A bill is currently being discussed in the Senate that would not only impose dangerous alterations to over 85 years of labor law, but is also a series of reckless policies that would favor unions at the expense of employers and the economy. 

The proposal in question is the (S. 420/H.R. 842). Proponents of the PRO Act claim it would 鈥�,鈥� but a closer look at the proposed legislation illustrates it only ensnares employers in unrelated labor disputes and would severely damage Arizona workplaces and competitiveness.

Right-to-Work Elimination

A bipartisan research firm, recently conducted , and the results reveal serious concerns Americans have about the PRO Act.

Among the litany of bad ideas within this proposed legislation would be the effective repeal of right-to-work protections that currently exist in 28 states, including Arizona.These right-to-work laws provide assurances to employees that they do not have to pay labor union dues in order to keep their job. According to the poll, this specific issue alone was a serious concern for. Moreover,, 鈥渢hese results did not vary much based on party either: 68 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Independents, and 74 percent of Republicans said they had concerns over repealing right-to-work laws.鈥�

Currently, employees can elect not to join a labor union at their workplace — it is entirely their choice. The PRO Act would change that and allow unions to disregard established state law and collect dues from employees who have decided to opt out of a union. Additionally, in a state without right-to-work laws, an employer would more than likely be required by the labor contract to terminate an employee who refuses to pay union dues. This is why more and more states have adopted right-to-work laws.

鈥淚f the PRO Act were to pass, it would do tremendous damage to Arizona鈥檚 workplaces and its overall competitiveness,鈥� said David Martin, President of the Arizona chapter of the Associated General Contractors in a 探花精选 article last month. 鈥淲e鈥檙e so fortunate to have a right-to-work law in Arizona that ensures that the decision whether to join a labor union is left up to the employee. Our workplaces are largely free of hostility and intimidation. We want to keep it that way.鈥�

Revival of the card check, eliminating secret ballots

The PRO Act will also undermine the use of secret ballot elections. Instead, allowing labor unions to use a 鈥渃ard check鈥� where workers would sign a card to authorize a union rather than privately voting a ballot. These secret ballot elections, which are overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, provide protections to workers from coercion and/or intimidation by either the labor union or the employer.

According to the poll, this specific issue alone was a serious concern for. Moreover,, 鈥渢hese results did not vary much based on party either: 68 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Independents, and 74 percent of Republicans said they had concerns over repealing right-to-work laws.鈥�

The potential for union organizers to abuse this information in order to pressure workers is concerning. Workers could become subject to coercion and intimidation within their workplace, home, and out with their family. It鈥檚 not clear how this 鈥渓evels the playing field and brings more fairness to working Americans鈥�.

Economic Impact

Some might not oppose this proposed act at first glance, but many American workers would reconsider if they knew long term it would hurt their jobs and their wallet.

Unions鈥� demands for mandated wage packages and stringent staffing rules would effectively kneecap the competitiveness of American companies.

This fact is a large reason unionization rates in the country have., 鈥淭he number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, at 14.3 million in 2020, was down by 321,000, or 2.2 percent, from 2019.鈥�

If the PRO Act really were pro-worker, more Americans might support it. But the recent polling data is revealing. American workers don鈥檛 want dollars from their paychecks diverted to labor unions, and they don鈥檛 want to stifle job growth, especially in a post-pandemic economy. Let鈥檚 hope Arizona Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly and the rest of the Senate are paying attention. For more information on the PRO Act click .

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As Arizona recovers from the pandemic, thousands of employers are ramping up hiring across the state and job growth is projected to remain steady for years to come. A new report projects more than a half million new jobs by 2029.   

Some sectors, however, are finding it challenging to fill jobs right now. As of March, there were 160,000 to 180,000 jobs open across the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But unemployment is 6.7 percent, above the national average of 6.2 percent.聽

To address the dilemma, Ducey announced he is ending the use of federal relief money for extra unemployment payments on July 10. Instead, the money will be used for the new incentives.  

鈥淚n Arizona, we鈥檙e going to use federal money to encourage people to work instead of paying people not to work,鈥� Ducey said last week.

Federal relief dollars will be used for the new 鈥淎rizona Back to Work鈥� program that will offer incentives to get workers back on the job and grants to help childcare providers retain employees.  

Here are the new 鈥淏ack-to-Work鈥� incentives 

Under the program, Arizona will offer one-time bonuses to returning workers, along with child care support, educational scholarships and rental assistance. 

Here鈥檚 a breakdown of the incentives:

Return-to-work bonuses

Arizona will set aside $300 million of federal resources to offer a one-time bonus of $2,000 to eligible individuals who return to the workforce and get a full-time job. Those who return part-time will receive $1,000. The bonus will be awarded when the individual has left the unemployment insurance program and completed at least 10 weeks of work with an employer. 

The program will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. In order to qualify for the bonus, an individual must have already filed for unemployment benefits. Arizonans filing for new unemployment benefits moving forward will not be eligible for return-to-work bonuses.

