Category: Legislation

Mid Session Update

The Spring season in Arizona is already well underway. Everything is blooming, the weather is warming, delayed Spring Training has given way to Opening Day and for those who pay attention to what is happening at the Capitol, we enter a new phase of the Legislative Session. Each year the session begins on the second Monday in January and is SUPPOSED to adjourn “sine die” (terminate for the year) no later than Saturday of the week in which the 100th day from the start of the session falls. This year, the 100th day is April 19th and that means the session should end no later than April 23rd.

Though this is the benchmark, in recent years that has rarely happened. This year, like many in the past, most of the committee work and regular legislative activity has ended or is wrapping up, but we are still awaiting the presentation of a budget proposal. And as of now, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen prior to April 23rd. During this lull in activity, we want to highlight some of the proposals that would improve the lives of children and families in Arizona that were either never taken into consideration or that died without making much progress.

Hundreds of bills are introduced each year and many die at some point during the process. This can happen when a bill fails to get assigned to committees or to a floor vote, when a committee chair fails to give it a hearing, or when it doesn’t have enough votes at any step along the way.

1295 Appropriation, Child Care, Waitlist- Senator Christine Marsh

Would have increased families' access to high-quality early learning programs by providing $5.7M to First Things First to expand access to Quality First, the Arizona Quality Improvement and Ratings system for child care and preschool programs in Arizona. This bill was assigned to two committees but never received a hearing.

SB 1635 Community schools Pilot Program, Appropriation (The David Bradley Community Schools Act)- Senator JD Mesnard

Establishes a pilot program housed within the Arizona Department of Education. Participants will partner with one or more local community-based organizations with the goal to coordinate academic, social, and health services to reduce barriers to learning and improve the quality of education for students in the community. The pilot would be named in memory of former State Senator David Bradley who for many years was a champion of children’s issues in Arizona. The bill had bipartisan support and was assigned to two committees in the Senate but never received a hearing.

HB2125 Electronic Smoking Devices, Retail Licensing- Representative Michelle Udall

Protects children in Arizona by bringing the state into compliance with federal law that regulates age requirements, penalties, restrictions, and licensing requirements relating to the purchase and sale of tobacco and vaping products. This bill moved through two committees in the House but stalled out before receiving a final floor vote.

HB2139 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women- Representative Jennifer Jermaine

Established and outlined participation on a study committee on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The State Legislature has previously made a commitment to addressing this crisis in Arizona. There was an existing study committee but legislation that passed in 2021 as a part of the budget that made changes to it was overturned in court as part of the ruling that disallowed multiple subjects to be included in budget bills. Despite having bipartisan co-sponsors and support, this bill never received a hearing.

HB2205- CHIP Eligibility FPL Increase, Representative Kelli Butler

Would have expanded access to the state's Children’s Health Insurance Program (called KidsCare) to more low-income working families. This bill was a CAA Priority Bill but it was never assigned to a committee.

HB2206/HB2306 Dental Care-Pregnant Women- Representatives Kelli Butler & Jennifer Jermaine

This pair of bills would have allowed pregnant people on AHCCCS (the state's Medicaid program) to receive comprehensive dental health care benefits. Pregnancy can increase oral health problems that if untreated, can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes.

HB2212 Schools, Immunizations, Registered Nurses, Posting- Representative Kelli Butler

Aimed to arm parents with important information about health and safety in schools, including whether schools had a Registered Nurse, how health and safety issues are addressed, and publicly posting the immunization report school districts are already required to submit to the state. This bill was never assigned to a committee.

HB2311 School Health Program, Appropriation- Representative Jennifer Jermaine

Would have promoted and enhanced healthy and effective learning environments for all students by supporting the costs of placing school nurses and psychologists on campuses. This bill was assigned to three committees in the House but never received a hearing.

Last week, we took the legislative lull between committee work and the presentation of the proposed budget to tell you about some bills that would have improved the lives of children and families in Arizona that were either not considered or died without making much headway. As the pause at the Capitol continues so does our midsession update. If last week’s update could be titled “the good”, this week can be called the “bad and the ugly.” These are misguided proposals that harm children and families, and unfortunately have either already been signed or are well on their way to becoming law. The common theme running through these bills: Preserving prejudice in the name of protecting children.

