Arizona Legislation – HB2316, HB2439, HB2495

HB2316

H2316 passed out of the House, and is assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill would allow a person who possesses a valid concealed weapons permit to carry a concealed weapon in a public establishment or at a public event. Some exceptions, including for public establishments or events that are a “secured facility” (defined), that are the licensed premises of liquor licensee, that are a judicial department or law enforcement agency, that are an educational institution, and that are a vehicle or craft.

AzLA is opposed to this bill, and constructed the following talking points. We urge you to reach out to Senate Judiciary Members today to voice your opposition to the bill. I listed member names and contact information at the end of this email. Please act now in support of public libraries as safe community spaces!

H2316: Misconduct Involving Weapons; Public Places

Libraries are public establishments that serve community members at all ages and stages of life. Everyone in the community should feel welcome and safe in their public library.

If this bill passes, and libraries want to keep concealed weapons out of their buildings, they must become a secured facility. The burden would be on the library to purchase metal detectors or gun lockers.

o   Many libraries, including most small and rural locations, would be unable to afford to purchase this new equipment.

o   Libraries would need to determine whether to close or allow concealed weapons into their buildings.

Libraries act as places of education in many communities, but are not covered under the exemptions in this bill.

o   Many families use the library as a resource to homeschool their children.

o   Many tutors meet clients in the library for sessions.

o   These students deserve a safe space free of weapons.

Senate Judiciary Committee members re: HB2316

Chairman       Petersen (R – Dist 12); wpetersen@azleg.gov; (602) 926-4136

Vice-Chair         Rogers (R – Dist 6); wrogers@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3042

GOP              Barto (R – Dist 15); nbarto@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5766 

                 Borrelli (R – Dist 5), sborrelli@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5051

   Leach (R – Dist 11); vleach@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3106

Dem             Contreras (D – Dist 19); lcontreras@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5284

   Quezada (D – Dist 29); mquezada@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5911

   Stahl Hamilton (D – Dist 10); sstahlhamilton@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3279

HB2439

H2439 passed out of the House, and is assigned to the Senate Education Committee. This bill would require school district governing boards and charter school governing bodies (school boards) adopt procedures by which parents have access to the school’s library catalog of available books or materials and by which parents may receive a list of books or materials borrowed from the library by their children. School boards are required to approve all books in school libraries. Upon approval, a list of all books must be available for public review for at least 60 days.

AzLA is opposed to this bill, and constructed the following talking points. We urge you to reach out to Senate Committee members today to voice your opposition to the bill. I listed member names and contact information at the end of this email. Please act now in support of school libraries!

H2439: School library books; parental review

Teacher Librarians are trained in collection development. They are uniquely qualified to select relevant and appropriate materials to include in the school library collection. Each title selected for inclusion in a school library is reviewed by the Teacher Librarian and deemed fit for the community need.

Parents can currently visit the library catalog to see titles that students can access at school.

School districts release budgets for material purchases that need to be selected and ordered within a specific timeline. The 60 day review period would interrupt the selection process, and limit student access to new material.

School Districts purchase databases with access to thousands of titles. There is no public preview option without purchase. Teacher Librarians would be unable to offer these resources, and students would be unable to access these valuable resources.

The 60 day review period would delay access to library material that is current and timely. Students would lose out on what they are interested in reading.

School Districts approve all school library purchases before ordering.

School Boards already  have policies for challenging books.

This bill would put an undue burden on School Districts, limit access to reading material, and undermine the expertise of Teacher Librarians.

Senate Education Committee re: HB2439

Chairman     Boyer (R – Dist 20); pboyer@azleg.gov; (602) 926-4173

Vice-Chair     Shope (R – Dist 8) tshope@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3012

GOP           Barto (R – Dist 15); nbarto@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5766 

                Gray (R – Dist 21); rgray@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5413

                Pace (R – Dist 25); tpace@azleg.gov; (602) 926-5760

Dem            Gonzales (D – Dist 3); sgonzales@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3278

                Hatathlie (D – Dist 7); thatathlie@azleg.gov;

                Marsh (D – 28); cmarsh@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3184

HB3495

HB3495:Schools; sexually explicit materials; prohibition

• The constitution guarantees the right to read and access information.
• This bill would have the unintended consequence of banning classics of literature from curriculums, and limit student access to material selected as appropriate by trained professionals.
• Students should have access to a broad range of ideas, including those that mirror their own experience. This bill would limit access for students seeking resources in the case of sexual assault or domestic violence.

Contact Info for Representatives on the House Education Committee:

Chair: Michelle Udall (R – Dist 25): mudall@azleg.gov; (602) 926-4856

Vice-Chair: Beverly Pingerelli (R – Dist 21): bpingerelli@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3396

Daniel Hernandez (D – Dist 2): dhernandez@azleg.gov; (602) 926-4840

John Fillmore (R – Dist 4): jfillmore@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3187

Joel John (R – Dist 4):  jjohn@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3276

Quang Nguyen (R – Dist 1): qnguyen@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3258

Jennifer Pawlik (D – Dist 17): jpawlik@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3193

Judy Schwiebert (D – Dist 20): jschwiebert@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3390

Myron Tsosie (D – Dist 7): mtsosie@azleg.gov; (602) 926-3157