Legislative Updates 2003

Hi all!  There was a little more good news from the legislature this week.  HCR2009 tax increase by initiative; vote (Biggs, Johnson, Pearce, Graf, et al) was defeated on a 4-5 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Please call and thank Senators Aguirre, Binder, Brotherton,  Miranda, and Rios for opposing it.  The bill requires that an initiative or referendum that would increase state revenues have a two-thirds vote on the ballot.

This week please call House Members and in particular members of the House Environment Committee and ask them to oppose SCR1012 military base preservation initiative (Blendu, Binder, Martin, et al). This bill refers to the ballot an issue that voters have rejected five times, including just last fall as Proposition 101.  The bill is currently worded exactly the same as Proposition 101 with one exception, the title.  That has been changed, not to protect the innocent, but to instead hoodwink the voters - it has nothing to do with military bases.  The bill allows the state land commissioner to trade away state trust land and open up more public land to development.   It will only promote more urban sprawl, the very thing that threatens the air bases in the first place.  Land exchanges almost always result in the public getting a bad deal, because most often the public lands are undervalued. 

I am heading out early for a meeting and won't be in tomorrow, so here is a portion of what's up at the legislature this week:

Monday, March 31^st

Senate Committee on Finance at 1:30 p.m. in SHR1

HB2308 eminent domain (Farnsworth, Pearce Graf, et al) limits cities' ability to use eminent domain for redevelopment to only areas that are considered slum or blighted.  They must also hold on to the property for at least ten years.

HCR2022 expenditures mandated by ballot; funding (Farnsworth, Pearce, Johnson, Graf, et al) requires that an initiative or referendum that provides for expenditure of revenues must also provide of a new funding source.  It would effectively prohibit the public from directing the Legislature on how to spend any general fund revenues.  Initiatives and referenda are here to provide a check on the Legislature and to require that it address issues that they are ignoring.  This would allow the Legislature to continue to ignore important program funding and leave the public with no options.

House Committee on Transportation at 1:30 p.m. in HHR3

SB1130 Grand Canyon airport; cease operations (Burns) would facilitate the sale of this airport to a private entity.  While eliminating the airport would be okay, this does not do that but instead could open this area up to more development.  We oppose it.

House Committee on the Environment at 2:00 p.m. in HHR4

SB1122 Phoenix civic plaza; revenue sharing (now:  incorporation; national parks; cities) (Burns, Blendu, Pearce, et al) allows the community of Tusayan, near Grand Canyon National Park, to incorporate.

SB1191 emissions inspections; alternative fuel vehicles (Binder) exempts alternative fuel vehicles in fleets from emissions for the first three years.  Regular new vehicles are exempt for the first five years.  This should have limited impact.

SB1243 environment; remediation; engineering controls (Allen: Binder, Giffords) relates to a declaration of environmental use restriction (DEUR) on property that is not cleaned up to residential (the most stringent) standards.  It requires that an owner of property with an engineering or institutional control (a cap is one example) to provide proof of financial assurance.  It requires sellers of property that is subject to a DEUR to notify ADEQ of the sale and requires the buyer to commit in writing to comply with the DEUR. This is an improvement and tightening up of this aspect of the law.

SB1248 Yuma basin groundwater (Binder, Cannell) allows groundwater to be withdrawn from the Yuma basin and transported outside the basin. This is to provide for putting the water in the Colorado to meet our obligations to Mexico.

SB1347 recreational corridor channelization districts (Blendu, Burns,  Brotherton, et al) provides for establishing these districts that can then construct and operate recreational facilities in a floodway during and after mining activities and mining reclamation.  This is a way to get taxpayers to subsidize cleaning up the mess that the sand and gravel operators leave. 

SCR1012 military base preservation initiative (Blendu, Binder, Martin, et al) allows the state land commissioner to trade away state trust land and open up more public land to development.  The voters have rejected land exchange ballot measures five times already and most recently rejected this exact language on the ballot last fall when it appeared as Proposition 101.  Land exchanges almost always result in the public getting a bad deal. The title of the bill is misleading at best.

Tuesday, April 1^st  

Senate Committee on Government at 1:30 p.m. in SHR1

HB2478 water status report; DWR (O'Halleran, Flake, Carruthers et al) requires the Department of Water Resources to brief the committee responsible for water regarding drought, water supplies, etc.  This is a good idea.  We support it.

HB2479 forest status reports (O'Halleran, Flake, Laughter, et al) requires the state forester (land commissioner) to brief legislators on forest management.  This is also a good idea.

Senate Natural Resources and Transportation at 1:30 p.m. in SHR3

Confirmations -- Steve Owens, Department of Environmental Quality & Sharon Megdal, Water Quality Appeals

HB2088 well administration and enforcement (O'Halleran, Carruthers, Gullett, et al) requires a fee for a notice of intent to drill a well.  This fee will be used for monitoring and enforcement.  We support it.

HB2196 pollution prevention; reporting date (Hart) has a strike everything amendment for the Rock Products Association relating to land use plans: industrial minerals.  This requires cities and towns to accommodate mining in their general and comprehensive plans.  The language in it is bizarre and belongs in a "I Love Mining" Memorial.  Ironically, it was assigned to a subcommittee of Senator Jarrett and "Senator" Bowers, even though Mr. Bowers is no longer a senator and is now a lobbyist for the Rock Products Association. 

Wednesday, April 2^nd   

Senate Committee on Commerce at 8:00 a.m. in SHR3

HB2364 best management practices; technical corrections (NOW:  outdoor advertising; electronic messages) (Hart) would overturn 33 years of sound public policy by deleting the prohibition on electronic billboard displays adopted in 1970 Arizona Highway Beautification Act. The level of brightness and shielding of the proposed electronic message displays are not limited by the bill and as such will result in more light pollution in our night skies.

Senate Committee on Judiciary at 8:30 a.m. in SHR1

HB2436 municipal ballot measures; required signatures (Arnold: Chase, Flake, et al) authorizes the use of an alternative basis for computing the number of necessary signatures required to file a referendum petition in a municipal election.  It would effectively allow cities and towns to change the basis for calculating the number of signatures from 10% of the people who voted at the last election to 10% of ALL registered voters in the city or town.  These numbers would be overwhelming for those in many of our communities. This measure is not addressing any real problem.  In most communities there are few if any zoning referenda.  When a zoning issue is referred, it is generally because it is controversial.

HCR2018 ballot measure; resubmittal (Johnson, Chase, Jayne, et al) says that any initiative (that means only measures initiated and referred by the people, not those referred by legislators) that causes a fiscal impact to the state of $10 million or more will automatically be submitted to the voters every eight years.  It is retroactive so we will be voting on a long list of measures in 2006 if this passes and rehashing the same arguments.  The legislature can selectively refer any measure it wants -- all it has to do is come up with a majority vote in each house and refer it to the voters, so this is totally unnecessary. 

HCR2024 voter approved expenditures; limitations (Konopnicki, Pearce, Graf) allows the Legislature to undercut voter approved measures by allowing it to proportionately reduce an appropriation for a specific purpose if the monies approved for the purpose are insufficient to cover all of the costs.  The Legislature could always say there was not enough money in the general fund and easily divert dollars for conservation, health care, and education to other purposes. 

Senate Committee on Appropriations at 1:30 p.m. in SHR109

HB2088 well administration and enforcement (O'Halleran, Carruthers, Gullett, et al) See above.