/ Modified mar 9, 2015 7:56 a.m.

In Legislature Monday: Common Core, Online Sales Taxes

House floor debate set on banning curriculum standards, reducing income tax to match sales tax gain.

Sunnyside classroom spotlight Freshman literature teacher Michelle Callahan-DuMont at Sunnyside High School.

The Arizona House Monday will debate legislation aimed at banning the Common Core school curriculum standards, two years after Arizona schools began implementing them.

The legislation also would remove the state Board of Education's authority to adopt new standards.

Similar legislation failed in the Senate two weeks ago.

Republican Rep. Mark Finchem of Oro Valley is sponsor of the bill, whioch would drop the standards adopted by more than 40 states. They have become a political issue across the country as opponents criticize them as driven by the federal government.

Proponents say they are state-created and designed to increase standards so high school graduates are prepared for college.

A similar effort failed in the Arizona Legislature last year.

In other action, the House will consider a revived bill cutting income taxes if the state begins collecting sales taxes from online purchases.

The bill by Republican Rep. J.D. Mesnard of Chandler failed last month after several Republicans voted against it.

Mesnard had to revive the bill by adding its language to an unrelated bill.

The proposal will require that the state income tax to be cut by the same amount collected in the first year Arizona begins collecting online taxes. That could only happen if a federal proposal called the Marketplace Fairness Act becomes law.

Mesnard said although the taxes are now legally owed, starting to collect them is essentially a new tax.

Read House Bill 2190 on Common Core repeal here.

Read House Bill 2068 on online sales taxes here.

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