To read SB1720, please click here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/79724

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I believe that Arizonan farms should be held by Arizonans and that we should be doing everything in our power to protect Arizonan farmers against foreign encroachment.

I proudly voted for and supported HR2002, a resolution that passed and encourages federal action from the President of the United States, the President of the US Senate, the Speaker of the House, and each Arizonan Congressman and Congresswoman.

The full text of the resolution is below:

Whereas, the United States Department of Agriculture reports that at the end of 2020, foreign investors held an interest in more than 37 million acres of United States agricultural land, with China’s investment increasing from 13,720 acres in 2010 to more than 350,000 in 2020; and

Whereas, from 2009 to 2016, China’s agricultural investments in countries around the world grew substantially; and

Whereas, Chinese investments in American property could provide the Chinese Communist Party with undue leverage over our nation’s supply chains as well as access to sensitive national security information; and

Whereas, approximately 14 states have restrictions in place regarding the amount of private agricultural land that foreign interests may own, but the federal government has yet to enact any restrictions on foreign ownership of United States real estate; and

Whereas, as American farmers age and the amount of U.S. farmland changing hands increases in coming years, foreign land grabbing will become an even greater threat; and

Whereas, foreign investments in American farmland, particularly by the Chinese Communist Party, not only provide opportunities for espionage against our military bases and infrastructure but may also undermine our nation’s food security; and

Whereas, in the last congressional session, several members of Congress introduced legislation known as the “Securing America’s Land from Foreign Interference Act.” These bills, S. 4703 and H.R. 3847, would require the United States President to take action to prohibit members of the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing public or private real estate located in the United States; and

Whereas, it is imperative that Congress take action to prohibit our nation’s top adversaries from purchasing land in the United States in order to protect our nation’s food supply and national security.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona:

1. That the Members of the House of Representatives support the enactment of the Securing America’s Land from Foreign Interference Act, or similar legislation, to prohibit the sale of United States land to foreign investors.

2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Resolution to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.

PASSED BY THE HOUSE FEBRUARY 21, 2023.

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FEBRUARY 21, 2023.

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The full text of the memorial can be found below:

To the Congress of the United States of America:

Your memorialist respectfully represents:

Whereas, America’s national forest system (NFS) comprises more than 750 million acres – covering approximately one-third of our nation’s land mass – and provides the United States with a wealth of beauty and economic prosperity; and

Whereas, America’s forest lands are dying at an unprecedented rate due to catastrophic wildfires and devastating insect and disease epidemics that have resulted from years of mismanagement and unsound policies; and

Whereas, more than 100 years ago, the federal government recognized the importance of a responsible forest management policy that combined protection of forest resources with commercial outputs. For most of the twentieth century the federal government largely adhered to this prudent, common-sense policy, which provided for multiple uses of forests lands in conjunction with sustained economic yield; and

Whereas, over the past 25 years, however, our NFS has experienced a crisis as changes to forest management policies have resulted in uncoordinated, conflicting and overbearing state and federal regulations. These inconsistent approaches have led to a gridlock of confusion and litigation, with numerous lawsuits being filed to exclude any commercial activity; and

Whereas, the newer NFS policies have become skewed toward preserving forests at all costs instead of managing them, leading to choked, overly dense forests that have suffered from the effects of increasingly large and intense wildfires over the past 50 years, particularly in the western United States. These severe wildfires result in increased erosion, increased greenhouse gas emissions, higher levels of air pollution from smoke, loss of fish and wildlife and negative impacts to local economies; and

Whereas, a majority of the United States Forest Service budget is now spent on firefighting costs; and

Whereas, our nation’s once-vibrant timber industry has slowed drastically as hundreds of sawmills have closed and thousands of forest industry jobs have been lost. The resulting 70% reduction in NFS timber outputs has resulted in the United States becoming the world’s second largest importer of softwood lumber products, with only China importing more; and

Whereas, the combined lack of active forest management and timber harvesting has not only made our forests much more vulnerable to the damaging effects of wildfire, but has resulted in rural economic hardship, steady forest decline and epidemic insect and disease outbreaks; and

Whereas, sound scientific solutions, both short-term and long-term, are needed to end forest gridlock and improve the health of both our forests and our nation’s economy. Inconsistent and overreaching forest management policies must be replaced by a common-sense policy to make America’s forests thrive again.

Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:

1. That the United States Congress enact meaningful legislation that will support reasonable and prudent multiple-use forest management policies to improve our nation’s forest health.

2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.

PASSED BY THE HOUSE FEBRUARY 21, 2023.

PASSED BY THE SENATE APRIL 5, 2023.

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 6, 2023.

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The full text of the memorial is below:

To the United States Secretary of the Interior and the Congress of the United States of America:

Your memorialist respectfully represents:

Whereas, the federal government’s ownership of large amounts of land in the western United States hinders the ability of communities in these areas to expand; and

Whereas, the constrained supply of housing does not meet the current level of housing demand, which has led to an exorbitant increase in home prices over the past two years; and

Whereas, the federal government’s extensive land ownership in states such as Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming is a significant reason for the ongoing housing shortages in these areas; and

Whereas, increased housing prices, in conjunction with historic inflation, has made life less affordable for citizens in the western United States; and

Whereas, in the last session of Congress, legislation known as the Helping Open Underutilized Space to Ensure Shelter Act was introduced, which would have amended the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to allow the United States Secretary of the Interior to sell specific tracts of public lands at the request of state and local governments for them to build residential housing; and

Whereas, this prudent legislation would have required the Interior Secretary to establish a formal process for applicants to nominate underused federal lands for purchase while exempting from nomination federally protected lands such as national recreation areas, national monuments and congressionally designated wilderness; and

Whereas, under this legislation, monies from the sale of federal lands could have been used by the Interior Secretary to make capital improvements in units of the National Park System, to preserve or restore critical habitat and to develop and implement plans for wildfire prevention and hazardous fuels reduction; and

Whereas, in Nevada, where federal land ownership is approximately 80%, the federal government in recent years sold parcels of public land for residential development, and other states should have the same opportunity to alleviate their housing shortages by purchasing underused federal land tracts; and

Whereas, implementing a commonsense and responsible process to free underused federal lands for residential and other development will go a long way in making affordable housing more accessible for all and allowing western communities to grow and thrive.

Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:

1. That the Congress of the United States enact the Helping Open Underutilized Space to Ensure Shelter Act, or similar legislation, to allow the United States Secretary of the Interior to sell federal parcels of land to state and local governments.

2. That, on passage of such legislation, the United States Secretary of the Interior immediately implement a process for applicants to nominate federal lands for purchase.

3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the United States Secretary of the Interior, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.

PASSED BY THE HOUSE FEBRUARY 21, 2023.

PASSED BY THE SENATE APRIL 5, 2023.

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 6, 2023.

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Specifically, the bill prohibits a seller, solicitor, or anyone acting on behalf of a seller or solicitor from initiating an outbound text message to a telephone number that is on the National Do-Not-Call Registry.

To learn more about HB2498, please click here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/78608

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I supported SCR1021, a resolution which declares our intent to work with Taiwan. The full text of the resolution is below:

Whereas, the trade in goods between the United States and the Republic of China (Taiwan) totaled an estimated $114 billion in 2021, with $36.9 billion in exports and $77.1 billion in imports, ranking Taiwan as the eighth largest trading partner of the United States. Overall, Taiwan supports an estimate of more than 375,288 jobs in the United States; and

Whereas, on December 19, 2019, 161 Members of Congress signed a letter to the then United States Trade Representative, while 50 United States Senators signed a separate letter to him on October 1, 2020, both encouraging the United States government to work toward initiating negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan; and

Whereas, on June 1, 2022, the Minister without Portfolio of the Republic of China and United States Deputy Trade Representative announced the launch of the U.S. – Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which will facilitate the development of a roadmap for negotiations on economic and trade agreements with high-standard commitments; and

