New life rules

New laws who dis? … A cap, not a fed … And the steak alone is worth the trip.

The Arizona Legislature is complicated and tedious, but also inescapable.

By the time lawmakers finally adjourn for the year, Arizonans are handed a whole new list of rules to follow that change what daily life looks like.

This year, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed 265 new rules, or bills, into law — and they regulate everything from porn to sales taxes.

Most of the new laws take effect on Sept. 26, which is 90 days after the Legislature adjourned for the year.

Others will take a while to come into effect. A measure to create a department to oversee the state's Corrections Department isn’t funded yet, for example. And a law that legalizes medical psilocybin use in Arizona only goes into effect when and if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves it for medical use.

In the meantime, here are some new rules to prepare yourself for.

HB2112: Say goodbye to Pornhub

Starting in September, you’ll have to prove you’re 18 or older to watch porn online.

That is, for the websites that actually implement an age verification system — big porn providers like Pornhub have blocked access in states that require age verification.

Republican Rep. Nick Kupper sponsored the new law that requires websites that contain more than one-third “sexual material” to verify users’ ages through government-issued identification or “transactional data,” which can be a lot of things, like facial identification scans or mortgage records.

Porn will still be easily accessible on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter, which aren’t subject to the law. But LGBTQ+ advocacy groups warn that the line in the law used to define porn — “sexual material that is harmful to minors” — has been used elsewhere to block access to sexual education or queer resources.

SB1182: Rise and grind

You might be subject to early-morning construction sounds sooner than the standard September start date.

From May to mid-October, construction can now start work as early as 5 a.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. on Saturdays. It’s a safety measure to protect construction workers from Arizona’s deadly summer heat.

Sen. Analise Ortiz was one of the few Democrats to get a bill signed into law, and her SB1182 gets rid of local noise ordinances that prevent construction in the early morning hours. It was signed with an emergency clause, which means it went into effect when Hobbs signed it in May.

HB2704: A billion for the ballpark

The impacts of a measure to divert more than $1 billion in sales and income taxes to upgrade Chase Field got a lot more pronounced after Congress passed its massive spending plan.

The federal bill passes a lot of costs onto states, so Arizona could really use its tax money right now.

But the Arizona Diamondbacks’ home ballpark will get to keep income taxes paid by Diamondbacks players and players from visiting teams after Republican Rep. Jeff Weninger finally got his bill across the finish line at the end of the session.

Plus, a portion of county, city and state sales taxes paid at the stadium will now go towards improvements, which billionaire Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick said will first go toward fixing the AC system and installing a new video board.

Taxpayer dollars for the stadium are capped at $500 million throughout the 30-year agreement, but an annual 3% inflation adjustment puts that figure above $1 billion.

HB2175: Get denied by a human

The health insurance industry isn’t about to get dramatically less maddening, but it might get slightly less soulless.

Republican Rep. Julie Willoughby got a bill passed to ban medical insurance companies from using AI to review medical claims. Instead, a medical director has to review all denials of medically necessary claims.

If you thought you were already afforded the privilege of a human making decisions about your medical care, we’re sorry to tell you insurance denials have increased in recent years because of AI algorithms. One lawsuit says Cigna rejected 300,000 claims in just two months, averaging 1.2 seconds per denial.

The law has a delayed effective date — it goes into effect in July 2026.

SB1247: Serve to smoke

The legal age to buy tobacco products is officially increasing to 21. And yes, that does include vapes.

The federal age limit on tobacco purchases changed from 18 to 21 in 2019, but a lot of retailers haven’t complied.

If you’re old enough to go to war, however, Arizona’s lawmakers think you’re old enough to have a cigarette. Republican Sen. David Farnsworth’s bill ensures active military members can buy tobacco products.

HB2164: No more school Skittles

Starting this school year, schools that get public funding can no longer serve ultraprocessed food.

If you want to pack your kid a red dye 40-filled lunch, however, that’s still allowed. But schools won’t be able to put Skittles on lunch trays.

