New firearm bill sweetens the deal

If at first you don’t succeed ... The stick didn’t work. Now, we’ll see how the carrot fares.

Efforts to force local governments to allow guns in public buildings failed again at the Arizona Legislature this session, but gun-rights advocates are trying a new idea to expand the places where gun owners can carry their weapons. This one would offer business owners a little financial incentive to take down those “Gun-free zone” signs at stores, restaurants and bars.

Senate Bill 1159, introduced by Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, would essentially make it more difficult to sue businesses that allow guns if something tragic happens. Specifically, it exempts businesses that allow guns from most civil lawsuits in instances where someone fires a gun in the business. It would still allow lawsuits if the business is somehow grossly negligent or involved in the incident.

Attorney Russ Richelsoph said state statute doesn’t define gross negligence, but it typically requires some kind of knowledge or voluntary action. He said the bill would relieve business owners from some legal liability if they choose to allow guns.

For example, he said, a bar owner who banned guns could be sued under current law if he served alcohol to someone carrying a concealed weapon who later shot up the bar and injured or killed someone. Under this bill, that would remain true. But a bar owner who allowed guns and served alcohol to the same person couldn’t be sued unless he or she served alcohol knowing that individual was carrying a gun.

Richelsoph said such cases of lawsuits against businesses following a gun crime are not common.

“I don’t know that this is a huge problem,” he said. “I expect the real purpose of this statute is ... to create a legal environment where businesses are more comfortable allowing firearms. It’s an appeal to the Second Amendment crowd.”

The proposal doesn’t appear to be something local businesses asked for. No business owner testified or signed in support of the bill during legislative hearings. Steve Chucri, president and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association, said the bill wasn’t on the organization’s radar.

It’s being pushed by the local pro-gunrights advocacy group the Citizens Defense League.

The bill has passed the Senate and awaits a final vote in the House. If passed, it will go to Gov. Doug Ducey for consideration.

» Democratic pileup ... Sen. Katie Hobbs surprised many when she announced that she would run for Arizona secretary of state in the 2018 election.

The lawmaker made an early claim on the Democratic nomination, something many thought was Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton’s domain.

Stanton hasn’t made any announcements, but he created a buzz when he opened a committee to run for the state’s No. 2 post. It was enough for current SOS Michele Reagan to fire off near biweekly fundraising pitches attacking Stanton. All the mayor has said publicly is that he needed a place to park his surplus campaign cash due to a change in campaignfinance laws, and SOS seemed a good spot.

Hobbs said she didn’t reach out to Stanton before making her decision, and for his part, Stanton publicly has kept quiet. He did issue a statement, predicting good things for Democrats next year, “The fact that so many quality Democrats are gearing up to run for office is a sign of strength in our party, which makes me optimistic that 2018 will be a year of positive change for Arizona.”

Hmmm ... a Democratic tsunami next year?

Meanwhile, Hobbs is planning to hold on to her seat in the Senate, where she serves as minority leader. Her attendance record next year could be interesting, given the demands of a statewide campaign. » About that budget ... Ducey’s staffers have not told lawmakers or their staff members that the administration could implement a moratorium on bills not related to the budget, said his spokesman Daniel Scarpinato.

Scarpinato would not comment on whether Ducey’s staffers are discussing the tactic, as reported in the Yellow Sheet Report.

“I’m not going to comment on rumors,” Scarpinato told Political Insider on Friday. “There’s a lot of rumors floating around.”

He noted Ducey’s action on some bills, and said other legislation is expected to be transmitted to the Governor’s Office soon.

“But we do think the budget is really the most important thing at the end of the day,” Scarpinto added.

Former Gov. Jan Brewer used the non-budget bill moratorium tactic in 2013 in an attempt to force progress on Medicaid expansion and the budget.

Ducey’s spending plan for fiscal 2018 includes $176 million in new initiatives that are overwhelmingly tied to public education. A key proposal would create up to $1 billion in new bonding authority for the state’s universities, an idea that does not sit well with many lawmakers. The governor wants to redirect $37 million in sales taxes paid by the state’s universities to help the schools tap $1 billion in bonds for research facilities and deferred maintenance.

That sales-tax change would cut local collections from the universities, but likely would spur construction activity in those areas.

»

Quote/tweet of the week

“At the end of the day, whether you like this or you don’t like this, if you believe in the rule of law, you follow the will of the majority of the voters.” — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on the minimum-wage law, which his office is defending in court

Compiled by Republic reporters Mary Jo Pitzl, Alia Beard Rau and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez. Get the latest at poli tics.azcentral.com.