The Veridus Weekly

Days of session: 61 
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

Jeff Flake 2020?

That’s the national buzz at the moment, as Senator Flake (R-AZ) prepares to visit Manchester, N.H., next week for a “Politics & Eggs” event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. It’s a regular campaign pit stop for presidential candidates, contenders and wannabes.

Considering Flake has been one of President Trump’s most vocal critics, his visit to the Great White North has some political observers speculating this may foreshadow a full-blown presidential challenge for Arizona’s junior senator.

Could it really happen? Flake has played coy. TMZ (who else?) pressed him on the question when its reporter(?) caught up with him at the airport this week. “We’ll see,” he said twice, smiling. #awkward

Of course, Flake is not seeking re-election to his Senate seat this fall. He has maintained his stiff criticism of the Trump administration, most recently threatening to introduce legislation that would neuter the President’s aluminum and steel tariffs.

If Flake chose to jump into the Race for the White House, New Hampshire would be a natural place to start. Not only is the Granite State home to the nation’s first presidential primary, it also is relatively easy to get on its ballot ($1,000 or 100 signatures?!) and known for its independent streak.

Arizona legislators move to stiffen penalties for causing fatal traffic crashes
Arizona Daily Star

PHOENIX — State lawmakers are moving to close what appears to be a loophole that allows some people to escape with what amounts to a legal slap on the wrist even if they kill someone while driving.

Current law makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor for causing serious injury or death while violating any of a list of traffic laws, ranging from running a stop sign to failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. That’s punishable by up to 30 days in jail.

What makes that alarming, according to Jody Kieran, is that the penalty for someone who litters is harsher.

Kieran’s views were front and center Tuesday as she detailed for members of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology the 2016 traffic accident in Chandler that killed her daughter, Pamela Hesselbacher, 31, and seriously injured Kieran’s two grandchildren.

People can be charged with felonies in some cases where there is an accident causing injury or death when a driver’s license has been revoked. But Kieran told lawmakers that, in this incident, the fact that the driver was operating on a suspended license and driving without the proper insurance did not trigger those felony penalties.

According to Chandler police, the driver, while on a suspended license, ran a red light, killing Hesselbacher.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery rebuffed the family’s bid to seek a felony conviction, concluding that the facts of the situation — driving on a license that had been suspended for failing to have auto insurance — did not fit within the existing definition of the law. The motorist was not drunk and did not leave the scene of the accident.

That left only that Class 3 misdemeanor.

Nothing in this legislation would change any of that in the case of the driver who killed Hesselbacher. But Kieran said it will help prevent what she believes are similar miscarriages of justice in the future.

[...] Read more HERE.

West Valley primary turnout lifts Democratic hopes of competing in red Arizona
The Arizona Republic

Democratic voters did something unusual in the West Valley's special congressional primary race last week.

They not only fielded a candidate in the 8th District for the first time in years, they actually fielded two of them.

The party's voters seemed to notice, boosting turnout in the district last week to 35 percent, a sharp increase from the 20 percent who showed up in 2002 — the last time there was an open seat in that area.

Republican voters still outnumbered Democrats, and the percentage of voters who showed up was also higher for the GOP primary — 41 percent for that party's 12-way race.

But the higher interest among Democrats fits a national pattern of Democratic voters showing more energy than in 2016.

Last week's special primary was the first time Arizona voters had a chance to gauge whether the national trend was at work here as well. And it has Democrats thinking of more competitive races to come.

[...] Read more HERE.

Veridus clients in the news

Walmart workers in Arizona to share $12.5M in one-time bonus
KTAR

PHOENIX — Walmart employees in Arizona will be getting a bonus averaging $300 apiece, the company announced Thursday, part of $12.5 million overall to be distributed.

Across the country, the retail giant will be handing out $560 million in employee reward cash across the country. The one-time extra pay was reflected immediately in checks.

[...] The amount of the bonuses was determined by how the employees’ length of service. Workers with more than 20 years were to receive $1,000. Workers with less than two years were to receive $200.

Walmart followed Phoenix-based businesses U-Haul and Sprouts in handing out additional pay to workers after the U.S. tax bill passed shortly before Christmas.

The code overhaul gave big tax cuts to corporations, several of them returning the money to employees in the form of bonuses and improved benefits.

[...] Read more HERE.

Self-driving Uber trucks are shuttling goods across Arizona
The Arizona Republic

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber has been sending self-driving trucks on delivery runs across Arizona since November, the first step in what could be a freight transportation revolution that leaves long-haul truckers in the cold.

After testing its technology earlier in 2017, Uber began contracting with trucking companies to use its own autonomous Volvo big rigs to take over loads as they traverse the state, it disclosed.

[...] Uber Freight, which launched last May, is an app that matches shippers with loads using technology drawn from Uber's ride-hailing app. Typically such trucking logistics have been coordinated through phone calls and emails.

Uber isn't alone in its pursuit of self-driving truck technology, with startups such as Embark joining companies such as Tesla and its new Tesla Semi to carve out a slice of a $700 billion industry that moves 70% of all domestic freight, according to the American Trucking Association.

Despite the push, the technology behind self-driving trucks remains in its infancy, with hurdles that include government regulations and trucker buy-in.

[...] Read more HERE.

Cigna to Acquire Express Scripts for $67 Billion

Drives greater affordability and connectivity with customers and their health care providers, while making health care simpler

Creates an expanded portfolio of health services with greater choice, alignment and value across a proven services platform

Expands distribution of health services for employers, health plans and government agencies

Delivers first year double digit earnings per share accretion and enhances Cigna’s revenue and earnings growth

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. & ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) and Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ: ESRX) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Cigna will acquire Express Scripts in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $67 billion, including Cigna's assumption of approximately $15 billion in Express Scripts debt. The merger consideration will consist of $48.75 in cash and 0.2434 shares of stock of the combined company per Express Scripts share. The transaction was approved by the board of directors of each company.

[...] Expanded Consumer Choice. Offering a full suite of medical, behavioral, specialty pharmacy and other health engagement services accessible across a wide array of retail and online distribution channels, providing optionality for all customers. This will position the combined company to deliver superior services, responding fully to the dynamic needs of our customers and clients, which will drive long-term value creation for shareholders.

Patient-Provider Alignment. Using a broad and proven network of delivery system partnerships to drive the combined company’s role as the connective tissue between individuals and their health care providers, providing a more coordinated approach to an individual’s health care journey, reducing complexity and creating better outcomes.

Personalized Value. Making health care simpler for consumers by harnessing actionable insights and predictive analytics, maximizing adoption of evidence-based care and delivering industry-leading innovation and medical technology to support care decisions.

Read more HERE.

Service Corporation International Receives ‘Great Place to Work®’ Certification

HOUSTON, March 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI), North America’s largest provider of funeral and cemetery services, announced today it has been certified as a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work®. SCI earned this credential based on extensive ratings by its employees in anonymous surveys.

[...] The survey, sent to a random selection of SCI’s over 24,000 associates, was anchored by 90 percent responding "My work has special meaning: this is not 'just a job'", 86 percent saying, “I’m proud to tell others I work here” and 86 percent replying, “I feel I make a difference here.”

[...] Read more HERE.