Last Week at the Legislature
Hi Friend,
It's truly an honor to represent our community in the State House. Thank you for the opportunity to work for and communicate back with you. I remain focused on helping to make our neighborhoods the kinds of places where everyone gets their chance to thrive.
This past week, your legislature remained on recess and is not scheduled to resume any floor action until June 12, or when the Speaker and Senate President give us 24 hours notice.
In the meantime, I've been out in the community learning about priorities and solutions.
Judy
Representative Judy Schwiebert, LD2
jschwiebert@azleg.gov
Monday
Overlooking the Valley with Rainbow Ryders
Thank you so much to my friend Craig Beckman who invited me for a ride with one of his clients, Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloons. It was great to meet local business owner Scott Appelman and hear about his amazing company. And we got a whole new perspective on Lake Pleasant, the CAP canal, and the new enormous TSMC plant under construction.
Tuesday
CLPA Meeting
In Tuesday's CLPA (Community & Legislative Partners in Aging) meeting, we heard from a person in the Attorney General's office and from an attorney who specializes in Elder Law. The topic was Life Care Planning/Advanced Directives.
The AG's office provides a free packet of documents that one can download or request to receive a paper copy by mail. The packet includes forms for Health Care Power of Attorney, Mental Health Care Power of Attorney, and a Living Will. They do not offer financial documents.
They recommend registering the documents with Arizona Health Care Directives Registry.
www.azag.gov/seniors/life-care-planning. Thank you to Sen. Lela Alston and Rep. Patty Contreras for hosting.
Thursday
Keeping Folks Informed
Thursday evening I held my fifth zoom town hall of the year. Even with the legislature in I was happy to fill in the 20 or so folks who RSVP'd in on details of the budget we passed - and on what still must be addressed before we’re finished for the year. It was also a great chance to listen - and hear your priorities for next session. Thank you to all who attended!
Watch my Facebook and Twitter feeds - as well as this newsletter to get the details on how to RSVP for our next zoom town hall on Thursday, June 22.
Friday
Affordable Housing Tour
Laurel Tree Apartments
I invited colleagues to join me for a tour of three affordable housing complexes in North Phoenix with housing advocates Christian Solorio and Sarah Liguori. All three developments have long waiting lists to get in. The first, the beautiful Laurel Tree Apartments at 19th Ave & Northern, was built by Housing for Hope, a division of Catholic Charities directed by Steve Capobres. He was also the first director of Arizona's Housing Department Laurel Tree has 74 units, great community spaces, and on-site case managers.
Trellis at Mission Townhomes (pictured below)
The second stop was at rent to own the non-profit Trellis at Mission (621 W. Mission Lane) that includes 43 townhomes ranging from 900-1300 square foot units in which qualified low-income renters will have the option of transitioning to home ownership after 15 years. 100% of the units are reserved for households with incomes below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Three years ago, 65% of Arizonans could afford to buy a home. Today, only 18% can afford to do so. Under President Michael Trailer, Trellis' vision is to help more people reach that first rung of the the ladder of home ownership.
Native American Connection's Dunlap Pointe
This development for veterans at 14th Street just south of Dunlap in Sunyslope provides clean, dignified housing for veterans, some of whom have lived on area streets for 20 years or more. The studio apartments have open floor plans, inside spaces where people can park a bike, allows people to keep emotional support pets, and provides outdoor and indoor community areas. Case managers are on site to help people with mental health and substance abuse treatment. Even so, it's a process.
My Take-away
All three of these developments are great examples of what we need to do to ensure people of all income levels can afford housing. But we need much more of them - and quickly. More people are falling into homelessness daily, (and the biggest segment of increase is among older Arizonans).
Thank goodness for the people committed to developing these housing options. Cities and the legislature needs to move swiftly to support more of this kind of housing.
Saturday
Placing Flags at the National Memorial Cemetery
This Memorial Day weekend, I was moved to join so many Scouts, families, and veterans in placing flags on the graves of all veterans at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona at the edge of our district on 23029 N. Cave Creek Road.
You can sign up to help retrieve the flags and bundle them up in sets of 30 with rubber bands next Saturday, June 3, at 7 a.m. Here's a volunteer link. Many hands make light work.
They will have water, but it doesn’t hurt to bring your own. Wear light clothing, shoes, and socks. Sunscreen and hats are recommended.
Time: 7 a.m. NEW TIME
Date: Saturday, June 3, 2023
Place: National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N. Cave Creek Road, Phoenix AZ 85024
Meet: The main stage for instructions and then disbursement.
Click here for this week's Ed Report from Save Our Schools
Here's a portion of what you'll learn from Save Our Schools this week:
"This week, Gov. Hobbs declared a Ducey-era ESA voucher grant of $50 million illegal and invalid, and is working to claw those funds back from the Treasurer’s Office. The grant, signed by Ducey in one of his final acts as governor, improperly uses federal COVID relief dollars to fund all-day kindergarten for ESA voucher users — even though Arizona only funds a half-day for the 76,000 children who attend kindergarten at our public schools."
Click here for this week's Civic Engagement Beyond Voting Weekly Report
Here's a portion of what you'll learn from CEBV this week:
"The Legislature has been recessed since May 15 — that’s an eternity during legislative session — and in that time, staff has methodically been transmitting the flotilla of bad legislation passed that day up to Governor Hobbs’ desk. Fortunately, she isn’t willing to play along."
The newsletter goes on to list some of the bills Gov Hobbs has thankfully vetoed in the last 10 days.
"There are so many pressing matters facing Arizona: our water future, wildfires, affordable housing, transportation, the public education funding and teacher retentioncrises — and they’re all clearly expressed priorities of Arizona voters. Instead, the ruling party at our legislature is focused on passing bill after ridiculous bill that will go nowhere other than the governor’s garbage can."