RTS For the Week of 3/26
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Over the last six weeks, we have alerted you to a LOT of bills active in the Arizona House and Senate. The LAMA community has stepped up our involvement this year and consistently weighed in on these important policies. This week, we are offering you a highlight of bills we have already raised up, so that you can make sure you’re up to date on all of them! Click the link on the bill numbers to read their original alerts.
Hunger
HB 2502 & 2503— These bills drastically tighten the restrictions on work requirements for folks participating in SNAP. They propose a mandatory program for participants who are not able to work an adequate number of hours per week. These bills are likely to impact the most vulnerable SNAP participants, as well as cost tax-payers a lot of money for little pay-off. LAMA opposes HB 2502 & 2503.
HB 2794— This bill seeks to provide Arizona schools with funding to cover the copays for free and reduced meals for all students who qualify. Healthy school meals for all has long been a priority for LAMA as school meals are an important lifeline for hungry families, and are supported by the vast majority of Arizonans (click here to learn more about Arizona’s school meal program). This bill has seen very little progress, but we still encourage you to show your support for HB 2794! Your RTS stance shows that this funding is important to Arizonans, even if this specific bill does not pass.
Water
HB 2056— This bill provides funding for the On Farm Efficiency Fund, which runs the Water Irrigation Efficiency Program through the University of Arizona. This programs helps farmers and ranchers around the state transition to more sustainable, efficient irrigation and water-use methods. This program has saved a significant amount of water in the years it has been running. This money would come from the state general fund as it has in years’ past. Despite our early excitement for this bill, it looks like the funding is more likely to come from a different stream, outlined in HB 2024.
HB 2024— This bill also provides $30 million in funding for the Water Irrigation Efficiency Program through U of A. This allocates the funding from the state lottery fund. This is a slightly more complicated funding source, but we consider this program to be important, and hope to see its funding continue.
Voting
HB2547— This bill would ban the use of voting centers throughout the state. The voting center model is popular with voters in Arizona, is shown to make voting more accessible, and isn’t linked to any increase in fraud. This bill would take the choice away from county election departments. LAMA opposes this bill!
Housing
HB2815— Yes In God’s Back Yard is a bill we have talked a LOT about! It would allowed houses of worship to construct affordable housing on their property, even when it is not zoned for residential use. This bill is popular with local faith groups and with housing experts.
How To
Log into your RTS Account here, and select the blue “Request to Speak” app.
Select “My Bill Positions” from the menu on the left.
Enter the bill number in the search bar and select the bill when it pops up
Select your stance and click the blue “Add” button
Thank you for your advocacy!
