We’ve all watched one too many legislative hearings and thought we’d do a much better job than the people we elected.
Today, we’re throwing it to you all to tell us what you’d do if you were an Arizona lawmaker.
We often asked new lawmakers what law they want to change or create now that they’re in office. Now, it’s your turn: If you were an Arizona lawmaker, what new law would be your first priority? Assume, in this version of reality, there are no obstacles to making that bill a law. You can also choose to repeal a bad law, too.
Water, water, water. Before ANY new building, must be able to prove there is enough water for at least 20 years (ok, a bit unrealistic).
Repeal the stupid abortion law.
Education - a hotline to tattletale on teachers, really? And we wonder why we can't get, or keep, teachers in AZ.
Gun laws....no open carry laws. ALL guns must be registered. Geez, you have to register to vote but you don't have to register your guns? (Looking for a Forrest Gump saying to add here.....)
Mar 10, 2023·edited Mar 10, 2023Liked by Rachel Leingang
We have so many super-majority requirements that essentially serve as ratchets to ensure taxes only go in one direction, regardless of the balance of that (i.e., the Ducey era taxes that disproportionately and vastly rewarded the wealthy). It's time for more progressive ratchets: no tax credits unless the legislature also votes on whether to replace the proposed tax credit with child tax credits (no guarantee of result, but a guaranteed vote on child tax credits any time there's ANY other tax credit proposed). No changes to taxes unless they have an overall progressive impact on the tax structure of the state.
1. Restrict ESA's to special needs kids/parents and put stringent reporting safeguards on allotted money.
2 Move money now used for ESA's into public education specifically for raising teaching and teaching adjacent salaries and create incentives for college students to become teachers.
3. Raise corporate taxes 1% a year for the next 4 years on businesses with more than 500 employees
4. Remove laws pertaining to legislative ursurping local control
5.A limit of 10 bills that each legislator can introduce per session
I love the constraint that there are no constraints (obstacles). This game is like a "if a genii gives you 3 wishes" except that we only get one.
I see good ideas in the other comments. It seems to me that in this hypothetical there is a choice between something structural (eliminating the asymmetry between the difficulty of passing tax cuts vs reversing them when there's a need, or between legislative referrals and citizen ones) and some specific policy (people have mentioned ESAs or other education-related ones, gun safety, water). That's hard.
I think what comes to mind now (that hasn't been mentioned yet) is female bodily autonomy/freedom. Passing a constitutional amendment that clarifies that the choice to end a pregnancy or not shall not be limited by government - that this choice is one that shall be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor. The current law/laws create threats to human safety and freedom.
2. Build and subsidize a grocery/convenience store so that no part of the community was farther than 1.5 miles from the store. (Most vehicle trips are less than 3 miles).
3. Require sidewalks and pedestrian friendly crosswalks.
Laws? I wouldn’t start with laws, I would start with process/logistics.
1. Move opening day till after MLK and we don’t lose 2 Mondays of hearings. Or, make the legislative week Tues -Friday and solve several scheduling issues at once
2. Extend the 2nd chamber deadline by a week so that we always have 2 weeks of crossover
3. Shot clocks in both chambers
4. Something to make voting faster…maybe you have to press the button within 3 mins, but explanations can go on after that, so at least we know the vote in 3 mins. Third Read = butts in the seats
5. Make a rule about appointments - either you can make them over the phone OR you have to email your request. This whole phone call only to have them tell you to email is weird
6. Add an “info only” option to the RTS. Positions are often more nuanced than Support Oppose or Neutral
7. Go back to committees having to at least publicly state how many people signed in for each position.
8. Other than sponsors, no Legislator should testify at the podium. That’s the public hearing and the only place for the public to comment. Legislators can say their piece in caucus or the floor.
9. Require that floor amendments are posted with some kind of notice…by 8:00 the morning of the posted COW…something
10. Publish a full staff directory on the website - shouldn’t have to buy a Greenbook for that info
11. Dont turn COWs with amendments right into Thirds, unless there is notice about floor amendments. Otherwise there is zero opportunity for the public to even contact the Legislature about a recently added floor amendment.
12. A legislative day without committees is amazing…but floor that day should start at 8:00. Instead of running late for floor on a previous day when committees are trying to start at 2:00, push those to the non-committee day and start sooner.
Do not change existing voting methods, they are innovative, effective, and accurate. Leave Maricopa Count as is and improve redistricting process instead.