Education Incentives

Arizona will provide $7.5 million for community college scholarships for currently unemployed workers who are eligible for the return-to-work bonuses, as well as $6 million for GED test preparation and exam fees for eligible workers without a high school diploma.

Child care for returning workers

The state will provide three months of child care assistance for individuals with children who return to work after collecting unemployment benefits. To be eligible, an individual must have already filed for unemployment benefits and earn $25 per hour, equivalent to a yearly salary of $52,000, or less at their new job.

Housing Assistance

The Governor on May 5 announced significant new federal investment of $508.4 million aimed at addressing . The funds will assist renters, support homeowners experiencing financial hardship, and provide critical services to Arizonans experiencing homelessness or housing instability.

Funding assistance to recruit and retain child care employees

Additionally, Gov. Ducey and DES last week announced an additional for childcare providers across the state. With this funding, Arizona will have allocated a total of $88 million in Child Care and Development Fund relief funding for the child care network, providers and families since the beginning of the pandemic, as appropriated through the 2020 CARES Act.

The grant program provides immediate support to child care providers in hiring qualified staff and retaining existing staff. This grant program will help all regulated child care providers with recruitment and retention costs to support the child care workforce in Arizona. 

Child care centers and group homes must use grant funds for salaries and benefits for employees, and bonus incentives for hiring and retention.聽

Arizona聽projected to add more than half million jobs by 2029聽

Jobs are projected to continue to grow at a steady rate through 2029, according to a new report out of the Arizona , a division of the Arizona Commerce Authority responsible for economic forecasting. 

According to the OEO report, Arizona will add nearly 550,000 jobs from 2019 to 2029 for an annualized job growth rate of 1.6 percent, four times the U.S. growth rate.

Fastest growth projected for these sectors  

Sectors projected to see the highest gains in job creation include education and health services, construction and professional and business services, according to data compiled by the OEO. 

Arizona already is experiencing an explosion of advanced manufacturing in industries like semiconductors and electric vehicles. 

Last year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced the addition of 1,600 jobs and construction of a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Phoenix.

In March, Intel announced adding 3,000 jobs along with two new semiconductor fabs in Chandler. Intel鈥檚 $20 billion investment represents the largest private sector investment in state history.

Electric and alternative fuel vehicle companies like Lucid, Nikola, and ElectraMeccanica, which have manufacturing facilities in the state, are projected to add thousands of jobs in coming years. That means more jobs for suppliers and support industries as well.

鈥淎rizona has become a jobs magnet,鈥� Ducey said. 鈥淣ot only are jobs booming, wages are rising faster at one of the fastest rates in the country. Our recovery is moving forward and there is more opportunity before us than ever before.鈥�

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Arizona鈥檚 economy is rebounding from the pandemic, but uncertainty still looms as COVID-19 cases are rising and federal aid programs are about to disappear, one of the state鈥檚 leading economists said last week. 

For now, Arizona is seeing positive signs with continued population growth, employees returning to work and retail spending on the rise, said Lee McPheters, director of the at Arizona State University (ASU), who spoke during the 57th annual ASU/PNC Bank Economic Forecast Luncheon last week.  

Full recovery should come next year, but it will require more federal stimulus to help those still affected by the pandemic, said McPheters, the editor of the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast publications who also oversees the Job Growth USA website that tracks employment across states and metropolitan areas. 

Here are the key takeaways from the luncheon:

Jobs outlook 

Before Covid hit, Arizona ranked second in the country for jobs creation. The state has now recovered 66 percent of the jobs lost to the pandemic this year and is on track to add about 40,000 more — as long as there is an effective vaccine and additional federal stimulus.  

鈥淭hat will have the effect of propelling job growth in Arizona back up to around 4 percent,鈥� McPheters said.

Currently, Arizona is seeing some of the highest rates of job growth in the country in four sectors: transportation and warehousing; wholesale trade; professional, scientific and technical; and retail trade. Over the next year, the state is projected to see employment return to full force in 2021 as it adds 115,000 new jobs. 

Population, housing, spending up 

Other positive signs for recovery are the numbers of people continuing to move to Arizona, which is fueling the robust housing market. Projections are for another 100,000 residents to arrive in 2021. 

Consumer spending has now returned to January levels. Retail spending is up more than 17 percent.

Outsized negative impact on low wage earners, service industries

Those still in need of assistance are small businesses and lower wage workers. 

While high and mid-wage jobs have recovered to January levels, low wage jobs are down 20 percent. 

One of every four Arizona small businesses is now closed due to the pandemic. Restaurant spending is down 26 percent. Entertainment and airline sectors remain depressed.

And of the 285,000 unemployed in the state, they predominantly come from lower-wage industries, making recovery even more challenging for these displaced employees.

