What the heck happened to kill the AZ State Bar reform bill in the Senate??!!!!

DEAR COLLEAGUES:

Thank you for answering the bell and responding with your strong efforts to get HB2295 heard in Senator Debbie Lesko's Appropriations Committee. Unfortunately, Senator Lesko chose not to hear the bill in her committee.

HB 2295 was originally assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 28, 2017 but inexplicably, Judiciary Chair Sen. Judy Burges never put the bill on the committee agenda, despite sponsor Rep. Anthony Kern's urging to hear the bill.

Therefore, a hearing in Senate Appropriations was the final opportunity to have the bill heard and passed so it could reach the floor for a vote. Without any committee hearing, this means state bar reform has ended this legislative -- without either a hearing or a vote in the Arizona Senate.

Although we were confident HB2295 would get out of committee, make no mistake; the final floor vote in the Senate would have been difficult with the opportunity margin even narrower than last year. Just the same, we were ready to fight for every vote.

Although disappointing, do not be deterred or defeated. Each session, further incremental progress is made. This was never a one, two or three session campaign. Change of this kind is never easy, especially when the opposing forces are so well-entrenched.

With the addition of two new staunch pro-reform Arizona lawyer lawmakers, Rep. Maria Syms and Rep. David Stringer in the Arizona House, the prospects for the future are still bright. Stay the course. Rep. Anthony Kern remains committed to keep championing our fight. We can do it. We will do it.

SUPREME COURT RULE AMENDMENT PETITION TO REFORM STATE BAR.  

THE WORK TO REFORM THE STATE BAR OF ARIZONA WAS NOT LIMITED SOLELY TO THE ARIZONA LEGISLATURE THIS YEAR.

THERE IS A PENDING RULE AMENDMENT PETITION BEFORE THE ARIZONA SUPREME COURT THAT CLOSELY MODELS HB2295.

THE PROPOSED RULE CHANGE WOULD AMEND RULES 32(C) AND (D), RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT, TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT MANDATORY MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT FOR ALL LAWYERS BUT (1) ELIMINATE MANDATORY MEMBERSHIP DUES FOR NON-REGULATORY FUNCTIONS AND (2) ALLOW VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR ALL NON-REGULATORY FUNCTIONS. IT WAS FILED JAN. 10, 2017 AND COMMENTS ARE DUE BY MAY 22, 2017. 

GO TO http://www.azcourts.gov/Rules-Forum/aft/681 AND REGISTER YOUR COMMENTS FOR R-17-0022 Petition to Amend Rules 32(c) and (d), Rules of the Supreme Court.

STOP THE PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE TERM LIMITS FOR MEMBERS OF ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE PROBABLE CAUSE COMMITTEE.  

On January 6, 2017, Arizona Supreme Court Petition R-17-0005 was filed by the Certification and Licensing Division to amend Rule 50(b), Rules of the Supreme Court, to remove the two (2) consecutive three-year limitation on the appointment of members to the Attorney Discipline Probable Cause Committee.

This means existing members could remain entrenched without limitation -- a dangerous prospect for fairness; a recipe for habituated prosecutorial zealotry; and the alarming promise of institutionalized groupthink.

GO TO http://www.azcourts.gov/Rules-Forum/aft/664 AND REGISTER YOUR COMMENTS AGAINST R-17-0005 Petition to Amend Rules 50(b), Rules of the Supreme Court. COMMENTS ARE DUE BY MAY 22, 2017. 
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For more information about our work, visit: http://workingforabetterbar.org/