January 19, 2026

Judging by the never-ending glut of extremely upsetting national and international news, it's hard to believe we're only three weeks into the fresh hell that is this new year. But CEBV is staying focused on the three-ring circus that is our Arizona Legislature, and the story we're about to share is exactly the reason why.

Last week outside the state Senate, a crowd of outraged Arizonans swarmed a handful of Republican lawmakers who were preparing to announce a bill criminalizing protesters for “obstructing” ICE. Among those protesting were military veterans, faith leaders, political organizers and other activists, everyday residents... and a literal brass band.

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The good trouble drowned out the tiny press conference, yanking it to an abrupt halt and forcing it to retreat indoors to a hearing room. Undeterred, the protesters followed, chanting and holding their signs against the Senate's glass lobby doors.

The press conference went on behind closed doors, but the story told everywhere was of the protest — of the crowd of everyday Arizonans who had had enough BS and were speaking out against injustice, and about the strength and renewed hope they gained while raising their voices in community.

Our Republican-led legislature is hellbent on advancing harmful bills: the upcoming week's committee agendas are full of them. But it's critical that we raise our voices and demand better from the people who are supposed to be representing us. And as this past week shows, if our "representatives" want a three-ring circus, we can bring that.

⏰ If you have 5 minutes: Use Request to Speak to OPPOSE voting rights attack ballot measures SCR1001 and HCR2001. See "Spotlight" below for more details.

⏰⏰ If you have 15 minutes: Also contact the lawmakers listed in the "Spotlight" section below to express your opposition to SCR1001 and HCR2001.

⏰⏰⏰ If you have 25 minutes: Also use Request to Speak to OPPOSE the other ballot measures moving this week: SCR1002, SCR1004, SCR1005, SCR1010 and HCR2003. Search this document by bill number to find the summaries and talking points.

⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 45 minutes: Use Request to Speak on the rest of the bills being heard in committees this week.

⏰⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom for our CEBV Happy Hour conversation, packed with political analysis, conversation and community. Happy Hour meets every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of legislative session. We're looking forward to seeing you! Sign up in advance here.

Voting Rights Attacks on our Ballot

It's a familiar, infuriating story: Republican lawmakers are starting off the 2026 session by wasting our time and taxpayer dollars. This week, that means they're pushing identical House and Senate measures (called "mirror bills") that are designed to make it harder for us to vote by mail and harder to vote in general.

Unworkable. These bills would ax the early voting system which Arizona pioneered. They'd ban all-mail elections entirely. And they'd require all voters — even those who manage to sign up for one of the mail ballots this bill makes so unreachable — to present a government-issued ID. (No one is sure how that is supposed to work.)

Laughable. This is so far away from what Arizonans want, it's ludicrous. They want to get rid of early ballots, which more than 75% of Arizona voters use. They say voters want election results faster, but that's an utter fiction: fresh-off-the-press polling from Center for the Future of Arizona shows people prioritize accuracy of election results over speed by nearly 2-to-1 margins. A whopping 69% of voters want to keep Election Day ballot drop-offs, even if it means election results take longer. And as for voter ID, we already rejected the legislature's attempt to shove that down our throats in 2022 when we voted down Prop 309. (That makes these measures an attack on voter will, too.) What are these "representatives" doing, exactly, other than listening to a tiny and very loud minority of anti-American conspiracy theorists who can't stand the possibility that other people might vote?

Not vetoable. Gov. Hobbs can't act as a bulwark against these bills to protect our freedoms, because they're ballot referrals. With just a simple majority, extremist Republicans can vote to send this to our November ballot.

Fast-tracked. Both of the bills are being heard on the same day, Wednesday, at the same time, 2 PM. This strategy, which Republicans have used before with unpopular bills, allows bills to quickly advance out of the public comment period before the public has a chance to weigh in.

It’s time for this deceitful, indefensible effort to stop. Use Request to Speak before Wednesday at 2 PM to OPPOSE SCR1001 and HCR2001, then directly contact the following legislators who are likely to vote for their passage. (We recommend making phone calls. You'll almost certainly get a polite assistant who will efficiently take your information. If you can't bring yourself to call, a bulk email is fine, though not as effective.)

