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Special Poll: Stop Punishing Investment to Spur Job Growth

December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment


Small-business owners point to a way out of Arizona’s recession

PHOENIX, Ariz., Dec. 14, 2011 – Small-business owners believe Arizona needs further legislative action to spur job creation and overwhelmingly favor lowering the property tax burden on new equipment and machinery to do so, according to a special poll released today by their leading representative association.

“Small business wants job creation to continue to be the highest priority for Gov. Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature next session,” said Farrell Quinlan, Arizona state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest small-business association. “Lowering the cost for small businesses to create jobs through meaningful property-tax relief and the further lifting of the regulatory burden will help restore Arizona’s economy and put our citizens back to work.”

The NFIB survey found near unanimous support among small business owners with 93 percent agreeing our leaders should keep job creation a high priority. It also found 77 percent of small business owners favor significantly increasing the amount of a business’ equipment and machinery that is exempt from personal property taxation.

The survey based its personal property tax questions on a legislative referral being developed by Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs (Gilbert) and other lawmakers, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jack Harper (Surprise). The legislation, called the Small Business Job Creation Act, asks voters to increase the Arizona Constitution’s exemption for new equipment and machinery to an amount equal to the annual wages of 50 Arizona workers or approximately $2.3 million from the current $67,000.

The NFIB survey dramatically reveals that lowering the tax burden on a business’ equipment and machinery would lead to a burst of job creation from small businesses. When asked if Sen. Biggs’ proposal becomes law, 46 percent of small business owners said raising the personal property tax exemption would likely lead their businesses to hire new workers while 56 percent said such a move would likely result in more equipment and machinery purchases.

“Clearly Arizona’s economy has yet to recover and that’s born out in continued weak job creation numbers and Arizona’s unemployment rate remaining stuck at 9 percent,” said Quinlan. “Small businesses have historically led our state and nation out of recessions through creating new jobs and investing in the future. Small business’ message to our political leaders is unmistakable, job creation is the top issue and lowering small business’ cost of creating those jobs is a great place to start.”

The poll was conducted September 6 to October 21, 2011 with 496 respondents who are Arizona small business owners. The entire poll can be read by clicking here. Results from NFIB’s fuller, annual survey on other issues will be released in the coming weeks.

# # #

NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists send their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Ballot Measures, Economic Development, Economics, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, Polls, Press Release, Small Business, State Economy, Taxation Tagged With: , , , ,

NFIB v. Sebelius: Supreme Court Will Hear NFIB’s Health-Care Lawsuit

November 14, 2011 By 2 Comments

Small Businesses Closer to Final Resolution on Constitutionality of Burdensome New Law

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 14, 2011 — The Supreme Court of the United States today announced that it has chosen, among numerous cases on the same topic, the challenge brought by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) as the case the Court will rule on to determine the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner and Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Small-Business Legal Center, issued the following statements in response to the news:

“Only 18 months after its passage, the new health-care law has been brought to the steps of the Supreme Court by America’s small-business owners. For the small-business community, this comes not a day too soon,” said Dan Danner. “The health-care law has not lived up to its promises of reducing costs, allowing citizens to keep their coverage or improving a cumbersome system that has long been a burden to small-business owners and employees, alike. The small-business community can now have hope; their voices are going to be heard in the nation’s highest court.”

“This law not only failed the self-employed and small-business employees in practice, it has failed them in principle, forcing upon them an unprecedented mandate that infringes upon the individual rights that, truly, all Americans hold so dear,” added Karen Harned. “After months of uncertainty and frustration, small-business owners are finally within the reach of some clarity on how this law will ultimately impact their lives and their livelihoods. We are confident in the strength of our case and hopeful that we will ultimately prevail. Our nation’s job-creators depend on a decision being reached before the harmful effects of this new law become irreversible.”

More information about NFIB’s lawsuit is available at http://nfib.com/lawsuit.

NFIB/Arizona Comment: NFIB v. Sebelius “a crossroads for the nation”

PHOENIX, Ariz., Nov. 14, 2011 — From Farrell Quinlan, Arizona state director for the National Federation of Independent Business:

“It is nearly impossible to understate the importance of this case. The stakes are enormous. The Supreme Court decision in NFIB v. Sebelius will represent a crossroads for the nation. Do we go the route of European social democracy and overweening government intervention in our lives or do we return to the path of free markets and limited government?”

