Arizona stolen valor bill blocked by Wendy Rogers; supporters cry foul

PHOENIX - There's a controversy in the Arizona State Legislature, after Republican State Senator Wendy Rogers blocked a bill that would make it a crime to impersonate a veteran.

Big picture view:

The bill in question is known as HB 2030, or the "Stolen Valor Act."

If approved and signed into law, HB 2030 would increase penalties for Arizonans who claim military honors they never earned, or those who alter official military documents.

On Jan. 15, Republican State Representative Walt Blackman introduced the bill, with strong support from veterans. On Feb. 11, the bill passed unanimously in the house.

The backstory:

After the bill's passage in the State House, it was sent to the State Senate's Judiciary and Elections Committee, which State Sen. Rogers chairs. That was where the bill was held up for a month before getting a hearing on Mar. 26.

Experts were supposed to testify on behalf of the bill, but during the hearing, State Sen. Rogers put it on hold, saying she asked State Rep. Blackman to amend the bill so that it would be in agreement with federal law.

"Actually, none of it is true," said State Rep. Blackman. "She has not reached out to my office. We did a check."

Democratic State Senator Analise Ortiz tried taking action at the end of the hearing.

"Madam chair, I recommend [that] House Bill 2030 receive a due pass recommendation, and I request a roll call vote," said State Sen. Ortiz. "It is still on the agenda."

"It is held, so it is not on the agenda," State Sen. Rogers replied. The meeting was later adjourned.

"We had 70+ veterans here. We had some that came from out of state just for this, some Vietnam veterans," State Rep. Blackman said. "When she did that to those veterans and looked at them and basically gave them the middle finger to protect someone who was proven to have stolen his valor, that's disappointing."

Dig deeper:

The bill's sponsor said Rogers, who is an Air Force veteran herself, blocked the bill for personal reasons: State Rep. Blackman’s political rival, who ran against him and lost in the primary election, was endorsed by State Sen. Rogers despite allegations of stolen valor.

The rival, as mentioned above, is Steve Slaton. Slaton campaigned with State Sen. Rogers and gained her endorsement, but the Navajo County Republican Party discovered that Slaton provided an altered form claiming combat veteran status in Vietnam, and showing qualifications and awards that he never earned.

"This chairwoman, Ms. Rogers, has the sole discretion to decide which bills get hearings and which bills die, and she used that discretion, in my opinion, to protect her friend," said State Sen. Ortiz.

The other side:

State Sen. Rogers declined an on-camera interview, but did release a statement that reads:

"After the bill was transmitted to the Senate for consideration, I asked Senate staff to reach out to Rep. Blackman's staff requesting we amend the bill to mirror federal law, so there would be no conflicts or confusion in tackling these crimes. I was informed he was not willing to compromise. I again directed Senate staff to let his staff know that I was including the bill on Wednesday's Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee agenda in case he had a change of heart. Neither Rep. Blackman nor his staff communicated that he was willing to work on an amendment. Instead, he continues a smear campaign, omitting the fact that a repeated good faith effort was made to work with him on this legislation. Sadly, it appears Rep. Blackman let a personal vendetta get in the way of honestly fighting for combat veterans."

"Even a freshman lawmaker knows that you don't need a member's approval to put an amendment on the bill," said State Rep. Blackman. "You don't. You just do it. It's either hostile or it's friendly."

What's next:

Fellow Republican State Senator Shawna Bolick did invoke Arizona’s striker law, which allowed her sponsored bill, SB 1424, to be replaced with HB 2030. SB 1424, in its original form, had passed committee and was ready for a floor vote.

The newly replaced bill has passed out of the Committee of the Whole in the State House, and once it is passed by the house, it will return to the hands of Senate leadership to keep it alive.

We have reached State Senate President Warren Petersen, who assigned State Sen. Rogers as chair of the committee in which HB 2030 was held, for comment on the matter. he said he does not intend to bring the striker bill to the Senate floor.