Legislative Update

 

ARIZONA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

Legislative Update (02/22/13)

Important School Choice Bill Moves Forward

On Thursday, important school choice legislation supported by the Arizona Catholic Conference (ACC) was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee and should be ready for a floor vote soon. Specifically, HB 2617 is a bill that will improve the corporate tuition (scholarship) tax credit by expanding the list of potential donors to include S corporations and Limited Liability Companies.

 The corporate tuition tax credit has been a tremendous benefit to Catholic and other school tuition organizations that help children in need to attend the school that is the best for them. Because this credit targets children who switch from public to private schools, it also creates a monetary savings to the state.

 This week also saw the Senate Health Committee pass positive legislation (SB 1376) that would require reporting from those in the medical community engaged in the practice of in vitro fertilization. Because of the many concerns surrounding this industry, a study committee would also be created so that lawmakers can have a better understanding of what is actually happening in this area.

 Finally, this week was the final week for bills to get a committee hearing in their house of origin. Although various forms of amendments can always bring back a defeated proposal at any time until the legislative session is over, the fact that a bill has not received a committee hearing at this point typically means it is dead.

 Having issued that caveat, the ACC is pleased that legislation to destroy the rights of conscience for health care providers, eliminate the charitable and tuition tax credits, roll back numerous pro-life gains, unfairly target undocumented immigrants, and open the door for assisted suicide have all failed to get a hearing.

Please feel free to forward this message and encourage the people you know to sign up for these free updates at www.azcatholicconference.org so that we can continue to expand our influence on matters of importance to the Catholic Church.

Category: Uncategorized