The Veridus Weekly 4-13-18

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Days of session: 96 
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 

After weeks of “walk-ins,” “sick-outs,” salary demands and all signs pointing to an impending teacher strike in Arizona, Gov. Ducey this week responded in a big way.

On Thursday, the Governor announced a K-12 funding proposal that includes, among other investments, a 20 percent salary increase for Arizona teachers by 2020. Under the plan, teachers would receive a 9 percent raise in FY 2019, with additional annual increases totaling 20 percent by the beginning of the 2020 school year.

If approved, the Governor’s proposal would fulfill a key demand of teachers and supporters who’ve been rallying for the raise as part of the “#RedforEd” movement over the last several weeks. But will it be enough?

There’s always been some speculation that the 20 percent demand was designed to be unreachable, in order to necessitate a work stoppage later this spring or in the fall. And even after Gov. Ducey unveiled his “20 by 20” plan, organizers indicated they were moving forward with the strike anyways.

The devil is in the details, as they say, and it will be interesting to see whether opponents will come around or stand their ground as a deal takes shape. Assuming teachers ultimately get the 20 percent they’ve been calling for, #RedforEd organizers may have a hard time justifying a long-term walkout to the public.


Phoenix makes big jump in ranking of best places to live in the U.S.     
Arizona Republic

The Phoenix metro area cracked the top 20 in the latest measure of best places to live in the United States, helped by an influx of new residents.

Phoenix made significant progress, jumping to 19th place from 44th place last year in the study by U.S. News & World Report. Metro Phoenix — along with Columbus, Ohio, and the Palm Bay-Melbourne area of Florida's east coast — all benefited from a significant migration influx, the magazine reported.

[...] What the study looked at
The study examined the desirability of the nation's 125 largest metro areas, based mainly on a combination of affordability, job prospects and quality of life. Tucson, in 67th place, was the only other Arizona city ranked.

[...] For each metro area, 30 percent of the ranking was based on "quality of life" factors such as health care, education and crime. Another 25 percent was based on affordability/value, 20 percent on the local job market, 15 percent on how desirable the area appears to nonresidents and 10 percent on net migration.

Metro Phoenix scored highest in migration, lowest in quality of life and near the middle in the other measures. Phoenix ranked just behind Dallas-Fort Worth and just ahead of San Francisco overall.

Tucson scored higher in desirability and quality of life but lower in the other measures. Tucson ranked just behind Springfield, Missouri, and just ahead of Santa Barbara, California.

[...] View 125 Top Places to Live HERE.

Read more HERE.

Voting in 2018 might go faster than ever before, county elections chief says
Arizona Republic

Several of the most common complaints among Maricopa County voters on Election Day could be significantly reduced during the 2018 midterms, according to the county's elections chief.

Recorder Adrian Fontes hopes to deploy new technologies for the first time on a wide scale to check voters into polling places and print ballots this fall, he told the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

By using the new system in the August primary and November general elections, voting and counting ballots could go faster than ever and fewer ballots could be thrown out because of voters going to the wrong polling place, Fontes said.

What is the new voting technology?

Two new technologies would be used for in-person voting this year under Fontes' plan:

Touch-screen kiosks at every polling location to allow voters to check in faster

[...] Ballot-on-demand printers at a limited number of locations that can quickly spit out ballots tailored to each voter.

[...] The improvements could solve serious problems that plagued voters under former Recorder Helen Purcell, from maddeningly long lines in the 2016 presidential-preference election to a cripplingly high number of provisional ballots in 2014 to a weeklong delay of final election results in 2012.

Despite being tested only in small elections, the new technologies will be ready to accommodate the much larger 2018 contests, Fontes said.

Read more HERE.

Veridus clients in the news

Congress has a 'second chance' for bipartisan criminal justice reform
The Hill BY ED CHUNG AND JASON PYE, OPINION CONTRIBUTORS

The two of us are about as far apart politically as you can get — in fact, we agree on very little. And yet, for the last few years, we have agreed to work together on common-sense criminal justice reforms that safely reduce our bloated prison population. With April as “Second Chance Month”, we are taking the opportunity to make sure everyone knows that  our partnership isn’t going anywhere.

It’s true that we have different perspectives, and different reasons for engaging in this important work. FreedomWorks remains deeply concerned about throwing good money after bad — enormous spending on long sentences that continue to result in high recidivism rates; meanwhile, the Center for American Progress is extremely troubled by the racial disparities in our system, and the generational incarceration that has obliterated poor and disadvantaged communities.

