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Legislative Updates 2009Sierra Club 2009 Legislative Update #14 “Freedom is when the people can speak, democracy is when the government listens.” May 1, 2009 Hi all! Another week has come and gone and still there is no state budget the one thing the legislature must do. This week the House Republican Leadership floated the idea of swiping the cities’ impact fee dollars to help balance the budget. Taxpayers already subsidize development; now they want us do so even more. The hearing that was scheduled to discuss this proposal was cancelled at the last minute. The official word was the Homebuilders needed more time to get their arguments together. I’ll say. After years of promoting legislation that severely restricts the assessment and use of impact fees, now they want to advocate swiping them? And how will they convince the public that we should provide more subsidies for the next Anthem development? Meanwhile, the Homebuilders are pushing for a freeze on impact fees in HB2259, another very bad piece of legislation. This week, please call or email both of your state House members as well as your state Senator and ask them to pass a budget funds environmental programs so they can function properly to protect our investments in the future, including for parks, wildlife, clean air, and clean water. Ask them to give State Parks an operating budget that allows them to keep parks open and in good repair. Legislators should not divert impact fees to force taxpayers to further subsidize urban sprawl. Finally, ask them to leave the Heritage Fund intact. To email your legislators or find their direct phone numbers, click on Legislators or paste http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp into your browser. If you are not sure who your legislators are, please go to http://www.vote-smart.org 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) and ask them to connect you with your legislators. Here is what is coming up this week. Monday, May 4, 2009 Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt at 1:30 p.m. in SHR109 Executive Nominations: John S. Halikowski, Director of the Department of Transportation; Walter D. Armer, Jr., Arizona State Parks Board; Maureen Rose George, Arizona Water Banking Authority; Burton S. Kruglick, Arizona Racking Commission Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Senate Appropriations Committee at 1:30 p.m. in SHR 109 SB1027 will have a strike everything amendment on capital outlay; FY2009-2010 SB1028 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; criminal justice SB1029 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; higher education SB1031 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; assets SB1035 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; general government SB1036 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; general revenues SB1187 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; K-12 SB1188 will have a strike everything amendment on general appropriations; FY2009-2010 SB1189 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; health and welfare SB1190 will have a strike everything amendment on budget reconciliation; environment None of these strikers are posted, so we do not know what they contain or how they affect environmental programs. It is questionable as to whether or not this committee hearing will actually happen. Thursday, May 7, 2009 House Committee on Water and Agriculture at 9:00 a.m. in HHR5 Presentation by Malcolm Barrett, Chairman of the National Propane Gas Association Cap and Trade – Overview, Legislation and Developments at the Federal Level Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Regional Programs, Current Electric Generation Methods & Emissions For more information on bills we are tracking, click on Legislative Tracker or paste http://arizona.sierraclub.org/political_action/tracker/ into your browser. Here is an opportunity to help out tomorrow, Saturday, May 2: Bloody Basin Clean-up -We will be cleaning up the Bloody Basin exit on I-17. This interchange is the main entry point to the Agua Fria National Monument. The Sierra Club will be working in conjunction with the Friends of Agua Fria National Monument. We will be meeting on Saturday at 7 am at the Bureau of Land Management office located at 21605 N. 7th Avenue in Phoenix. This is located north of the loop 101 freeway on the right (east) side of the road. You should plan on bringing your own gloves, water, and lunch/snacks. Reflective vests and trash bags will be provided. We are planning on being finished before noon. If you have any questions please call Jim Vaaler, the trip leader, at (602) 553-8208 or contact Jim at jimvaaler@msn.com. Please mark your calendar:
Join us for an evening of film and discussion about wolves and other top predators in the West. The below screening is in Tempe, but there will also be screenings in Flagstaff and Tucson. Stay tuned on that. The Documentary Premiere is May 21, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Valley Art Theatre in Tempe. The film is approximately 60 minutes and will be followed by brief discussion with opportunities for questions and answers. This is a free event. Following in the footsteps of wolves and cougars, and the scientists working to understand their place in the rapidly changing world of nature, award-winning filmmakers Karen and Ralf Meyer of Green Fire Productions have captured the predators' ongoing drama in their new documentary, LORDS OF NATURE: Life in a Land of Great Predators. Narrated by Peter Coyote, this captivating documentary goes behind the scenes with leading scientists to explore the role top predators play in restoring and maintaining ecosystems and biodiversity. LORDS OF NATURE is the story of a science now discovering top carnivores as revitalizing forces of nature, and of a society now learning tolerance for beasts they once banished. For more information: Sandy Bahr at (602) 253-8633 or sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org Thank you for all you do and all of your great support! To email your legislators or find their direct phone numbers, click on Legislators or paste http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp into your browser. If you are not sure who your legislators are, please go to http://www.vote-smart.org 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) and ask them to connect you with your legislators. For more information on bills we are tracking, go to http://arizona.sierraclub.org/political_action/tracker/ Thank you!
Sandy Bahr |
2009 Legislative Updates Bill Tracker
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