The Veridus Weekly

Days in Session: 54

Regular sessions shall be adjourned sine die no later than Saturday of the week in which the one hundredth day from the beginning of each regular session falls. The President and Speaker of the House may by declaration authorize the extension of the session for a period of not to exceed seven additional days. Thereafter, the session can be extended only by the Senate and House by a majority vote of the members present in each body.

In Focus …

Budget drama consumed the Arizona Capitol this week and, as of this writing, it remains uncertain whether the plan drawn up by Governor Doug Ducey and GOP legislative leaders will have enough votes to pass the House and Senate.

The $9.1 billion spending plan is smaller than what the Governor proposed in January. In addition, new revenue the Governor had anticipated - such as with an added fee on drivers licenses - has been eliminated. Put together, it means bigger cuts for State programs.

Trying to fend off the cuts, an unlikely coalition of groups has come together in common cause, including district and charter-school advocates, university presidents, hospitals, health and human service providers, business groups and more. Still uncertain is whether all of the noise will make a difference.

Plans had been to vote the budget and send it to the Governor’s desk today, but the House and Senate have yet to reconvene this afternoon. Continued delay is the surest indication legislative leaders remain short of the votes they need.

City council decides to give public the power to vote on new public transit plan

The Phoenix City council voted on Tuesday to put the fate of a comprehensive public transit plan in the hands of voters.

The amended proposal from the Citizens Committee of the Future of Phoenix Transportation calls for infrastructure repairs and light rail expansion and will be funded by a new 0.70 percent sales tax that will replace the current transit tax. The proposal originally called for a 0.73 percent sales tax.

Read more HERE.

Obama signs Homeland Security funding bill into law

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed a law funding the Homeland Security Department through the end of the budget year.

The president signed the bill Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office with a small group of photographers present. The White House wouldn't permit reporters to attend.

The House voted 257-167 Tuesday to approve the bill after a messy fight in Congress. Republicans wanted to use the legislation to repeal Obama's executive actions on immigration. Congress extended funding for one week just ahead of last Friday's deadline, then Republicans relented Tuesday and approved full-year funding without the immigration conditions.

Read more HERE.

Supreme Court questions Arizona redistricting commission

Critics say that allowing politicians to control political redistricting often means that representatives choose their constituents, instead of the other way around. But the Supreme Court questioned Monday whether citizens intent on eliminating partisan gerrymandering can completely cut state legislatures out of the equation.

Arizona voters tried that in 2000, when they turned over redistricting to an independent commission. But Republicans in the legislature were at the court Monday saying that such congressional redistricting schemes violate the Constitution.

The document’s Elections Clause states that the “Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.”

Read more HERE.

Veridus is proud to represent the who’s who of the business community. The Veridus Weekly has proven to be an excellent opportunity to highlight key announcements, activities, etc. If you would like to feature something in an upcoming issue, reply to this email or send information to info@veridus.com.

Veridus clients in the news

Wal-Mart's hourly pay hike just the beginning of a revamp

Following Wal-Mart's announcement on Feb. 19 that they will be raising their starting employee wage to $9 an hour by April and $10 by February of next year, the estimated 500,000 Wal-Mart employees who will be affected are waiting anxiously to see their paychecks increase.

"The associates at my store are extremely excited," said Kevin Ray, the store manager for Prescott Valley's Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The Wal-Mart Ray manages sits right off Glassford Hill Road - next to Kohl's. It has only been open a little more than a year now.

"With us being a fairly new store, the changes will impact more of them here than maybe at other stores," Ray said.

With the three Wal-Mart Supercenters and one Sam's Club between Prescott and Prescott Valley, there are about 1,000 Wal-Mart employees in the area. However, only those who are making below $10 are going to feel the changes Wal-Mart has unveiled for the coming year.

Arizona's minimum wage is currently sitting at $8.05 per hour. Therefore, this gradual wage bump isn't necessarily tremendous, but Ray says it does make a difference.

"It'll definitely help them [associates] do some of the extra things in life that they've been wanting to do that maybe they couldn't before," Ray said.

Wal-Mart employs about 1.3 million workers in the U.S. and about 2.2 million worldwide. This means that the estimated 500,000 employees expected to be impacted by the wage increases make up about 40 percent of Wal-Mart's American workforce.

Read more HERE.