Bills That Bombed: Which Proposals Died In The Recent Arizona Legislative Session?
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The Arizona Legislature adjourned Tuesday morning, and that means several bills died before they could get a formal vote.
Among those was an effort to change how schools teach English Language Learners. Under current Arizona law, students learning English as a second language are not allowed to be taught in their native language. A House resolution would have repealed the so-called English-only law on Arizona and allow native English speakers and English language learners to be taught side-by-side.
That proposal was given preliminary approval in the Senate by lawmakers from both parties, but the session ended before it could receive a formal vote, according to the Arizona Mirror.
Two bills about vaping went up in smoke. One proposal to raise the age to 21 for purchasing tobacco and vaping products didn’t have the votes, and another that would have classified vaping products as tobacco — which had support from public health advocates — didn't make it through.
Monday night, the Senate voted down a bill that would give $2.5 million to services that discourage pregnant women from getting abortions. Two Republicans joined the Democrats to kill the measure.
One law actually made it to Gov. Ducey’s desk at the end of the session, and it awaits the governor’s signature. House Bill 2358 allows landlords to evict renters who receive Section 8 housing.
The bill’s supporters said that landlords are not allowed to evict people on domestic violence complaints if they use public housing assistance to pay their rent, but its critics say landlords would be able to evict tenants simply for using housing vouchers.
Overall, the legislature passed nearly 300 bills, and we'll likely see some of these issues come up again next year.