But the bottom line is that both of our organizations believe in more freedom and opportunity for all Americans. We believe that reforming absurd mandatory minimum sentences and expanding reentry policies that will help better prepare those currently incarcerated to successfully return to society are both necessary components to a more effective, efficient and fairer justice system. And we’re both concerned about the rhetoric surrounding the opioid crisis and the Trump administration’s proposal to pursue the death penalty for drug dealers, which is both bad policy and unconstitutional.

[...] A recent markup of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (SRCA) yielded the same favorable vote as the last committee vote on this legislation, and even those who voted against the legislation voiced support for some level of sentencing reform. Sen. Lee maintains that SRCA would receive 70 votes on the Senate floor, if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would simply allow the bill to come to a vote.

And it would certainly be a smart political move. In a national poll conducted by the Justice Action Network this year, 85 percent of voters agreed that the main goal of our justice system should be rehabilitating people, and 87 percent support reforms to mandatory minimum sentences. It shouldn’t be surprising that some in Washington still don’t get it, as evidenced by their “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” rhetoric that reads more like a 1980’s news clip than an earnest solution to reform our justice system.

[...] Read more HERE.

Walmart to spend $52 million on remodeling Arizona stores
Phoenix Business Journal

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is going to spend $52 million this year, updating and remodeling stores in Arizona and add new features to its others.

The money is coming from the $11 billion Walmart announced in October 2017 it would spend in capital expenditures.

This year Walmart said it will remodel 15 stores in Arizona, including 10 in metro Phoenix. In a press release, Walmart said the updates and uses of new technology would make shopping faster and easier for its customers.

[...] The new features Walmart, which is one of the largest employers in the state, will be installing include increasing online grocery pickup, adding more pickup towers and introducing mobile payments that let shoppers skip checkout lines.

[...] Walmart also has four pickup towers that work like high-tech vending machines at stores in Gilbert, Mesa, Glendale and Avondale. The retailer going to add these innovations to at least 16 more Arizona stores in the next year.

It will also add the option to pay with a mobile device in the store and not have to go to the cash register. This is all done through the Walmart Scan & Go app. This service is already available at all the Sam’s Club stores in the state and at the Queen Creek and Yuma stores.

[...] Read more HERE.

CVS rolls out new tool to combat rising drug prices
Reuters

Drugstore chain CVS Health Corp on Wednesday launched a new tool that will allow pharmacies help customers tackle the soaring cost of drugs by comparing prices of medicines.

[...] CVS’ tool, called the Rx Savings Finder, will enable the company’s retail pharmacists to find medicines that are the cheapest option for patients according to the insurance plans they are signed up for.

Largest U.S. health insurer UnitedHealth Group last month vowed to pass on pharmacy discounts to customers while filling prescriptions via retail pharmacies and home delivery services.

[...] Read more HERE.

Corrections officers honored at state Capitol
Pinal Central

PHOENIX — Corrections officers from Pinal County and across the state were recognized by elected officials Tuesday at the Arizona Capitol.

In commemoration of Arizona Correctional Professionals Day, Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan remarked on the importance of corrections officers for maintaining public safety.

Arizona has more than 15,000 corrections officers working in public and private facilities across the state.

“Correctional professionals have one of the toughest and most important jobs in public safety,” said state Rep. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, a special guest and speaker at Tuesday's commemoration.

“The depth of these officers’ service and sacrifice is not always seen nor understood by the public, which is why it’s so important that we take this opportunity to acknowledge and honor their contributions,” added Shope, whose district includes many prisons.

Read more HERE.

Arizona Charter School Students Continue to Set the Pace for Academic Improvement, Achievement
AZCharters.com

The scores released today from the National Assessment for Educational Progress show charter students significantly outperforming district and private school peers across the state.

The results show significant gains over the last eight years, with public charter students outperforming their district and private school peers in every grade level and on every subject tested. This trend is most evident in the scores for eighth-grade reading and math. When separated and measured as if they were their own state, Arizona charter students rank first in the nation in eighth-grade math, and second for eighth-grade reading.

“These results reinforce what thousands of Arizona parents, families, educators and school choice champions have known for years: when it comes to academic performance, Arizona’s public charter school students are setting the pace,” said Eileen B. Sigmund, Arizona Charter Schools Association President and CEO.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nations Report Card, is the only national look at academic achievement across states.

“While there will always be room for improvement when it comes to educating our students, these NAEP scores are further validation that Arizona charter schools are raising the bar and improving public education statewide,” said Sigmund.

Read more HERE.

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