Wendy Rogers (R-7) - Senate Chair • wrogers@azleg.gov • 602-926-3042
John Kavanagh (R-3) - Senate Vice Chair • jkavanagh@azleg.gov • 602-926-5170
Shawnna Bolick (R-2) • sbolick@azleg.gov • 602-926-3314
Mark Finchem (R-1) • mfinchem@azleg.gov • 602-926-3631
John Gillette (R-30) - House Chair • jgillette@azleg.gov • 602-926-4100
Rachel Keshel (R-17) - House Vice Chair • rkeshel@azleg.gov • 602-926-3558
Alexander Kolodin (R-3) • akolodin@azleg.gov • 602-926-3560
Khyl Powell (R-14) • kpowell@azleg.gov • 602-926-3415

As if the above bills aren't absurd enough, this past week Republican legislative leaders sent their very first bill to Gov. Hobbs' desk — a pile of performative nonsense they knew was doomed to fail. At breakneck speed, they introduced, debated and voted through a giant tax cut for the rich that they couldn't pay for (they had no plan to cover the $1.1 billion over 3 years it would cost the state) and that they'd negotiated with only themselves. Then, when their scheme didn't succeed, they clutched their pearls in faux shock and whined about the "failed leadership" of the only adult in the room.

This outcome was clearly avoidable from the beginning. Gov. Hobbs first asked in November for lawmakers to send her a more thoughtful tax package, and echoed her request on opening day. Instead, Republican legislative leadership stuck their fingers in their ears and went sideways with their own Trumpian tax plan, benefiting corporations and the rich at the expense of working families (and shoehorning the absolute nonstarter of federal vouchers into the bill for good measure). When Hobbs vetoed it just as she said she would, they whined about "chaos" and "uncertainty" — the very outcome they'd worked to create.

As Trumpian tax plan architect JD Mesnard (R-13) told press, "This whole drama scenario was avoidable.'' Yes, it was, bless your heart. Remember, a true leader takes responsibility and works with others to achieve compromise, while a small mind blames others instead. Keep trying, sweetie. We're sure you can do better.

What comes next? Our state is still mired in a hyperpartisan, highly acrimonious political environment, and legislative Republicans would rather do just about anything else than compromise with Hobbs. But regardless of what they'd prefer, it's their job to work with the executive branch to reach a solution. It's high time they did just that — and we can remind them.

Use RTS to weigh in, and refer to the information, links and talking points we include here to craft your own comments to lawmakers.

Affordability

SB1049, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would upend the current basis of deciding spousal support in a divorce. Insultingly, it lowers the standard of living factor to one-half of the marital standard of living, instead of the entire marital standard of living — as if we could spend half as much and still afford a home. When is the last time the sponsor looked for an apartment or paid rent? Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

HB2288, sponsored by Justin Olson (R-10), would increase the income tax deduction for corporations that get foreign dividends. Arizona is already struggling with a lack of revenues driven by lawmakers' persistent tax cuts. Where will the money for this come from? Why should we create a tax break for corporations that invest overseas? Scheduled for House Ways & Means Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

Discrimination

SB1013, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), is a copy of a bill vetoed last year that would ban public schools from implementing hiring policies based on factors other than "merit" as part of the MAGA attack on diversity, equity and inclusion. The bill would allow anyone to sue, which would lead to endless frivolous claims of “reverse racism.” Scheduled for Senate Regulatory Affairs & Government Efficiency Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1015, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), is an exact copy of a vetoed bill from last year that would force health care professionals to pay the medical costs for minors who want a “gender detransition” to “reclaim their God-given gender” within 25 years of a procedure. The bill also enables civil lawsuits against providers for damages, including medical costs, pain and suffering, and loss of income. It's similar to a vetoed bill from 2024 which Shamp based on her belief that “political ideology” is driving gender-affirming care. The bill, which does not define the term “gender transition,” is designed to harass providers with fear-mongering about future “liability” and to throw up unnecessary obstacles for transgender people getting the same types of care that cisgender people do. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE. 

HB2074, sponsored by Lisa Fink (R-27), would require medical workers to immediately report a "partial-birth abortion," physician and facility to the county attorney. The bill specifies that these procedures are "never medically necessary to preserve the life of a mother" and "rejects the notion that a woman should be exempt from all civil or criminal liability" — meaning the intent of the bill is to jail women. "Partial-birth" is not a medical term; it's a political one, created to mislead. Abortions occurring “moments before birth” or “after birth” do not occur, nor are they legal, in the United States. Scheduled for House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

HB2085, sponsored by Lisa Fink (R-27), would ban medical personnel from prescribing puberty-blocking hormones to anyone under the age of 18 to treat gender dysphoria. Age-appropriate hormones can provide time for kids and their families to explore gender identity, access psychosocial supports, develop coping skills, and further define appropriate treatment goals. This bill would wedge politicians between trained medical professionals and their patients by targeting health care providers and community support systems. Scheduled for House Health & Human Services Committee, Thursday. OPPOSE.

