|
|||
| Political Action |
Legislative Updates 2008Sierra Club 2008 Legislative Update #17 The average human being breathes 3,400 gallons of air each and every day. -Source: U.S. EPA May 2, 2008 Hi all! This week Maricopa County got another failing grade for Ozone pollution from the American Lung Association. A majority of legislators appear to be unconcerned about our poor air quality, however. At the informational hearing on HB2017 Now: greenhouse emissions; regulations; fuel economy (Konopnicki), there was bipartisan support for doing nothing and passing HB2017. They did not vote on final passage on the floor yet, however. Unfortunately, it is not because they do not have the votes. Please keep calling and emailing and if possible talk to your House members face-to-face. It is especially important that you contact Representatives Reagan – her district is significantly affected by ozone pollution; Meza – his district is also heavily affected by poor air quality; Alvarez, Bradley, Cajero Bedford, Linda Lopez, Pete Rios – apparently Tucson Electric Power has been putting heavy pressure on southern Arizona Democrats; Miranda; and McClure and Paton – both live in a district that cares about clean air and she is running for the Arizona Corporation Commission so it is important for her to stand up to the utilities now. To find your House members’ contact information just click on HOUSE or paste this website into your browser http://www.azleg.gov/memberRoster.asp?Body=H or you can call (602) 926-4221 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-352-8404 and just ask to be connected to your House members’ offices. This bill sends the message that Arizona does not want to do its part to clean up the air or reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. It will undercut “Clean Car” and clean air programs and significantly restrict the Governor’s ability to participate in regional efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions as well as other pollutants. The Clean Car rule will reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as other pollutants, including the precursors to ozone. Regarding the Western Climate Initiative, this bill is premature, at best. Arizona should not sit on its hands while the rest of the western states act to reduce emissions. Also, please come attend this important hearing, if you can. Help Clean Up Arizona’s Air and Protect Public Health! People throughout Arizona have suffered from poor air quality for decades. Most of our pollution comes from cars and trucks, and about 40% of Arizona’s greenhouse gas emissions also come from vehicles. With our rapid growth and an increase in miles traveled that outpaces that growth, our emissions could grow by as much as 200% from 1990 to 2020. We cannot afford that. Join us at the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council meeting to support the Clean Car Standard — cleaner cars, cleaner air, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. Office of Peace Officer Standards and Training Board 2643 E. University Dr., Phoenix For directions, just click on Directions or paste http://www.grrc.state.az.us/pdf/Az%20POST%20Directions.pdf into your browser. Please call senators and ask them to oppose HB2772 NOW: groundwater transfers; Coconino plateau (Mason). It allows the Town of Williams to transfer water from one basin to another – from the Verde Valley Sub-basin to the Coconino Plateau Basin, thus codifying a mistake into law and granting a special exception to the groundwater code. This bill ratifies a mistake and sets a bad precedent. Every time someone drills a well in the wrong location, will they be able to expect special legislation? In an age when we have much better mapping, GPS coordinates, and all kinds of ways to verify locations, this should not be happening. It also could put at risk springs and streams in the area. OPPOSE. To find your senator’s contact information just click on Senators or paste http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S into your browser or you can call (602) 926-3559 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-352-8404 and just ask for your senator’s office. Here is an update on a few bills we are following: HCR2044 voter-protection; temporary budgetary suspension (Pearce, Barnes, Biggs, et al) awaits action in the Senate Rules Committee. It refers to the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the legislature to reduce appropriations for measures approved by the voters in any year where there was a projected budget deficit of at least one percent. This would eviscerate the Voter Protection Act. OPPOSE. HB2156 NOW: railroad projects; review (Paton, Pancrazi) awaits action by the Senate Committee of the Whole. It requires railroads that are considering potential sites for a major rail project to notify the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). The railroad has to provide ADOT with the various alternatives for sites and routes and an assessment on the potential impacts to air quality, water