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Legislative Updates 2005

To: Conservation Friends

From: Sandy Bahr, Conservation Outreach Director, Sierra Club

Date: April 1, 2005

Re: Legislative Update #12

Howdy! I wish I could think of an April fool’s joke that could top the foolishness at the Legislature. In lieu of that, I will start with a little good news and then let the other actions speak form themselves. On the bright side, SB1067 appropriation; Zuni tribe water settlement (Flake, Bee, Blendu, et al) was amended in the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee to have the dollars appropriated from the general fund rather than the Heritage Fund. Please thank Representative O’Halleran for amending it. He can be reached at tohaller@azleg.state.az.us (602) 926-4079. In other good news, SB1009 school buildings; air quality (L. Gray) passed out of the House K-12 Education Committee 6-2-0-2. This bill makes modest changes to promote better air quality in the schools and provide information on how to do so. HCR2045 voter-approved expenditures; adjustment (Konopnicki) was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee and appears to be dead (for this year anyway). It refers to the ballot a measure that undercuts voter-approved ballot measures by allowing the legislature to proportionately reduce an appropriation for a specific purpose if the monies approved for the purpose are insufficient to cover all of the costs. And finally, SCR1029 constitutional amendments; single subject (Huppenthal: Gould, Verschoor) was not heard and also appears to be dead. It refers to the voters a measure to eliminate the separate-amendment provision of the Arizona Constitution and to replace it with the much lower standard for statutes.

Also, HB2390 energy efficiency appliance standards (Mason) passed out of Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee 6-0-2-0. It sets the minimum level of energy efficiency for 13 products such as commercial refrigerators and freezers and traffic signals not covered by federal standards. It will save dollars, energy and water. Please call your senators this week and ask them to support this bill. Calls work best, but if you can’t call, please do email. Go to http://www.azleg.state.az.us/MemberRoster.asp for individual email addresses and phone numbers. 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 you can also call (602) 926-3559 (Senate) or (602) 926-4221 (House).

On the dark side, the so-called animal and ecological terrorism reared its ugly head. They did a strike everything (S/E) amendment in the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday on SB1166. Please call House members and ask them to oppose the bill. This bill is nearly identical to model legislation put together by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing entity that has helped promote such grand ideas as criminal immunity for polluters. It contains vague language and penalties for violent crimes that are already covered under existing laws, so this bill is unnecessary. It is intended to suppress legitimate advocacy work. The bill defines an "animal or ecological terrorist organization" in a manner that could be used to prosecute mainstream environmental groups engaged in nonviolent advocacy work, including lawful boycotts, permitted marches or demonstrations, and shareholders' motions raised at corporate meetings. The Sierra Club has long condemned violence, including that done in the name of protecting the environment. This bill is unnecessary, vague, and quite likely unconstitutional. They say they are going to work out some kind of amendment with the attorney general’s office, but I really don’t trust the bill’s sponsors on this. They could try to move this horrible bill forward as is.

As if the bill was not bad enough, the process also stinks. They added a last minute striker to an unrelated bill and then took zero public testimony on it. After waiting all morning and then having the bill delayed until after they finished on the floor (after 4:00pm), the chair of the committee, Representative Eddie Farnsworth, refused to take testimony. It was bad enough that he did not allow me to speak to the bill, but I thought it was downright shameful that he did not allow several volunteers who had taken time out of their day and away from their work to be there to speak to the bill. Please call or email Representative Farnsworth and let him know you are disappointed in how he runs his committee. You can reach him at efarnswo@azleg.state.az.us or (602) 926-5735.

In one of the weirder Committee hearings this week (there is tough competition here), SB1455 agency inspection report; deficiency correction (Flake) passed 5-3-0-1. It had a Strike Everything amendment to continue the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for just two years. Chairman Barnes waved around a ridiculous amendment requiring the agency to accept any decision of an Administrative Law Judge. He dared the agency director, Steve Owens, to stand up and defend the Department and threatened that if he did, Barnes would run the amendment. Frankly, I thought Mr. Barnes was going to challenge Director Owens to a duel or something. Chairman Barnes behavior was pretty childish and inappropriate. SB1461 voluntary environmental performance program (Flake, Allen, Huffman, et al), the polluter sweetheart deal bill, also passed out of this committee. This allows for secrecy and breaks on civil penalties.

In other bad news, SB1193 income tax returns; rounding (Martin) S/E regulations; outdoor advertising remedies; definition and HB2144 homeowners’ association penalties; notice; hearing (Gray C) S/E outdoor advertising; remediation both passed out of their respective committees. These bills gut billboard enforcement powers for cities. They are attacks on all municipal billboard enforcement and, more particularly, represent another way for Clear Channel to get special protections for its illegal billboards in the City of Tucson after the Arizona Supreme Court reversed dismissals by the lower courts. The bill creates a special class of property rights only for nonconforming billboards and rewards companies who have built without permits, use permits or variances. OPPOSE.

HB2462 highway beautification; outdoor advertising (NOW: outdoor advertising) (Gorman: Pierce) was withdrawn from the Commerce and Economic Development Committee, so it need only go through Rules and then to the floor. I suspect the same will happen with HB2461. If you talk to legislators about these bills, ask them to just say no to Clear Channel, say no to more blight, and to vote no on these bills. Because of the provisions dealing with blinking billboards, HB2461 further threaten our dark skies. OPPOSE.

HB2613 forest health amendments (Chase, Brown, Gray C., et al) passed out of the Senate Natural Resources and Rural Affairs (NRRA) Committee 5-1-1-0. Thanks to Senator Rios for opposing it. The bill further promotes various kinds of tax subsidies including transaction privilege tax, income tax, and property tax for the forest products industries. It also cuts the use tax in half for vehicles that are transporting forest products. The bill does not promote or subsidize the products for which there is no market —small diameter trees— but instead leaves it wide open for subsidies for logging old growth and larger diameter trees. The small trees also represent the greatest fire risk for communities. OPPOSE.

