The Arizona House made the New York Times on April 25, 2023, not because they crafted a bipartisan budget that fully funds education. No. Not because they voted to protect our ground water. No. Not because they repealed the horrific Flat Tax. No. The Arizona House made the news because there was a heated debate to over turn Governor Katie Hobbs’ veto of The Tamale Bill (HB 2509). Hobbs vetoed the bill over public health concerns. Unfortunately, the grandstanding on the Floor of the House focuses on politics not public health. I applaud the governor for her veto. Regulating food vendors to protect the food supply is an issue. E. coli and salmonella are dangers.
When Libertarian Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham proposed HB2509, he wasn’t trying to help street vendors who are illegally selling uninspected meat, poultry and dairy products. HB2509 is a broad expansion of the cottage foods bill passed in 2018. HB2509 is deregulation of food service to the point of being dangerous.
I applaud the governor for her veto. Regulating food vendors to protect the food supply is an issue.
Street food is fun and adventurous. Let’s make it safer. This video explains the current law and the changes that HB2509 would have put into place. HB2509 was a bad bill. It was NOT the solution. It is model legislation from Americans for Prosperity and the Institute for Justice.
The right wing libertarian aspect is fascinating to me. Not surprisingly some legislators did not do their homework as well as they did their heritage in their objections. Those old kochs really know how to use minority groups to hide their dastardly deeds.
Well, not too much research was required to see the Koch Libertarian connection. This bill in a more modest form was proposed in 2022 and sold as a way to help immigrant women from the middle east and Africa; that bill was also backed by Americans for Prosperity and some Democrats. One of my contacts at the capitol said HB 2509 had the “Nana veneer” since the beginning. It’s a brilliant marketing strategy, really, and it almost worked. If you think about it, if all the homemade foods people registered under HB2509, it would be easier to find the undocumented people selling homemade food illegally. HB2509 is somewhat of an immigration trap.