The State Legislature Sells Out To Tobacco Giants, Polluters,Gun Nuts And The Pro-Life Crowd As The Session Nears Its End. By Sidney Philips and Schuyler Colfax III ALL YOU ANGRY folks who wrote nasty letters about how you thought we'd roll over for the tobacco industry because we'd accepted those splashy Joe Camel ads had better sit up and pay attention: Those butt-pushing merchants of death are behind an underhanded effort--under the guise of "tobacco regulation"--to derail efforts to curtail smoking. Senate Bill 1384, which has already passed the Senate and is currently being reviewed by the House, would prohibit cities and counties from enacting anti-smoking regulations that are tougher than state law. For instance, the City of Tucson couldn't ban smoking in public places unless the restriction was already state law. "It makes it easier for the tobacco industry to control regulations," says Mike Evans, director of the state's Common Cause office. We sincerely hope everyone who was outraged by our cigarette ads will now take a moment to call their House reps and tell them to kill this bill (800) 352-8404. If your rep is one of those "local control" fans, rub their nose in their own rhetoric. It's fun and easy to do. While you're at it, be sure to mention the Environmental Audit Bill, a.k.a. the Polluter Protection Act, which would grant polluters immunity from civil and nearly all criminal penalties as long as they file a secret report with the state Department of Environmental Quality and agree to clean up the site at some unspecified time in the future. The EPA has come out of the closet and joined with the greens and state and county prosecutors in opposing the bill, but it keeps moving right along, having cleared the House Environmental Committee by one vote last Thursday, March 21. A change to the concealed weapons law is also moving through the Legislature faster than a speeding bullet. Senate Bill 1099, which passed the Senate unanimously, would force businesses that want to ban concealed weapons to post signs and provide a place for people to keep their guns. (Under current law, although carrying a concealed weapon is legal with a permit, guns cannot be taken into private businesses.) Of course, the Capitol itself is exempt from the law. The House States' Rights and Mandates Committee passed the bill 6-4 on Tuesday, March 19. Remember all those private property rights advocates in the statehouse who tried to hamstring all health and safety regulations by allegedly standing up for your authority over your own property? Apparently, this doesn't apply to business owners who don't want sidearms on site. As we warned readers a few weeks ago, the bill requiring minors to get parental consent before having an abortion has popped up again. Senate President John Greene had enforced a moratorium on abortion legislation for the last three years, saying it was too divisive, but the parental consent bill just keeps coming up. For some reason, folks think underage girls will boldly 'fess up to the parental unit rather than find another way--most likely unsafe--out of their predicament. The week wouldn't be complete unless Rep. Jeff Groscost did something stupid. This time, the Mesa Republican called an emergency meeting of his States' Rights and Mandates Committee to discuss his latest bill. Groscost actually struck all the language from a bill and replaced it with his restrictions against gay marriages in this state. Are gay marriages a problem in Arizona? Is there any reason at all to be discussing it? Groscost, who has introduced over 100 bills this session, seems to have a strange form of Tourette's syndrome that forces him to constantly spit out some new form of idiotic legislation. Either that, or there's an evil troll hiding in his ample stomach, forcing him to do these things. Unfortunately for Groscost, nobody could make his emergency meeting, which he had scheduled for last Saturday, March 23, so he postponed the discussion until the following Monday. But since nobody was eager to discuss it then, either, the bill expired--although we wouldn't be surprised if Groscost tried to resurrect it by the end of the session. On a positive note, lawmakers edged closer to lobbying reform with Senate Bill 1114, which puts new limits on gifts to lawmakers, who would no longer be able to accept meals over $25 or free tickets to Phoenix Suns games. Supported by a broad coalition of government watchdog groups, the bill has already passed the Senate and is now in the House, where it cleared the Judiciary Committee last week. And Gov. J. Fife Symington III even did some good, signing a law which tightens some loose language in the procurement code. The legislation, nicknamed the Leckie Bill because it was inspired by the Project SLIM scandal, was signed just days after George Leckie, Symington's pal, was indicted in federal court on charges of rigging the 1991 SLIM bid. Senate President John Greene's SB 1386, laughingly referred to as "employment protection," is still afoot. It basically states all employment in Arizona is contractual, so if you're fired, you're toast. There will be very little you can do about wrongful termination. Greene is also pushing through the upteenth version of tort reform despite the fact that the voters keep rejecting this intrusion on our rights (SCR 1016). And it seems the Senate President is also behind the concealed weapons bill too. Apparently Groscost's evil troll speaks to others. Why they listen is a mystery to us. The best deal for this state is for the session to wrap up early so we can get to the task of unelecting some of these buffoons.

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