Majority rule

18 bills out of 1,800 … You’re fired, too … And subscribe to send him an Agenda keychain.

Democratic Rep. Stacey Travers was the first to introduce a bill honoring slain journalist Don Bolles with a monument at the Capitol this year, and her bill was first to be scheduled for a hearing.

But when Republican Rep. Selina Bliss introduced the exact same bill, Travers offered to kill her bill and back Bliss’ version instead.

It was a selfless act motivated by a harsh reality: Democratic bills don’t stand much of a chance at the Arizona Capitol.

Our art intern, ChatGPT, calls this “Whispers in the Wind," a title that “captures the surreal and melancholic vibe of Democratic bills being carried away into the Arizona sunset.”

Only about 55% of Arizona’s lawmakers are Republicans — but more than 97% of the bills that have received a vote at the Capitol so far this year were sponsored by Republicans.

Of the 1,800 bills introduced for debate, discussion and a vote at the Capitol this year, about 700 have already cleared one chamber of the Legislature — meaning they’ve crossed the halfway point on their way to the governor’s desk, per an Agenda/Skywolf analysis of the votes lawmakers have taken so far this year.

Democrats only sponsored 18 of those roughly 700 bills that have passed the House or Senate.

Of course, nobody expects “woke leftist” ideology to go far at the Republican-controlled state Capitol. But most of the bills Democrats sponsor simply aren’t that. There are plenty of Democratic bills that never get hearings that are noncontroversial, like technical fixes and solutions for constituents, consumer protection bills and funding for popular programs.

But when Democrats can’t get their bills heard at the Capitol, big chunks of the state are left without an effective champion for the unique needs of their communities.

Tempe residents, for example, only have Democrats representing them at the Capitol. And the entire Navajo Nation only has Democratic lawmakers looking out for its residents’ interests.

Tucson is carved up into six legislative districts, two of which are represented by Republicans. But those Republican districts only take in small slices of Tucson’s northeast and southwest sides. And the Republicans representing Tucson hail from other parts of their districts, like Oro Valley or Casa Grande.

While only 18 Democratic bills have passed either the House or Senate so far this year, that number will likely climb a little. About two dozen more Democratic bills are eligible for votes from the full House or Senate after having cleared their assigned committees.

But the vast majority of bills sponsored by Democrats never even make it that far.

In order to be considered by the full House or Senate, a bill must first pass through its assigned committees. The committee chairmen, who are all Republicans, unilaterally decide whether bills deserve a hearing — no matter how much bipartisan support the bill may have. That’s where the vast majority of Democratic bills (and Republican bills) die.

Oddly enough, one Republican bill presents something of a solution — though it’s probably not a solution Democrats would like.

Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin’s HCR2036 would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to ensure that every bill that has bipartisan co-sponsors would receive a hearing. But it would also limit lawmakers to sponsoring just 10 bills per year, and every other year, they can only introduce bills repealing old laws.

Kolodin’s legislation includes a “legislative findings” section explaining why the change is needed.

But like the bills of so many of his Democratic colleagues, Kolodin’s legislation never got a hearing or a vote.

So who are the most successful bill-sponsoring Democrats in the Legislature?

Hands down, it’s the Hernandez sisters.

The Tucson duo is responsible for seven of the 13 Democratic bills that have cleared the House this year.

Alma Hernandez has pushed four of her bills through the House, and several others are ready for a vote. Her younger sister Consuelo Hernandez isn’t far behind, with three of her bills already clearing the House.

No other Democrat at the Capitol has shepherded more than one bill out of their home chamber so far.

The Hernandezes are among the more conservative Democrats at the Capitol, which certainly helps their cause. But Alma has long credited her ability to pass bills in a Republican-dominated Legislature to making friendships across the aisle, including by helping to found the “beer caucus” — a bipartisan group of lawmakers who would drink together and discuss issues.

Here are the Hernandez sisters’ bills that have already passed the House.

HB2380 - Would establish the Arizona Rare Disease Advisory Council within the Department of Health Services to provide guidance and recommendations on the needs of individuals with rare diseases in Arizona.

HB2488 - Would allow probationers participating in state or federally recognized apprenticeship programs to work any hours of the day if they remain in good standing with the program.

HB2706 - Would allow courts to order intensive treatment services for people who are seriously mentally ill and chronically resistant to treatment.