Whereas, Taiwan was Arizona’s eighth largest export market in 2021, reaching $621 million in total United States exports to Taiwan originating from Arizona. In total, more than 7,895 jobs in Arizona are supported by Taiwanese-affiliated companies and the exports of goods and services to Taiwan; and

Whereas, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has begun construction of its $12 billion 5-nanometer fab in Phoenix, with chip production slated to start by 2024. This new factory will create 1,900 full-time jobs in Arizona over a five-year period; and

Whereas, Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Arizona Commerce Authority signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Trade and Economic Cooperation on October 5, 2021, aiming to foster further economic engagement and to establish or expand operations and supply chains cooperation between Taiwan and Arizona; and

Whereas, on July 12, 2013, the President of the United States signed into law H.R. 1151, an act supporting Taiwan’s participation as an observer in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); and

Whereas, on March 18, 2016, the President of the United States signed into law S. 2426, an act directing the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan in the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); and

Whereas, on March 26, 2020, the President of the United States signed into law S. 1678, an act stating that it should be the policy of the United States to advocate, as appropriate, for Taiwan’s membership in all international organizations in which statehood is not a requirement and in which the United States is also a participant, and for Taiwan to be granted observer status in other appropriate international organizations; and

Whereas, the United States Secretary of State issued a statement on October 26, 2021, encouraging all United Nations (UN) Member States to join us in supporting Taiwan’s robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system and in the international community; and

Whereas, the Arizona Legislature passed resolutions in support of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, including INTERPOL and UN specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the ICAO and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; and

Whereas, the Taiwan Travel Act, signed into law by the President of the United States on March 16, 2018, allows officials at all levels of the federal government to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts and allows high-level Taiwanese officials to enter the United States under conditions that demonstrate appropriate respect to such officials.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring:

1. That the Members of the Legislature support the negotiation of a United States – Taiwan bilateral trade agreement and Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including ICAO, INTERPOL, WHO and UNFCCC.

2. That the Members of the Legislature acknowledge the achievements made by Arizona and Taiwan in the fields of economy, trade, technology, education and culture since establishing their sister-state relations on July 28, 1980, and encourage the continued bilateral cooperation and exchanges between the two sides in the future.

3. That the Members of the Legislature support a future official visit to Taiwan by the Governor of Arizona at her discretion.

UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE APRIL 25, 2023.

UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BY THE SENATE MARCH 6, 2023.

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 3, 2023.

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To read more about HB2651, please click here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/79505

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People in our district understand how devastating tolled freeways would be to our communities. Traffic along Interstate 8, State Route 85, and State Route 86 is integral to our economy. SB1340 prevents any of these or other existing streets and highways from being converted to toll roads.

The government should not place artificial price controls on where you can and cannot go. I am proud of this legislation and hope that we can achieve more bipartisan accomplishments concerning our infrastructure in the future.

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I was proud to support and vote for this bill, SB1068. Our police dogs are a valuable members of our police force and deserve high quality care in the line of duty as they aid our officers in important work.

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SB1184 was a bill aimed at addressing increasing housing prices and predatory landlords by repealing the rental tax which is oftentimes passed down from the landlord to the tenant. This bill was renegotiated and passed as SB1131 later on!

SB1063 was a bill aimed at addressing rapid inflation experienced throughout our communities by repealing the grocery tax. Feeding your family should not be a worry and we should be helping our farmers and families alike by promoting our local farming and grocery communities.

Regressive taxes such as the rental tax and food tax which disproportionately affect Arizona’s lower and middle income families should be avoided as much as possible. I will always stand up for those most in need and look forward to supporting similar legislation to help lower housing and food costs in the future.

To learn more about SB1063, please click here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/78643

To learn more about SB1184, please click here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/78791

To read an article about SB1131, the replacement for SB1184 which passed, please click here: https://www.azfamily.com/2023/08/02/hobbs-signs-into-law-gop-rental-tax-ban-getting-prop-400-ballot/

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