SB 1138 Irreversible Gender Reassignment Surgery, Minors—Senator Petersen (Status: Signed by Governor)

Prohibits physicians from providing irreversible gender reassignment surgery to minors regardless of whether the procedure is recommended by the child’s physician or consented to by the child’s parents.

SB 1165 Interscholastic, Intramural Athletics, Biological Sex—Senator Barto (Status: Signed by Governor)

Requires all public schools, and any private schools that compete against them, to expressly designate their interscholastic teams based on the biological sex of the participating students.

SB 1399 Adoption, Foster Care, Religious Discrimination—Senator Kerr (Status: Signed by Governor)

Gives faith-based foster care and adoption agencies broad license to discriminate based on the organization’s religious beliefs without any threat of lawsuits and allows foster parents to impose their own religious beliefs on foster children who are temporarily in their care.

HB 2086 DHS, School Immunizations, Exclusions—Representative Osborne (Status: Pending final vote in the Senate)

Would prohibit requiring immunization from COVID-19 or HPV as a condition of school attendance.

HB 2112 Classroom Instruction, Race, Ethnicity, Sex—Representative Udall (Status: Pending final vote in the Senate)

Would prohibit teachers from discussing societal issues related to race, ethnicity, and sex. Would also subject teachers to disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation of their teacher’s certificate, and subject school districts to civil legal penalties for subsequent or continued violations.

HB 2616 Mask Mandates, Minors, Parental Consent—Representative Chaplik (Status: Passed Senate and pending transmittal to Governor)

Bars any government entity, school or charter school from requiring a mask or face covering be worn by a minor without the express consent of their parent or guardian.

2022 Governor's Budget Hits & Misses

Each year, Arizona’s legislative session begins with the Governor’s State of the State speech and the unveiling of his or her annual priorities and proposed budget. This session presents Governor Ducey a rare opportunity in his final year in office to provide much-needed help to children and families in Arizona. Despite the lingering pandemic, Arizona’s revenues have reached historic highs in large part due to the multiple federal economic rescue packages and temporary unemployment insurance expansion. Arizona currently has $1 billion in ongoing and $2.1 billion in one-time revenues. This is in addition to billions of dollars in unspent federal COVID relief dollars.

Also at the beginning of each year, Children’s Action Alliance publishes its list of legislative priorities. It is our hope each year that the Governor's priorities align with ours. This year, while we did see a few bright spots that address longstanding needs, that largely did not happen. Take a look at a comparison of where the Governors priorities and ours find common ground, and where opportunities missed the mark or weren’t addressed.

On mobile? View our printable PDF.

Early Childhood

	Secure state general fund investment in child care assistance Not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.
	Increase Arizona Early Intervention Program provider rates Nearly 11,000 children under the age of 3 who have disabilities or developmental delays receive therapies and other support from the Arizona Early Intervention Program. Current rates paid to providers are significantly below comparable rates paid by the program that provides services to children over age 3. The Governor’s budget proposal adds $18.6 million per year starting in fiscal year 2024 to bring the rates in line with rates paid by other programs. A temporary rate increase will be funded in fiscal year 2023 using federal dollars.
	Secure state investment in Healthy Families home visitation program The Governor’s budget provides $10 million, of which $7.5 million is new funding and $2.5 million replaces funds that will no longer be available. Healthy Families currently serves 4,000 families. The Governor’s budget would add an additional 1,500 families. The Governor’s budget also includes a total $15 million for fiscal years 24 and 25 which would increase the program’s ability to serve 8,000 families.
	Fight any use of state funds appropriated for online early education Not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.