# # #

NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C,. and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists send their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: Constitutional Law, Federal Government, Health Care, Judicial, Press Release, Small Business Tagged With:

NFIB Files Lawsuit to Protect Employer Rights

September 19, 2011 By 3 Comments

Sues the NLRB Over Posting Requirement Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 19, 2011 — The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has filed a lawsuit challenging a punitive new rule issued two weeks ago by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The “Notice Posting Rule” requires private-sector employers to post a notice in their business informing employees of their right to unionize; failure to do so will constitute an independent “unfair labor practice” that subjects businesses to increased scrutiny, likelihood of investigation and an indefinite expansion of the statute of limitations for filing any other unfair labor practice charge.

“With this latest rule, the NLRB has gone too far, passing a mandate that vastly exceeds its authority—largely at the cost of the small-business community,” said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “In filing this lawsuit, we are joined by thousands of men and women around the nation who are standing up against the anti-business attitude that is reflected in actions of Washington’s regulators. It is truly a wonder why the government continues to treat job creators as the bad guys.”

Added Farrell Quinlan, Arizona state director for NFIB, “At best our members see this poster rule as unwelcome meddling by the NLRB and at worst, they see it as naked promotion of the unionization of their small businesses. It’s unnecessary, needlessly provocative and will only serve to create division rather than cooperation between small-business owners and their employees.

“Sadly, the NLRB is no longer an honest broker whose unbiased deliberations serve to facilitate understanding and cooperation between small-business owners and their workers. Instead, it has sloughed off any pretense of objectivity and proudly struts its active bias in favor of Big Labor by promoting the most radical and job-suppressing items on the union bosses’ agenda.”

According to NFIB’s lawsuit, the NLRB’s promulgation of the new rule is a gross overreach of its statutory authority under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Moreover, the rule, which takes effect on November 14, 2011, will impact employers with no history of NLRA violations. According to NFIB’s estimates, the rule will impact up to six million private-sector businesses around the country.

The lawsuit asks the court to set aside the rule and declare that the NLRB’s action violates the NLRA.

NFIB previously argued in its public comments on the proposed rule that in the absence of an election petition or a finding of an unfair labor practice, the NLRB lacks the authority to require employers to post any notice, especially a notice far more detailed than those required when the NLRB’s jurisdiction is properly invoked. Further, small businesses are particularly vulnerable to accidental violations because the regulatory compliance burden most often falls on the small business owner and because small businesses do not have dedicated compliance staff. These arguments are reiterated in the complaint.

Joining the lawsuit are the National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation, an employee advocacy group; Mike Sullivan, owner of Southeast Sealing, Inc., located in Conyers, Ga. and John F. Brinson, CEO of Lehigh Valley Racquet & 24-7 Fitness Clubs in Allentown, Pa., both small-business owners and NFIB members.

NFIB is the nation’s leading small-business advocacy organization, representing 350,000 small businesses around the country.

# # #

NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists send their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: Federal Government, Government, Jobs/Labor, Press Release, Regulations, Small Business Tagged With: ,

Movers & Shakers – September 10th

September 7, 2011 By 2 Comments

Please join Lisa Keegan, Sharon Giese, Farrell Quinlan and me, Saturday, September 10th for some great conversation about Arizona policy and politics. Special thanks to Legislative District Chairman, Lisa Gray, for putting this great program series together!

LD-9's Movers & Shakers

[Download Flyer]

Filed Under: Special Event Tagged With: , , , , ,

NFIB Endorses Senate President Russell Pearce for Election—Again!

July 25, 2011 By 3 Comments

Small-business association standing up for lawmaker who has stood up for its members

PHOENIX, Ariz., July 25, 2011 — In a less petty political world, no association should have to issue a news released endorsing a candidate for the state legislature in a July of an odd-numbered year, but in doing so today Arizona’s leading small-business group wanted to make an early, emphatic and unqualified endorsement of Senate President Russell Pearce for election, once again, to his 18th Legislative District seat.

