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Legislative Updates 2009Sierra Club 2009 Legislative Update #16 “We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap.” ~Kurt Vonnegut May 15, 2009 Hi all! We are now at day 124 of the legislative session and a budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2009 is nowhere in sight. The Legislature did pass another FY2009 budget “fix” however. For whatever reason, the House Leadership (and I use that term loosely) decided to put HB2088 Now: public conservation monies; transfer; parks on the Third Read calendar, despite the fact that they knew they did not have the required three-fourths vote. I expect it was primarily to point the finger elsewhere when it comes to taking responsibility for the closure of parks and the deterioration of our parks system. We should not let them get away with that -- we need to make it clear that the buck stops with the people who voted out that budget. Please call or email and thank House members who voted against HB2088. Tell them that you appreciate them standing up for the Arizona Constitution, the voters of Arizona, and for conservation. HB2088 proposed to divert $20 million from the Public Conservation Account in the Land Conservation Fund established by the voters in 1998. It diverted the dollars to a variety of purposes – everything from water banking to parks to workshops – several of which had little, if anything to do with conservation. This bill was clearly unconstitutional as it in no way furthered the purposes of the measure that went before the voters in 1998. Some referred to this bill as “borrowing,” but when the Legislature “borrows” or diverts dollars from a fund, there is no guarantee those dollars will ever be repaid, so it amounts to an unsecured loan. In addition to that, if the Legislature successfully took this voter-protected money, what other voter-protected funds would be in their sights next? Saying no helps to discourage further action in this area. Below are the legislators who voted no on the bill as well as their contact information. If you do not see your legislators on the list, you might consider calling them to express your disappointment in their vote.
There are no committee hearings currently scheduled for next week, but of course that could change by the end of today. The bill status sent out last week has not changed much at all. They did a Third Read on HB2088, as noted above, but not much else on the other bills we are tracking. For more information on bills we are tracking, click on Legislative Tracker or paste http://arizona.sierraclub.org/political_action/tracker/ into your browser. Don’t forget about the film screening this week! 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, Nutrioso, 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; www.lordsofnature.org Thank you for all you do and all of your great support! Sandy Bahr |
2009 Legislative Updates Bill Tracker
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