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| Political Action |
Legislative Updates 2007Sierra Club 2007 Legislative Update #17 "Genuine politics -- even politics worthy of the name -- the only politics I am willing to devote myself to -- is simply a matter of serving those around us: serving the community and serving those who will come after us. Its deepest roots are moral because it is a responsibility expressed through action, to and for the whole." - Vaclav Havel April 27, 2007 Hello Conservation Friends! Here it is the end of April and still no budget in sight. It is looking like the session will continue on into late May, unless some miracle occurs. This week the Senate passed several good bills including two energy bills and a bill addressing toxic fire response. Senator Landrum Taylor has been trying to get SB1112 passed for about five years, so this was a good week for her and for those who are concerned about the impacts of these toxic fires. In a surprising move, senators rejected an off-road vehicle bill that will be back on reconsideration, however. The House was not as discriminating in the legislation it passed along and sent SB1119, another bad water bill, to the Governor. See below for details. Please ask the Governor to veto SB1119 overlapping service area providers (C. Gray, Aguirre, Harper, et al.). It passed out of the House after several members who said they were voting “no” decided to vote “yes.” It will undercut water conservation efforts in many cities and towns, but is particularly aimed at Gilbert. If this passes, it means that anyone who is part of the irrigation district is not subject to any of the city or town’s ordinances or regulations relative to water. It is a terrible bill and bad precedent. OPPOSE. To send an email message to the governor email azgov@az.gov or go to http://azgovernor.gov/contact.asp and type in your message. Call 602-542-4331 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-253-0883. You can also contact the governor via mail at: The Honorable Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona, 1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007, fax 602-542-1381. Also, please call or email the following representatives and thank them for voting no. If your representatives are not among these, then it is okay to pick one or two to thank any way. Please thank Representatives: Alvarez, Bradley, Cajero Bedford, Chad Campbell, Cloves Campbell, DeSimone, Farley, Gallardo, Garcia, Kirkpatrick, Lopes, Lopez, Lujan, McComish, McLain, Meza, Prezelski, Rios, Robson, Schapira, Thrasher, Tobin, and Ulmer. Please also thank Representative Ableser. He was a no vote, but switched to yes for purposes of reconsideration. He was trying to get a second shot at defeating it. Unfortunately, the motion did not pass, so they did not reconsider the bill. To contact your representatives, go to http://www.azleg.gov/memberRoster.asp?Body=H or in the Phoenix area call (602) 926-4221, in Tucson you can call (520) 398-6000 or for any area outside the Phoenix area, call toll free 1-800-352-8404 and ask to be connected to your legislator’s office. In Tucson, you can call (520) 398-6000. Also, please thank Arizona Senators who voted no on SB1311 channelization districts; formation (Flake). It was defeated on reconsideration 15-14-1. This measure was totally unnecessary and continues the ongoing power grab by the sand and gravel companies via the Arizona Rock Products Association. It removes the requirement that allows a county to form a channelization district that includes a city or town, only if that city or town has also approved it. It replaces it with a notification requirement and allows a city or town to disapprove only the portion of a district located within its boundaries within 90 days of the notice. If the governing body does not disapprove within 90 days, the formation is deemed approved. This bill does not consider the impacts of these districts downstream. OPPOSE. Go to http://azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S to email Arizona Senators or to find their office phone numbers. Outside the Phoenix area, you can call your Senator’s office toll free at 1-800-352-8404. In the Phoenix area call (602) 926-3559 and ask to be connected to your Senator. In Tucson, you can call (520) 398-6000. Here are a few bill updates: HB2443 NOW: user fee; off-highway vehicles (JP Weiers) failed 14-13-3, but will be reconsidered next week. It establishes a user fee for off-road vehicles. While we support increasing funding for law enforcement and the safety provisions in the bill as well as the language that prescribes where these vehicles are allowed and where they are not allowed, we still have some concerns about the allocation of the 60 percent of the dollars that will go to grants administered by Arizona State Parks. Our main concern is that these grants will be used to open new areas to off-road vehicle activities and to promote a use on the land that is decimating wildlife habitat, destroying vegetation, and promoting soil erosion. We would like to see the dollars for these grants targeted to restoration and only for trails in areas that are currently used and appropriate for ORV use. HB2491 solar energy tax credit; application (Mason, Boone: Anderson, et al.) passed out of Senate 20-7-3 and will be transmitted to the Governor. It is merely a technical correction bill to clarify the commercial solar energy tax credit program established last year, so the credit can be claimed by a third party who finances the solar installation. This will help to support installation of more solar on state buildings, schools, etc. SUPPORT. HB2496 schools; energy and water savings (Mason, J. Burns, Aboud, et al.) passed out of the Senate 28-2 and is on the Governor’s desk. It creates an energy and water savings mechanism which allows schools to use the cost savings in maintenance and operations portion of their budgets to pay for capital investments in energy or water saving measures and to use dollars from utility companies to pay for water and energy saving measures. This provides an opportunity for schools to invest in cost-effective measures that save money, energy, and water over time. SUPPORT. HB2638 local energy plans (Cajero Bedford, Bradley, Mason, et al.) awaits action by Senate Rules. It adds an energy element