Federal assistance set to expire day after Christmas

Federal aid programs that have helped hundreds of thousands of citizens and small businesses in Arizona are set to expire on Dec. 26.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a serious issue as these policy programs wind down,鈥� McPheters said. 鈥淐onsumers saved quite a bit of money over 2020, but those savings are being exhausted and food insecurity is becoming a problem.鈥�

U.S. to see 鈥渧ery gradual鈥� economic recovery  

Stuart Hoffman, senior economic adviser for the PNC Financial Services Group, who also spoke at the event, predicts a very gradual economic recovery for the nation as a whole. 

The U.S. economy lost 22 million jobs with one out of every seven people becoming unemployed in March and April. About a half of those jobs have returned. 

But like Arizona, recovery will depend on federal aid and what happens with the vaccine, Hoffman said. 

鈥淚 want to emphasize that the strength and durability of any economic recovery depends on the path of the pandemic, which is getting much worse, and on the arrival of a vaccine, and of course vaccinations, consumer willingness to resume normal activities and an additional federal stimulus, which we think is absolutely necessary,鈥� he said.

About the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center

Established in 1986, the Economic Outlook Center informs individuals and corporations about the likely future course of business and economic events, thereby enhancing decision-making. Led by Lee McPheters, current offerings include:

• , providing consensus projections from leading economists about conditions in the twelve Western states
• , providing consensus projections from leading economists about conditions in the Metropolitan Phoenix area

for Arizona and Maricopa County.

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Arizona, like the nation as a whole, is experiencing an uneven recovery from the initial economic impacts of the pandemic. What that means is that some sectors of the economy have rebounded sharply, while others remain in freefall.

At this critical moment, pro-growth policies can help businesses recover and help get the unemployed back to work, but bad policy risks further decimating businesses and jobs. Arizona鈥檚 Proposition 208 is perhaps the most misguided policy on the ballot鈥攊n any state鈥攖his November.  

Small businesses are a critical source of jobs and a vital part of our economic ecosystem, serving as both suppliers and customers to larger organizations. In Arizona, small businesses employ  of Arizonans in the private sector. In certain sectors, small businesses have an even larger footprint. For example, small firms employ 82 percent of all Arizonans in the construction industry and 62 percent in real estate. They also employ 56 percent of those in food services and accommodation and over 50 percent in professional and business services.  

Some of those , particularly those that rely on customers gathering in-person, have yet to rebound from the pandemic-induced recession. One in five jobs in the accommodation and food services sector that existed in February, for example, are gone today. Moreover, nearly 30,000 professional and business services jobs have disappeared. For Arizona to recover, these small businesses must recover. 

At the same time, we need the small business employers that are doing well to continue growing. Earlier this year, Arizona was  fifth in the U.S. for small business employment growth. It is easy to see why when you consider that sectors like construction increased their employment by nearly 40 percent over the last five years.  

But Arizona鈥檚 pro-business environment, and the ability of these small businesses to recover and continue to grow, would be fundamentally threatened if Proposition 208 is passed.   

Proposition 208 would increase tax rates on small business that pay taxes through the personal income tax by an astonishing 78 percent. Proponents  that this will generate nearly $1 billion a year in new taxes to fund schools. But that money has to come from somewhere, and it is most likely going to mean less business investment and fewer new jobs. One conservative  places the job loss at 124,000. And let鈥檚 not forget, fewer Arizonans working means fewer paying normal income and sales taxes,  the state and local governments an estimated nearly $2.5 billion over the next decade. 

Even these stark estimates may not tell the full story. Over the past decade, Arizona鈥檚 strong economy and quality of life has  more than 2 million Americans who moved so that they could call Arizona home. Many came from states that punished small business owners with high tax rates. If Proposition 208 passes, Arizona will move from being a low-tax state to having one of the top-ten-highest tax rates in the nation, alongside the likes of California and New York. Passing Proposition 208 would be the equivalent of rolling up the proverbial welcome mat and closing the door on small business owners.

Proponents of Proposition 208 claim that these tax increases are necessary to ensure a quality education for Arizona students. But that is not true either. Since 2015, Arizona has invested an additional  in K-12 education. Teachers鈥� salaries have increased by an .  

Since 2000, Arizona has made considerable progress in  the number of students who are at or above proficiency in math and reading. There is more work to be done, but it will take smart targeted investments that help improve our school system and our economy.  

Proposition 208 isn鈥檛 smart or targeted, it will hurt Arizona鈥檚 economy and cost the state jobs when we need new job creation the most. It deserves to be defeated.  

Suzanne P. Clark is the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Glenn Hamer is president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

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Arizona state Rep. Jeff Weninger, who spends much of his time outside of session helping small business owners hurt by COVID-19, knows firsthand how rough the ride has been. 

Weninger co-owns two restaurant concepts in the Valley and watched revenues take a deep dive when the virus shut down much of the industry in March.聽聽

Suddenly, he was having sleepless nights trying to strategize how to stay open and keep his 60-plus employees on the job. In turn, as an incumbent running for reelection, he had to figure out how to campaign in a pandemic.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been tough to say the least and it鈥檚 been tough for all my fellow small business owners,鈥� said Weninger, who is running for re-election in Legislative District 17, which encompasses much of Chandler, parts of Gilbert and all of Sun Lakes. 鈥淏ut people in small businesses know how to adapt and pivot and make things happen quickly.

