By Linda Kor The 2016 session of the Arizona Legislature opens next week, and legislators will likely consider more than 1,000 bills during its course, but less than a quarter of those will be made into law. A few of the bills so far include ones that would allow for the legalization and taxation of marijuana, smaller class sizes, extracurricular school activities, garden to table foods for students, automatic voter registration and registration for those convicted of animal abuse. State Senator Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, offered her position on a number of issues that will be addressed this session. A bill that could have a significant impact on the state is House Bill 2007, which would allow anyone in the state who is 21 years of age to purchase, possess, consume and transport one ounce or less of marijuana. The bill would also allow for the growing of up to five marijuana plants at a residence, but it would remain unlawful to smoke marijuana in a public place. The bill would also allow for a tax on the purchase of marijuana at $50 per ounce, with revenues to go to drug education, law enforcement and drug programs. “I do not support this at all. I believe it will add to the drug epidemic already taking place in the state and especially in our county. They will say that marijuana isn’t addictive, but studies have shown that it is,” stated Allen. She also believes that using the taxes collected from the bill to educate children on the dangers of drugs is no compensation. “Marijuana destroys the capacity to learn, so I don’t see the benefit,” she said. Allen would prefer to focus efforts toward something she believes would truly benefit the state and Navajo County. “We need to get the potash mines and the Resolution Copper Mine (near Superior) up and going; we need to focus on industry and bringing good, strong jobs to our state,” she explained. Allen is serving as chairman of the Senate Committee on Education for the session and is very supportive of funding for education, but has concerns regarding proposed bill SB 1015, which would provide $1 million per year in grants to be distributed amongst schools that apply to reduce class sizes for K-3 to between 15 to 22 pupils. “Having less students in each class, yes, I support that. I just don’t know if this is a sustainable bill. We have no idea what the economy will produce in the coming years, and to say we’re going to provide these grants and then not be able to sustain them could cause a lot of problems for schools. “I am excited about the special election coming up in May. This new money can be used to pay more to teachers and help provide schools with what they need,” she said, referring to the $3.5 billion funding package that, with voter approval, would bring additional funding to K-12 over the next 10 years. “Overall, I believe things are starting to look up for education. Some of the other things I’ll be talking about during this session is restoring JTED (Joint Technical Education District) funding, and increasing the expenditure limit to allow colleges to use funds toward some of the more costly course offerings such as welding and nursing without raising taxes,” stated the senator, adding that she’s also a proponent of allowing businesses to fund work-related training at colleges without those funds counting against the school’s expenditure limit. She noted that Northland Pioneer College President Dr. Jeanne Swarthout and Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology Superintendent Matt Weber are slated to address legislators on those matters at the opening of the session, as well as inform lawmakers regarding the success of Holbrook’s Skill Center, which provides training in mechatronics, welding and the construction trades. Allen will also propose a bill that would allow school districts to choose from a menu of tests to determine what standardized testing each wants, rather than imposing a single test. “Children should learn to love learning and teachers should be free to use their talents without being forced to teach to a test. A menu of tests will allow a district to preserve what makes its schools unique, yet still provide the necessary outcomes,” she noted. Allen is also hoping to introduce something new at the beginning of the session by spotlighting a student, teacher or program in the schools that exemplifies the value of more funding for education. “The focus has been on funding, but I think we lose sight of the hard work being done in our schools. We have some great accomplishments taking place in our schools,” she said. Allen will also support a bill that would allow fresh fruits and vegetables grown at schools or farmers markets to go from garden to plate for students to enjoy. SB 1004 would provide an exemption from health code restrictions relating to a whole fruits or vegetables that are washed and cut on site for immediate consumption. Currently, any food grown in a garden cannot be processed in a school kitchen. “I absolutely agree with growing food on site and I’m not concerned with any health issues regarding that. Kids need more fruits and vegetables, and we need to do what we can to ensure that,” she said. Other bills of interest that will be considered this session include HB 2008, which would allow public schools to use income tax credit donations for school sponsored activities for which students pay a participation fee. Under SB 1007 everyone who gets or renews a drivers license and is of voting age would automatically be registered to vote unless applicants clearly state they don’t want to be registered. SB 1011 would require an adult who has been convicted of animal cruelty to register with the county sheriff and create a database of offenders to be maintained by the Department of Public Safety. With the first violation, a person registers for a year. With any further violations, the person would have to register each year for life.