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Legislative Updates 2003To: Conservation Friends From: Conservation Outreach Director, Sierra Club Date: April 4, 2003 Re: Legislative Update #12 Hi all! This week was a stark reminder of why we need the initiative and referendum process. At least with voters, there is a chance that we can implement some decent public policy and fund important programs. Several of the bills that were killed last week came back in the form of strike everything amendments this week (that means they gut the original bill and replace it with a new one.) SCR1011 had a strike everything amendment relating to tax increase by initiative; vote. This contained the same language as was in HCR2009 that had been defeated in Senate Judiciary last week. They also resurrected the budget stabilization act via a striker on SCR1016. This furthers the cause of hitting rock bottom in funding nearly all social programs including environmental protection. PLEASE CALL AND ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE NO ON SCR1012. REMEMBER CALLS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND ARE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN EMAILS. SCR1012 military base preservation initiative (Blendu, Binder, Martin, et al) passed out of the environment committee with one small amendment. They inserted language on military bases. Right now, it is looking like we may end up with another ballot fight on our hands. This bill refers to the ballot an issue that voters have rejected five times, including just last fall as Proposition 101. The bill allows the state land commissioner to trade away state trust land and open up more public land to development. It is unlikely to do anything to protect military bases, and in fact, 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. ALSO, PLEASE ASK REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE NO ON SB1071. SB1071 (NOW: land conservation fund; grazing; agriculture) (Brown) shifts $2 million dollars per year of the Growing Smarter dollars to a new fund called the "Livestock and Crop Conservation Fund." This new fund will be administered by the Department of Agriculture and will make grants to individual landowners or lessees of state or federal land. Currently the State Parks Board administers these dollars. This bill is bad for several reasons, but the two main ones are it violates the Voter Protection Act ( the measure that limits what the legislature can do to voter-approved measures) and it exempts these grants from the rule making process, so there is much less accountability in a program that clearly needs it. Last year, Representative Jake Flake's cousin got a large chunk of money as did Hal Earnhardt, the wealthy Phoenix auto dealer. PLEASE CALL SENATORS AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE ALL OF THE ANTI-INTIATIVE AND REFERENDUM BILLS THAT REMAIN, INCLUDING: 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. This passed out of the Senate Finance Committee 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. This passed out of Senate Judiciary and awaits action by Rules. 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 in cities and towns with 100,000 or fewer people. 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. This would make it very difficult to do a referendum in many communities. There are also equal protection questions about this measure -- different standards for different communities relative to this important right. 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. They should work on increasing voter turnout, not restricting this important right. It awaits Rules. Most of the committee meetings are over for the year with the exception of Appropriations and Rules, plus special hearings for gubernatorial appointments. I am sorry this is so long, but I wanted to send one rather comprehensive update on the remaining bills that we are following. SCR1011 S/E tax increase by initiative; vote (Jarrett) requires that an initiative or referendum that would increase state revenues have a two-thirds vote on the ballot. Considering very few measures pass with a two-thirds vote, this would effectively hamstring efforts to get additional funding for preservation, for wildlife, or for any other program. Even the tobacco tax would not take effect under this scenario. This passed out of Appropriations where they allowed no public testimony. It awaits Rules action. SCR1016 S/E budget stabilization act (Martin, Harper, Reagan, et al) refers to the ballot a measure that among other things, would allow the Legislature to proportionately adjust expenditures approved by initiative or referendum in a fiscal year that estimated state revenues fail to increase above the preceding fiscal year at the rate of population change and inflation. This dooms the state to mediocrity or worse. Currently we are behind in many areas relative to funding of important programs. Second, as our communities grow, the cost of serving them increases above the cost of the growth in population and cost of living. It passed out of Appropriations (no time to hear from the public) and awaits Rules. 