| NEWS | Can’t Legislate for This Arizona’s far-right lawmakers push ‘culture war’ bills, alarming civil rights advocates. BY KATYA SCHWENK F elony charges for providing healthcare for transgender youth, a statewide “Donald J. Trump Day” holiday, hundreds of millions in funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall — these are just a few bills that the Arizona legislature will be considering in the coming months. And that was only the first day of the legislative session. The new session kicked off last week — but some emboldened GOP lawmakers have pre-filed a flurry of eye-popping legis- lation. Some have proved prolific: Republican Senator Wendy Rogers has introduced more than two dozen bills for the legisla- tive session, with “many more on the way,” as she promised on Twitter recently. Rogers didn’t reply to Phoenix New Times’ inquiries for this article. Whether such legislation will success- fully wind its way through House and Sen- ate committees is more of an unknown. Although Republicans hold a trifecta in Arizona — control of both chambers and the governor’s office — their majorities in both the House and the Senate are rela- tively slim. Furthermore, several fresh faces to the state legislature from both par- ties, after multiple departures since the last election cycle, adds another layer of uncer- tainty. In 2021, about 23 percent of bills in- troduced became law. Regardless of their ultimate viability, some of the legislation has already begun to stoke concern. “We’re seeing a lot of ‘culture war’ bills, a lot of bills that would impact the civil rights of Arizonans,” said Darrell Hill, the policy director with the Arizona branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. “And we’re worried.” Many of these bills are preying on vul- nerable groups — using them as “political fodder to bolster the chances of certain politicians,” Hill said. In a statement to New Times, state sena- tor and former House minority leader Re- becca Rios wrote that the last legislative session was “one of the most divisive and radical I have ever seen,” due in large part to the tumult over the election audit. “The current Arizona GOP have turned into extremists who care more about at- tacking democracy, attacking our teachers and schools, and working on bills like “Donald Trump Day,” she said of some of the pre-filed legislation. Of the more than 200 bills that were pre-filed for the 2022 legislative session by Arizona lawmakers, here are the most out- Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons landish that New Times read: SB 1033: Says that if an individual commits any crime during a protest, that crime must be charged more harshly. Several bills authored by Senator Rogers, who represents the large swaths of Co- conino, Gila, and Yavapai counties that make up Arizona’s 6th legislative district, appear on this list. But SB 1033 is perhaps the one that takes the cake. It suggests sev- eral amendments to Arizona’s criminal code, most of which appeared to be in- spired by the right-wing furor over the months of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. The bill directs that any crime “commit- ted in furtherance of a riot or unlawful as- sembly” be charged, without exception, as a more serious offense by one grade. So a class 6 felony must be charged as a class 5 felony, for instance. Furthermore, any theft — or, in fact, breaking and entering with supposed in- tent to commit theft — that takes place dur- ing a protest would be classified as burglary in the first degree. That’s the most serious burglary charge in Arizona, which is currently reserved only for burglary charges with a deadly weapon or explosive. It carries a minimum seven-year prison sentence — and allows for up to 21 years. “You can see how this will get really ri- diculous,” Hill said, noting that according to the proposal, a conviction for a class 2 drug felony — possession with intent to sell, for instance — could result in a life prison sentence, which is typically re- served only for first- or second-degree murder charges. This, Hill said, he believed violated the First Amendment. “It’s a poorly drafted law and it’s a poorly thought-out scheme,” he said. “It’s really meant to chill people from partici- pating in protest.” HB 2011: Mandates written parental consent in order for students to join clubs related to gender or sexuality, such as Gay-Straight Alliance groups. State Senate President Pro Tempore John Kavanagh, who represents Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, dreamed up a bill that would ban all public school students from participating in any club at all related to “sexuality, gender, or gender identity,” un- less their parents or guardians provide the school with written permission. The bill is clearly targeting GSAs (which typically stands for gay-straight alliance or gender-sexuality alliance) and similar stu- dent groups, which have long been impor- tant support networks for LGBTQ youth. A wealth of research has shown that these clubs, which are student-run and have ex- isted in public schools for decades, have a positive impact on participants’ well-being and may even improve the overall school Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers promises more eye-popping bills are “on the way.” climate. The bill also mandates that schools, upon request, provide the “formational documents” of the club to parents and no- tify parents that they have the ability to view such documents. SB 1032: Diverts $700 million of public funds to border wall construction. Another of Rogers’ bills would divert a tow- ering $700 million from Arizona’s 2022 general fund to the state’s border security fund. The purpose? “To administer and manage the construction of a border fence.” This would amount to more than 5 per- cent of the state’s entire general fund. It’s also about 13 times the amount that Gover- nor Doug Ducey has already allocated to border security operations for the fiscal year. HB 2032: Makes defacing any monument, memorial, or statue a felony. Last year, amid controversy over civil rights protesters tearing down Confederate stat- ues, Kavanagh introduced a bill that would require felony charges for damage to stat- ues or monuments. At the time, Kavanagh denied that his motives for the bill were connected to those high- profile cases, although many of his >> p 13 11 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES JAN 20TH– JAN 26TH, 2022
