Key legislative victories achieved

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Key Legislative Victories Achieved

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
June 21, 2006

On Friday evening, a budget deal was reached between the Arizona House, Arizona Senate and Gov. Napolitano. The budget package includes a significant expansion of school choice options, abstinence funding and services for women facing crisis pregnancies! Key details of the budget agreement include the following victories for CAP-supported measures:

• A doubling of the corporate tax credit for tuition scholarships from $5 million to $10 million.
annually. That amount will increase by 20 percent annually.
• A scholarship program for displaced children to attend private schools, meaning children in the foster care system who have been adopted.
• A scholarship program for disabled children to attend private schools, meaning children with learning disabilities.
• A grant program for college students to attend private colleges in the state.
• A women’s services appropriation of $500,000 for agencies that provide alternatives to abortion.
• An increase of $500,000 for abstinence until marriage education programs, thus providing a total of $1.5 million in state funds.
• An appropriation of $30,000 to create and distribute a brochure with information on umbilical cord blood donations.
• A continuation of funding for marriage skills and communications training, to help couples build and maintain strong marriages

Friday night, I stayed at the Capitol until 1 a.m. working with our allies at Arizonans for School Choice and Arizona Catholic Conference to make certain we had the votes for the corporate tax credit bill. When I left the Capitol, the House and Senate had passed the key budget bills. Governor Napolitano has agreed in writing to sign each of these items – meaning no line item vetoes. Several final votes remain – especially for the school choice issues. Then the entire package will go to the governor.

With this budget deal, Arizona joins a handful of states that provide funding for crisis pregnancy centers. The $500,000 appropriation will provide grants in $20,000 increments to agencies that provide services and programs related to pregnancy. The grants will not be available for any entities that promote, recommend or perform abortions! While we have had very disappointing pro-life defeats as a result of Gov. Napolitano’s vetoes this session, the funding for agencies providing alternatives to abortion will save babies and provide critical services to their mothers. This one piece of legislation may well be one of the most significant measures ever enacted in Arizona due to its potential to save the lives of unborn babies! Without a doubt, more women will choose life, not abortion. The additional $500,000 in abstinence until marriage education programs should allow underserved areas to be able to offer these proven programs to further reduce Arizona’s teen pregnancy rate!

Hopefully, the legislature will be able to adjourn by the end of the week. We still anticipate final votes on two key CAP-initiated measures – a bill to protect the rights of student organizations on college campuses and to require that informed consent be provided to women donating or selling their eggs for research or infertility treatments.