1) repeal state pre-emption law prohibiting cities/municipalities and towns from implementing rent control;
2) require all new housing development to include 20-40% homes and apartments for poor and low income residents;
3) require cities, municipalities and towns to include a minimum of 10-20% of new rental housing projects to be high-density (apartments);
4) pass an AZ constitutional amendment guaranteeing mail-in and early voting;
5) pass an AZ constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive freedoms;
6) rescind the school voucher laws;
7) increase state financial support for public schools by 25%;
8) prohibit charter school management by for-profit management companies;
9) require cities, municipalities and townships to institute water conservation requirements, including limiting watering of green/grassy areas;
10) ban open carry of firearms and require registration, training and licensing before allowing purchase of all firearms, including long-guns, rifles and shotguns;
11) prohibit carry of firearms in schools;
12) guarantee that housing is a human right and promote major investment by the state, counties and cities in supported housing, using the "housing first" model;
13) prohibit "sweeps" of homeless encampments;
14) prohibit residential consumer water and other utility shutoffs;
15) implement residential consumer utility payment plans for poor and low income people based upon an ability to pay schedule;
16) pass "right to counsel" legislation to assure that poor and low income renters facing eviction have access to legal counsel in the eviction process;
17) make the AZ Supreme Court Justice position an elected position and with a fixed term and term limits;
18) implement a state graduated personal and business income tax with few exemptions for business.
I could go on....but I won't at this time. Thanks!
Amend “Early Voting” rules: No Early Voting Ballots dropped off after 5 PM on the Friday before Election Day at either drop boxes or Election Day polling places. Very strict exceptions for REAL emergencies.
New legislators don't know much about water, and many experienced legislators know little more than the new ones. They need education on the subject and need to stop putting their heads in the sand on the issue.
Reel ESA's back in to focus on means tested households. Now it mostly subsidizes lots of families who don't need taxpayer funds to send their kids to private schools. Reminds me of the Alt Fuels fiasco.
End wildcat subdivisions and require assured water supplies before homes are built.
Limit massive farms that waste water, whether in AMA's or not. Trigger AMA status when water tables drop substantially, whether voters approve the AMA or not (I'm talking to you, Cochise County).
Don't take away voter powers of initiative and referendum. We don't trust typical legislators, sometimes even our own.
Stop nannying cities. Just let their citizens adopt needed reforms without help from the legislature.
Election System reform - Open Primary and Ranked General elections. Until we change the incentives for our elected leaders they will not focus on important issues like water, education and economic growth
All aspects of public accountability and government oversight would be completely separate from the entity being held accountable. Public records, open meetings and data, campaign finance and lobbyist, ethics, conflict of interest, elections, and audits (sure I missed some) would all be completely disconnected with a separate budget that can’t be adjusted.
A complete overhaul of all aspects of funding education from PreK to 4 Year degree for all children including disabled with special needs respecting the full force.of the AZ Comstitutional mandate for free college tuition
Repeal the territorial abortion bans still on the books (provider and advertising), Repeal the other 40+ restrictions on abortions, and pass a law guaranteeing a right to abortion without viability language. Easy peasy.
Every legal age citizen has to vote in all state elections or pay a $2000 penalty on their next year’s state taxes. Voting is not a right—it is a duty.
No buildings of any sort, two stories high or higher, can be built in Arizona without full roof solar.
Dark money needs to go. It's not just an Az issue but these PACs have to be either eliminated or subject to complete transparency. The best would be to have elections funded exclusively by tax dollars. They supposedly work for "we the people"... right? Otherwise it's government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations.
Change the property tax assessment to a same-year system. Currently we are on a two-year cycle which only serves to confuse the taxpayers. I am currently serving as the Pinal County Assessor.
My first act would be to enshrine reproductive rights into law. The right to not have politicians make health decisions for us extends far beyond pregnant people. It would help guarantee LGTBQIA protections, interracial marriage, etc.
This is me being petty on behalf of my dog...but I would immediately ban all fireworks. NYE and 4th of July are miserable in our house because my dog, even on medication, gets terrible anxiety. And I know how many other pet owners struggle, but it's not fun for veterans w/ PTSD, folks with sensory issues or I/DD, and not to mention the wild animals I'm sure it freaks out. And it does nothing but pollute the air!! All for like 15-20 mins of some pretty lights? Like come on, we can definitely find some better entertainment lol.
I can only imagine the hell that I would have to face on all sides, but... I don't care.