鈥淭hat can be an advantage because my business partner and I can make a decision in the morning and can change it in the afternoon. There鈥檚 not the whole bureaucracy.鈥�

Keeping loyal workers was critical to survival 

Weninger, who lives in Chandler with his wife and three kids, opened his first restaurant, Dilly鈥檚 Deli, in 1993 with his business partner, Shaun Kelley. It took the two men, their families and friends and 80 hours a week to make it a go.

Today, the original Dilly鈥檚 is still standing. Weninger and Kelley also now own and operate two other Dilly鈥檚 in the Valley and Floridino’s Pizza and Pasta in Chandler. 

A devoted customer base that took close to three decades to build has kept their four eateries standing, he said. 

While profit margins are below pre-COVID levels, not one employee lost their job.  

That was critical for the businesses鈥� survival, he said. Much of his staff consists of longtime, loyal workers. Without them, the operations would surely have suffered. 

鈥淚 know business owners who had no choice but to lay them off and then when they reopened, they had to train new employees,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to be in that situation because we have so many great employees that have been with us for years and years. I didn鈥檛 want them to go out and find new jobs and not come back.鈥�

Near the beginning of the pandemic, the two partners also managed to weather a six-day shutdown of Floridino鈥檚 when an employee came down with the virus.   

Technology, devoted customers keep eateries afloat 

Like other restaurants that are hanging on, they had to innovate to adapt their business model.

When the virus closed down indoor dining, they quickly shifted to takeout and curbside pickup. At Floridino鈥檚, they set aside 25 parking spaces for customer pickup, purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and put strict protocols in place for sanitizing.  

When indoor dining was reopened, they were fortunate to have a large banquet room so customers can be socially distanced. Technology also was purchased to make curbside pick-up more efficient. New Point of Sale (POS) electronic tablets have cut down wait staff鈥檚 trips in and out from three to two. 

Now, the majority of customers are in and out in less than five minutes, he said. 

鈥淲hen COVID goes away, that process is not going away. It鈥檚 going to be a new added revenue. If you can overperform with these new-found customers, then you鈥檙e adding to your customer base long term.鈥� 

Campaigning fully masked and social distancing 

Weninger, who first was elected to the Legislature in 2014, also served eight years on the Chandler City Council. 

Campaigning used to mean going door to door and attending indoor rallies. Now, it鈥檚 about literature drops and cautiously approaching potential voters — fully masked and from a distance — in public.   

Champion for education, healthcare, small business, industry 

Through it all, Weninger鈥檚 campaign message has been to grow the state鈥檚 economy with low taxes, limited regulatory red tape and a balanced budget.  

During his years at the Capitol, he has championed access to capital for small businesses, resources for the classroom, teacher pay raises, health insurance for patients with pre-existing conditions, resources for first responders, public safety and much more.  

Honored for work on behalf of business 

Weninger鈥檚 work in the Legislature on behalf of businesses and his constituents has won him numerous awards and honors. 

Last month he received two such honors. He is among 12 state legislators for bringing tech industries — and high paying jobs and innovation — to Arizona by the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority. 

He also was named one of this year鈥檚 鈥渂usiness champions鈥� by the East Valley Chambers of Commerce for supporting the organization and businesses 鈥�100 percent鈥� in the 2020 legislative session.     

Chambers across the state including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry are endorsing him for reelection. 

To read more about Weninger鈥檚 legislative accomplishments, visit:

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As wildfires flare across the West, Arizona鈥檚 congressional leaders are calling once again on the federal government to press forward on an ambitious plan to reduce forest fires in the state.

Sen. Martha McSally (R) and Rep. Tom O鈥橦alleran (D) led a bipartisan group of Arizona鈥檚 congressional members to send another request to the U.S. Forest Service to step up the pace on the second phase of a huge RFP. The is part of a public-private partnership called the Fourth Forest Initiative, or , whose goal is to restore 2.4 million acres in Northern Arizona.

McSally has sent similar requests for over a year. 

Forest officials said the delays are due to industry and partners鈥� requests to amend the RFP nine times to make it more attractive to potential bidders. 

Attracting investment proved challenging in the first, smaller, phase.  

While the changes added delays, they 鈥渄ramatically improved the request for proposals,鈥� said Jeremy Kruger, CEO of the 4FRI project for the Forest Service.

Time is running out聽聽

There is no more time to waste, McSally and the other congressional members said in a September 25 letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. 

