Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a motion in Pima County Wednesday, which seeks to lift a 50-year-old injunction that puts Arizona’s law banning abortions on hold following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision.
“We believe this is the best and most accurate state of the law,” Brnovich said in a press release. “We know this is an important issue to so many Arizonans, and our hope is that the court will provide clarity and uniformity for our state.”
Read the full story
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) granted Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s (R) request that pro-life law Senate Bill (SB) 1457 go into effect during litigation.
“I am pleased with today’s ruling and proud to defend Arizona’s law that protects the unborn,” Brnovich said. “The best of any society can be seen in how it treats its most vulnerable.”
Read the full story
Mayors in two prominent cities in Arizona have signaled that they will not follow the state abortion laws after last week’s Supreme Court reversal of Roe V. Wade.
“I am deeply disappointed by today’s Supreme Court decision,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (D). “Phoenix is a pro-choice city. A majority of the city council and I have no interest in using city resources to prevent women from accessing health care.”
Read the full story
A Republican State Senator fired back at the city of Tucson, whose Democrat leaders Tuesday passed a resolution saying the city will not enforce the state’s new ban on abortion after 15 weeks of gestation.
“This resolution is meaningless. The City of Tucson does not have the legal authority to block a state law regarding abortion, which is of statewide concern and subject to the sole jurisdiction of the State Legislature. Cities cannot decide the legality of any state law for that matter,” State Sen. Nancy Barto (R-District 15) told The Arizona Sun Times. “That’s outside the scope of their authority. The City of Tucson will be in the position of losing state shared revenues if they persist in this action. We’ve reached out to the Attorney General’s office for comment on this blatant disregard for law and overreach in regulating health professionals that have to comply with our state laws.”
Read the full story
The lone Democratic candidate for Arizona attorney general on Friday said she would not follow the state’s abortion laws if elected.
“I am the only candidate running for Arizona attorney general who is saying, even when Roe falls – and it’s probably going to fall this summer – we will not prosecute women or doctors in the state of Arizona for seeking an abortion or providing an abortion,” said Kris Mayes on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.
Read the full story
An abortion rights group filed a long-shot initiative for the Arizona November ballot.
“Women in Arizona, they don’t have two years to wait,” said Shasta McManus, treasurer of Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom, the group that wants to add an amendment to the Arizona Constitution to protect reproductive rights and prohibit any state or political restriction on those seeking abortions or physicians performing abortions.
Read the full story
Governor Ralph Northam signed a ban on executive branch state agencies using single-use plastics. On Tuesday, he announced Executive Order 77 at the Environment Virginia Symposium held at Virginia Military Institute. He also announced the signing of Delegate Betsy Carr’s (D-Richmond) food vendor Styrofoam ban bill.
Read the full story
The General Assembly passed a polystyrene (Styrofoam) ban for serving food in restaurants and similar vendors in Virginia. The bill, passed on Wednesday, will first take effect in July 2023 to large vendors with more than 20 locations; in July 2025, it will apply to all vendors, although vendors can apply for temporary exemptions to their localities. Violation can result in a $50 per day fine.
Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) pushed HB 1902 in the Senate as a compromise to allow the House of Delegates to pass a bill adjusting regulation of new recycling technology. Republicans opposed the polystyrene ban, saying it would harm small businesses, but supported Senator Emmet Hanger’s (R-Augusta) advanced recycling regulation bill.
Read the full story