SCM1002 endangered species act; urging reform (Flake, Blendu, Jarrett), the postcard to Congress blaming the Endangered Species Act for downfall of civilization, passed out of the Federal Mandates and Property Rights Committee 4-1-0-1-0. Representative Prezelski asked the sponsor to name some of the species who had been harmed by the act. He could not. Representative Prezelski was also the only no vote. OPPOSE.

HCM2007 CAP water priority (Mason, Chase, Landrum Taylor, et al) passed out of NRRA 5-0-2-0. It is a postcard to Congress which among other things encourages Congress to take actions to construct or improve regulatory storage facilities in the lower Colorado River system, operate the Yuma desalting plant and augment the flow of the Colorado River to protect Arizona's Colorado River water supplies. We oppose this because of the folly of operating the Yuma Desalinization Plant. It does not make economic sense as it is very costly and it will harm the environment by destroying the Ciénega de Santa Clara, located at the eastern edge of the Colorado River Delta. It is an open water wetland that covers more than 40,000 acres and is the largest remaining wetland in the Delta. OPPOSE.

In other news, both Robert Hernbrode (Game and Fish Commission) and Kirk Rowdabaugh (State Forester) were recommended to the full Senate by the NRRA Committee and should go to the floor for final confirmation soon.

HB2520 chemical fire response; task force (Landrum Taylor) passed out of NRRA 5-0-2-0 but will be dead unless it is withdrawn from the second committee. It requires hazardous materials training programs to address notification and coordination of services for protection of the public health during and after a chemical or other toxic fire event. It establishes the Arizona Chemical Fire Response Coordination Task Force. SUPPORT.

Here’s the schedule of key issues for this coming week:

Monday, April 4^th

House Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture at 9:00 a.m. in HHR5

SB1459 appropriation; river reservoir (Flake, Brown) deposits $750,000 in the dam repair fund for dam repair on the Little Colorado River. MONITOR.

SB1380 local obligation bonds; amount (Martin) S/E solar energy is the resurrection of HB2374. The bill provides for residential and commercial tax credits for solar energy devices. There are limits on the credits. This helps open the door for more solar development in Arizona which would benefit public health and the economy and create more energy independence. SUPPORT.

SB1393 aggregate mined land reclamation act (Flake: Johnson, Soltero et al) establishes a new division of mined land reclamation at the mine inspector’s office and puts the reclamation for sand and gravel solely under the purview of the state mine inspector, a person who has traditionally been a cheerleader for mining rather than any kind of regulator. It gives broad authority for variances to the inspector. It does not appear to have a lot of accountability included. OPPOSE.

SB1448 Indian tribal tax; mining credit (Hale, Miranda; Arzberger, et al) reduces the transaction privilege tax rate levied on businesses mining on an Indian reservation in Arizona. This is special legislation for Peabody Coal.

SB1483 tax credits; water conservation systems (Gifford, Gray C., Lopez, et al) S/E methamphetamine drug labs is a measure to deal with limiting and controlling the sale of over-the-counter drugs used to make meth.

House Committee on Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs at 1:30 p.m. in HHR4

SB1318 flood control; omnibus (Flake, Arzberger, Brown, et al) S/E omnibus; flood control makes changes related to flood control districts. It allows the district to provide assistance to property owners within the floodplain through elevation, bank stabilization and flood proofing of structures, provide for preservation and restoration of the floodplain (a positive provisions), and maintain flood warning systems. MONITOR.

House Committee on Government Reform & Government Finance Accountability at 2:00 p.m. (+ or -) in HHR3

SB1201 municipal tax incentive; prohibition; penalty (Cheuvront, Garcia, Harper, et al) S/E fireworks; definition allows additional products — snappers, snap pops, party poppers, snakes and glow worms— to be sold in Arizona. Because of the fire danger, we have supported the Forest Service and the fire chiefs to oppose allowing sparklers to be sold in Arizona, so we need to keep an eye on this. MONITOR.

SB1502 channelization districts; interim zoning protection (Jarrett: Arzberger, Johnson, et al) freezes the zoning for these recreational corridor channelization districts in order to protect the sand and gravel companies. As if they need more protections. OPPOSE.

Tuesday, April 5^th

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

HB2174 emergency drought transfers (O’Halleran) S/E assured water supply; fund; continuation establishes the Assured and Adequate Water Supply Administration Fund and establishes an advisory committee to review assured and adequate water supply rules. MONITOR.

HB2499 new schools; lease-purchase phase-out (Huffman, O’Halleran: Paton, et al) S/E municipal tax incentives; prohibition; penalty is likely the bill to limit the Wal-mart subsidies. MONITOR.

Wednesday, April 6^th

House Committee on Appropriations at 1:30 p.m. in HHR1

SB1067 appropriation; Zuni tribe water settlement (Flake, Bee, Blendu, et al) appropriates $1,596,000 for the state to comply with the Zuni Tribe water rights settlement. As noted above, it was amended in the House Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee, but we will need to keep an eye on it until it is amended on the floor. If left unamended, it diverts $800,000 in FY 2005-2006 and $796,000 in FY 2006-2007 from the Heritage Fund. OPPOSE.

Thanks again for your help and support! To email legislators go to http://www.azleg.state.az.us/MemberRoster.asp If you are not sure who your legislators are, please go to http://www.vote-smart.org (You will need your 9-digit zipcode.) 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) 926-3559 (Senate) or (602) 926-4221 (House). Correspondence goes to 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890. For more information on legislation go to http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ .

Page updated: 04/01/05

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