I like what bisbeefred has to say. I would add that private schools need to be held accountable for educational progress, and also be required to accept all applicants. Thirdly, would it be possible to keep elected reps out of the charter school biz? One of many conflicts of interest, I say.
There are so many ridiculous laws. Someone needs to go through and get rid of them. That would be a big job, but needs to be done. The spending cap on education is one that needs to be done, but there are many others.
Once we get rid of the idjets. Stop unconstitutionally funding private and parochial schools, unpack our courts, fund our public schools to at least the top quartile of states, tuition-free public colleges and community colleges, sunset all tax loopholes, eliminate the ability of local communities to NIMBY new residential development, massively invest in intra- and inter-city public transport, make a statewide AMA to prevent mining groundwater and provide new tax credits for water efficiency and non-emitting energy infrastructure, repeal the "right to work (starve)" amendment. There's a lot more, but I think the genie would try to kill me at this point.
Many great policy ideas, but first and foremost would be a date certain for sine die and a date certain for budget. I love my job and care deeply about politics, but would like to be able to safely schedule a summer vacation with my kids while they're still young enough to want to go on vacation with me.
Sorry, I respectfully disagree. If I tell you how to vote then it’s authoritarian. If everyone had to vote the candidates would have to campaign to the center and our great political divide would end. Government would reflect the will of the people. I understand the fear it that as it means one person’s vote doesn’t carry as much weight but I respect your right to disagree.
I would sponsor a bill to make all legislators comply with all open meeting, conflict of interest and financial disclosure laws other bodies must comply with.
I just LOVE so many of these comments!! I guess that if I had to choose one thing that I'd want to see done, it would be that NOTHING gets worked on until a budget is passed. It's the only thing that the Legislature is REQUIRED to do every year and it's always the LAST thing they get around to. So much wasted time on foolishness! Of course, in the years when the Administration changes, they should vet and approve the new Governor's department heads. But that can be done concurrently with working on the budget. So that's it - no proposing or voting on anything until they get their actual obligation out of the way. Thanks!
Having read the comments up to this point, I am thinking of what else would be on my list that hasn’t been mentioned already....
I’ll go with state testing for K12 education. It’s a time waste, costly and inequitably administered.
We moved from the old AIMS test years ago to AZMRT because we were supposed to get results right away. Remember that? Currently, parents and educators don’t receive a student’s scores until *after* they start the next year of school. Why? Why is anyone wasting almost a week of learning time to take a test that measure the wealth and educational level of the parents? When you wait that long give back test results it sure as shit isn’t about informing better instruction so the teacher knows where learning gaps exist. (You think with 170 students my child’s AP Lit teacher bothers to check out all their scores?)
The state standardized tests do NOTHING to help children. We don’t make everyone take them. (So, either we care about “no child left behind” or we are full of crap). They cost money and time to administer. They are only used as a cudgel to further support the fallacies needed to privatize public schools. They aren’t accurate, either. More and more parents, like me, didn’t have their children take the tests. Arizona has no legal opt out feature (so much for parental rights you GOP hypocrites) so my kids just played hooky on those days. Every mama I knew that had their kids ditch the test days- we all had one thing in common- gifted high achieving kids. This trend continues and you are going to see massively declining scores- not because instruction is declining but because too many are not taking the test to get an accurate picture. Let’s stop the madness before that really occurs. End state mandated assessments.
I second, third, 4th and more what Jen Marston said...and she actually knows what she is talking about!!!! Jen: Would Association of Counties support you in publishing an op ed with your terrific comments!!!! I think that would be so valuable for everyone to read!!!
Water, water, water. Before ANY new building, must be able to prove there is enough water for at least 20 years (ok, a bit unrealistic).
Repeal the stupid abortion law.
Education - a hotline to tattletale on teachers, really? And we wonder why we can't get, or keep, teachers in AZ.
Gun laws....no open carry laws. ALL guns must be registered. Geez, you have to register to vote but you don't have to register your guns? (Looking for a Forrest Gump saying to add here.....)
We have so many super-majority requirements that essentially serve as ratchets to ensure taxes only go in one direction, regardless of the balance of that (i.e., the Ducey era taxes that disproportionately and vastly rewarded the wealthy). It's time for more progressive ratchets: no tax credits unless the legislature also votes on whether to replace the proposed tax credit with child tax credits (no guarantee of result, but a guaranteed vote on child tax credits any time there's ANY other tax credit proposed). No changes to taxes unless they have an overall progressive impact on the tax structure of the state.
Oh c'mon just my first priority?...
