January 29, 2021

Senate takes 1st step to trim governor's emergency powers

State lawmakers took the first steps Monday to trim the powers of the governor — this one and all successors — to enact and enforce unlimited emergency orders.

On a party-line vote, members of the Republican-Senate Government Committee approved several measures to require governors to get legislative approval once they declare an emergency. In each case, the failure of lawmakers to ratify the action within a certain number of days would end the emergency powers.

“Our government isn’t set up as a monarchy,” complained Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa. “We are not subordinate to the executive branch.”

Townsend said she believes that Gov. Doug Ducey overreacted with the restrictions he put in place last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/01/25/senate-takes-1st-step-to-trim-governors-emergency-powers/

January 29, 2021

GOP bill would allow lawmakers to override electoral votes

By: Nathan Brown, Arizona Capitol Times January 28, 2021

The chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill January 27 that would allow the Legislature to override the secretary of state’s certification of the state’s electoral votes.

https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/01/28/gop-bill-would-allow-lawmakers-to-override-electoral-votes/

This article is behind a firewall and I could find no further mention of the bill when I searched. I'm posting this article so that possibly someone can elaborate on the details.

January 29, 2021

Judge denies AG's demand for summary judgment in Google fraud case

An Arizona judge rejected a request from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich for a partial judgment in an ongoing consumer fraud lawsuit against Google, ruling that the state did not have sufficient evidence.

Instead, the case should move forward with jurors, the judge wrote.

Last May, Brnovich filed a heavily redacted lawsuit alleging that Google’s data-collection processes had violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act. What has followed has been a legal battle over the release of records related to the case.

The Attorney General’s Office began investigating Google after an Associated Press article in 2018, and Brnovich has been part of a 48 state antitrust investigation into Google since 2019. Brnovich was also critical of Google at the recent annual meeting of the Arizona Republican Party.

“There are a myriad of factual issues that must be resolved at trial,” Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason said in his ruling.

Read more: https://www.azmirror.com/2021/01/26/judge-denies-ags-demand-for-summary-judgment-in-google-fraud-case/

January 29, 2021

Maricopa County supervisors order election audit in response to allegations

Rampant but baseless allegations of fraud and misconduct in the 2020 general election prompted the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to order an audit of equipment used to tally the November vote, a move the supervisors hope will instill confidence in an election that some Republicans have spent more than two months undermining.

But already a top legislative Republican said the county’s planned audit is insufficient.

The audit will determine whether Maricopa County’s ballot tabulation machines have been hacked in any way or if any malicious software has been installed in them. It will investigate whether the machines were connected to the internet at any point during the 2020 election — something election officials have repeatedly said did not happen — and that no votes were switched. And it will ensure that the machines, which Maricopa County leased in 2019, were acquired through a proper procurement process.

Allegations of fraud began swirling around Maricopa County within days of the Nov. 3 election, as President Donald Trump and many of his supporters began spreading false and baseless claims about rigging and vote switching. Many of those allegations focused on Dominion Voting Systems, which provides the ballot counting machines used by Maricopa County and many counties in other swing states that, like Arizona, voted for Joe Biden in the presidential race.

Read more: https://www.azmirror.com/2021/01/27/maricopa-county-supervisors-order-election-audit-in-response-to-allegations/

January 29, 2021

Despite pandemic's toll, GOP lawmakers want more tax cuts in governor's budget

PHOENIX — Senate Republicans have a message to Gov. Doug Ducey about his plan for tax cuts.

We’ll see your $200 million in proposed cuts for this coming budget year and raise you another $250 million.

Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, told Capitol Media Services that revenues are running far ahead of anticipated expenses. In fact, legislative budget staffers anticipate what they believe will be a $2 billion surplus for the new fiscal year that begins July 1, even on top of Ducey’s $12.6 billion spending plan.

So the GOP caucus figures the state can provide even more tax relief than the governor believes is appropriate.

Read more: https://tucson.com/news/arizona_news/despite-pandemics-toll-gop-lawmakers-want-more-tax-cuts-in-governors-budget/article_c158f173-c81f-5216-b4cf-ec8ea3d923a2.html

January 29, 2021

Arizona lawmakers advance bill targeting gross online food challenges

PHOENIX — Doing something gross with food that isn’t yours in hopes of getting social media hits could soon land you behind bars.

With only one dissenting vote, the Senate Commerce Committee voted Wednesday to make it a crime to intentionally contaminate food, drink, water or other products intended for consumption by another person.

