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Legislative Update #4, February 2, 2001SIERRA CLUB - Grand Canyon Chapter To: Conservation Friends From: Sandy Bahr, Conservation Outreach Director, Sierra Club Date: February 2, 2001 Re: Hi all! Thanks for continuing to call and write your legislators. This week please call and urge House Members to support HB2457 waste permits; disparate impacts (Loredo, Avelar, Cardamone, et al). It would require the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to establish rules to examine whether permitting hazardous waste and solid waste facilities has a disparate impact on minority communities. Disparate means that while a particular regulation, permit, etc. may not intentionally discriminate, it nonetheless has a negative impact on a particular race, gender, and class. Numerous studies have indicated the connection between the location of hazardous waste facilities and ethnic minority or low-income neighborhoods. A 1987 Study by the United Church of Christ 's Commission for Racial Justice found a much higher proportion of minorities in communities with hazardous waste facilities. The proportion of minorities was double of that in communities without such facilities. A recent study by the Center for Environmental Studies at Arizona State University entitled, "Environmental Equity in a sunbelt city: the spatial distribution of toxic hazards in Phoenix, Arizona" demonstrates a relationship between the presence of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities and the racial/ethnic composition of the population living near the site. The study's authors conclude, "Thus, employing conventional measures of risk (presence of a facility and volume of releases) there is clear evidence for the claim of environmental injustice in Phoenix." In addition to calling your own House Members, please call members of the House Environment Committee and ask them to support the bills above. Members of the committee include: Huffman, Allen, Flake, Graf, Gullett, O'Halleran, Landrum, Miranda, Norris, and Soltero. If you have not called already, please take the time to call House Members this week and ask them to oppose HCR2009 clean elections act; repeal (May). It refers to the ballot a repeal of the clean elections act. This passed out of Judiciary Committee 5-3-2. Remember, without it, we would likely be dealing with "Senator Groscost" right now. Here are updates on a few bills: SB1194 appropriation; resin bush eradication (Arzberger, Brown, Guenther, et al) was amended in the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environment Committee to appropriate additional funds ($378,000 in 2001-2002 and $220,600 in 2002-2003) for eradication of the sweet resin bush in Arizona. Dr. Joe McAuliffe from the Desert Botanical Garden has written a paper on this advising that we address eradication of it now. My only concern continues to be with what type of herbicide they will use and what its impact will be on other plant species and wildlife. HB2362 state land department business enhancements (Flake, Cooley, Gleason, et al)was amended to make it clear that the Land Department would continue to publicize expiring grazing leases in the newspaper, and Title 9 does have language which requires the Land Department to sign off on annexations already. It passed out of House Environment with no opposition. WE ARE NEUTRAL ON THIS. SCR1004 state land exchanges; school lands (Bowers, Hamilton, Bundgaard, et al) was introduced this week. It allows open-ended land exchanges and focuses on preservation of urban farm land. This could result in opening more acres of public land for development, especially if the State traded rural land for urban lands. The rural lands usually have a lower value, which means more acres for development. Because it also allows private land exchanges, it also likely to result in great deals for the developers and a sharp stick in the eye to the public. It's assigned to Education (although I wonder if they mixed this up with the bill below). WE OPPOSE THIS. SCR1005 trust lands proceeds and income (Bowers, Flake, et al) refers to the ballot a measure that would have 10% of the income from state trust lands go directly to the beneficiary. The Arizona School Board Association has some concerns about this and its impact on the permanent fund. It's assigned to NRAE. WE ARE NEUTRAL ON THIS. Don't forget to make appointments with your legislators for Environmental Lobby Day on February 19th. (Call me if you want assistance with this.) We will be in Senate Hearing Room 2 from
