Last Week This Morning: Rep. Liz Harris expelled

 

Thank you AG Kris Mayes. The Supreme Court has issued a temporary stay of a Texas district court judge’s ruling to limit access to medication abortion. The decision could lead to the halt of the FDA-approved abortion drug, mifepristone, restricting medication abortion access nationwide. Thanks to proactive legal action by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, access to mifepristone in Arizona remains safe and legal, and Arizona has joined a multi-state coalitionto challenge the Texas court’s decision.

 

State Rep. Liz Harris expelled. On Wednesday, with eleven Republicans voting against, the Arizona House voted to expel state Rep. Liz Harris. In February, Harris knowingly invited a witness to air lies and conspiracy theories at a joint Elections committee meeting, and was found to have violated ethics rules, damaging “the institutional integrity of the House”. The expulsion is particularly notable given that conspiracy theories & lies are regularly acceptable to Republicans at the Arizona Legislature, as long as these lies benefit them politically. In the past, they’ve refused to take similar action against members like former state Sen. Mark Finchem, who helped plan the Jan. 6th rally that led up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who has called for the hanging of her political enemies while giving a speech at a white supremacist rally.

 

Republicans attack Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. The Arizona Legislature has moved to cut the eight year continuation for the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in half, a move that is both discriminatory and harmful to the community. Despite the 8 year continuation being supported by the ASDB and a majority in both chambers, Republican leadership instead allowed two extremist state Senators, Jake Hoffman and Justine Wadsack, to limit the continuation – for no good reason other than to serve their personal political agendas. This cut will make the challenge of recruiting teachers even more difficult, leaving the future of ASDB and the over 2000 students it serves, uncertain.

Hobbs’ first 100. Don’t miss this overview of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ first 100 days in office. In the face of a state legislature held by conspiracy-theorizing Republicans on a razor-thin majority, Hobbs has maintained her commitment to defending Arizonans against extremist attacks, prioritizing marginalized communities, and focusing on issues that actually affect our state.

 

 

The budget. Watch this video from our partner organization, Fuerte Arts Movement, for a breakdown of Arizona’s budget negotiations, and what it says about the priorities of our state.