|
|||
| Political Action |
Legislative Updates 2007Sierra Club 2007 Legislative Update #18 "There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there." —Indira Gandhi May 4, 2007 Hello Conservation Friends! We saw two budgets appear this week at the Legislature, but neither seems to have legs currently. There is a 15-15 stalemate in the Senate and the House just did not have a whole lot of buy-in to their proposed budget. Neither budget is great from an environmental perspective, but the Senate budget is better. It is looking more and more like the session will drag into June. For those of you who are new to the updates, feel free to zap me a note if something I include does not make sense. Remember, unless stated otherwise, it is always best to contact your own legislators that has the greatest impact. It is also very helpful to call or to write a real letter. Legislators get inundated with email, so it has limited impact unless you have made some other contact with them previously. That being said, if you only have time to send a quick email, please do send it. Thanks a bunch! Please call Senators and ask them to support solar energy and to vote yes on SB1254 NOW: real property; signage; solar devices (Leff). This bill was amended in the House to include provisions that make it more difficult for Home Owners’ 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 block the installation, 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. Just click on http://azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S to find your Arizona Senator’s contact information. 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. Good news! Governor Napolitano vetoed SB1119 overlapping service area providers (C. Gray, Aguirre, Harper, et al.) It had passed out of both the House and Senate with the slimmest of margins and after dying once in the Senate. The bill would have significantly hindered cities’ water conservation efforts, drought plans, efforts to address groundwater contamination, and more, by creating a brand new exemption for irrigation districts. Irrigation districts would not have been subject to any of the city or town’s ordinances or regulations relative to water. If you have not thanked the Governor for her veto, please do so now. 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. 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.) is on the Governor’s desk. 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.) was signed by the Governor. 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.) finally moved out of the Senate Rules Committee. It adds an energy element to cities’ general plans and counties’ comprehensive plans to encourage and reward efficient use of energy. This will be amended on the floor to exempt smaller cities. It already exempts smaller counties. 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 and may be dead unless there is some agreement with the Arizona Education Association as well as the Governor’s office. The Arizona Education Association is still opposed to the measure and would like to see some stronger oversight, including from representatives of the beneficiaries. The Governor would like to see funding for the State Land Department. HCR2039 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, so they would not appear in the Constitution. 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 was signed by the Governor. SUPPORT. SB1326 NOW: concurrent jurisdiction; Barry Goldwater range (Leff) passed out of the Senate and is on the Governor’s desk. 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. 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. The Governor signed this. 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. 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 |