PAF 494/591

Midterm questions.

How does a bill become a law?

A bill becomes a law through a series of steps involving proposal, debate, and approval by both houses of Congress, followed by the President's signature or veto. If vetoed, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.

What are each of the steps involved in a bill becoming a law?

1. Idea development

2. Bill drafting

3. Bill gets introduced in House/Senate

4. It then gets assigned to a committee

5. Committee hearing/vote (experts weigh in and amendments are allowed)

6. Chamber floor vote (full house/senate vote)

7. Other chamber (Goes through same process)

8. Conference committee if needed

9. Final floor vote

10. Governors desk, signs or veteos the bill.

How do amendments work and when can they be introduced?

Amendments are changes or additions proposed to a bill or resolution during the legislative process. They can be introduced at various stages, typically during committee discussions or floor debates in either chamber of Congress.

What does a striker do?

A striker is an amendment that replaces the entire text of a bill with a new text, effectively changing the original intent of the legislation.

How does a mirror bill differ from a regular bill?

A mirror bill is a piece of legislation that is identical in content to a bill introduced in another chamber or legislative body, often created to streamline the legislative process and ensure consistency across both chambers.

What are the differences between a SB and a SCR?

A SB (Senate Bill) is a proposed law introduced in the Senate. It goes through legislative process and is signed by governor.

SCR stands for Senate Concurrent Resolution, which expresses the sentiment of the Senate and must be approved by both the Senate and the House but does not become law. Essentially, SBs aim to create or change laws, whereas SCRs express opinions or intentions

What rules and regulations are required to be a legislator?

You must be 25 year old, a US citizen, A resident of AZ for 3 years and a district resident for one year.

How are legislative campaigns run?

Door knocking, debates, advertisements, social media, town halls, etc.

What are the role of lobbyists? How do they interact with legislators?

Lobbyists advocate for specific interests to influence legislation and policy. They provide information, draft legislation, and build relationships with legislators to sway their decisions.

How do lobbyists do their jobs each day?

Lobbyists engage in research, meet with legislators, attend committee meetings, and communicate with stakeholders to advocate for their causes. They work closely with legislators and build relationships to get more things through.

The role of local governments such as cities and towns: what is it and why are they always in conflict?

Local governments manage community services, zoning, and regulations, often facing conflicts over resource allocation and differing priorities with state or federal authorities. Cities want more control but states can override them. (Ex: minimum wage debate, short term rentals ban)

What does it mean to be a charter city?

A charter city is a municipality that operates under a specific charter, granting it greater autonomy and control over its own governance and regulations compared to general law cities. This allows charter cities to establish their own rules, particularly regarding local issues such as taxation and land use.

How do cities become charter cities? List examples of charter cities.

Voters approve a city charter.

Ex: Phoenix and Tuscon

States total revenue is 16 billion annually. Where does that money come from? Which revenues constitute the largest share of the pie?

States generate revenue from various sources, including income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, corporate tax and fees and licenses.

The largest share comes from sales tax.

What are some of AZ’s most significant credits?

Arizona's most significant tax credits include the Arizona Qualified Facilities Tax Credit, the Research and Development Tax Credit, and the Charitable Tax Credit, which encourage business investment and support for non-profit organizations.

Most top tax breaks are for school tuition and business incentives.

What rules are in place for cutting/raising taxes? What is required?

For cutting taxes you need a majority vote and for raising taxes, you need a 2/3 super majority vote. (prop 108 rule)

How does AZ tax structure compare to other states? Which sources of revenue are more/less important?

Arizona's tax structure is generally considered to be more reliant on sales tax compared to income tax than many other states.

Major Credits:

• R&D Credit

• School Tuition Credit

• Public School Tax Credit

• Charitable Contributions Credit

What are the different types of lobbyists? What reporting requirements do they abide by?

Contract lobbyists: Work for a specific company

Contract lobbyists: Hired by multiple clients.

Required to disclose spending and gifts/trips/meals and must register with the state. Additionally, they must report their expenditures and the clients they represent.

How does the governor check the power of the legislature? How does the legislature check the power of the governor?

The governor can: call special sessions, veto power, executive orders.

The legislature can: over ride vetoes, control budget and confirm appointments made by the governor.

What new tactics have emerged in the recent years thanks to the divided government we have at the legislature?

Lawsuits, ballot incentives, public campaigns.

What are the most effective ways for candidates to interact with voters?

Door to door knocking, digital engagement, community presence.

How do special sessions work? When can they be called?

The legislature can call a special session with a 2/3 majority but it is open to hear any bill.

The governor can call a special session but it is limited to the content/topic she specifically says it is on, and the bills can only be read if they are on that.

Contract Lobbyists

Independent and works on various issues for multiple clients at a time.

Corporate Lobbyists

A full time employee or a specific company and represents their sole interests alone.

What are lobbyists reporting rules?

Lobbyists in Arizona must register with the state, file quarterly and annual reports on their lobbying activities, and disclose expenses over $20. They can't give gifts or pay for entertainment for public officials, but small food items, educational materials, and personal gifts (like from family) are allowed. Violating these rules can lead to penalties.

What is the difference between PAC and IE groups?

PAC is direct contributions, subject to limits.

Independent expenditure groups have unlimited spending but cant coordinate with campaigns.

What are the rules with gifts and tickets from lobbyists?

No gifts over $10 a year

No tickets or shows allowed unless all legislators are invited.

Report all expenditures quarterly.

501©4 Organizations

Issue advocacy ONLY

Cant support or oppose specific candidates.

What is hell week?

Week before session starts when fundraisers happen every night.

What are some of the governors constitutional powers?

Commander in chief, call special sessions, veto bills, grant pardons/commutations (rarely do they ever do it), Appoint state officials (with Senate approval)

Explain the following local government types: counties, cities/towns and school districts.

Counties are subdivisions of state, follow state laws.

Cities/towns sometimes are charters/self govern.

School districts have elected boards and state funding per student.

What are Pre-emption laws?

States ban cities from regulating certain issues. (ex: short term rentals)

What is SB 1487?

Legislator can request AG investigation into city violating state law.

If the city is found in violation it could lose share revenue.

What is the tax % in AZ?

Moved down to 2.5% flat income tax. (lowest in US)

What is the impact of ESA’s and the change that was made?

Expanded to all students, ballooned from $64M to nearly $1B in cost. Like a tax credit, it drains general funding.

What is clean elections?

It is a public campaign funding system voted into law in 1998.

It allows regular people (not just wealthy or money backed candidates) run for office.

Candidates who choose clean elections funding agree to strict spending limits but in return get public money to fund their campaigns.

The goal is to reduce the influence of big donors and special interests.

How do you qualify for clean elections?

To qualify, the candidate must collect at least 200 $5 contributions.

The people donating must live in the candidates district AND be eligible voters.

This shows community support for the candidate.

What is seed money and how much can you raise?

Seed money is like early fundraising money. It is a small amount of private money that candidates running under the clean elections system are allowed to raise before they officially qualify for clean elections funding. Max donations from any 1 person is $210 and the max you can raise is $5,293.

You CANNOT take seed money from Corporations, PACs and Unions. Only individual people can give seed money.

What do you do after raising seed money?

Once you qualify for clean elections funding you stop raising seed money and ONLY spend public money. Once approved the state gives you $21,173 for the primary election and $31,760 for general election. That is all you can spend. This ensure public funding compared to private.