1. Restrict ESA's to special needs kids/parents and put stringent reporting safeguards on allotted money.
2 Move money now used for ESA's into public education specifically for raising teaching and teaching adjacent salaries and create incentives for college students to become teachers.
3. Raise corporate taxes 1% a year for the next 4 years on businesses with more than 500 employees
4. Remove laws pertaining to legislative ursurping local control
5.A limit of 10 bills that each legislator can introduce per session
Make all areas of the state Active Management Areas and invest in research for more efficient farm irrigation.
I love the constraint that there are no constraints (obstacles). This game is like a "if a genii gives you 3 wishes" except that we only get one.
I see good ideas in the other comments. It seems to me that in this hypothetical there is a choice between something structural (eliminating the asymmetry between the difficulty of passing tax cuts vs reversing them when there's a need, or between legislative referrals and citizen ones) and some specific policy (people have mentioned ESAs or other education-related ones, gun safety, water). That's hard.
I think what comes to mind now (that hasn't been mentioned yet) is female bodily autonomy/freedom. Passing a constitutional amendment that clarifies that the choice to end a pregnancy or not shall not be limited by government - that this choice is one that shall be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor. The current law/laws create threats to human safety and freedom.
I'd focus on reestablishing public funding for public schools.
Every development must be required to:
1. Have at least 20% affordable housing
2. Build and subsidize a grocery/convenience store so that no part of the community was farther than 1.5 miles from the store. (Most vehicle trips are less than 3 miles).
3. Require sidewalks and pedestrian friendly crosswalks.
Replace current Republican legislators with the enlightened commenters here.
Laws? I wouldn’t start with laws, I would start with process/logistics.
1. Move opening day till after MLK and we don’t lose 2 Mondays of hearings. Or, make the legislative week Tues -Friday and solve several scheduling issues at once
2. Extend the 2nd chamber deadline by a week so that we always have 2 weeks of crossover
3. Shot clocks in both chambers
4. Something to make voting faster…maybe you have to press the button within 3 mins, but explanations can go on after that, so at least we know the vote in 3 mins. Third Read = butts in the seats
5. Make a rule about appointments - either you can make them over the phone OR you have to email your request. This whole phone call only to have them tell you to email is weird
6. Add an “info only” option to the RTS. Positions are often more nuanced than Support Oppose or Neutral
7. Go back to committees having to at least publicly state how many people signed in for each position.
8. Other than sponsors, no Legislator should testify at the podium. That’s the public hearing and the only place for the public to comment. Legislators can say their piece in caucus or the floor.
9. Require that floor amendments are posted with some kind of notice…by 8:00 the morning of the posted COW…something
10. Publish a full staff directory on the website - shouldn’t have to buy a Greenbook for that info
11. Dont turn COWs with amendments right into Thirds, unless there is notice about floor amendments. Otherwise there is zero opportunity for the public to even contact the Legislature about a recently added floor amendment.
12. A legislative day without committees is amazing…but floor that day should start at 8:00. Instead of running late for floor on a previous day when committees are trying to start at 2:00, push those to the non-committee day and start sooner.
Just my two cents
Do not change existing voting methods, they are innovative, effective, and accurate. Leave Maricopa Count as is and improve redistricting process instead.
A statue of Don Bolles at the capitol.
That's the answer you were looking for, right? What do I win?
If only one: Repealing 15 week abortion ban.
Repealing runners up:
SB1487 pre-emption: lawmakers file complaint to AG
Universal Voucher expansion
SB1350 Short-term rentals
Repealing 1980’s Aggregate Expenditure Limit
No strike all amendments.
1) repeal state pre-emption law prohibiting cities/municipalities and towns from implementing rent control;
2) require all new housing development to include 20-40% homes and apartments for poor and low income residents;
3) require cities, municipalities and towns to include a minimum of 10-20% of new rental housing projects to be high-density (apartments);
4) pass an AZ constitutional amendment guaranteeing mail-in and early voting;
5) pass an AZ constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive freedoms;
6) rescind the school voucher laws;
7) increase state financial support for public schools by 25%;
8) prohibit charter school management by for-profit management companies;
9) require cities, municipalities and townships to institute water conservation requirements, including limiting watering of green/grassy areas;
10) ban open carry of firearms and require registration, training and licensing before allowing purchase of all firearms, including long-guns, rifles and shotguns;
11) prohibit carry of firearms in schools;
12) guarantee that housing is a human right and promote major investment by the state, counties and cities in supported housing, using the "housing first" model;
13) prohibit "sweeps" of homeless encampments;
14) prohibit residential consumer water and other utility shutoffs;
15) implement residential consumer utility payment plans for poor and low income people based upon an ability to pay schedule;
16) pass "right to counsel" legislation to assure that poor and low income renters facing eviction have access to legal counsel in the eviction process;
17) make the AZ Supreme Court Justice position an elected position and with a fixed term and term limits;
18) implement a state graduated personal and business income tax with few exemptions for business.