Education

	Prevent a $1.2 billion cut to public schools by authorizing an annual exemption to the K-12 expenditure cap for this school year by March 1 If the legislature does not override the education spending limit by March 1, 2022, Arizona’s district schools will be required to cut their current year budgets by $1.2 billion. This issue is not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.
	Refer a measure to the ballot to update or eliminate the outdated K-12 expenditure authority. Not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.
	Expand access to affordable higher education and prevent increases in student debt The Governor’s budget proposal increases the Promise Grant funding by $12.5 million for a total $20 million. These additional dollars will serve an additional 3,300 students. The Promise Grant program covers the balance of tuition that remains for students who are fully eligible for Pell grants. The Governor’s budget, however, continues to suspend $10 million of the statutorily required deposit into the Student Financial Aid Trust Fund. This issue is not addressed preventing tuition increases.
	Reduces inequities in school funding The Governor’s proposal increases results-based funding for excelling schools by $60.8 million for a total $129 million. The Governor’s proposal also includes moving this funding into the Basic State Aid appropriation where it will lose its separate identity. Schools continue to receive results-based funding as long as they meet the criteria. For struggling schools the Governor’s proposal includes $58 million to create the Operation Excellence program which provides $150 per student for three years.

Family Health

Extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months (currently 60 days)

Approximately 15,000 to 18,000 pregnant adults could benefit from extended AHCCCS coverage. This issue is not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.

Comprehensive adult dental coverage through Medicaid

Currently only a maximum of $1,000 annually of emergency services are available for most adult populations. This issue is not addressed in the Governor’ budget or the State of the State.

Streamline Young Adult Transitional Insurance (YATI) re-enrollment for former foster youth

Young adults who “age out” of foster care at age 18 are automatically eligible for enrollment in AHCCCS, the state’s Medicaid program. If they do not respond to redetermination notices or requests for additional information, often because AHCCCS does not have an accurate address, they are disenrolled. More than 5,200 young adults are currently enrolled through YATI. This issue is not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.

Children's Health

Waive the Medicaid five-year residency requirement for otherwise eligible pregnant people and kids who are lawfully present immigrants

Between 7,000 and 11,000 Arizona children are ineligibility for the state’s health insurance program because they have not been in the US for at least five years. This issue is not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State. Adopting the Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act (ICHIA) option would allow the state to provide high-quality health coverage to these children and to receive a higher federal reimbursement for their care.

Provide 12-month continuous enrollment for children participating in AHCCCS or KidsCare

More than 850,000 Arizona children are enrolled in Arizona’s Medicaid or CHIP programs. Though children who qualify are eligible for 12 months, families who experience income volatility may lose coverage due to a temporary or one-time increase. This has a negative impact on children’s health outcomes and presents an administrative burden to both AHCCCS and the families who lose coverage. This issue is not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.

Eliminate three-month wait period for KidsCare enrollment

Arizona’s KidsCare program requires a child cannot be covered by any health insurance for three months prior to enrollment. This presents a barrier to enrollment. Even short lapses in health insurance coverage have a negative impact on children’s health outcomes. This issue is not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.

Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice

	Increase kinship foster care stipend The Governor’s proposal quadruples the unlicensed rate from $75 to $300 per month and also increases the daily allowance that pays for clothing, school supplies, etc. This increase adds $19.8 million for a total $24.8 million for kinship placements.
	Reduced barriers to licensure for foster care and kinship care providers Licensed foster care providers receive more than $600 a month compared to the current $75 for unlicensed kinship providers. The Governor’s budget proposes removing barriers to licensure for kinship caregivers while maintaining home life and safety standards.
	Increase the independent living subsidy provided for youth in extended foster care Currently, 651 former foster youth between ages 18 and 21 receive the independent living subsidy. Currently the maximum subsidy is $715 and is reduced by $50 every six months. Neither the Governor’s budget nor the State of the State address this issue.
	Reduce or eliminate juvenile court fines and fees This issue is not addressed in the Governor’s budget or State of the State.

Governor Proposes Pathway to Parity for Foster Children Placed with Kin

In his State of the State address, Governor Ducey unveiled a proposal to significantly increase the supports provided to foster children placed with kin and to put them on a pathway to receiving the same level of financial support provided to children placed with non-relatives.

Kinship foster care is a best practice, mitigating the trauma of parental separation and leading to better outcomes for children. Arizona utilizes kinship foster care at a much greater rate than the national average of 32%. As of June 2021, 52% of all children in DCS’s custody were placed with a relative. However, the state has not provided these children with adequate financial supports. A foster child who is placed with an unlicensed relative is provided with a monthly stipend of just $75 a month. If that same foster child were placed with a non-relative foster parent, they would receive, on average, $641 a month.

