Governor Ducey Signs Bill Expanding ASDB Early Childhood Program

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey today signed HB 2022, to expand the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB) early childhood program by providing $2,070,000 in funding. Funding will be used to hire teachers that will travel to and from students’ homes to provide early intervention and skills development education to children who are deaf or hard of hearing and/or visually impaired. These early interactions and assessments will allow for a smoother and more successful transition into ASDB-preschool.

Governor Ducey Signs Bill Promoting American Civics Education

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1444, further establishing Arizona as a national leader in promoting civics education by creating the American Civics Education Pilot Program for grades 9-12. Students in the program will take at least one semester of an American civics course and take an assessment at the end.

Former Chief Financial Officer for Scottsdale Unified School District Indicted

Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted 61-year-old Laura Tenison Smith, the former chief financial officer for Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD), for allegedly breaking the state’s conflict of interest laws. Smith is facing 11 felony charges, including 2 counts of Fraudulent Schemes and Practices and 8 counts of Conflict of Interest.

Governor Ducey Signs Bill Allowing Industrial Hemp

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey, Monday signed SB 1098, providing funding for the Arizona Department of Agriculture’s (AZDA) agricultural pilot program allowing universities and those with a license from AZDA to begin cultivating industrial hemp - the fiber form of cannabis. Specifically, the hemp would be required to remain below 0.3 percent THC.

$340,000 Fine Against Desert Valley Aire for Illegal Telemarketing Calls

Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Desert Valley Aire Inc. will pay $340,000 in civil fines for repeatedly calling Arizonans on the “Do Not Call” Registry. In a consent judgment reached with the Attorney General’s Office, Desert Valley Aire admitted to making at least 25,000 illegal telemarketing calls from 2011 to 2015. The company is also banned from making telemarketing calls for 5 years.