I could go on....but I won't at this time. Thanks!
Amend “Early Voting” rules: No Early Voting Ballots dropped off after 5 PM on the Friday before Election Day at either drop boxes or Election Day polling places. Very strict exceptions for REAL emergencies.
New legislators don't know much about water, and many experienced legislators know little more than the new ones. They need education on the subject and need to stop putting their heads in the sand on the issue.
Reel ESA's back in to focus on means tested households. Now it mostly subsidizes lots of families who don't need taxpayer funds to send their kids to private schools. Reminds me of the Alt Fuels fiasco.
End wildcat subdivisions and require assured water supplies before homes are built.
Limit massive farms that waste water, whether in AMA's or not. Trigger AMA status when water tables drop substantially, whether voters approve the AMA or not (I'm talking to you, Cochise County).
Don't take away voter powers of initiative and referendum. We don't trust typical legislators, sometimes even our own.
Stop nannying cities. Just let their citizens adopt needed reforms without help from the legislature.
Election System reform - Open Primary and Ranked General elections. Until we change the incentives for our elected leaders they will not focus on important issues like water, education and economic growth
All aspects of public accountability and government oversight would be completely separate from the entity being held accountable. Public records, open meetings and data, campaign finance and lobbyist, ethics, conflict of interest, elections, and audits (sure I missed some) would all be completely disconnected with a separate budget that can’t be adjusted.
A complete overhaul of all aspects of funding education from PreK to 4 Year degree for all children including disabled with special needs respecting the full force.of the AZ Comstitutional mandate for free college tuition
1) I would get rid of "strict compliance" that the GOP added to initiatives and then also have signatures accepted online.
2) All public dollars going to public schools have the same oversight.
3) Index our education funding to the average per pupil spending of the Southwest states and get rid of overrides.
4) Graduate state payment of employee retirement portion with years of service for teachers to help stem the tide of the current retention crisis.
5) Have all committees be proportionate to the size of the caucus.
6) Residency must be established to run rather than what is accepted now.
7) All votes are simple majority for money issues rather than 2/3.
Why am I paying sales tax on prescriptions?
Also let the dean's of the law schools be tie breaking votes on redistricting. It's too partisan.
I would form a HUGE commission to look into these claims of Sinaloan Cartel Collusion!
Repeal the territorial abortion bans still on the books (provider and advertising), Repeal the other 40+ restrictions on abortions, and pass a law guaranteeing a right to abortion without viability language. Easy peasy.
Adopt a similar model to Florida's "Sunshine" Law and prevent any level of government from exempting itself (cough cough Legislature)
Just two to start:
Every legal age citizen has to vote in all state elections or pay a $2000 penalty on their next year’s state taxes. Voting is not a right—it is a duty.
No buildings of any sort, two stories high or higher, can be built in Arizona without full roof solar.
Dark money needs to go. It's not just an Az issue but these PACs have to be either eliminated or subject to complete transparency. The best would be to have elections funded exclusively by tax dollars. They supposedly work for "we the people"... right? Otherwise it's government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations.
Change the property tax assessment to a same-year system. Currently we are on a two-year cycle which only serves to confuse the taxpayers. I am currently serving as the Pinal County Assessor.
My first act would be to enshrine reproductive rights into law. The right to not have politicians make health decisions for us extends far beyond pregnant people. It would help guarantee LGTBQIA protections, interracial marriage, etc.
This is me being petty on behalf of my dog...but I would immediately ban all fireworks. NYE and 4th of July are miserable in our house because my dog, even on medication, gets terrible anxiety. And I know how many other pet owners struggle, but it's not fun for veterans w/ PTSD, folks with sensory issues or I/DD, and not to mention the wild animals I'm sure it freaks out. And it does nothing but pollute the air!! All for like 15-20 mins of some pretty lights? Like come on, we can definitely find some better entertainment lol.
I can only imagine the hell that I would have to face on all sides, but... I don't care.
Replace every MAGA GOP member with this smart and public-spirited readers of the AA. Which we can actually do. File and run, people!
