John --

Good morning! Welcome to another edition of my work from home updates as our legislative session is still in recess. My best to you and your families, and I hope you are staying safe and healthy during these difficult times.

I recorded our weekly video update this morning – you can watch the video on my Facebook page here.

Using data from the Arizona Department of Health Services, we are continuing to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases here in our community. Below are the updated numbers, as of yesterday, for cases in the zip codes of Legislative District 18, along with the change in case numbers compared to last Monday:

85044: 21 (+5)

85045: 6-10 (+0)

85048: 25 (-1)

85202: 94 (+13)

85210: 20 (+4)

85224: 72 (+10)

85226: 19 (+2)

85282: 35 (+9)

85283: 36 (+16)

85284: 6-10 (+0)

An important point about 85202 and 85224 here: 85202 in Mesa is where Banner Desert is located, and 85224 in Chandler is where Dignity Chandler Regional is located. From what I’ve heard, for cases where the hospital does not have zip code data for the patient, the number is attached to the hospital where they are being treated, so that’s one reason why numbers are so high in those zip codes.

And keep in mind that these numbers are obviously just for *known* cases, so more testing is critically important as we continue to receive more data about the severity of the crisis.

As far as an update on the legislative session goes, last week was a particularly wild one. There have been a lot of rumors and speculation in recent weeks about when our legislative session will re-convene, and when we do return, what that would look like. Would we return like everything was normal again, and just start holding committee hearings and floor sessions? Or would our return be more limited to votes on bills that were already ready for the floor? Or would we return at all?

Early last week, it was reported that the Senate President and House Speaker agreed for us to reconvene on Friday, May 1^st, where we would then quickly adjourn the legislative session. A quorum of 16 Senators and 31 Representatives in person would be required to re-convene and then adjourn. The thinking was that the legislature would return later in the year, possibly this summer, for a special session devoted entirely to the budget and any additional COVID-19 relief measures if needed.

However, 24 hours later, the president and the speaker announced that there was no longer a deal in place to adjourn on May 1^st. A small faction of House members in the majority party resisted, and the leadership pulled the plug. Why did they resist adjourning the legislative session, you ask?

Well, when you adjourn the legislative session, that means that all bills that have not fully passed the legislative process and been sent to the governor die. In a normal year, the legislature passes around 400 bills. This year, that number is fewer than 60, because of the timing of this crisis and when our session went into recess. That means there are a lot of bills two thirds or three fourths of the way through the process, and still need a committee hearing in one chamber or a final floor vote in the other.

Naturally, members in the majority are more upset about this, because they have more bills moving through the process. Of course, I would categorize some of those as *bad bills*, but there are quite a few good ones as well, including FOUR of my own bills that unanimously passed the Senate and are now stuck in the House, either waiting a committee hearing or ready for floor debate and votes.

From conversations with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I can tell you that the vast majority of us prefer to adjourn the legislative session later this week or whenever we reconvene. Many of us have bills that are really important to us, and that we have worked really hard on. Few of these bills are time sensitive, however, and the vast majority can always be run next year, either by us or other members of the legislature. Public safety, and public health, needs to come first.

This became even more important last week with the news that one of my colleagues, and mentors, Senator Lupe Contreras, had tested positive for coronavirus. Not only him, but also his wife, mother, dad, sister, and other family members had tested positive as well. We had known about his positive test about a week before he announced it publicly, and it has had a profound impact on our caucus family as we continue to assess when the right time is to reconvene our legislative session.

Thankfully, Senator Contreras is feeling better, and we are still praying for him and his family. Any conversation about when we do return to the capitol needs to be centered on public safety and public health.

Lastly, for the first time in over a month, I will be participating in two committee hearings this Wednesday, but they will be held virtually. I am a member of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) and the Joint Committee on Capital Review (JCCR), and we are required to meet once every quarter to go over budget items and approve capital projects for state agencies and our state universities. This Wednesday’s hearings are pretty minor in scope, but it will be the first official committee action since our legislative session recessed last month.

Finally, please continue to reach out if I can be helpful with any state or federal resources you are trying to access, like small business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), or unemployment benefits here at the state level.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A reminder that the state’s one stop shop for relief measures, including information about unemployment benefits, housing assistance, Medicaid, and more, can be found at: https://arizonatogether.org

The Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) website has a site that is being updated daily with information on the number of cases, including by ZIP code: https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/index.php

The Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), which covers SNAP benefits, unemployment benefits, and other forms of economic assistance, has a resource page here: https://des.az.gov/services/coronavirus

If you or someone you know needs assistance from a local food bank, you can find a directory of resources here: https://www.azfoodbanks.org/index.php/foodbank/

Our Arizona 211 hotline is back up and running and is a great resource. https://211arizona.org/

Another plug for the importance of mental health and taking some personal time: now that the weather is getting hotter (we were really overdue for the 100 degree temperatures, unfortunately), I’ve found early morning walks and hikes to be refreshing and very much needed before I begin my work day. For those of you who can do so, I really recommend it.

And a reminder to reach out to loved ones and friends, especially those who live alone or who are isolated from human contact. This crisis has been difficult on everybody, but especially those who don’t have loved ones by their side. Calls, text messages, and video calls mean a lot!

As always, please reach out to me directly if I can be helpful with anything, or if you have any questions about the state’s response moving forward. You can also check my social media feeds for more regular updates.

We are all in this together. Please stay safe, and take care.

Sean

http://www.seanbowieforaz.com/