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. This awaits a Third Read in the House. SB1130 Grand Canyon airport; cease operations (Burns) would have facilitated the sale of this airport to a private entity. This bill died in the House Transportation Committee. SB1167 environment; antiterrorism; information (Jarrett) limits availability of information about drinking water safety vulnerability. This information goes to EPA. This awaits a Third Read in the House. 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. It awaits Rules action. 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. It does cap civil liability fines at $250,000 -- an unnecessary restriction. It awaits Rules action. SB1282 wildlife diseases; agency orders (Cannell R, O'Halleran, Carruthers, et al) gives the Arizona Game and Fish Department the authority to take emergency actions in order to prevent or limit wildlife diseases. It awaits COW action. 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, plus channelize the Agua Fria to allow development of more land near the river and perhaps to enhance some folks property values. It was held in the Majority Caucus while they await a fiscal note. Steve Owens - Department of Environmental Quality, Billy Cardasco - State Parks Board, and Sharon Megdal - Water Quality Appeals passed out of Natural Resource and Transportation. Michael Golightly's nomination to Game & Fish appears to have stalled. HB2084 state claims to streambeds (O'Halleran, Huffman, Carruthers, et al) makes a minor change to give the land department more time to issue a notice relative to the finding of navigability. It clarifies that an appeal can occur after the Arizona Navigable Streambed Adjudication Commission makes it determination. We are neutral on it. This awaits a Third Read in the Senate. 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. This awaits Rules and Floor action in the Senate. We support it. HB2090 state parks board; sunset continuation (O'Halleran) continues the state parks board for 10 years. This passed out of the Senate 24-5-1 and has been transmitted to the Governor. HB2196 pollution prevention; reporting date (Hart) had a strike everything amendment for the Rock Products Association relating to land use plans: industrial minerals. This died a quiet death in subcommittee. HB2264 WQARF; technical correction (NOW: WQARF; remediation) (Hart, Allen: Jarrett) makes primarily technical changes and requires the Department of Environmental Quality to contract with the Department of Water Resources for support on this program. It also has more language to micromanage the program so the ADEQ does not require too much of the industry folks who have created these messes. It awaits Rules and Floor action in the Senate. HB2308 eminent domain (Farnsworth, Pearce Graf, et al) limits cities' ability to use eminent domain for redevelopment to only areas that are "slum or blighted." They must also keep the property for at least ten years. It awaits Rules action. HB2322 sales tax; contractor's solar exemption (Graf, Pearce, Anderson, et al) makes clarifications in the sales tax exemption for solar contractors - both the sale and installation are exempt up to $5,000. We support this. It passed out of the Senate 29-0-1 and has been transmitted to the Governor. HB2328 income tax checkoff; state parks (Graf, Pearce: Biggs) establishes an income tax check off for a state parks enhancement fund for capital improvements. Unless it is withdrawn from Senate Finance, it is probably dead. HB2364 best management practices; technical corrections (NOW: outdoor advertising; electronic messages) (Hart) would have deleted the prohibition on electronic billboard displays adopted in 1970 Arizona Highway Beautification Act. This failed in Senate Commerce (4-4-1). Thanks to Mark Mayer and the Tucson Neighborhood Coalition for their work on defeating this bill. HB2381 safe drinking water act (Hart) requires that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality rules regarding public drinking water systems comply with the federal safe drinking water act and eliminates an unnecessary notice requirement. We support this. It awaits a Third Read in the Senate. HB2476 agricultural water rights; protected farmland (NOW: farmland; agricultural water rights) (O'Halleran, Mason) establishes a class of protected farmland under the groundwater management code and makes it exempt from water duty reduction if it has a conservation easement. Considering that agriculture has done very little relative to comply with the Groundwater Code, I still wonder why this is even necessary. It awaits a Third Read in the Senate. 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. We support it. This may be amended to add the Yuma Basin water bill. This is of some concern to us. This awaits Rules and Floor action. 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. This awaits Rules and Floor action. To email senators go to http://www.azleg.state.az.us/MemberRoster.asp and for house members to http://www.azleg.state.az.us/MemberRoster.asp#house. If you are not sure who your legislators are, please go to http://www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml or call the House or Senate information desks. 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. For more information on legislation go to the web page at http://www.azleg.state.az.us/. Sandy Bahr Page updated: 04/04/03 Back to 2003 Legislative Updates page Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, 202 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 277, Phoenix, AZ 85004, (602) 253-8633 |