HB2144, sponsored by Justin Olson (R-10), would legalize court-ordered child support for a so-called "preborn child," beginning on the date of a positive pregnancy test that is confirmed by a licensed health care professional. This is part of the anti-scientific strategy of “fetal personhood,” which gives fetuses the same legal rights as people (to the detriment of women). Scheduled for House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

HCR2003, sponsored by Selina Bliss (R-1), would ostracize the tiny minority of trans girls in Arizona by asking voters to ban them from youth sports, as well as banning trans youth from using the school bathrooms and changing facilities that align with their gender identities. The measure is a close copy of the 2022 law the courts have already blocked, which a federal district judge has since put on hold pending the outcome of a similar case currently before the US Supreme Court. One Phoenix advocate said “there is absolutely no reason to try to do this again, other than to harm already vulnerable kids.” Bliss says her bill is “black and white," but it does not address the small percentage of children who are born intersex, with anatomy variations that could indicate both genders. More kids are intersex than trans; this bill could end up harming them too. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.

Energy, Water & Climate

HB2030, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would make education and research on how to reduce water use ineligible for water conservation grants. These are important components of water conservation and should not be eliminated from the program. Scheduled for House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.

HB2096, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would allow the state water authority to fund counties' work to fix, replace or close cesspools that pose a risk to public health or water quality, and replace the cesspools with proper wastewater treatment. What is state government for, if not to care for our communities and make sure their water is clean? Scheduled for House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, Tuesday. SUPPORT.