鈥淚n Arizona this year, there have been more than 1,600 wildfires and more than 700,000 acres burned, which is more land burned than in 2018 and 2019 combined,鈥� they said. 鈥淓ntire communities, industries, and businesses across the state are waiting on the 4FRI project to move forward.鈥� 

Eight other members are signees: Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D) and Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D), Paul Gosar (R), Andy Biggs (R), David Schweikert (R), Ruben Gallego (D), Debbie Lesko (R), and Greg Stanton (D).

鈥淥riginally, Phase 2 was going to be awarded in December 2019.  We have learned that the earliest we may see an award is December 2020, but that this could slip into 2021,鈥� they said.

Long term contracts now available for companies聽

The RFP is one of the largest 鈥� if not the largest 鈥� stewardship contract ever for the agency. It鈥檚 also the first 20-year contract it has ever offered. 

It calls for awarding contracts to companies to mechanically thin 605,000 to 818,000 acres of forests in Northern Arizona. 

The Forest Service plans to spend $550 million over the next 20 years to work in four national forests: Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Kaibab and Tonto. Business and industry are needed to harvest, process, and sell wood products. 

The RFP will be available to both small and large reforestation businesses and seeks proposals that are 鈥渟ustainable, innovative, feasible, and cost-effective to increase the pace and the scale of forest restoration.鈥�

Biomass energy companies wanted聽

Biomass companies are included in the proposal. These are facilities that can burn woody forest debris 鈥� called biomass 鈥� and transform it into energy for the electric grid. Biomass energy produces significantly less emissions than traditional burning of debris or fossil fuels.  

As home to the largest contiguous tract of ponderosa pine forest in the world, Arizona is a prime location. But currently, there is only one biomass facility in the state, NovoBio in Snowflake. It鈥檚 not nearly enough.  

New bill adds incentives for business聽

To help encourage more interest from industry, McSally introduced a bill last month that would free up some of the regulatory barriers and reduce some costs. 

Called the Forest Health and Biomass Energy of 2020, it would advance forest restoration by incentivizing biomass energy development in fire-risk regions. 

鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges we鈥檝e had in forest restoration in Arizona is the crushing expense of removing low-value biomass like branches, slash, and undergrowth from the forest,鈥� McSally said during a hearing on the bill before the Senate Natural Resources Committee last month. 

The bill includes measures that would:

• Advance forest restoration and fire resilience by incentivizing biomass energy development as a method to reduce hazardous fuel build-up in fire-prone forests
• Direct the federal government to assess the biomass energy fuel potential in U.S. forests with a focus on identifying the most viable sources for energy use such as ladder fuels and by-products of forest restoration including branches, slash and other low-value biomass
• Establish a fund using a percentage of timber sale revenues to assist timber operators and biomass energy producers with the collection, harvesting and transportation of biomass material out of high hazard areas

Reforestation will brings jobs, tax revenue

Since 2010, the Forest Service and the other 4FRI stakeholders have spent more than $220 million in reforestation in the region. Over the past decade 4FRI has treated over 140,000 acres with mechanical treatments designed to restore forest health and reduce the likelihood of severe fires damaging key watersheds.

During the first phase,13,000 acres were thinned out, generating more than $150 million in economic development benefits including $50 million in labor income, Kruger said.

The second phase is expected to create hundreds of new jobs and tax revenue for rural communities in the region, partners in the project said. 

Public-private partnership to restore forests and watershed

The 4FRI project is unique in that it is the first collaborative effort of its kind. The Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Commerce Authority, Arizona Department of Forestry, Salt River Project, and private organizations are working as a team to protect Arizona citizens, structures, natural areas, streams and lakes from high intensity wildfires.

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Business groups across Arizona are opposing Proposition 208, saying the initiative, which seeks to tax certain earners to help fund education, would actually hurt small companies at a time when they are struggling during COVID-19 shutdowns. 

鈥淭his is really the wrong time to be even considering something like this,鈥� said Chad Heinrich, Arizona state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (), who has dubbed the proposition the 鈥渟mall business destruction act.鈥�

What many voters do not realize is that a large number of small businesses in Arizona file under the individual tax code, not as corporate filers, Heinrich said. If approved, those companies could end up slammed with nearly double the tax rate that big corporations pay.

One in five businesses may not survive pandemic

Small businesses already are struggling with thin margins and layoffs during COVID-19, said Jess Roman, CEO of the Arizona Small Business Association (). 

鈥淭here are so many things that small businesses are having to contend with. You鈥檙e working like hell to get through this (pandemic) and now you have this new potential cloud coming and you don鈥檛 know what the implications are,鈥� he said. 

His members understand the value of education but they feel they are being singled out to shoulder most of the costs, he said. Everyone needs to work together to find a more sensible solution. 

About one in five, or 21 percent, of small business owners report they will have to close their doors if current economic conditions do not improve over the next six months, according to a recent NFIB .

Proposition 208 would be a nail in the coffin for many, Heinrich said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not talking about big businesses here. We鈥檙e talking about mom and pop restaurants, small hotels, the local plumber. These businesses that are all being hit hard by COVID-19,鈥� Heinrich said.

