The legislative session has just ended, and Center for Arizona Policy saw nine CAP-supported bills signed into law! That brings the total for CAP since its founding in 1995 to 123 CAP-supported bills becoming law! Here’s a quick rundown of the bills from this session and what they do:
Life:
SB 1179 – Allows taxpayers who do not itemize to qualify for the state’s charitable tax credit, receiving a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to qualified nonprofit organizations.
HB 2485 – A CAP-supported amendment to this bill ensures that abortion providers must disclose internal audit results in court proceedings.
Marriage and Family:
SB 1363 – Allows kindergartners to participate in the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program and increases the funding formula to provide families with access to more education resources.
HB 2458 – Protects the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts from abuse, while ensuring families still have access to this important program.
HCR 2036 – Recognizes the Boy Scouts of America and expresses support for its values and policies, as well as appreciation for the public service the BSA performs through its contributions to the lives of our nation’s youth.
Religious Liberty:
HB 2169 – Ensures university student fees are not used for political campaigns.
HB 2645 – Places in statute previous state policy to enable educational and child care services that include religious instruction to be exempted from unemployment insurance regulations.
Judicial Reform:
HB 2305 – A CAP-supported amendment to this bill prevents additional legal protections being given to campaign committees that use felons to collect signatures for petitions.
HB 2600 – Increases the number of judicial candidates that must be sent to the governor for consideration from three to five.
This past session we also saw 33 representatives and 16 senators sign a proclamation on the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision to commemorate the over 50 million lives lost, show their support for crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life elected officials, and believe that one day there will be an end to legalized abortion.