Opinion from AG's Office Requested re: Minimum Wage

Proposition 202 became effective on the first day of the year, and it remains current, valid law (See section 23-363, subsection A, $6.75/hour beginning 1/1/2007).
However, there are many questions surrounding the applicability of the new law.

An opinion from the Attorney General's Office has been requested and is expected to answer the following specific questions:

Will you issue an opinion that responds to the following questions?

Does the new minimum wage law apply to the developmentally disabled workers or is the "special" minimum wage authorized by Section 14(C) of the Fair Labor Standards Act still applicable?

Are there any other federal exemptions that are still in effect, if so, which ones?

The official title of Proposition 202 contained a phrase alluding to the repeal of §23-362, Arizona Revised Statutes, however, the text of the measure contains no such repeal, does this mean that the old statute was not repealed?

If you determine that the old law was not properly repealed, and since the new law contains no express provision for workers with disabilities, can employers still pay "commensurate" wages in accord to the reference to federal law found in the old § 23-362, Arizona Revised Statutes?

Additionally, the Industrial Commission, the entity charged with oversight and rule making associated with the new wage, issued a press release on December 26, 2006 that included the following statement, highlighted in red:

MINIMUM WAGE LAW ON DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED, PHYSICALLY-CHALLENGED WORKER PROGRAMS
(Phoenix, AZ) - The Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA), the agency responsible for implementing changes to Arizona's new voter-approved minimum wage law, is advising employers who participate in special work programs for the disabled to proceed as usual until the agency is able to address concerns about how the new law will apply in these cases. Approved by voters last month, Proposition 202 raises the minimum wage in Arizona to $6.75 an hour beginning January 1st, 2007.

Last week, Arizona employers exempt from minimum wage standards for developmentally- or physically-challenged workers through approved "sheltered work center" programs and community members raised questions about the law. Because the ICA will still be in the process of gathering information from the both the community and employers on the effective date, employers who participate in sheltered work center programs will not be penalized for not paying the new wage. They are being advised to follow current procedure until an advisory opinion can be issued.

We remain in contact with the Solicitor General's Office and hope that an opinion will be issued soon.

North American Union & NAFTA Superhighway

Friends, I just received this invite and wanted to let you know about this meeting. I know it's a long way to travel but since it's in February you can make plans to carpool...and hey, maybe plan to stop by the Capitol for the day!

I wanted to invite you to attend a very informative meeting on the

North American Union & the NAFTA Superhighway.

GOP Legislative District 9 is hosting a meeting on Monday, February 12,

to present information on these two important topics.

The speaker will be Harry Sweeney, former military intelligence specialist,

researcher, analyst, writer, and radio personality.

The meeting will be held at the
Glendale Library main auditorium
5959 W. Brown Street
Glendale, AZ

Brown Street is one light south of 59th avenue and Peoria, off 59th avenue. The auditorium seats 240 people.

We have invited Republican precinct committeemen and women from all over Maricopa county, and have sent invitations to Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul, Virgil Goode, Trent Franks, Jon Kyl, and John McCain. There will also be a large number of people who have no direct affiliation with legislative districts, but who are very interested in learning more about just what is going on in these areas.

6:30 to 7:00 social time, make a donation, find a seat
7:00 - 8:00 Harry Sweeney, plus Q&A session
8:00 - 8:30 Legislators in attendance may speak


Your attendance would be very welcome to us, and very informative to you.

We hope you can attend.

Thank you

Ray Spitzer, Chairman, LD9

Number of Bills Introduced as of Today in the AZ House

As of 5:00 p.m. today, 1/11/07, the total number of introduced Bills,

Memorials and Resolutions is 606:

568 Bills
5 HCM's
33 HCR's

Last year was the highest after the fourth day of session - 688 -- 657 Bills and 31 Memorials and Resolutions

Introduced in one day - today, on Thursday, 1/11/07 - the total number of Bills, Memorials and Resolutions introduced is 396:

358 Bills
5 HCM's
33 HCR's

The total of 396 for one day is the fourth highest ever introduced in one day in the House and is the second highest number introduced in one day for a first regular session.

The highest number of bills introduced in one day was in 1999 - 460 total - 446 Bills and 14 Memorials and Resolutions.