“We’re making our endorsement of Russell Pearce early to register small business’ strong support for one of Arizona’s most pro-small business lawmakers as he faces a needless November 8th special election to represent a constituency who overwhelmingly voted for him nine months ago just as they have in five prior elections,” said Farrell Quinlan, Arizona state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

“Small business is rallying to stand up for the man who has stood up for small business for more than a decade.  His recall is a shameful abuse of the election process and a wasteful distraction from the Legislature’s important work of helping Arizona’s private sector create jobs again.  Nothing in Russell Pearce’s actions since the last election warrants this recall election.  The next regular election would have been the appropriate time for his political opponents to try a seventh time to defeat him.

“With apologies to noted political philosopher Dennis Green, District 18 voters will say ‘Russell Pearce is who we thought he was!’ and re-elect him handily on November 8th,” Quinlan quipped.

In the May release of NFIB’s 2011 legislative Voting Record, Pearce posted a 100-percent, pro-small-business voting tally on 15 issues vital to Main Street, mom-and-pop businesses repeating his perfect voting record on small business’ legislative agenda from 2009-2010.

The formal endorsement of Pearce was made by the NFIB/Arizona SAFE Trust, the political action arm of the association. More information can be found on President Pearce’s website at www.russellpearce.com.

# # #

NFIB is Arizona’s and the nation’s leading small business advocacy association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small- and independent-business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists send their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Endorsements, Press Release, Small Business Tagged With: ,

None of Arizona’s “Free Money” Being Spent by Other States in Wake of Extended Benefits Session

June 17, 2011 By 5 Comments

By Farrell Quinlan

The Arizona Legislature’s recently concluded special session on extending unemployment benefits revealed a number of misconceptions, misunderstandings and misrepresentations on how America’s and Arizona’s unemployment insurance systems work. Because unemployment benefits are governed by the weaving of complex federal and state laws that are designed to reflect certain principles of insurance and federalism, it is no surprise that the news media, elected officials, business owners and the general public were confused and developed certain assumptions that are untrue.

Two of the most broadly held but incorrectly understood aspects of triggering unemployment benefits in addition to the 72 weeks of regular state and federal emergency unemployment benefits are 1) who’s paying for the benefits and 2) who’s getting that money now that Arizona has forgone extending benefits.

There’s NO Free Money

Private-sector employers in Arizona pay 100 percent of all unemployment benefits regardless if the benefits are paid from state or federal accounts. Public-sector or government unemployment benefit liabilities are paid on a pay-as-you-go basis and do not contribute to net balances in the corpuses of the various state and federal unemployment insurance trust funds. Businesses are responsible for funding the state and federal accounts from which regular and extended benefits are paid. When the federal government “covers” extended benefits, the money is taken directly from an account that is 100 percent funded by the federal unemployment tax paid by private-sector employers.

That’s not just rhetoric from a small business advocate. According to latest UI Outlook report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Unemployment Insurance, Division of Fiscal and Actuarial Services:

Heavy borrowing from the Federal Unemployment Account (FUA) is projected to continue over the next few years. The aggregate loan balance is projected to increase from $40.2 billion at the end of FY 2010 to a peak end-of-year balance of $68.3 billion in FY 2013. Up to 40 states are projected to borrow…  Due to the high volume of state loans and increased [extended benefit] payments, FUA and EUCA [the Extended Unemployment Compensation Account] are projected to borrow $26.7 billion from the general fund in FY 2011 and an additional $19.4 billion in FY 2012. The general fund advances must be repaid with interest. Neither account is projected to return to a net positive balance by 2016. [Emphasis added]

Those FUA and EUCA accounts are 100 percent funded by the federal unemployment tax paid by private-sector employers (currently $56 per year per employee).  The general fund “advances” are only significant in providing the necessary liquidity to pay these extended benefits. They do not “cover” the cost with “free money” or money paid for by employees through their federal income taxes. These accounts are incurring massive negative balances that the U.S. Department of Labor says must be covered by future federal unemployment tax receipts—and with interest!