There are two key components to achieving full parity for children in kinship foster care:

Increasing state funding to a level that will equal the state’s share of costs once Arizona is able to draw down federal funding for more foster children placed with relatives, and
Increasing the number of kinship caregivers who become licensed as foster parents, a prerequisite for leveraging federal funding.

The Governor’s proposal addresses both components simultaneously. The Executive Budget and HB 2274 (Weninger) seek an appropriation of $24.4M to provide foster children placed with kin with a monthly stipend of $300 a month. This 300% increase will immediately help kinship foster caregivers better meet the needs of the children in their care and brings the state investment up to the level needed to leverage federal funding. At the same time, DCS is putting a number of policy and practice changes in place to remove barriers to kinship licensure and expedite the process, including seeking a change to statute (HB 2084 Osborne: Udall) that will streamline background checks for kinship caregivers who have already met required safety standards. By taking these two leaps forward, foster children placed with kin will have the supports they need in the placements where they can best thrive.

Please support these CAA priority bills by joining us and Arizona Grandparent Ambassadors and Kinship Caregivers for a week of (virtual) action, beginning February 14th.

New Year, New Board Officers, New Priorities

We are excited to announce CAA’s new Board Chair, Ayensa Millan, and Vice-Chair, Wendy Valenzuela. Ayensa was Vice-Chair for CAA and is the founder and managing attorney at CIMA Law Group, PC where she handles criminal and immigration matters. Her commitment and dedication stem from her own personal experiences of knowing the struggles and needs of the immigrant community. Wendy has served on the board since 2015 and is the government affairs representative for state and local affairs at Arizona Public Service. We appreciate their leadership and look forward to working with all our board to accomplish our goals to improve the well-being of children and families in the state.

Our vision to create an Arizona where all children thrive starts with our legislative priorities. This year, one of the most critical issues is the school spending limits mandated by the state constitution. Public schools face $1.1 billion in budget cuts THIS SCHOOL YEAR if the Legislature does not pass a resolution to override the state constitution’s K-12 spending limitations by March 1 and send a referral to the November 22 ballot to permanently address the limit.

You will hear more about our priorities in the coming days as the 55th Arizona State Legislature will convene on Monday, January 10 with Governor Ducey set to deliver his 7th State of the State address before a joint House and Senate legislative floor session. We will keep you up to date on the issues we take a position on with our bill tracking system located on our website and through our weekly policy e-news – just like this one.

Thank you in advance for your support to lift Arizona children and families voices during this critical time.

Learn more about CAA Legislative Priorities

Arizona’s legislators missed a unique opportunity this legislative session

Arizona’s legislators had a unique opportunity this legislative session. The pandemic did not result in state revenues falling to the $1 billion deficit that was expected. Instead, analysts projected there was more than $1 billion in ongoing, unobligated revenues plus nearly $3 billion in one-time cash. These funds could have been used to invest in Arizona’s future. From public schools to health care to state highways, many opportunities exist to make improvements that would have long-lasting impacts on our state. Instead, the legislature squandered this opportunity and passed record-breaking tax cuts that reduce revenue so much the tax cuts cannot be fully phased in until after fiscal year 2024.

Below is information about changes to General Fund appropriations for programs that benefit Arizona’s families. Included are some of the missed opportunities - what else could have been done for everyday Arizonans rather than the few that will receive significant tax increases. We also include information about the Department of Corrections’ budget not only because it has become the third largest state agency as far as General Fund dollars are concerned, but also because many Arizona families are impacted when a family member is incarcerated.

Note: This legislative session included a number of supplemental increases for fiscal year 2021. Because the budget wasn’t signed until June 30, it’s unlikely much, if any, of these additional funds will be spent in fiscal year 2021. However, agencies will be able to spend these funds in fiscal year 2022.

Debt Payoff - The budget pays off ahead of schedule $977 million in building project debt and $1 billion in pension payoffs for the Departments of Public Safety and Corrections.

Increased Federal Match Rate – Congress increased the federal match rate for Medicaid and related programs as part of the fiscal relief provided to states. This freed up $134 million in fiscal year 2021 and $267 million in fiscal year 2022. The budget assumes these increased rates will not continue into fiscal year 2023.