Public Safety

SB1010, sponsored by Warren Petersen (R-14), would rename Loop 202 to the “Charlie Kirk Highway.” Parts of Loop 202 already have a name, including a 23-mile stretch named for longtime Arizona congressman Ed Pastor, who was instrumental in securing the federal funds for its construction. Highways generally get their names changed only after review by the legislatively created Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names, which also has a policy to not name something after people until at least five years after their death. This both avoids political controversy and allows historical perspective. With this bill, the sponsor circumvents the board and its five-year rule. Then there's the practicality of the suggestion: the horrific way Kirk was killed does not excuse the combative, incendiary, racist and sexist behavior around which he constructed his public work. Scheduled for Senate Public Safety Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1011, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), would require medical examiners or forensic pathologists to review the infant's vaccination history in cases of sudden death. Assuming vaccinations are a direct cause of unexplained infant death is fact-free and blatantly anti-science. Despite the sponsor's personal beliefs, there's simply no link between vaccines and sudden infant death. Scheduled for Senate Health & Human Services Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1016, sponsored by Janae Shamp (R-29), would require employers to provide a "reasonable accommodation" for employees whose "sincerely held religious beliefs" prevent them from taking any vaccine instead of only COVID-19. Employers would not be allowed to question the sincerity of these beliefs. This is an apparent attempt to excuse employees, even medical workers, from being vaccinated against anything. Though this will harm health care first, the effects carry real dangers for all our communities. Though 83% of Arizonans support childhood vaccines (including 70% of Republicans), measles and whooping cough cases are rising in Arizona, part of an unprecedented surge in preventable diseases that's being driven by anti-vaxxers like the sponsor. Scheduled for Senate Health & Human Services Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1052, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would allow assisted living homes and assisted living centers to offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy to residents if ordered by a physician. The sponsor has been trying for years to fund various uses and treatments for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which is primarily used to treat decompression sickness from scuba diving. Some for-profit management companies also use the therapy for serious infections at high reimbursement rates — about $450 for a two-hour session — which means this could be an attempt at fraudulent state-approved funding. In 2022, when lawmakers wrapped the concept into the state budget, Ducey used his first line-item veto on it, citing a "lack of public support" (hi, that’s us). Scheduled for Senate Health & Human Services Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1058, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would ban banks and credit cards from using merchant category codes that identify gun retailers or the purchase of guns or ammo. The bill appears to be driven by the NRA and other even more extreme groups, which are whining that these codes might lead to the creation of a gun registry. The truth is that not only are these codes an important tool in flagging suspicious gun purchases, which can help curb gun-related violence, but Zelle, Paypal and Venmo don't allow firearms or ammo purchases. Without identifying purchase categories, businesses cannot comply with terms that are being set by the free market (a concept which the sponsor is campaigning on supporting). Scheduled for Senate Public Safety Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1066, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would allow the Attorney General or any of Arizona's county attorneys to sue a researcher who "knowingly or recklessly publishes fraudulent scientific research." Shady organizations are indeed churning out fake or low-quality studies on an industrial scale, threatening actual fact. However, this misinformation is largely coming from bad actors who are bamboozling the extreme right (like the sponsor) and driving their loss of trust in medical science. The politicization of scientific facts is perhaps the most serious threat to science today; because of its intent, this bill would grow that threat. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1081, sponsored by Mark Finchem (R-1), would ban an individual attorney representing the Department of Child Safety from appearing before a judge in a dependency, adoption, termination of parental rights or guardianship case if that attorney had appeared before the same judge in DCS’s previous five cases. This would hinder the ability of the state to act in the best interest of children. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1093, sponsored by Mark Finchem (R-1), would create draconian new penalties for protesters with a broad new definition of "riot" that involves "two or more people recklessly using force or violence that results in damage to property." The bill specifies that police may also treat this behavior as conspiracy or racketeering. Sadly, it's no longer uncommon for police to declare protests unlawful, which makes this bill a violation of the constitutional right to free assembly. Republican state lawmakers have a history of introducing bills that aim to limit protests by defining them as riots, in conjunction with the fascist belief that, no matter what happens, the state is always right, law enforcement is always justified, and any burden of survival rests solely on the protester. Scheduled for Senate Public Safety Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SB1148, sponsored by Mark Finchem (R-1), would take the responsibility of attorney licensing away from the State Bar and give it to the Arizona Supreme Court. It would also ban requiring an attorney to belong to the State Bar to be licensed in Arizona. The sponsor carries a grudge against the Bar: they sanctioned his lawyer for a frivolous, bad-faith suit challenging his 2022 loss in the secretary of state race and forced him to repay almost $50,000 in legal fees. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SCR1004, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would ask voters to ban the use of photo radar. Numerous studies have found both speed and red-light cameras offer many safety benefits, reducing traffic crashes and injuries by up to 35 percent. Nobody likes a ticket, but Arizona has had speed cameras since 1987 for good reason. Repealing photo radar will lead to more dangerous roads and more collisions. Incredibly, far-right extremists call photo radar “totalitarianism” and “mass surveillance,” and argue banning it “will single-handedly stop the World Economic Forum's globalist agenda.” Gov. Hobbs has vetoed similar bills, but this measure would head directly to our ballot. Read former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer's argument as to why we need more, not fewer, red-light cameras. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations, Transportation & Technology Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.

SCR1005, sponsored by Mark Finchem (R-1), would ask voters to ban ballot measures from accepting money or in-kind donations from "a foreign corporation or person." This is model legislation from the Trump-connected America First Policy Institute, which claims "left-wing special interests are weaponizing ballot measures to push their radical agenda." Their chief complaint appears to be that a wealthy Wyoming resident with Swiss citizenship is donating to organizations that underwrite progressive ballot initiatives, something the FEC says is legal. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

HB2043, sponsored by Selina Bliss (R-1), would add "causing the death of an unborn child at any stage of development" to the definition of first-degree murder if someone is already committing another crime. This is part of the anti-scientific strategy of “fetal personhood,” which gives fetuses the same legal rights as people (to the detriment of women). Scheduled for House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday (held last week). OPPOSE. 

HB2118, sponsored by Neal Carter (R-15), would ban cities and counties from requiring background checks, ID or fingerprinting from the owner of a food truck before it issues a license. The state no longer requires these checks, which may include criminal, local civil court and driving history (remember, a food truck drives from place to place), instead leaving it up to cities and counties. Eliminating these checks entirely would harm public safety. Scheduled for House Commerce Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