No Other State Gets “Arizona’s Money”

The second biggest misunderstanding commonly repeated during the extended benefits debate was the idea that some other workers in some other state would be getting the benefits that Arizona is not accessing. Our unemployment insurance system is not set up like 2009’s federal stimulus program that committed the U.S. Treasury to spend a fixed amount of money and spread it around to those states participating. Instead, extended unemployment benefits are paid based on a state’s underlying unemployment insurance structure and limits. By Arizona not extending benefits beyond 72 weeks, the federal accounts providing liquidity will not accrue more negative balances that must be repaid with interest through taxes on private-sector employers. Moreover, Arizona saved the federal government from needing to add to the $14.3 trillion national debt to loan cash to the FUA and EUCA accounts to cover extended benefits past 72 weeks.

The debate over the extension of unemployment benefits is an important one requiring the careful and considered judgment of our elected representatives in Congress and state legislatures.  But that debate must not be distorted by erroneous information and the misreading of fundamental facts. Arizonans out-of-work through no fault of their own and the private-sector businesses responsible to pay taxes to fund unemployment benefits deserve a full and fair debate based on the truth, not misrepresentations.

# # #

Farrell Quinlan is state director for the National Federation of Independent Business which has 7,500 small business members in Arizona.

Filed Under: Economics, Federal Government, Legislation, Spending, State Government, Taxation Tagged With:

Small Business’ Top 10 Arizona Legislative Victories in 2011

May 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

By Farrell Quinlan

The 50th Arizona Legislature has boldly staked its claim to being the most pro-small business legislature in Arizona’s history. With issue after issue, legislators advanced measures to relieve the tax and regulatory burdens on the engines of our economic recovery, Arizona’s small businesses.  Even in instances where lawmakers mistakenly pursued bad policy, they did so with the right motive in mind—creating more jobs.

Here are 2011’s top ten legislative victories for the small business:

  1. Broad-based Business Property Tax Relief – Passage of then-House Speaker Kirk Adams’ “jobs bill” (HB 2001) included historic business property tax relief that when fully implemented will mean a 28 percent reduction in the business property tax assessment ratio over the preceding decade. Our business property tax burden was the fourth highest in the nation back in 2006 when we began to lower the Class 1 assessment ratio from 25 percent. When the 18 percent Class 1 ratio is realized in 2016, Arizona’s business property tax burden will have settled into the low- to mid-20’s ranking among the 50 states. Truly historic. Moreover, Governor Brewer’s courageous veto of SB 1041 upheld the principle of broad-based business property tax relief over the allure of constitutionally-dubious schemes that pick winners over losers in the tax code.
  2. Corporate Income Tax Rate Cut – The “jobs bill” was so monumental this session; it easily earns the top two positions on this list of small business victories. HB 2001 also slashes Arizona’s corporate income tax rate 30 percent to 4.9 percent when it’s fully phased in by 2017. We should not discount the enormously positive signal this sends to out-of-state enterprises looking to relocate to more business-friendly states. Our corporate income tax and business property tax rates are no longer in question due to our protracted budget crisis. Instead, Prop. 108’s protection against tax increases effectively locks in not only stable and predictable rates—it locks in significantly lower rates. That’s the best economic development tool we could create to spur the strong, broad-based economic recovery that we are all looking to achieve.
  3. Health Savings Account Incentives – House Majority Leader Steve Court’s HB 2556 creates income tax credits for small businesses for the premium paid on a high deductable health plan and for contributions to employees’ health savings accounts. 
  4. Local ‘Bounty Hunter’ Audit Ban – Sen. Steve Yarbrough’s SB 1165 reverses the emerging trend of cities contracting with ‘bounty hunter’ auditors on a contingent fee basis to audit businesses collecting sales tax receipts.
  5. City & County Regulatory Bill of Rights – Sen. Lori Klein’s SB 1598 establishes a Regulatory Bill of Rights to ensure fair and open regulation by local governments.
  6. Union Preference Prohibition – Rep. Michelle Ugenti’s HB 2644 prohibits state entities, counties, cities and towns from accepting federal money for a construction project if accepting it requires them to give a preference to union labor.
  7. Employer Protections & Labor Relations – Sen. Frank Antenori’s SB 1363 restricts unlawful picketing, trespassing and defamation by labor unions against a business.
  8. Tax Closing Agreements Reform – Rep. Jack Harper’s HB 2202 enhances the criteria for declaring an ‘affected class’ for the purposes of determining whether an extensive misunderstanding or misapplication of Arizona tax laws has occurred—thereby allowing for the abatement of past tax liability, interest and penalties.
  9. IRS Conformity Policy – Rep. Harper’s HB 2332 waives any interest or penalties for unpaid tax liability due when the state fails to conform to revised definitions in the Internal Revenue Code in time for the taxpayer to accurately file their annual tax return.
  10. Civil Appeal Bond Limits – Sen. Al Melvin’s SB 1212 provides some relief for businesses in civil lawsuits by limiting the amount of the bond that must be posted against a judgment during the appeals process.

