanks to our activists who kept on them to do so!TAKE ACTION! Use THIS LINK to email the legislators in your district, and ask them to support HB 2508 when it comes to a floor vote.HB 2260: The Small Business Bill of RightsHB2260, or the Small Business Bill of Rights, is quarterbacked at the Legislature by Farrell Quinlan, president of the Arizona chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, which is an AFP-Arizona partner organization.  The bill requires government regulatory agencies to create a bill of regulatory procedural rights and ensure business owners are informed of those rights.  In a rare moment of bipartisan unanimity, the bill passed out of the House Commerce Committee on Wednesday with a vote of 9-0.  Big thanks to sponsor Rep. Tom Forese and Reps. Adam Kwasman, Stefanie Mach, Debbie McCune-Davis, J.D. Mesnard, Catherine Miranda, Steve Montenegro, Warren Petersen, and T.J. Shope for voting to protect small businesses!TAKE ACTION! Use THIS LINK to email the legislators in your district, and ask them to support HB 2260, the Small Business Bill of Rights, when it comes to a floor vote.HCR 2005 — Terminal Patients Compassionate Care ActA project of the Goldwater Institute, HCR 2005 was held in the House Reform and Human Services Committee on Thursday, February 6 — but will likely be heard this coming Thursday, February 13.  This important bill would place a “Terminal Patients Compassionate Care Act” on the 2014 ballot.  If voters approve the Act, terminally ill patients would be allowed to try drugs that have been deemed safe by the FDA but have not received final FDA approval.  Everyone deserves to be able to try and save their own life, so please take action:Click HERE to call or email the members of the House Reform and Human Services Committee and tell them to support HCR 2005 when it comes for a vote.Click HERE to email the legislators in your district, and ask them to support HCR 2005 come to the floor.SB 1236: A Victory for Arizona’s Children!SB 1236, sponsored by Sen. Kimberly Yee, passed out of the Senate Education Committee by a 6-2-1 (one “not voting) margin.  The bill seeks to expand eligibility for an Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) — which will allow even more parents to customize their child’s education in the best way for them.  This was a great step for educational freedom in Arizona and Sens. Kimberly Yee, Kelli Ward, Rick Murphy, Al Melvin, David Farnsworth, and Chester Crandell deserve our thanks!To TAKE ACTION on school choice, click HERELEGISLATOR OF THE WEEK:  Representative Phil LovasRep. Phil Lovas of Peoria (R-Legislative District 22) is the 2014 legislative session’s first AFP-Arizona Legislator of the Week.  He wins that honor for his hard work supporting important issues like pension reform and especially for his sponsorship of HB 2508 — which will regulate the ObamaCare “navigators” to try to keep criminals and identity thieves from getting access to Arizonan’s sensitive personal information.  Arizona taxpayer activists should give Rep. Lovas a big round of applause for his work defending the interests of hardworking Arizonans.Read more: http://americansforprosperity.org/arizona/legislativealerts/legislative-recap-february-3-7-and-legislator-of-the-week/#ixzz2smdICR00