Just the act itself would be a Class 2 misdemeanor, carrying up to four months in jail and a $750 fine.

But if someone else actually eats or drinks the product, the offenders are looking at up to six months in jail and up to $2,500 in financial penalties. And that same law would apply if the damage is more than $1,000, whether in food that needs to be tossed or loss of business for an establishment.

Read more: https://tucson.com/news/state-and-regional/arizona-lawmakers-advance-bill-targeting-gross-online-food-challenges/article_b05ca5a4-d2c0-50a5-8a52-8af3a922e390.html

January 29, 2021

The Riemann Hypothesis, Explained

The Riemann hypothesis is the most notorious unsolved problem in all of mathematics. Ever since it was first proposed by Bernhard Riemann in 1859, the conjecture has maintained the status of the "Holy Grail" of mathematics. In fact, the person who solves it will win a $1 million prize from the Clay Institute of Mathematics. So, what is the Riemann hypothesis? Why is it so important? What can it tell us about the chaotic universe of prime numbers? And why is its proof so elusive? Alex Kontorovich, professor of mathematics at Rutgers University, breaks it all down in this comprehensive explainer.

The Riemann hypothesis is also discussed along with a mixture of European history in the book Prime Obsession (2003) by John Derbyshire, the British-born American paleoconservative political commentator, writer, journalist and computer programmer.

January 29, 2021

Cuellar: Negotiations with landowners for border wall land paused

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, says real estate acquisition activities such as surveys and negotiations with landowners have been placed on hold.

On Thursday, Cuellar said in a news release he received notification that in connection with President Biden’s executive orders, U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent notice to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pause negotiations for acquiring land for border wall construction.

The congressman said he would work with the Department of Justice to ensure that any activities associated with “pending court proceedings are terminated and the civil actions are ultimately dismissed.”

“In efforts to fulfill the former president’s campaign promise, the Trump administration went to great lengths to seize private land from farmers and ranchers to build a wasteful, ineffective border wall,” Cuellar said in the release. “I want to thank the Biden administration for continuing to fulfill their pledge to stop wall construction on the southern border. As the Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, I will continue to fight for the rights of border residents, many of whom have passed down their land for generations.”

Read more: https://myrgv.com/local-news/2021/01/28/cuellar-negotiations-with-landowners-for-border-wall-land-paused/
(Brownsville Herald)

January 29, 2021

Baylor Scott & White to lay off, retrain 1,700 employees across Texas

Baylor Scott & White Health announced it will be outsourcing and retraining 1,700 employees — the system’s third such jobs announcement since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company — the state’s largest not-for-profit hospital system — will transition about two-thirds of the employees to new jobs, with the rest of the positions being eliminated. The goal of the restructuring will be an attempt to focus on the company’s core health care business.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the health care provider expects that the move will help it save $600 million over the next five years, investing the savings into front-line health initiatives.

Baylor Scott & White told employees the move would not involve front-line health workers, and those whose jobs were cut will be invited to participate in retraining programs.

Read more: https://kdhnews.com/news/region/baylor-scott-white-to-lay-off-retrain-1-700-employees-across-texas/article_f795a4d3-af48-5230-bb07-ffadd4bbafc3.html
(Killeen Daily Herald)

January 29, 2021

Kansas lawmakers put anti-abortion measure on 2022 ballot

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators on Thursday put a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution on the ballot for the state’s August 2022 primary election, hoping voters ensure that lawmakers can keep imposing restrictions in line with anti-abortion groups' wishes.

The Senate approved, 28-11, a measure that overturns a Kansas Supreme Court decision in 2019 that declared access to abortion a “fundamental right” under the state's bill of rights. Supporters had one vote more than the two-thirds majority necessary for approval of a proposed constitutional change.

The House approved the same measure last week with only Republican members' support, and the same was true Thursday in the Senate. Approval by a simple majority of voters would change the Kansas Constitution, and the primary generally draws smaller and more conservative group of voters than a November general election.

The measure would add language to the state constitution declaring that it doesn't grant the right to abortion and that the Legislature can regulate it in line with U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The measure would not ban abortion, but it would allow lawmakers to enact a ban if the nation’s highest court were to overturn its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision protecting abortion rights.

Read more: https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Kansas-debates-whether-abortion-measure-would-15906149.php
(Laredo Morning Times)