If passed by voters, Proposition 208 would raise Arizona鈥檚 top income tax rate from 4.5 percent to 8 percent — a 77.7 percent increase — for individuals who earn over $250,000 and households that earn over $500,000. 

Small business advocates, chambers worried聽

Business advocacy groups and chambers of commerce across the Arizona are asking voters to votes 鈥渘o鈥� to the proposed mandate, including:

• Arizona Small Business Association
• Arizona Chapter of the Federation of Independent Business
• Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association 
• Arizona Manufacturers Council
• Southern Arizona Leadership Council
• Arizona Chapter of the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association 
• Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry
• Greater Phoenix Chamber

Reasons why small businesses oppose Prop. 208聽

Business groups cite a number of reasons why voters should say 鈥渘o鈥� to the ballot initiative:聽

1. The tax would hurt small businesses聽

Small businesses that are individually owned or have a small number of employees that file under the individual tax code could see their tax rate nearly double. That could cause a ripple effect, risking further damage to the state鈥檚 economy and jobs. 

Currently, 58 percent of Arizonans in the private sector work for a business that pays its income taxes via the individual income tax, according to a by the Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA) and research from the nonpartisan.

2. Proposition 208 does not adjust for inflation

Unlike current state and federal tax rules, the proposition fails to adjust for inflation, which could sweep more small businesses into higher tax brackets. 

鈥淲ithout an annual inflation adjustment, Proposition 208 goes from bad to worse,鈥� Heinrich said. 鈥淭his initiative should be known as 鈥楾he Small Business Destruction Act.鈥� Ten years from now, $250,000 won鈥檛 have the same buying power as it does today, yet more taxpayers will find themselves falling into Proposition 208鈥檚 new 8 percent income tax rate.鈥�

3. Voter initiatives are nearly impossible to amend聽聽聽

If Proposition 208 passes, it will be nearly impossible to alter, even in the case of some unintended negative consequence.

Once passed by voters, it takes a three-fourths vote by the state Legislature to change a voter initiative. Then, any changes made to the act must further its purpose, Heinrich said. So even if lawmakers had the votes to amend the law, it likely would result in costly court challenges. 

4. Undermines Arizona鈥檚 pro-business environment

Under the weight of this proposed tax increase, Proposition 208 would punish the enterprising small business owners who create thousands of jobs and power the Arizona economy, Roman said. 

鈥淒espite their claims to the contrary, Proposition 208鈥檚 authors demonstrate a shocking lack of understanding of how small business owners ensure sustained operations by reinvesting in their business and storing up working capital,鈥� he said.

Would hurt education, economy in the long run聽

Backers of the measure contend that the initiative would restore education funding. What they fail to disclose is that this would amount to 鈥渢he largest tax increase in Arizona history,鈥� said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.  

If passed, Arizona would be in the top 10 highest income tax states in the country, right up there with New York and California, Hamer said. 

鈥淟eft out of the script is that Proposition 208鈥檚 tax increase on small business would deliver such a shock to state revenues that future education funding would be put at tremendous risk. Also left out is that early childhood, community colleges, and universities are left with peanuts.鈥�

To read testimonials from others who oppose the initiative, including Governor Doug Ducey, go to: .

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While sectors of Arizona鈥檚 economy have suffered financial losses during the pandemic, the state is faring better than much of the nation, according to a leading economist. 

If Arizonans can stay masked, socially distanced and sanitized, it has a good chance for full recovery as soon as mid 2021, said the state鈥檚 heavyweight economic forecaster, George Hammond, a research professor and the director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge amount of uncertainty about how this is going to all play out and it’s connected to the outbreak and how the virus itself works,鈥� said Hammond, who has been local and state economies for more than two decades from his university office in Tucson.聽

Hammond issued his latest projections and talked about how the state has managed to weather the pandemic at a recent , entitled Economic Forecast: Covid 19 Impacts on Arizona鈥檚 economy, hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.聽聽

Arizona jobs鈥� picture better than nation

Among the reasons Arizona is hanging on are jobs and unemployment reports. 

In the early months of the pandemic, the nation saw 14.5 percent of jobs lost and has since recovered to 10 percent. Arizona鈥檚 is only 5 percent lower than where it was before the pandemic.

Arizona also has a slightly lower unemployment rate. In June, the rate was 10 percent compared with the nation鈥檚 11.1 percent.

Arizona鈥檚 healthier data is due in part to being one of the fastest growing in the country pre pandemic, and industries like construction and remote retail remain strong. Governor Doug Ducey鈥檚 early and gradual reopening of the economy also contributed to jobs and economic growth. 

Personal income bolstered by federal lifelines 

Personal income also got a boost from the bipartisan passed by the U.S. Congress in late March to help keep Americans and businesses afloat during the coronavirus shutdowns.聽

These lifeline programs have helped families pay their bills and put food on the table, Hammond said. 