Voting Rights, Elections & Direct Democracy

SB1134, sponsored by David Gowan (R-19), would allow political signs starting 71 days before the first day that early ballots are mailed, instead of 71 days before the election. That's about an extra 40 days. Nearly universally, Arizonans say they hate political signs, calling them "a nuisance," "ugly," and "trash"; every two years, one of the most common questions journalists get is when those signs will finally come down. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SCR1001, sponsored by Shawnna Bolick (R-2), would ax the early voting system which Arizona pioneered, ban the running of all-mail elections, and require all voters — even those voting mail-in ballots — to present a "government-issued ID" (no one is sure how that would work). Arizonans already rejected the legislature's push to toughen voter ID requirements in 2022 by voting down Prop 309, which means this is also an attack on voter will. Duplicate Senate measure (or "mirror bill") HCR2001 is also in committee this week to "fast-track" the legislation (as Republicans have done with previous voting rights attacks) and quickly advance it to the ballot before the public has a chance to comment. If approved by voters, this measure would make it harder to vote by mail and harder to vote generally — exactly the opposite of what we should be doing. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

SCR1002, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would ask voters to let people who make a political contribution below $200 remain anonymous, rather than be named in campaign finance reports. (The current threshold is $100.) This would make money in Arizona politics less transparent. The sponsor's argument for the bill, that transparency has a "chilling effect" on donations and money equals protected speech, resembles the argument right-wing political operatives are making in their lawsuits to try to invalidate the Voters Right to Know Act, a dark-money disclosure law which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2022. The bill is similar to a vetoed bill from 2023. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE. 

SCR1010, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would ask voters to let the legislature impeach politicians and judges for "failing to follow and enforce a state law or court rule." This is a blatantly political stunt. Republicans have been whining for 3 years about Arizona's Democratic statewide politicians, from complaining that Gov. Hobbs violated state law by failing to nominate agency directors for Senate confirmation (never mind that Republicans refused to confirm them) to attempting to investigate Attorney General Mayes for "operating outside of her authority" by “picking and choosing” which state laws she'll enforce (i.e., not the unconstitutional ones). Instead of cluttering our ballots with this nonsense, Republicans should trust voters to replace politicians we don't approve of by voting them out. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

HB2009, sponsored by Nick Kupper (R-25), would ban organizers of ballot measures amending the Arizona Constitution from accepting money from foreign nationals. It also requires organizers to complete a slew of paperwork and to put disclaimers on all their materials if they get more than 20% of funding from outside Arizona. This model legislation from the Trump-connected America First Policy Institute is an attack on Arizonans' constitutional right to direct democracy. Their chief complaint appears to be that a wealthy Wyoming resident with Swiss citizenship is donating to organizations that underwrite progressive ballot initiatives, something the FEC says is legal. Scheduled for House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE. 

HB2022, sponsored by Alexander Kolodin (R-3), would permanently move Arizona's primary election from the first Tuesday in August to the last Tuesday in July. It would also allow county party chairs to designate partisan observers at voting locations to act as challengers. The far-right Freedom Caucus has been pushing this idea for the last few years; Gov. Hobbs vetoed it last year, saying it would "strain the resources of counties that already struggle with recruiting poll workers.” The bill's sponsor routinely peddles evidence-free elections conspiracies; the State Bar of Arizona put him on probation for lawsuits challenging the 2020 election. Scheduled for House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE. 

HCR2001, sponsored by Alex Kolodin (R-3), would ask voters to ax the early voting system which Arizona pioneered, ban all-mail elections, and require all voters to present a government-issued ID. Arizonans already rejected the legislature's push to toughen voter ID requirements in 2022 by voting down Prop 309, which means this is also an attack on voter will. As the Arizona Agenda put it, "Either Kolodin doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he wrote a bad bill. Or he knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s hoping to muddy the waters of election law and continue to sow baseless conspiracies and capitalize on them to further his own political career." Scheduled for House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE. 

2026 Session Timeline

Monday 2/2: Senate bill introduction deadline
Monday 2/9: House bill introduction deadline
Friday 2/20: Last day for a bill to get out of committees in its originating house
Monday 2/23: Crossover Week begins (most committee hearings are suspended)
Friday 3/27: Last day for a bill to get out of committees in its crossover house
(and the last day to use RTS until a budget drops)
Tuesday 4/21: 100th Day of Session (the stated end goal; can be changed)
Tuesday 6/30: Last day to pass a constitutionally mandated state budget

Committees & Contacts

Here's a handy, freshly updated list of lawmaker contact info, committee chairs and assignments.

CEBV Action Linktree

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Congratulations, you made it to the end! 🎉 We like to share little mood-lifters in this spot; here's one for this week.