Though this list could go on listing other wins in areas like workers’ compensation reform and returning solvency to our unemployment insurance trust fund, it should be noted that the 2011 session included its share of disappointments.

Sen. Antenori’s SB 1322 would have required most municipal services in Phoenix and Tucson that cost more than $500,000 to go through an open and competitive bidding process. Sen. Nancy Barto’s SB 1593 would have allowed healthcare insurers from any of the 50 states to issue their policies in Arizona under the same coverage terms as in their home state. Unfortunately, both were vetoed by Governor Brewer. The Legislature also failed to act on a referendum to increase the exemption amount on the business personal property tax, a job-killing tax that punishes small businesses for reinvesting in machinery and equipment to grow their businesses.

Still, these setbacks cannot diminish the 50th Arizona Legislature’s overwhelmingly positive record on small business issues. The 7,500 Arizona members of the National Federation of Independent Business thank Governor Brewer and our lawmakers for this session’s impressive achievements on behalf of small business and look forward to building on them next year.

 – Farrell Quinlan is state director for the National Federation of Independent Business in Arizona (www.nfib.com/az). 

Click here to access the NFIB/Arizona Voting Record to see how your lawmakers voted on these and other bills.

Filed Under: Legislation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Grassroots leaders push to reform city government

March 8, 2011 By 7 Comments

March 8, 2011
          
Hon. Russell Pearce
President
Arizona Senate
1700 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Hon. Kirk Adams
Speaker
Arizona House of Representatives
1700 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Re:  Municipal managed competition reform (SB 1322)

Dear President Pearce and Speaker Adams:

We are writing to you and to the members of your chambers to ask for your support in passing Senate Bill 1322, the municipal managed competition reform. 

SB 1322 would require Arizona cities with populations of 500,000 or more to open up city services to competition from the private sector.  The bill has three main policy objectives:

• Create jobs.  By requiring an open and competitive bidding process, SB 1322 will allow private businesses, public-private partnerships, and city employees to compete to provide services to city residents at the lowest prices compatible with the highest quality and most reliable performance.  Competitive bidding will help to moderate the costs of all productive factors, including labor, thus allowing thousands of new workers to be hired.  (For example, in Fiscal Year 2010, the City of Phoenix paid its average worker a salary, benefit, and overhead package of $97,707.  That was up from $83,231 in FY 2007—a 17-percent increase in just three short years, at a time when private-sector workers were suffering pay cuts and layoffs.  Even if we take out police officers and firefighters—who would be exempt from SB 1322—competitive labor costs could allow the Phoenix economy to employ one and a half times the current number of city workers, at the average private-sector salary-and-benefit level.) 

• Save money for city governments and city taxpayers.  By saving money on maintenance and operations costs, SB 1322 would free up scarce budget resources at a time when cities are facing tough budget constraints.  The combined savings in Phoenix and Tucson could soon be over $500 million a year—savings that could be passed on to taxpayers through rollback and repeal of recent tax and fee hikes.     

• Create opportunities for small business.  SB 1322 will help to inject hundreds of millions of dollars a year into the local economies in Phoenix and Tucson.  By requiring those cities to bid out services costing above $75,000, SB 1322 would create opportunities for dozens of small businesses to win contracts to perform city services. 

SB 1322 gives city councils opportunities to disapprove statements of work presented to those councils by city managers, and allows city councils to award longer-term contracts to independent contractors and public-private contractors that provide significant capital investments to the cities. 