In the first few months of the pandemic, CARE Act programs pumped more than $17 billion into the state鈥檚 economy including:

• Increased unemployment benefits: Unemployment compensation recipients in Arizona received an extra $600 tacked on to their weekly benefit of $240 for up to two months. That injected about $8.2 billion into the state, amounting to about 2.4 percent of the state鈥檚 total personal income last year.聽聽
• The federal Paycheck Protection Program: The program, which provides grants to small businesses to keep employees on the payroll and pay company operating expenses, injected $7 billion into the economy early in the pandemic, representing about 2.1 percent of personal income in 2019.聽
• Recovery rebates:聽 Rebates provided another $2 billion to citizens in the state.

鈥淪o somewhere north of 5 percent of Arizona鈥檚 personal income last year was injected into聽Arizona鈥檚 personal income in just a couple of months,鈥� Hammond said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 had a significant impact in our ability to deal with the pandemic so far.鈥�

Economic forecast for coming months聽

Hammond also laid out projections for an 鈥渁lphabet soup鈥� of pandemic recovery scenarios including:

• A 20 percent chance the state will see a rapid V-shaped recovery, where the economy will quickly bounce back from the downturn, then return to pre pandemic levels by early 2021.  
• A 30 percent chance for a W-shaped recovery — the worst case scenario — that would occur if there is a surge of the coronavirus combined with a virulent flu season, forcing the state back into a shutdown and economic distress. 
• A 50 percent likelihood for a 鈥淣ike Swoosh-shaped,鈥� or baseline, recovery where a bottoming out is followed by a steady and gradual rebound.

鈥淚f we can avoid a significant surge in the outbreak as we go through the fall and winter months, I think we鈥檒l continue on a gradual recovery trajectory like a Nike Swoosh type recovery, getting us back to where we were before the pandemic by mid 2021 or in the second half,鈥� Hammond said.

That will depend, of course, on the state鈥檚 ability to keep the virus in check.

鈥淲e are learning where the big risks are and what we can do to reduce those risks and what we can do ourselves to get control of the outbreak. The sooner we have control of the outbreak, the faster things will go back to normal.鈥�

To watch the webinar in its entirety, go to: Economic Forecast:

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Just months ago, Arizona was tops in job creation and business formation, driven by a decade of successful economic policy and capital investment that created new opportunities and bettered the lives of our residents. Today, many small businesses are on the brink of shuttering and families are fighting to stay afloat.  

Earlier this year business owners were afforded desperately needed federal assistance in the way of the Small Busines Administration鈥檚 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and grants. More than 80,000 Arizona businesses have received $8.5 billion in relief. Even if the program is extended, these businesses must remain viable in order to qualify for the loan forgiveness provisions that made the package helpful for protecting jobs.  

A big part of what that will require is liability reform. Just one lawsuit brought on by a COVID claim could wipe out any chance most businesses have for recovery.  

Americans want to return to work without the threat of an onslaught of frivolous lawsuits.鈥� But according to recent data, two-thirds of independent business owners and the barriers lawsuits might present to a full economic recovery. Dozens of this is a major issue.聽聽

Business owners by their very nature are creative thinkers, problem solvers and freedom lovers. In order to have a chance at real economic recovery, we don鈥檛 need government trying to do the job of the private sector. We need government to do its job to make sure the marketplace is fair and safe so America can get back to work.  

Reopening our economy will be a team sport. Employers need a clear roadmap as to what rules business must follow to mitigate risk. Consumers need direction in order to comply with those guidelines and protect themselves. Anyone acting in good faith to stop the spread of the virus and protect people in our communities as we work together to reopen deserves to be protected from opportunistic litigation. 

As Congress reconvenes, we are asking our leaders to support COVID-related liability reforms. Many states have already passed laws but there is no clear, cohesive universal standard. We need Congress to act to provide temporary and targeted relief from the threat of unwarranted legal action for hardworking Americans fighting to save their businesses, families and livelihoods.  

To be clear, we are not suggesting wholesale immunity from gross negligence or intentional acts on the part of business. What is needed is a legal safe harbor for those following current public health guidelines to the best of their ability.  

This is especially important in Arizona where small business represents more than 99% of all business in our state and about half of our state鈥檚 economic impact. More than one million Arizonans 鈥� over 40 percent 鈥� employed in the private workforce work for a small business.  

COVID liability reform is just as important for non-profits, government agencies, health care workers and educators. Health care workers want to focus on caring for patients and need their reserves for the herculean task of getting to the other side of this crisis. The strength, comfort and healing provided by churches and non-profits are needed now more than ever. Schools and colleges are eager to serve their students in the safest learning environment they can. They need to be able to direct dollars to modify classrooms, not pay for lawyers in courtrooms.  

Senate Republicans are proposing legislation that would put limited and commonsense reforms in place for the duration of the pandemic. There is bipartisan support for this effort, but it will take strong leadership and teamwork to get this done.  

