Just ahead of the start of the 2026 Arizona legislative session, one advocacy organization has decided who its most helpful state lawmakers were in the last session.

Stand for Children Arizona has announced state Sen J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) and Rep. Consuelo Hernandez (D-Tucson) have been named its 2025 Legislation Champions.

Both Senator Mesnard and Representative Hernandez were selected because of their leadership on several key issues — ninth-grade “On-Track,” childcare subsidies, and a child tax credit — all items that will help Arizona children, according to a news release.

Mesnard played a key role in securing $3.4 million in funding to expand “Ninth-Grade On-Track” programs and including the program in state statute.

Representative Hernandez was a co-sponsor of a bill to fund 9th Grade On-Track and the lead sponsor of a Child Tax Credit bill.

“We are honored to recognize both Senator Mesnard and Representative Hernandez with this award,” Stand for Children Arizona Executive Director Rebecca Gau stated in the news release. “It was a pleasure to work with them to support our students and help Arizona’s children have a brighter future. We deeply appreciate J.D. Mesnard’s sound judgement, fairness, steadfast commitment to justice, and proven ability to build coalitions that put Arizona’s children first. We look forward to continuing to work with (Mesnard and Hernandez) to support Arizona’s future.”

Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as those meet our  Civility Guidelines.