Below are two articles that were published on June 2 and June 13 in the Arizona Republic. The second corrects errors in the original–something I work hard to avoid and will endeavor not to repeat in future columns.
Published June 13, 2007 in East Valley Opinions of the Arizona Republic as “Obituary for a Dead Bill Should be Posted on the Internet”
I need to apologize to readers and Rep. Andy Biggs for unintentionally improperly impugning him by saying he tried to kill ignition interlock devices for those convicted of DUI in a prior column.
While it’s true that David Schapira’s ignition interlock bill HB2730 was refused a hearing by Rep. Biggs, Biggs was quite supportive of the concept and has told me he was working on a different version sponsored by Sen. Linda Gray. After Rep. Schapira added his bill to Sen. Waring’s extreme DUI bill, Rep. Biggs was very helpful according to Schapira and Waring.
I phoned Rep. Biggs while working on the column to ascertain why HB2730 didn’t receive a hearing, and when that phone call wasn’t returned I made an erroneous judgment. I should have checked with the bill’s sponsor to verify.
Sen. Gray told me legislators are busy people who don’t always have time to return phone calls. I understand that, though an assistant could relay a message.
But there’s a better idea.
Put the reason for no hearing on line. We have one of the nation’s best legislative web sites–the Arizona Legislative Information System. Most bills die mysterious deaths at the hands of committee chairs; the electorate ought to know why. Read the rest of this entry »