Both the House & Senate will be back in session for a couple days or so this week. Two important bills will be debated in the Committees of the Whole this week. Both may roll over to Third Read votes (final floor voting).
The House is considering SB1710 – an effort to correct the governance flaw at our Arizona State Hospital. Since 1974 ADHS has been responsible for both running & regulating ASH, obviously a conflict-of-interest reminiscent of the old saying: “The fox is watching the henhouse.”
Under some ADHS directors the system worked OK and ADHS’ licensing division did an honest job regulating ASH.
However, as we observed during the Ducey administration, sometimes that’s not the case and the lack of independent regulation & oversight results in unchecked substandard care because ADHS leadership (the Director) soft-pedals regulatory oversight to give the appearance that the facilities are providing care that meets standards to ‘keep things quiet’.
See: Fixing the Governance Flaw at Our Arizona State Hospital: A Primer
SB1710 would provide checks and balances in the system by having the Superintendent of ASH report to an independent 5-member Board beginning 1/1/25. The ADHS licensing division would then be able to regulate the hospitals without a conflict of interest – reducing the chances that what happened during the Ducey administration would be repeated. See: SB1710 Fact Sheet
Senate COW will debate HCR2039 – a resolution that would limit all emergency declarations to just 30 days. The legislature would need to approve 30-day extensions.
Because this would change the constitution, it would need to be approved by the voters. If it passes the Senate this week, it’ll go directly to the 2024 ballot. If the voters end up approving it, the Recovery phase of emergencies would evaporate.