The idea stems from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, which Republican Rep. Leo Biasiucci championed this year.

Kennedy’s visit to the state Capitol in April didn’t convince Hobbs to sign a bill to ban people from using food stamps to buy unhealthy food, however.

SB1378: Fly your freak flag

If you live in an HOA, you can now fly whatever flag you want.

That is, if it’s within 71 days before a primary election, 15 days after a general election and the flag isn’t more than nine square feet.

Bill sponsor Republican Sen. J.D. Mesnard said it came from a “constituent issue” when a woman got fined for putting up a “draped sign” that said “Jesus 2024.”

New police chief just dropped: Phoenix finally picked a new police chief after a months-long search: former Phoenix police commander Matt Giordano, the Phoenix New Times’ TJ L'Heureux reports. Giordano was also the former director of AZPOST, which certifies Arizona law enforcement officers and is the only agency that can really discipline police. He previously said he doesn’t think local police should practice immigration enforcement.

“I was here for SB 1070 — I was a Phoenix police sergeant when that occurred,” Giordano said. “I saw the fear and distrust it created in the neighborhood, and it was upsetting. Any time a member of our community doesn’t feel safe calling 911, we failed. And we failed them.”

No Child Left Funded: Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton penned a letter asking Education Secretary Linda McMahon to release the $118 million in federal education funding Arizona usually gets on July 1, KTAR’s Shira Tanzer reports. The Trump administration is holding onto more than $6 billion in federal grants, and the members of Congress said the state’s overall federal education funding fell by 11%.

Puppies in politics: Gov. Katie Hobbs held puppies at an Arizona Humane Society campus to celebrate a new anti-animal cruelty law that takes effect in September, the Republic’s Stacey Barchenger writes. SB1658 adds failure to provide medical attention to the list of chargeable offenses for animal cruelty, and animal welfare advocates and Republican Sen. Shawnna Bolick fought hard to pass a neutered version of the bill after other Republicans said it could penalize farmers with livestock.

Protect the squirrels, ditch the horses: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has dragged its feet for eight years on a plan to protect the turf of endangered Mount Graham red squirrels, and that’s long enough — though a federal judge gave the agency another 18 months to issue a final decision on environmentalists’ plea to extend the squirrels protected habitat, Capitol scribe Howie Fischer reports. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army plans to sunset its “ceremonial horse” program, including at Fort Huachuca near Sierra Vista. The move is expected to save $2 million a year. On the bright side, that means you can adopt a well-trained Army horse, the Associated Press reports.

Help us adopt an Army horse! Or maybe just hire more reporters. We haven’t decided yet.

Puff, puff, prosecute: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is suing four smoke shops for selling tobacco products to underage customers, her office announced yesterday. The complaint says New York Smoke Shop in Chandler failed 5 out of 6 compliance inspections where underage volunteers successfully bought tobacco. The Pro Source smoke shops in Scottsdale, Glendale and Tempe failed ten out of fifteen uncover inspections and “feature bold colors and themes that appeal to youth.”

Voters incoming: So far, about 33,000 Democratic voters have returned their ballots in the special election in Congressional District 7, per stats from Sam Almy of Uplift Campaigns. That’s a roughly 17% turnout rate so far. The election is on Tuesday.

Ahh, to be a lawmaker…

You work four days per week at most. You get six months of vacation, not including a month-plus of spring break. Free lunches from lobbyists — and summer junkets.

Today’s upcoming junket: “A Day in Chicago” fundraiser hosted by the House Victory Fund, the campaign arm of House Republicans in the state Legislature.

For a meager $15,000 donation (or $50,000 for a family of four), you too can have breakfast “at a cool hotel,” attend a ballgame and eat a steak dinner with Speaker Steve Montenegro, Majority Leader Michael Carbone, and Sen. David Gowan (who is not in the House but loves a good steak and junket).

“Remember unlimited personal and corporate dollars are accepted,” the invitation notes.

Shout-out to the anonymous lobbyist who sent us this! If you’re a lobbyist who’s annoyed about constantly being hit up for money, please forward us your invites.