SB 1322 includes several key protections for taxpayers and several provisions designed to ensure that contractors serve as faithful stewards of public resources:

• Transparency in bidding and performance.  SB 1322 stipulates that all bid-related communications and supporting materials submitted for consideration by the affected cities shall be public records, and mandates that the city managers and all city departments of affected cities shall conduct annual performance audits for contracted services, the cost of which must be accounted for and incorporated into all bids.  SB 1322 requires city managers of affected cities to seek independent performance audits every five years to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the municipalities’ performance audits, and stipulates that all performance audits shall be public records.

• Protection of city resources.  SB 1322 requires that all bidders, public or private, must be able to provide bonding or other forms of security to adequately protect cities, and requires that all bidders maintain an adequate level of liability insurance consistent with the city risk management requirements.

• Public safety provisions.  SB 1322 requires that independent contractors have appropriate safety policies and procedures in place to protect the public and its employees, and requires that independent contractors perform background checks on employees performing any service for which the affected cities require background checks of municipal employees.

• Breach-of-contract protections.  SB 1322 mandates that independent contractors acknowledge that the affected cities may rightfully terminate and rescind contracts awarded to independent contractors in the event of material breaches of those contracts.

• Term limits for service contracts.  SB 1322 provides that service contracts may not have terms longer than five years, with three one-year renewals, before the related services must be submitted again to open and competitive bidding.

• Term limits for capitalization projects.  To address policy concerns voiced in committee, the proposed floor amendment to SB 1322 allows for longer terms to be awarded for contracts with independent contractors or public-private partnerships that involve significant capital investments.  But the proposed amendment also limits the terms of those contracts to the length of the amortization schedules prevailing in those industries.

Given the wide latitude allowed to city councils and city managers in designing service contracts, SB 1322 includes a taxpayer standing clause that allows taxpayers residing in the affected cities to bring special actions in court to enforce the protections afforded in the legislation.

Once the success of this managed competition reform has been demonstrated in Phoenix and Tucson, it is our firm hope that future Legislatures will expand the reform to include all of the municipalities and counties in Arizona, thus providing its protections to all Arizona taxpayers. 

Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the draft floor amendment which incorporates changes suggested during the Senate committee hearings and changes suggested by stakeholders. 

Signed,

Sal DiCiccio     
Phoenix City Council     

Tom Jenney    
Americans for Prosperity – Arizona    

Lee Earle
Arizona 2012 Project

Steve Voeller    
Arizona Free Enterprise Club   

Vera Anderson   
Daisy Mountain Tea Party Patriots

Michael Davis
Deer Valley Tea Party

Farrell Quinlan       
National Federation of Independent Business – Arizona     

Wesley Harris
North Phoenix Tea Party

Honey Marques   
Tea Party Patriots of Scottsdale  

Marcus Huey    
Tea Party Patriots of Glendale

Shawnna L.M. Bolick
Grassroots Organizer

Filed Under: City Government, Government Reform, Legislation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Arizona Legislature Must Act to Protect Employee Paychecks from Political Abuse

February 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Arizona Senate is ready for floor debate on a ballot referral critically important to gaining lasting control over our state and local budgets — SCR 1028 on Paycheck Protection.  The below letter was delivered Wednesday to all Republican lawmakers.

 

Coalition to Protect
Employee Paychecks from Politics

February 23, 2011

The Honorable Russell Pearce
President of the Arizona Senate
1700 West Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

The Honorable Kirk Adams
Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
1700 West Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

RE: SCR 1028 & HCR 2032 on Paycheck Protection

Dear President Pearce and Speaker Adams:

The on-going protests in Madison, Wisconsin should sound the alarm here in Arizona regarding the danger of indulging special interests to the point where they threaten to close down state government and disrupt our political processes.  As representatives of conservative, grassroots and small business organizations, we urge you to take proactive steps to ensure that Arizona never becomes as beholden to these special interests as the Badger State has.

