Legislative Updates 2005

Hi all! This was a tough week for environmental protection. The Legislature was up to no good as was the Congress. The budget bill in Congress went through with the provision that accommodates drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is frustrating to think that this beautiful, precious and fragile area will be decimated —and yes desecrated— so people can tank up those Hummers (for a brief period 10 years from now). I guess when you put the oil guys in the Whitehouse for two terms, it is not unexpected. Thanks to all of you who have made repeated calls and sent repeated emails and letters. They still have to do the budget reconciliation, so the fight is not over, but it is looking more and more like they will have their way. On a positive note, the Ivory-billed woodpecker is back. There is hope.

SB1067 appropriation; Zuni tribe water settlement (Flake, Bee, Blendu, et al) was not transmitted to the Governor until April 26^th, so there is still time to call and still time for her to veto. Please call or email the Governor and ask her to veto SB1067 and to protect the Arizona Heritage Fund. The bill appropriates $1,596,000 for the state to comply with the Zuni Tribe water rights settlement, but diverts $800,000 in FY 2005-2006 and $796,000 in FY 2006-2007 from the Arizona Game and Fish Heritage Fund. It is an inappropriate and unnecessary diversion of these dollars which are supposed to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat. The State should meet this commitment with general fund dollars, just as it has with previous water rights settlements.

While you are at it, please ask her to ink up her veto pen for SB1193 NOW: regulations; outdoor advertising remedies; definition (Martin) as well. It passed out of the Senate 16-14 with all Democrats except Arzberger voting no and Senators Allen, Hellon, and Huppenthal also voting no. This measure attacks municipal billboard enforcement. It is the latest way for Clear Channel to get special protections for its illegal billboards in the City of Tucson. 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. The beauty of our state is undeniable. From the Sonoran Desert to the ponderosa pine forests, from the grasslands to the piñon-juniper, Arizona is a spectacular and amazingly scenic state. Why further risk the beauty of our state, so a couple of billboard companies can make a few more bucks?

To reach the Governor, call 602-542-4331 or toll free 1-800-253-0883. Her fax number is 602-542-1381 and her address is 1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007. To email her, either click on the following link or cut and paste it into your server http://www.governor.state.az.us/post/feedback.htm

PLEASE CALL YOUR HOUSE MEMBERS AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE SB1283! Tell Them to Protect Our Forests and Our Pocketbooks and Say No to Subsidies for Logging Old Growth. SB1283 S/E forest health is a rehash of the forest bill that was just vetoed by the Governor. It contains only minor changes. SB1283 is an irresponsible use of tax dollars and represents the same kind of policy that resulted in the Alternative Fuels fiasco several years ago. There has been no fiscal analysis of this bill or this proposed program. The strike everything amendment 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 key problem with the bill is the tax subsidies are pretty wide open. Here are some of the weak qualifications for the subsidies:

Thirty percent of the product can be anything including old growth and large trees, plus 25% of the product can come from another state.

The 70% that must be “Qualifying Forest Products” includes “dead standing timber,” which means old snags that are important for wildlife can also be logged and subsidized by our tax dollars.

Post-fire logging, an activity that causes enormous ecological damage, also qualifies.

“Qualifying Forest Products” includes “other woody vegetation” — whatever that means.

PLEASE CALL SENATORS AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE THE FOLLOWING BILLS:

SB1166 S/E: animal and ecological terrorism (Verschoor) represents more of a political agenda rather than an attempt to solve any real problems. The Sierra Club has long condemned violence, including that done in the name of protecting the environment. There are ample conditions under current law to prosecute those engaged in illegal conduct of this nature, however. This bill is unnecessary. We have strong laws against damaging property, trespassing, and arson and even specifically against damaging agricultural or lab facilities. The bill also lowers the standard for what constitutes terrorism. OPPOSE.

HB 2461 NOW: beautification; highways; advertising regulation (Gorman: Pierce) allows electronic billboard displays that could change messages as often as every six seconds. There are no limitations on brightness or size, and there are also no shielding requirements. It threatens what remains of our dark skies. OPPOSE.

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).

Here are a few bill updates:

SB1009 school buildings; air quality (L. Gray) was signed by the Governor. This is one small victory for the kids and will provide an incremental improvement in the school conditions. It requires the School Facilities Board (SFB) to provide school districts with information on improving the indoor environmental conditions at least once every two years, among other things.

HB2390 energy efficiency appliance standards (Mason) was also signed by the Governor. This bill sets the minimum level of energy efficiency for 12 products such as commercial refrigerators and freezers and traffic signals not covered by federal standards. It will save dollars, energy and water.

SB1380 S/E solar energy (Martin) passed out of the House 44-12-4 and is on its way back to the Senate. It 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) was amended on the Floor of the House and passed out 38-18-4. This bill establishes the mined land reclamation division at the mine inspector’s office and puts the reclamation for sand and gravel solely under the purview of the state mine inspector, a cheerleader for mining industry. This bill could make it impossible to enforce things like the fugitive dust ordinance if the sand and gravel companies are engaged in a “reclamation” activity. OPPOSE.

SB1455 NOW: DEQ; continuation (Flake) passed out of the Senate 27-3 and has been transmitted to the Governor. It continues the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for four years. SUPPORT.

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/ .