Arizona has a long and proud tradition of working hard and working together. We may be challenged, but we remain undaunted in the effort to keep Arizonans strong and healthy. Coming together now to provide a bit more certainty for small businesses, families, and employees will make that mission a little easier.

Hon. Eileen Klein is the owner of Vive AZ, LLC, a small business based in Arizona. Her public service includes serving as the 35^th state treasurer of Arizona and chief of staff to Governor Janice K. Brewer. She is president emerita of the Arizona Board of Regents and a former member of the State Board of Education.

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AcronisSCSVets, a nonprofit created last year to provide free cyber IT training and internationally-recognized certifications for veterans, has set a goal to put 50,000 veterans into the industry over the next five years. 

This month, the Scottsdale-based group graduated its first cohort of 14 top performers. Ten already have secured cybersecurity/IT jobs. 

Before COVID-19 hit, there was an enormous workforce shortage in the industry. Now the need is even more urgent, said John Zanni, the founder of AcronisSCSVets and CEO of Acronis SCS, a leader in edge data security and cyber protection in the U.S. public sector.

鈥淪ince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen nearly a 70 percent increase in cyberattacks,鈥� Zanni said during the virtual commencement ceremony for the new grads. 鈥淭he current fear and confusion present an opening for bad actors to capitalize on this and send malicious emails pretending they are the World Health Organization or the CDC to try to get to your systems.

鈥淥nce open, however, these attachments and links introduce ransomware and other attacks that can spread throughout the system, presenting particular challenges for public sector organizations trying to keep critical constituent services up and running while practicing social distancing.鈥�

Companies of all sizes also are at risk, as hundreds of thousands of cybersecurity jobs go unfilled, Zanni said. 

Unfilled cybersecurity jobs to reach almost 3.5 million next year 

By 2022, the number of unfilled positions is expected to reach 1.8 million in the U.S., according to a from the Center for Cyber Safety and Education. 

Globally, there are expected to be 3.5 million job vacancies by 2021, to Cyber Security Ventures that has been tracking the jobs data for the past eight years.  

Of those applying for cybersecurity jobs, fewer than one in four are qualified, according to a 2018 in MIT Technology Review.

Placing 鈥渦nderemployed鈥� veterans in salaried jobs

In creating AcronisSCSVets, Zanni also wanted to help underemployed veterans. 

Though veterans overall have higher employment rates than non-veterans, they are underemployed in larger numbers, meaning they are not getting enough paid work or not doing work that makes full use of their skills and abilities. 

In fact, veterans are 37 percent more likely to be underemployed than nonveterans, shows a recent by LinkedIn. 

Veterans like Shaun Johnson. After twenty years in the U.S. Navy, Johnson found himself earning an hourly wage in the produce section of a local grocery store. Then, he heard about the AcronisSCSVets program. He applied and the rest is history. 

Johnson now holds a salaried supervisory IT role in Arizona at a major name brand company.

鈥淲ith this knowledge and tools that (the program) gave me, I was not only able to apply for a level 1 help desk job, I was able to secure a supervisory position, and a couple of weeks later, I was offered the opportunity to become a tech systems delivery manager.鈥� 

Nine of the other graduates in the first cohort also have secured jobs in the field. Three others are seeking higher education or certifications. One is seeking employment. 

Goal to provide free training to 3,000 veterans in Arizona, 50,000 in U.S. 

Acronis SCSVets plans to train 50,000 veterans, service members, and military spouses nationwide over the next five years. 

In Arizona, it plans to train 3,000 during that time. Currently, there are nearly 13,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the state, according to .  

Ultimately, the organization would like to train more if it can secure appropriate funding from donations or grants, Zanni said.

Zero cost to veterans seeking cyber careers

At zero cost to qualified veterans, the program arms participants with credentials, skills, and resources necessary to secure entry level jobs in IT and cybersecurity. There鈥檚 also social services support and career services built in to ensure success. 

鈥淥ur students are prepared to excel in public and private sector organizations of all sizes, though our program is particularly beneficial for small- and medium-sized businesses, which are in critical need of qualified cyber talent, account for the majority of open U.S. jobs, and often lack veteran-specific hiring programs,鈥� Zanni said.   

What AcronisSCSVets offers

鈥� Cyber Certifications The curriculum prepares participants to obtain stacked cyber certificates, including internationally-recognized CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, Windows 10, and Acronis SCS credentials.

鈥� Career skills workshops and social services support Participants have access to quarterly, in-person, civilian-led career skills workshops, covering everything from social media

engagement to resum茅 building and mock interviews, and ongoing life skills resources and social services support.

鈥� Career pipelines After obtaining the right certificates, participants are connected with cyber and tech employers from a diverse and growing pool of industry partners.

For more information, to apply for the program or to give a donation, visit: .

About Acronis SCS

Acronis SCS is an American cyber protection and edge data security company dedicated to serving the unique backup, anti-ransomware, disaster recovery, and enterprise file sync and share needs of the US public sector. Acronis SCS products are built and supported in the United States by US citizens.

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