Salary Increases – The new budget includes more than $66 million for employee salary increases in six state agencies. In the Department of Public Safety, all employees will receive an increase; in the remainder, increases are restricted to certain classifications or positions. No funding is allocated for the more than 10,000 employees in other state agencies. The last general salary adjustment for all state employees occurred in fiscal year 2013, but this increase did not offset the pay cuts enacted in fiscal year 2011.

State lawmakers should expand KidsCare eligibility ASAP

A year into a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 16,000 Arizonans, the state legislature has repeatedly declined the opportunity to provide low-cost, comprehensive health coverage to tens of thousands of children. CAA’s new fact sheet explores why this measure is so important – and how many children would benefit.

In 2019, Arizona ranked 48th in the US for the rate of children’s health coverage. Latinx, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander children are more likely to be uninsured than their peers of other races and ethnicities, and coverage gains for children of color facilitated by the Affordable Care Act have been eroded significantly over the past four years.

Unsurprisingly, our state also has one of the lowest income eligibility thresholds for its Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP; known as KidsCare in Arizona). KidsCare covers children up to age 21 whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. Currently, a family of four earning up to 205% FPL ($53,004 per year) may qualify for KidsCare. For comparison, the national median upper income threshold is 255% FPL, or about $67,575 per year.

In 2019 (the last year for which we have comprehensive data), over 16,000 uninsured Arizona children currently lived in households earning slightly too much to qualify for KidsCare. The COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably increased the number of uninsured Arizona children, and may have strained the finances of families with health coverage through their employers or the Health Care Marketplace.

At the same time, the state is receiving an influx of federal relief dollars. In state fiscal year 2020 alone, the state is anticipated to have saved $153 million in state funds earmarked for AHCCCS (which administers KidsCare).

HB2273 (Children’s health insurance program; eligibility), sponsored by Representative Kelli Butler (D-LD28) would have expanded income eligibility. This bill was never heard in committee. Subsequent attempts to insert this provision have failed to gain traction.

Lawmakers will have another opportunity to provide health coverage to thousands more Arizona children by including the expanded KidsCare eligibility in the state budget. We hope they do.

American Rescue Plan is a major victory for Arizona children and families

The American Rescue Plan passed by Congress and signed by President Biden this week is a major victory for Arizona children and families. According to data released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the expansion of the child tax credit alone will lift 112,000 Arizona children above the poverty line and will benefit more than 1.5 million Arizona children overall. This historic reduction in child poverty will particularly help children of color who have been disproportionately hard hit by the pandemic and its related economic and educational harms.

In addition to the expansion of the child tax credit, the relief package will provide Arizona with an estimated $780 million to expand child care assistance; $2.6 billion to help Arizona’s public schools reopen safely, and it extends increased food assistance benefits through September 30.

“This landmark legislation will greatly improve the well-being of Arizona’s children – through expanded child care assistance, resources so schools can reopen safely, more affordable health coverage, and aggressive measures to combat child poverty,” said David Lujan, interim President and CEO of Children’s Action Alliance. “We applaud Arizona’s congressional delegation who took swift action and supported this impactful legislation for Arizona’s families.”

This long-term crisis has been exacerbated by the devastating, inequitable impacts of COVID-19. Now, thanks to the passage of the American Rescue Plan, Arizona children, and families who have been hit the hardest will have severely needed resources to enable them to emerge from these challenging times with a pathway to a stronger future.

Good ideas that didn't fit the bill

The Arizona legislature set a deadline that any bills that did not receive an initial committee hearing by the end of last week cannot advance this session. Committee chairs wield a lot of power in deciding which bills receive consideration or not and with 1,823 bills introduced this session, we understand there simply is not enough time to hear every bill. But there were several good ideas that would improve the lives of Arizona’s children and families introduced this year that never had the opportunity to be considered in committee. Even though time has run out this year for those bills, we want to take a moment to highlight a few of those good ideas that merit stronger consideration in the future:

