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The Arizona Catholic Conference (ACC) is the public policy agency for the Diocese of Gallup, the Diocese of Phoenix, and the Diocese of Tucson.

Arizona Catholic Conference Legislative Update

From Ron Johnson, executive director

Popular programs aimed at promoting abstinence until marriage received great news today when Governor Jan Brewer announced that she was going to restore the federal dollars previously received but turned down by Governor Napolitano for these purposes!

While the future of federal abstinence until marriage funding remains very uncertain in the current Congress, Governor Brewer’s action should ensure that these cost effective programs will continue to operate in Arizona for at least another year.

As if this was not good enough news, Governor Brewer announced yesterday that she was also ordering $771,000 in emergency funding to homeless shelters around the state, including assistance to Catholic Charities in Prescott. There are still significant concerns regarding the fate of social services in the FY 2010 budget, but the ACC welcomes this good news.

While most of the work at the Capitol continues to focus on the tremendous budget crisis facing our State, last week the House of Representatives tentatively approved a bill (HB 2287) that would allow payroll deductions for those making charitable donations through either the tuition tax credit or charitable organization tax credit programs. HB 2287 still awaits a final vote in the House before moving to the Senate.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that an effort was briefly under way recently to eliminate the charitable organization tax credit benefiting the working poor. After discussions with key legislators, however, this effort was quickly abandoned.

At this point in the session, the House is now finished hearing its own bills in committee and has passed a select few all the way through its chamber and onto the Senate. The Senate, meanwhile, continues to refuse to hear any bills unrelated to the budget in committee until the FY 2010 budget is passed.

The delay in the Senate means that the Abortion Consent Act (HB 2564) along with the state ban on partial birth abortions (HB 2400), the streamlining of the charitable organization tax credit (HB 2286), and the removal of the sunset provision on the scholarship (corporate) tuition tax credit (HB 2288) are all the way through the House and waiting for the Senate to take action. It also means that the large number of Senate bills targeted at immigrants have not moved.