Arizona State Senator John Kavanaugh (R-Fountain Hills) shared that several of his bills successfully passed the House and committees last week in his most recent update to constituents. This includes a Senate Bill (SB) aiming to ensure state laws receive legal protection from the Attorney General (AG).
“The Attorney General’s duty is to defend these laws, and this bill ensures that they can, but there are safeguards so they can back out if they so want to,” Kavanaugh said.
Check out this week's Kavanagh's Korner- the constituent video report of State Sen. John Kavanagh.https://t.co/jsoQr99F4r
— Senator John Kavanagh (@JohnKavanagh_AZ) April 9, 2023
SB 1021 – Constitutional Challenges
SB 1021 would require the AG to defend laws passed by the legislature and Governor; however, the challenge must be against the law’s constitutionality. The AG may also be relieved of this duty, but they must notify the House Speaker and Senate President at least ten days before filing any “substantive or dispositive pleading” regarding the law.
Kavanaugh said this bill is meant to avoid another situation like what happened with former AG Mark Brnovich (R). As reported by The Arizona Sun Times, Kavanaugh sponsored HB 2319 in 2022, which made it unlawful for anyone to record within eight feet of a police officer on active duty after receiving a verbal warning from the officer to stop. The bill was signed into law but promptly challenged by news outlets. Brnovich declined to defend the law, stating he was not the proper entity to defend the statute.
The bill passed through the House Floor Wednesday on a party-line vote, and the next step is to transfer it to the Governor’s office for a final decision.
SB 1588 – Criminal Justice Data System
Kavanaugh’s next bill relates to the criminal side of the legal system. If it becomes law, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) will be required to implement a State, County, and Municipal Online Data System (System). The data in the System would include police reports, prosecution reports, court orders, correctional/probation reports, and more related to criminal activity. The ACJC is prohibited from releasing personally identifying information and would receive $4,700,000 from the state General Fund in Fiscal Year 2024 for the project. Kavanaugh said condensing this criminal information into one location would help legislators conduct research.
The bill passed the House Appropriations Committee on 4/3 with significant bipartisan support.
SB 1001 – Pronouns in Schools
Kavanaugh’s next bill covered the hot-button issue of using pronouns in schools. Should SB 1001 become law, it would prohibit public school employees or contractors from referring to a student under 18 with pronouns that do not align with their biological sex unless given permission with a note from a parent. Additionally, a teacher may not be forced to use alternate pronouns for students if it goes against their religious convictions.
During the House Appropriations Committee, Kavanaugh said the bill’s purpose is to ensure parental rights are protected and they are not left in the dark regarding issues relating to their children.
However, this bill received harsh criticism from some committee members who stated their concerns about how it could harm LGBTQ children. Nonetheless, the bill still received a do-pass recommendation along party lines.
SB 1005 – Parents’ fees
The final bill Kavanaugh spoke on was SB 1005, which may protect parents from paying attorney’s fees if they sue a school district. If a parent alleges a district violated their parental rights but ultimately loses the lawsuit, attorney fees cannot be applied. However, this would not be the case if the suit is deemed frivolous or unjustified.
The bill passed the House Floor on Party lines Wednesday and has been transferred to the Governor’s Office, although Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has yet to release a verdict on the bill as of writing.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Senator John Kavanaugh” by Arizona State Legislature. Background Photo “Arizona Capitol” by Wars. CC BY-SA 3.0.
