Arizona Disability Policy Update - March 2024

Welcome to March - we hope everyone had a great St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, the anniversary of the “Apostle of Ireland’s” death in the fifth century. In the United States, the holiday is typically used to celebrate an individual’s Irish heritage and eat Irish bacon (commonly known as corned beef) and cabbage. March also means that March Madness is upon us! Congratulations to the University of Arizona Wildcats and the Grand Canyon University Antelopes, both of whom made the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

A slow start

And, of course, March means the Arizona Legislature is still in session. This legislative session has not seen a lot of movement so far, with only nine bills passed, six bills signed, and two bills vetoed – an incredibly low number with more than 70 days gone in the session. If a university from Arizona wants to win the Tournament, they’re going to need a lot more ball movement than that.

One of the bills recently vetoed was disability-related HB 2570, a bill that prevents cities from interfering with a home buyer’s right to choose features that influence how to build their house. This bill wasn’t necessarily drafted with the disability community in mind, yet it had the potential to achieve the goals of local accessible housing advocates. A key disability-related bill that is still alive for the moment is education-focused SB 1463 - you can check out our legislative fact sheet for this bill while it’s still alive.

Other disability-related bills we’re tracking in Spring 2024:

HB 2547 - voting centers ban; precinct size: Bans voting centers in Arizona, requires in-person voting to be precinct-based, and limits each precinct to a maximum of 1,000 registered voters.

HB 2400 - school safety program; proposals: Makes several modifications to the School Safety Program, including expanding the costs supported by the Program and establishing a process for alternative Program proposals. Exempts school building blueprints and floor plans from public records.

SB 1311 - mental health; oversight; data; documentation: Declares the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) the agency responsible for monitoring, overseeing, and evaluating state agencies that provide mental health services.

That’s all for this update. Enjoy March Madness!