Arizona Legislative Glance

Ducey signs online dating, fertility fraud bills

PhOEnIX — arizona Gov. doug ducey has signed legislation that allows lawsuits against a fertility doctor for secretly using their own sperm or ovum to impregnate a woman.

The republican governor also signed another bill requiring online dating services to inform members if they have been in contact with a member who has been banned for fraud.

The proposals were among 37 bills the republican governor signed into law Wednesday, including three ducey called “responsible” criminal justice reform.

GOP Sen. nancy Barto of Phoenix sponsored the bill allowing a woman, her husband or their child to sue a health care provider who used their own sperm or ovum to impregnate a woman without written consent. She cited instances where a family later found out their health provider had secretly used their own sperm to create fertilized eggs.

a criminal provision was stripped out of SB1237 in committee.

republican rep. regina cobb of Kingman sponsored the new law that requires online dating services to inform members if someone they had contact with was banned for fraud. hB2396 requires the notice to be sent by mail or email but does not create a new avenue for lawsuits.

The criminal justice reform measures include a version of a bill that failed in recent years to limit the use of enhancements as a repetitive offender for a series of crimes committed in series or prosecuted as one case. advocates argued that an offender could get much stiffer sentences for a series of burglaries, for example, because prosecutors used the previous statute to seek stiff sentences intended for repeat offenders.

The bill, hB2318, allows a mid-level sentencing enhancement rather than a top-level one.

another bill ducey signed bars state agencies from denying an occupational license to a convicted drug offender. Teachers and some health professionals are exempted from the provisions of hB2319. a third bill requires state and local agencies to send data on criminal justice matters to a state commission so a statewide assessment is available.

House panel OK’s tighter school sex education rules

PhOEnIX — arizona parents would have to opt-in to specific discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation or hIV in sex education classes and schools would be barred from providing any instruction before 5th grade under a proposal approved by a house committee Wednesday over opposition from minority democrats.

republican Sen. nancy Barto of Phoenix said her proposal, SB1456, is designed to give parents more oversight of what their children are being taught and shield young children from inappropriate material. her bill would also require school districts to readopt their sex education curriculum by the end of this year after extensive public comment periods and public meetings.

“I can’t tell you how concerned many parents are that they are not being warned ahead of time about the content that is happening regarding sexual education in schools and their opportunity to opt out their child,” Barto said. “The main purpose of this bill is to ensure parents that parents are in the driver’s seat and have that opportunity.”

Opponents contend the bill will lead to fewer children taking sex education classes, lead to a rise in teenage pregnancies and prevent schools from warning small children about sex abuse. currently, younger children can be taught how to spot sexual abuse in “good touch-bad touch” scenarios and be provided limited information on hIV and aIdS designed to give them information on how to avoid infections, for example by avoiding discarded needles or syringes.

democrats on the panel also said the proposal requiring parents to opt-in to any instruction that includes sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression targets LGBTQ students. They noted that the state repealed a 1991 state law that had barred hIV and aIdS instruction that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle” just two years ago.

Social conservative groups pushed a separate bill last year that would have barred any sex education instruction before the 7th grade and barred any mention of homosexuality.

“What is inside this bill is a complete attack on a set of individuals, specifically the LGBTplus community,” said rep. cesar chavez, who is openly gay. “What this would do in creating an opt-in already makes the assumption ... that the information that will be provided is immoral.”

another democrat, rep. melody hernandez of Tempe, decried the ban on any sex education before 5th grade, saying the law would prevent children from being taught how to tell if they were being abused.

“If they don’t recognize the difference between a good touch and a bad touch, they may not speak up until it is too late,” hernandez said. “This bill takes it too far – we’re putting more kids in danger.”

Barto said parents can teach their children what they need to know to avoid abuse.

““This bill does not put children at risk of sexual abuse. Teachers are still required to report if they suspect sexual abuse,” Barto said. “What we’re trying to do is make sure parents are in the drivers seat and make those decisions about what children learn and when.”

Opponents also noted that the proposal’s ban on discussion of sexual orientation would extend far outside of sex education classes, barring instruction on historical figures known for being gay or lesbian and important events like the 1969 Stonewall riots in new York that are seen as the catalyst for the modern gay liberation movement.

Barto acknowledged that her bill would bar such references without parental consent. She said existing law already requires parents to be notified of any discussion of sexuality even outside of sex education classes.

“This is an example where parents needs to be specifically opting in – that’s just laying it out in plain language when those issues are discussed,” Barto said.

republicans on the house Judiciary committee said the proposed law is designed to give more rights to parents to review instructional materials and decide for themselves what their children should be taught.

“We can’t make society perfect, but we can give the parents and protect them in their right to take that very, very critical decision,” said rep. rusty Bowers, the house speaker. “and for that reason I see that there’s more good than ill in the bill.”

The measure now moves to the full house for consideration. It already passed the Senate on a 16-14 party-line vote.

Panel advances measure cutting Proposition 208 taxes

PhOEnIX — an arizona house committee on Wednesday advanced a measure that would let successful business owners avoid paying a 3.5% income tax hike approved by voters last year to boost school funding.

republicans on the house commerce committee advanced the bill in a party-line vote. The bill has already passed the Senate and could come up for a vote in the house as soon as next week.

The decision followed a tense debate during which republicans refused to let democrats discuss the impact on the voter initiative, known as Proposition 208. The measure is estimated to cut a third or more of the $827 million the Proposition 208 tax was expected to generate.

undermining the tax is a top priority for Gov. doug ducey, who last week outlined a two-pronged strategy to eliminate it through the courts or Legislature.

Proposition 208 imposed a 3.5% surcharge on incomes over $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for couples. Because it was approved by voters, republicans can’t change it without support from democrats, who are steadfastly opposed.

The bill proposed by Sen. J.d. mesnard, a republican from chandler, would create a workaround by setting up an optional new tax structure for businesses known as pass-through entities, which don’t pay corporate taxes.

rather, their owners pay personal income taxes on the profits they earn from the business. Business owners who make enough to be affected by Proposition 208 would have the option to pay a 4.5% tax rate, the same as they paid before voters imposed the 3.5% surcharge.

Wages not tied to business ownership would be unaffected.

democrats said the bill is a tax cut for some of the wealthiest people in arizona and will eliminate money for schools.

“The effect of this bill will be that the people in the tippy top income levels will avoid paying the price of the public services that support our economy,” said rep. mitzi Epstein, a democrat from ahwatukee. “They benefit from our economy, but are they paying a fair price?”

republicans said a lower tax rate would make it easier for business owners to reinvest some of their profits in the firm. most owners who earn enough to be affected by Proposition 208 worked for years with minimal profits before the business was profitable enough to trigger the surcharge, mesnard said.

“I don’t know anyone who flipped the switch and had a massively successful business,” mesnard said. “It took years probably to get to that.”

republicans said it’s inappropriate to discuss Proposition 208 because mesnard’s bill, SB1783, doesn’t technically change it, even though the entire financial impact would fall on the Proposition 208 surcharge. The committee chair, rep. Shawnna Bolick, backed by other committee republicans, disallowed discussion of the proposition during Wednesday’s hearing, angering democrats.