resources, areas of historical or geographic significance, and the economic effects on the surrounding communities. SUPPORT. HB2221 county subdivisions; notification (Paton) had a strike everything on Green Building in the Senate Government Committee and passed out 4-3. It still awaits action by the Rules Committee. It limits the ability of cities and towns to implement green building programs. OPPOSE. HB2235 administrative rules oversight committee (DeSimone, Burns, Cheuvront, et al) was vetoed by the Governor. It reestablished the Administrative Rules Oversight Committee (AROC), a committee that has oversight on rules and consists of 10 legislators and a representative from the governor’s office. This committee was not an effective mechanism for addressing concerns when it existed previously and just adds more bureaucracy to an already cumbersome process. OPPOSE. HB2333 county powers; outdoor fires (Mason) had a strike everything on renewable energy; generation; manufacturing; classification in Natural Resources and Rural Affairs. It is assigned to two other committees, so will die unless it is withdrawn. It lowers the property tax assessment ration for property using renewable energy and the manufacturing of renewable energy equipment. SUPPORT. HB2614 renewable energy valuation; expiration extension (Mason, Miranda, O’Halleran, et al) passed out of the Senate Finance Committee 5-1-2 and awaits action in Rules. It extends the date for the property tax incentive for the valuation of renewable energy equipment from 2011 to 2040. SUPPORT. HB2615 NOW: solar construction permits (Mason, Ableser, Reagan) passed out of the Senate 26-0-4 and was held in the majority caucus in the House. It specifies that counties and municipalities adopt standards for issuing permits for the use of solar photovoltaic systems and creates the Local Government Solar Equipment Permit Process Improvement Study Committee. SUPPORT. HB2766 omnibus energy act of 2008 (Mason, Ch Campbell, McClure, et al.) awaits Senate Rules action as well as possible shenanigans from the dirty car and utility lobby. It promotes energy efficiency and clean renewable energy in Arizona. It requires school districts to reduce their energy consumption by 10% by July 1, 2011, 15% by July 1, 2015 and 20% by July 1, 2020; and it requires that school districts, universities, community colleges, and state agencies purchase 10 percent of their energy from renewable and nonpolluting energy sources. The bill gives schools flexibility to use the dollars they save on utilities to pay for capital investments that would help save energy. It includes additional provisions. SUPPORT. SB1027 elections; conflicting amendments (now: municipal incentives; technical conforming changes (Tibshraeny) has a second strike everything amendment on toll roads; public highway authorities thus resurrecting a bill for toll roads. It was not heard in Transportation so it is dead unless the Speaker withdraws it from that committee. OPPOSE. SB1167 NOW: user fee; off-highway vehicles (L. Gray) was held in the Republican Caucus. It provides funding for law enforcement and mitigation and restoration of areas damaged by off-road vehicles, plus limitations on where new trails can be built with the grant dollars. It is a step in the right direction to help better protect important public and private lands from irresponsible off-road vehicle activities. SUPPORT. SB1264 NOW: public rights-of-way; claims (Johnson) was held in Rules, but could resurface. It asserts and claims, on behalf of the state and its political subdivisions, rights-of-way across public lands acquired after the effective date of Revised Statute 2477. SB1264 is likely to just create confusion rather than open up any roads as its proponents would like to do, but it is a bad message, and could slow down efforts to protect our public lands from irresponsible off-road vehicle use and to protect resources by closing certain roads. Supporters of this bill say it is needed because the Forest Service is closing 80 percent of the roads on the national forests and specifically have referenced the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. That is flat wrong. OPPOSE. SB1288 NOW: local stormwater pollution prevention programs (Flake, Rios: Barnes) passed 40-18-2 in the House. They did not amend it as they said they would, so we are still opposed. The bill authorizes establishment of local pollutant discharge elimination system stormwater programs (county, town or agency of the state), collection of fees, and authorizes, but limits penalties for violations. It includes language that says the program can be no more stringent than the Clean Water Act and also any new ordinances or changes in ordinances can only comply with the “minimum requirements” of the Clean Water Act. This gives no flexibility to local communities to address local conditions that might require more protective standards. OPPOSE. Thank you for taking action on these important issues! 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 |