LEGISLATIVE SESSION – BY THE NUMBERS

LEGISLATIVE SESSION – BY THE NUMBERS

Today, Gov. Janet Napolitano issued three more vetoes of CAP supported legislation thus closing out CAP’s 2006 legislative agenda. The Center for Arizona Policy experienced our most active and most successful legislative session to date! A record total of 21 CAP supported bills passed the legislature. Of the 21, Gov. Napolitano signed nine into law, allowed two to become law without her signature and vetoed ten. The final record: 11-10. We appreciate each sponsor being willing to take the lead on key family issues. Here’s the recap, with the name of the primary sponsor in parentheses:

CAP SUPPORTED BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW BY GOV. NAPOLITANO (9):

1. Sexually Oriented Business Distance Regulation – (Knaperek) Prohibits a new sexually oriented business from being built within a quarter mile of a church, school, playground, child care facility, home, or recreational facility.

2. Umbilical Cord Blood Donations Promotion - (Stump) Requires physicians to tell women in their third trimester of pregnancy about the opportunity to donate cord blood and directs the Department of Health Services to create and distribute a pamphlet with information on cord blood donations.

3. Education and Training Vouchers for Higher Education - (Biggs) Establishes a program within the Department of Economic Security to help youths living on their own receive vouchers for postsecondary education and trade schools.

4. Postsecondary Vouchers - (Pierce) Provides scholarships to any Arizona high school student (including private and home school) who has lived in Arizona for at least 5 years to attend a private college in Arizona.

5. Displaced Pupils Choice Grants - (Murphy) Provides scholarships for 500 children who have ever been in foster care to attend a private school, allowing them to attend just one school, as opposed to constantly moving.

6. Disabled Pupils Choice Grants - (Knaperek) Provides scholarships to families of children with disabilities to allow them to choose the school that best meets their child's special needs.

7. Grants For Alternatives To Abortion - (McClure) Appropriates $500,000 to provide $20,000 grants to agencies who provide alternatives to abortion. No money may go to any organization who provides, promotes or refers women to abortions.

8. Increase Abstinence Until Marriage Education Funding - (Anderson) Increase the state matching funds to a total of $1.5 million for the federally funded abstinence until marriage education programs.

9. Marriage Education Funding - (Anderson) Appropriates $1.2 million for programs designed to help lower-income couples learn how to create and maintain a strong marriage.

CAP SUPPORTED BILLS BECAME LAW WITHOUT GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE (2):

1. Corporate Tax Credit - (Martin) $5 million to provide tuition scholarships for low-income students in public schools to attend private schools as chosen by their parents.

2. Expansion of the $5 Million Corporate Tax Credit (Bee/Bennett/Huppenthal) $10 million with a 20% increase annually.

CAP SUPPORTED BILLS VETOED BY GOV NAPOLITANO (10):

1. Fetal Pain - (Gorman) Requires a physician to inform a woman prior to receiving an abortion that the unborn baby may feel pain and requires that the woman sign a form acknowledging she received the information.

2. Notarized Parental Consent For Minor’s Abortion - (Nichols) Changes current Arizona law which requires that parents give written permission prior to their minor daughter getting an abortion to require that the signature be notarized.

3. Guidelines For Court Orders For Minor’s Abortion - (J. Allen) Provides guidelines as to how judges handle minors’ petitions requesting a court's permission to get an abortion.

4. No Insurance Taxpayer Subsidies For Government Employees’ Abortions - (Johnson) States that the "no taxpayer funding for abortion" law also applies to any city or political subdivision including abortions as a covered benefit in employee insurance plans.

5. Ban On The Sale Of Human Eggs For Cloning/Research. (Stump)

6. Payroll Deduction For School And Charitable Organization Tax Credits - (Martin) Allows an employee who wants to participate in any of Arizona's tax credit programs to have their donations deducted from their payroll.

7. Corporate Tax Credit For Tuition Scholarships - (Speaker Weiers) Initial bill passed by the legislature was vetoed by Gov. Napolitano who later allowed two similar bills to go into law without her signature.

8. Informed Consent for Human Egg Donations - (Stump) Requires that a woman be informed of the risks involved in egg donation prior to agreeing to donate her eggs.

9. Corporate Tax Credit For Tuition Scholarships Amendment - (Martin/Yarbrough) Modifies implementation of the tuition scholarships and how the Department of Revenue handles the funds.

10. First Amendment Rights For University Student Organizations - (L. Gray) States that a public university may not discriminate against a campus organization on the basis of their religious or political views.
Just as importantly, at least eight bills opposed by CAP did not become law. Most did not even get a legislative hearing. These bills would have expanded gambling at the racetracks, forced pharmacists to fill prescriptions regardless of any conscience or religious considerations, legalized physician-assisted suicide, and created a special “protected class” status for individuals on the basis of their “sexual orientation.”