I like what bisbeefred has to say. I would add that private schools need to be held accountable for educational progress, and also be required to accept all applicants. Thirdly, would it be possible to keep elected reps out of the charter school biz? One of many conflicts of interest, I say.
There are so many ridiculous laws. Someone needs to go through and get rid of them. That would be a big job, but needs to be done. The spending cap on education is one that needs to be done, but there are many others.
oops, sorry. You did mention reporting safeguards.
Once we get rid of the idjets. Stop unconstitutionally funding private and parochial schools, unpack our courts, fund our public schools to at least the top quartile of states, tuition-free public colleges and community colleges, sunset all tax loopholes, eliminate the ability of local communities to NIMBY new residential development, massively invest in intra- and inter-city public transport, make a statewide AMA to prevent mining groundwater and provide new tax credits for water efficiency and non-emitting energy infrastructure, repeal the "right to work (starve)" amendment. There's a lot more, but I think the genie would try to kill me at this point.
Many great policy ideas, but first and foremost would be a date certain for sine die and a date certain for budget. I love my job and care deeply about politics, but would like to be able to safely schedule a summer vacation with my kids while they're still young enough to want to go on vacation with me.
Sorry, I respectfully disagree. If I tell you how to vote then it’s authoritarian. If everyone had to vote the candidates would have to campaign to the center and our great political divide would end. Government would reflect the will of the people. I understand the fear it that as it means one person’s vote doesn’t carry as much weight but I respect your right to disagree.
I would sponsor a bill to make all legislators comply with all open meeting, conflict of interest and financial disclosure laws other bodies must comply with.
I would make abortion legal with the decision left up only to a woman and her doctor.
I would restrict the sale of firearms. No open carry.
I would increase funding for public schools earmarking increased pay for teachers and the reduction of class size.
Law that would allow the immediate removal of any legislator who espouses racist, anti-semitic, anti-muslim views.
Require retirement communities, such as Sun City, to pay taxes that support the state's public schools.
Institute water conservation measures for the state.
I just LOVE so many of these comments!! I guess that if I had to choose one thing that I'd want to see done, it would be that NOTHING gets worked on until a budget is passed. It's the only thing that the Legislature is REQUIRED to do every year and it's always the LAST thing they get around to. So much wasted time on foolishness! Of course, in the years when the Administration changes, they should vet and approve the new Governor's department heads. But that can be done concurrently with working on the budget. So that's it - no proposing or voting on anything until they get their actual obligation out of the way. Thanks!
My first priority would be to regulate water use outside the already-regulated areas. To ignore this is to invite disaster.
Change school funding laws.
Having read the comments up to this point, I am thinking of what else would be on my list that hasn’t been mentioned already....
I’ll go with state testing for K12 education. It’s a time waste, costly and inequitably administered.
We moved from the old AIMS test years ago to AZMRT because we were supposed to get results right away. Remember that? Currently, parents and educators don’t receive a student’s scores until *after* they start the next year of school. Why? Why is anyone wasting almost a week of learning time to take a test that measure the wealth and educational level of the parents? When you wait that long give back test results it sure as shit isn’t about informing better instruction so the teacher knows where learning gaps exist. (You think with 170 students my child’s AP Lit teacher bothers to check out all their scores?)
The state standardized tests do NOTHING to help children. We don’t make everyone take them. (So, either we care about “no child left behind” or we are full of crap). They cost money and time to administer. They are only used as a cudgel to further support the fallacies needed to privatize public schools. They aren’t accurate, either. More and more parents, like me, didn’t have their children take the tests. Arizona has no legal opt out feature (so much for parental rights you GOP hypocrites) so my kids just played hooky on those days. Every mama I knew that had their kids ditch the test days- we all had one thing in common- gifted high achieving kids. This trend continues and you are going to see massively declining scores- not because instruction is declining but because too many are not taking the test to get an accurate picture. Let’s stop the madness before that really occurs. End state mandated assessments.
Reallocate funding to incentivize low income housing; pass laws to curtail rent increases.
Pass a law analogous to RvW to protect abortion, contraception, and privacy.
Allow independents to be on the ballot.
Actually, I’d repeal/overturn Citizens United. The negative effects have done permanent damage to our democracy.
I second, third, 4th and more what Jen Marston said...and she actually knows what she is talking about!!!! Jen: Would Association of Counties support you in publishing an op ed with your terrific comments!!!! I think that would be so valuable for everyone to read!!!