to cities’ general plans and counties’ comprehensive plans to encourage and reward efficient use of energy. SUPPORT. HB2692 water supply development revolving fund (Mason, Ableser, Saradnik, et al.) awaits action by the Senate Committee of the Whole. It establishes a water development revolving fund for the purpose of providing financial assistance to water providers for water supply development. This bill is another mechanism for fueling urban, suburban, and rural sprawl. It does not provide any protections for stream or river flows and therefore could be used by Prescott or Prescott Valley to pipe from the Big Chino and dry up the upper portion of the Verde River. OPPOSE. HB2693 water adequacy provisions (Mason, Ableser, Saradnik, et al.) and SB1575 water adequacy amendments (Arzberger, Aguirre, Landrum Taylor, et al.) await final action in the House. These bills authorize cities and counties outside of active management areas to adopt by a unanimous vote an ordinance requiring a determination of water adequacy from the Arizona Department of Water Resources before a subdivision may be approved. They provide exemptions for subdivisions that will be hauling water by truck or train these are commonly referred to as “Dry lot subdivisions.” While the bills provide additional consumer protection, they do not provide any additional protection for surface water rivers, streams, springs, etc. HCR2039 NOW: state trust lands; public use (Nelson) awaits action by Senate Rules as people continue to meet to see if the differences can be addressed. The Arizona Education Association is still opposed to the measure and would like to see some stronger oversight, including from representatives of the beneficiaries. It refers to the ballot a constitutional amendment to conserve some of the urban state trust lands, including lands in Scottsdale, Pima County, Coconino County, etc. It includes about 195,000 acres, all of which would have to be bought at true value (appraised value), but without auction. The pre-1968 easements can be conveyed without the trust receiving any compensation per this measure. New rights-of-way could also be conveyed without auction. There is also some language relating to leases and nonmonetary value that we are evaluating. HB2312 state air quality rules; hearing (Barnes) also awaits action in Rules. The strike everything amendment on state trust land conservation lands moves the specific lands addressed in HCR2039 into session law. SB1112 toxic fire response (Landrum Taylor, Miranda, Rios, et al.) sets up the Arizona Chemical Fire Response Coordination Task Force in order to better limit the exposure of the public and first responders to hazardous chemicals during an emergency. It requires that the task force establish a hazardous material tracking process program for municipalities to identify buildings that use or have hazardous materials on site. It requires coordination of public health protection and risks associated with a chemical or other toxic fire event. The bill passed out of the Senate this week and is on the way to the Governor. SUPPORT. SB1326 NOW: concurrent jurisdiction; Barry Goldwater range (Leff) awaits a Third Read in the Senate. It amends state law concerning jurisdiction to enhance the ability of the federal law officers to manage public use of the Barry M. Goldwater Range more safely. It allows them to enforce state laws like the Arizona Native Plant Law and take enforcement action to protect the land as well as public safety. SUPPORT. SB1254 homeowners' associations; commercial signs (Leff) makes it more difficult for Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) to block installation of solar energy panels. It states that homeowners associations can't prohibit solar panels, but they can have reasonable restrictions on placement of them provided the restrictions do not impair the function, restrict the use, or adversely affect the cost or efficiency of the device. It provides for attorneys’ fees for the prevailing party in litigation relating to this. For far too long HOAs have used arbitrary restrictions to prevent homeowners from installing clean renewable solar energy. Arizona ought to be leading the way on the use of solar energy. Greater production of solar energy technology and use of solar energy will lead to greater energy independence, fewer polluting power plants, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and cleaner air for our communities. SUPPORT. SB1531 vehicle emissions inspection; sunset extension (Allen) continues the vehicle emissions inspection program in both Area A (Phoenix and surrounding area) and Area B (Tucson) through January 1, 2017. It passed out of the House 43-15-2 and the Senate 23-3-4. It is on the Governor’s desk. SUPPORT. SB1552 air quality program (Allen, Huppenthal) is supposed to go to conference committee where some additional measures to curb dust and ozone will be added, including requiring a dust coordinator for construction sites, a dust training program, cleaner burning gasoline in parts of Pinal County, and more Best Management Practices for agriculture. It is looking very likely that a special session will be required to really address air quality issues. The measure currently includes limited provisions to improve air quality. SUPPORT. SB1557 water; municipal conservation requirements (Flake) was signed by the Governor, unfortunately. The bill eliminates specific conservation requirements for certain municipal water providers under the non-per capita program located within Active Management Areas (AMAs) and instead requires them to adopt Best Management Practices, which are generally not enforced. Furthermore, it extends the agricultural best management practices program into the fourth management period, despite the fact that there has been no evaluation of the program. While it may be designed to achieve conservation, is it? OPPOSE. For more information on bills we are tracking, go to http://arizona.sierraclub.org/political_action/tracker/. To email legislators go to http://www.azleg.gov/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 legislators’ offices 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.gov. Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, 202 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 277, Phoenix, AZ 85004, (602) 253-8633 |