Lunch is on your own, but some of us will be going over to Capitol Coffee. Let me know if you would like to join us. Also, r.s.v.p. regarding the lobby day no later than February 14th. Thanks! This is what's up in the legislature this week. Monday February 5th Senate Committee on Government at 1:30p.m. SB1153 ballot analysis; secretary of state (Cummiskey) gives the responsibility for writing the impartial analysis for ballot measures to the Secretary of State. Currently the Legislative Council is responsible for this and has demonstrated that it is unable to write an "impartial analysis." There will be an amendment to provide for a public hearing and also to have the attorney general approve the analysis. WE SUPPORT THIS. Senate Committee on Finance at 1:30p.m. SB1122 sales tax exemption; pallets; containers (Hamilton) exempts the sale of reusable or returnable containers from sales tax. We have been asked to support the bill. I am doing a little research into it. The reusable pallets are returned to a pooling company that rents the pallets to farmers and manufacturers. The idea is that it will help cut solid waste and reduces the use of lumber by encouraging the reuse of these pallets. The American Plastics Council is pushing this. SB1227 county sales taxes for roads (Bundgaard) allows the sales tax for roads to be continued beyond 20 years subject to voter approval. House Committee on Transportation at 1:30 p.m. HB2123 biodiesel; government fleets (Carpenter) allows biodiesel to be used by government fleets to meet the required alternative fuel goals. WE ARE NEUTRAL ON THIS. Tuesday February 6th House Committee on the Environment @ 1:00 p.m. HB2431 environment; chemical; electronic reporting (Landrum, Weason, Avelar, et al) with a Strike Everything Amendment, HB2432 environmental releases; impact analysis (Landrum, Huffman, Avelar, et al), HB2433 chemical facilities; permits; neighborhood impact (Landrum, Huffman, Brotherton, et al), and HB2457 waste permits; disparate impacts (Loredo, Avelar, Cardamone, et al), are all listed at the beginning of this memo. Please join us for the committee meeting if you can. Wednesday February 7th House Committee on Energy, Utilities & Technology @ 9:00 a.m. HB2040 power transmission lines; committee; procedures (Hatchmiller, Valadez) requires every entity that is contemplating construction of any transmission line or power plant within the state during any ten year period to file a ten year plan with the Corporation Commission on or before January 31 of each year. These plans must also include the power output of the plants, expected capacity factor and the type of fuel to be used. This seems like a positive measure and one that is needed considering there are plans to put as many as 18 new plants in Arizona. Thursday February 8th Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee @ 8:30 a.m. SB1275 nonnavigable streams; disclaimer of title (Guenther, Bowers) is another in a series of bills to give away the state's claims to Arizona streambeds. This one addresses the small watercourses in Santa Cruz, Pima, and Cochise Counties. Arizona holds title to all land beneath watercourses that were navigable at the time of statehood per the Equal Footing Doctrine (all states admitted to the Union after the original 13 are admitted on an equal basis with the original 13). Because of sand and gravel activities near Dead Horse Ranch State Park the Arizona attorney general's office asserted the State's claim to the Verde River back in 1985. This brought into question the title of property in Arizona's streambeds. In 1987 the Legislature disclaimed the state's interest for most of Arizona's watercourses and gave quitclaim deeds to those along the Gila, Verde, and Salt Rivers for only $25 per acre. This action was challenged as an illegal gift, violating the Arizona Constitution's gift clause. The courts agreed with this challenge. In response, the Legislature developed the Arizona Navigable Streambed Adjudication Commission (ANSAC) to determine navigability of the streambeds, but in 1994 they changed the standards by which the Commission would determine navigability. Currently, ANSAC is using a presumption of non-navigability and therefore using improper standards in this process. Last year, the legislature passed SB1508, in 1999 it passed SB1133, and in 1998 it passed SB1126 to ratify recommendations by the ANSAC regarding the non-navigability of many of Arizona's rivers. SB1126 is currently being challenged in court. The Arizona attorney general's office agrees that this law violates the Arizona Constitution and the State's responsibility to hold this land in trust for the public. The State has a public trust responsibility for our streambeds. We believe it is the Legislature's responsibility to ensure that these streambeds are held in trust for the public and that a more appropriate means for determining navigability and property ownership is found. This bill and the current system for determining navigability will result in more litigation and will not resolve the question on title to most of this land. WE OPPOSE THIS BILL. Thanks for all your help! For more information on legislation go to the web page http://www.azleg.state.az.us. If you're outside the Phoenix area, you can call your legislator's office toll free at 1-800-352-8404. In the Phoenix area call (602) 542-3559 (Senate) or (602) 542-4221 (House). Correspondence goes to 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890. To email legislators use first initial + 7 letters of surname@azleg.state.az.us. Page updated: 2/1/01 Back to Legislative Updates page Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, 202 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 277, Phoenix, AZ 85004, (602) 253-8633 |