HB2779 - Would require a school employee to immediately notify a student’s parent, guardian, or custodian when a peace officer takes the juvenile into temporary custody.

HB2880 - Would prohibit people from establishing or occupying encampments on university or community college campuses. It would also require administrators to call the police if violators refuse to comply, and require universities and community colleges to discipline students who refuse to comply.

HB2944 - Would exclude time spent in jail or prison from the computation of the maximum number of inpatient treatment days under court-ordered mental health treatment.

HB2492 - Would authorize the court to appoint a qualified professional to conduct an independent evaluation during the process of appointing a guardian for allegedly incapacitated individuals.

When politics Trumps performance: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes joined a lawsuit of 20 AGs suing the Trump administration over mass federal employee firings and called the layoffs a move “about politics and ideology,” not performance, the Republic’s Sasha Hupka reports. Meanwhile, a federal court administrator said every employee in the Phoenix field office of the U.S. General Services Administration was fired, per the Republic’s Jimmy Jenkins. The agency manages government contracts and government-owned real estate, and the administrator, Debra Lucas, said hundreds of employees from Region 9 (Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and part of California) got the axe.

Speeding up: The Senate’s Director Nominations Committee is approving Gov. Katie Hobbs’s agency heads a lot faster this year, and has already confirmed seven director nominations, per KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez. Committee Chair Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman said the governor has better picks this year. The committee has denied two nominees, but the potential heads of the state’s Department of Housing and Department of Veterans’ Services are still working other high-paying government jobs.

Fund starter homes and police: The state Senate narrowly passed a bipartisan bill that would restrict how cities can regulate housing, Axios’ Jeremy Duda reports. The goal of the Arizona Starter Homes bill is to make it easier to build more housing, which includes blocking cities from passing certain zoning rules. Hobbs vetoed a pretty similar version last year, over objections from cities. Meanwhile, lawmakers gave the green light to a bill that would cut state funding for any city that reduces its law enforcement budget. That bill already passed the House and cleared a Senate panel last week, Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer reports. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. David Marshall, says he wants to head off “activists that are still screaming about defunding the police.”

Move, counter-move: Hobbs is asking Republican lawmakers for more money for the school voucher program — not because she loves vouchers, but as part of the political gamesmanship ahead of state budget season, the Arizona Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl reports. Republican lawmakers have been giving her guff over the Division of Developmental Disabilities needing more money in a supplemental appropriation, so Hobbs asked for more money for vouchers, too, noting that they’re also over budget.

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DEI is a dirty word: Newly elected Maricopa County Schools Superintendent Shelli Boggs, who picks replacements for vacant spots on school boards, chose a candidate who’s “firmly against DEI-driven policies” to replace a Queen Creek Unified School District Governing Board member who resigned in January after making offensive comments, the Republic’s Madeleine Parrish reports. Separately, Boggs is asking the Trump administration to overturn its decision to axe millions in funding for local schools that it identified as “DEI-related” grant money. The funds are used to support positions that have nothing to do with DEI, Boggs says. And the anti-DEI fight has made it to Fountain Hills, where the town council voted to oppose DEI practices, per the Daily Independent’s Bob Burns.

"These individuals literally are helping these kids become better and stronger at reading, writing and math," Boggs’ spokesperson said of the alleged DEI hires.

More than a number: Hundreds gathered outside a Mesa church for the vigil of 14-year-old Emily Pike, whose remains were found in a remote area outside of Globe on Feb. 14, the Arizona Mirror’s Shondiin Silversmith writes. Pike, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, was living in a Mesa group home when she disappeared. Her death has reignited attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples epidemic and a lack of data from Arizona’s Department of Child Safety on Indigenous children runaways in group homes.

There’s always an Arizona tie: Crypto fraudster and Democratic megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried is trying to get a Trump presidential pardon as he faces 25 years in prison, and he has enlisted the help of Arizona attorney and two-time Trump campaign lawyer Kory Langhofer, the New York Times reports.

“The push appears intended to capitalize on Mr. Trump’s transactional approach to clemency,” the Times writes. “... So far, the push does not appear to have gained traction.”

Somebody buy this guy a lanyard or a keychain or something.

The House of Representatives is once again asking for your help in finding Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin’s keys.

This is the second time in less than two months that we’ve gotten to laugh at an email like this.

Get it together, Alex!