Therefore, we request that you use your considerable influence and institutional powers to give Arizonans the opportunity to vote to enshrine in the Arizona Constitution their fundamental right to protect employee paychecks from politics.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 1028, introduced by Senator Frank Antenori and 43 co-sponsors, and House Concurrent Resolution 2032, introduced by Representative Judy Burges and 44 co-sponsors, state: 

An employee in this state shall be free from any employer deducting or facilitating the deduction of a payment from an employee’s paycheck for political purposes, unless the employee annually provides express written permission to make the deduction.

The language is fair, reasonable and straight-forward—precisely the qualities of a constitutional amendment that the Arizona electorate rewards with their votes.  This referral does not discriminate between political money deducted by labor unions or corporate political action committees.  Both are treated equally.  Moreover, this construction places the focus where it belongs, on the fundamental rights of all workers to control their paychecks.

A 2010 poll of 400 likely Arizona voters found 76 percent favor such an amendment and 20 percent oppose.  The poll also found that 64 percent were “definitely yes” while only 14 percent were “definitely no” voters.

The time is now to seize the initiative and provide voters this opportunity to affirm their rights through a constitutional amendment.  We urge you to schedule a floor vote on a paycheck protection ballot question during the 2011 Regular Session so the conservative, grassroots and small business supporters of paycheck protection can use the full year-and-a-half between now and Election Day 2012 to organize, educate and raise the funds necessary to secure victory.

It is imperative that you help the conservative, grassroots and small business base by giving us enough time to wage an aggressive and well-financed effort.  The 2010 election cycle is illustrative of why we feel passing a referral in 2011 is essential to our ultimate success.  Propositions 106 (Healthcare Freedom), 107 (Civil Rights) and 113 (Save Our Secret Ballot) were all launched by referrals in 2009 and all won by comfortable margins.  Conversely, every constitutional amendment referred in 2010 failed, some by very narrow margins.

Constitutional Amendment   Constitutional Amendment
Campaigns Begun in 2009   Campaigns Begun in 2010
       
Prop. 106: Healthcare Freedom Prop. 109: Hunting & Fishing
Yes 892,693 55.28%   Yes 714,144 43.52%
No 722,300 44.72%   No 926,991 56.48%
  1,614,993       1,641,135  
             
        Prop. 110: State Trust Lands
Prop. 107: Civil Rights   Yes 792,394 49.71%
Yes 952,086 59.51%   No 801,670 50.29%
No 647,713 40.49%     1,594,064  
  1,599,799          
        Prop. 111: Lt. Governor
        Yes 655,252 40.77%
Prop. 113: Save Our Secret Ballot No 951,820 59.23%
Yes 978,109 60.46%     1,607,072  
No 639,692 39.54%        
  1,617,801     Prop. 112: Initiative Timeline
        Yes 792,697 50.00%
        No 792,825 50.00%
          1,585,522  

 

We know legislative leadership has traditionally held that ballot propositions are best referred in the year of the election.  However, as the protests in Madison, Wisconsin illustrate, the likely forces opposed to paycheck protection can and will always bring maximum resources to fight for their big government agenda regardless of notice.  Regrettably, the forces supporting a smaller government and individual responsibility are the ones that need time to organize and mobilize. 

We cannot afford to wait until less than six months before the election to decide to rise to this challenge.  Please give us the best chance to support and pass this crucial constitutional amendment that will serve as a foundation to regaining and maintaining Arizona’s fiscal health.

Please schedule floor votes on SCR 1028 and/or HCR 2032 during this session of the Arizona Legislature.

Thank you for considering our views. We would welcome the opportunity at your earliest convenience to discuss the merits of referring this measure to the ballot this year.

Sincerely:

Farrell Quinlan
Arizona State Director
National Federation of Independent Business
3550 North Central Avenue, Suite 1806
Phoenix, Arizona  85012

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity
One East Camelback Road, Suite 550
Phoenix, Arizona  85012

Roy Miller
Chairman
Arizona Employee Protection Committee
8912 East Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite F9-235
Scottsdale, Arizona  85255

Sydney Hay
President of AMIGOS
Arizona Mining Industry Gets Our Support
Post Office Box 25187
Phoenix, Arizona  85002-5187

cc:  All Members of the Republican Majority in the Arizona House of Representatives
       All Members of the Republican Majority in the Arizona Senate

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