HB 2416: Sponsored by Representative Pawlik to appropriate $13 million for child care to raise reimbursement rates. Arizona’s child care assistance program continues to reimburse providers for care at rates that are far below what it costs to actually provide that care. Parents often have to pay the difference between the reimbursement rate and the cost, making accessing child care too expensive even for many low-income families who are eligible for the program.
HB 2291: Sponsored by Representative Osborne to provide comprehensive dental care to eligible pregnant women. Pregnant women are especially vulnerable to developing oral health problems, which if left untreated are associated with adverse birth outcomes and increased risk of dental disease in early childhood.
HB 2273: Sponsored by Representative Butler to increase income eligibility for KidsCare, Arizona’s health insurance program for low-income children, from 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Arizona currently has one of the lowest income eligibility thresholds for its children’s health insurance program in the nation. After years of progress toward reducing the rate of uninsured children, Arizona has taken an unfortunate turn. Between 2016 and 2019, the number of uninsured children grew by roughly 22%. In 2019, 161,000 Arizona children were uninsured – the fourth highest rate of uninsured children in the United States.
HB 2659: Sponsored by Senator Marsh to establish an annual conference on children and youth to identify and recommend policy solutions to the legislature that will improve the lives of children in Arizona.
HB 2146, HB 2147, HB 2148, HB 2283, HB 2566, SB 1098, SB 1736, SB 1737: Sponsored by Representatives Friese, Lieberman, and Bolding; and Senators Alston and Bowie. Several bills were introduced this session to provide much-needed reform to the private school tuition tax credit program which diverts public tax dollars to private schools. These bills would restrict use of these tax credits to low-income families and would limit the amount which can be used for administrative costs. The expansion of private school tuition tax credits has had a significant impact on reducing state revenues growing from a cost of $14 million in 1999 to $177 million in 2019.
HB 2728: Sponsored by Representative Sierra to make participation in extended foster care until the age of 21 an opt-out rather than opt-in program for youth aging out of foster care when they turn 18. Extended foster care can provide a better bridge to adulthood especially during the current health and economic crisis.
SCR 1017: Sponsored by Senator Quezada. A legislative proclamation identifying racism as a public health crisis affecting our entire society and avowing to support policies that reduce racial and ethnic health inequities and promote social justice.

The list above is not an exhaustive list. We are glad to see so many lawmakers introducing bills this session that will benefit Arizona’s children, and we hope many of those bills become law in the future.

Image source: ABC's Schoolhouse Rock

Urge Senate Education Committee to support SB1376 for Youth Mental Health Programs

More and more states are requiring mental health education in schools as young people are increasingly vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and other forms of mental illness. Today, Arizona has an opportunity to join the movement with SB1376 and to help more students - students like Briana.

Briana always did well in school until around the 8th grade when things in life started to slip for her. She began grappling with depression. She eventually transferred to another school where her school administrator, Ms. Cyndi, took notice how she was struggling. Ms. Cyndi reached out to Briana to express concern and did research on limited mental health services available for youth as she had witnessed the disturbing trend in other students. She worked with Briana to start a new after-school club at their school called Your Life Matters (YLM), a peer-to-peer support resource. Through YLM, students recognized they were not alone. They received basic education on mental health in a safe place to share and to be accepted. Briana credits YLM for saving her life.

Briana was inspired to get more involved in YLM. Together they began attending community events and advocating that school mental health programs and clubs like YLM be started in other schools as well.

She also got connected with a local initiative called Help & Hope for YOUth and joined their youth task force. Help & Hope for YOUth, a member of Children’s Action Alliance’s Southern Arizona Advisory Committee, is a multi-sector initiative working to improve outcomes for young people (age 10 – 24) by reducing the stigma of living with and seeking services for mental health challenges.

Their Advocacy & Policy Task Force elevated the youth voice brought forward by members of the community such as Briana, and set out to find ways where schools could do better in supporting youth struggling with mental health challenges.

The first of which just became a bill at the Arizona Legislature!

SB 1376 Senator Bowie’s mental health curriculum bill has been scheduled for a hearing: TODAY, Tuesday February 2 at 2:00 PM. Please take a moment to show your support by taking action below in support of the bill.

Representative Hernandez has the mirror bill HB 2656 which he has introduced in the House.