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Legislative Updates 2003To: Conservation Friends From: Conservation Outreach Director, Sierra Club Date: April 11, 2003 Re: Legislative Update #13 Hi all! The regular bill action is winding down at the Legislature and that leaves only the easy work of deciding how to come together over a $600 million disagreement in the budget. We will be monitoring this for Heritage Fund hits, elimination of the Clean Air Fund, and other shenanigans. Leadership is still scheming behind closed doors on which of the anti-initiative measures they will pass along to the voters. I have heard nothing new on that this week. They are looking to place the one or two they believe the public will support. I expect to see a couple move this next week. PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATOR AND ASK HER/HIM TO VOTE NO ON SCR1012. REMEMBER CALLS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THIS VOTE IS VERY CLOSE IN THE SENATE, SO YOUR CALL CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. SCR1012 military base preservation initiative (Blendu, Binder, Martin, et al) 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 thing that threatens the air bases in the first place. Land exchanges often result in the public getting a bad deal, as the public lands are undervalued. This bill allows for three-way exchanges, so developers are a big part of it. ALSO, PLEASE ASK SENATORS 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 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. FINALLY, PLEASE CALL SENATORS AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE HB2436. 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. They should work on increasing voter turnout, not restricting this important right. This awaits action by the Committee of the Whole (C.O.W.) in the Senate. Here is an update on other bills: SCR1011 NOW: 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. It awaits a House Third Read. SCR1016 NOW: budget stabilization act (Martin, Harper, Reagan, et al) would, among other things, 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. It was retained on the C.O.W. calendar in the House. 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. It awaits Rules. 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 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 passed 57-2-1. SB1167 environment; antiterrorism; information (Jarrett) limits availability of information about drinking water safety vulnerability as well as some waste information. This awaits Final Read in the Senate. 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 provide proof of financial assurance. It was retained on the C.O.W. calendar. 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 House Third Read. 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 retained on the C.O.W. calendar several times this week. 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 passed 30-0 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 Senate C.O.W. HB2090 state parks board; sunset continuation (O'Halleran) continues the state parks board for 10 years. The Governor signed this. 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 Senate C.O.W. 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. The Governor signed it. HB2324 state building; energy conservation standards (Graf: Downing, Jayne, et al) requires the state to reduce energy consumption in state buildings by 10% by 2008 and 15% by 2011. It also requires the purchase of EnergyStar products unless it is shown that they are not cost effective over their lifetime. It also updates the energy conservation standards reference for state buildings. It passed 22-6-1 in the Senate. 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 Senate Third Read. 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 to limit groundwater use, I still wonder why this is even necessary. It awaits a Senate Third Read. 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 awaits Rules 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: 04/11/03 Back to 2003 Legislative Updates page Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, 202 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 277, Phoenix, AZ 85004, (602) 253-8633 |