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| Political Action |
Legislative Updates 2008Sierra Club 2008 Legislative Update #21 “They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol May 30, 2008 Hi all! Well, the grueling pace of doing a few bills each day continued – for the two days the legislature was in session this week. People are cranky, a few ugly bills move forward, and the bills to promote positive change remain stuck in the Senate Republican Caucus. Still, there is no FY2009 budget, the one thing that they must do before adjourning for the session. SB1167 NOW: user fee; off-highway vehicles (L. Gray) has been stuck in the Senate Republican Caucus for many weeks as senators contemplate the prospect of Senator Ron Gould filibustering the bill. The more time drags on, the less likely the bill is to make it to the floor and pass. It would be a shame to see the bill die after all of the work and extreme effort it took to get people on the same page and to get the needed improvements for land protection. SB1167 provides funding for law enforcement and mitigation and restoration of areas damaged by off-road vehicles, plus includes 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. It also includes safety provisions. Please take the time to send a polite email or make a phone call encouraging Senator Huppenthal to allow this bill out of the Republican Caucus so it can make its way to the floor for a vote. You can reach him by clicking on Senator Huppenthal or by calling (602) 926-5261. As most of you know, Governor Napolitano vetoed SB1264 NOW: public rights-of-way; claims (Johnson). This bill asserted and claimed on behalf of the state and its political subdivisions, rights-of-way across public lands acquired after the effective date of Revised Statute 2477 (passed in 1866). Please thank the Governor for vetoing it, if you have not done so already. You can reach her at azgov@az.gov or Click on Governor 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, 9th Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85007 or by fax at 602-542-1381. As mentioned above, the Senate Republican Caucus has become a bit of a black hole for some of the better legislation. HB2766 omnibus energy act of 2008 (Mason, Ch Campbell, McClure, et al.) is also there, but we hope to see it move forward early next week. Please encourage senators to support the bill and to keep it clean. They should not amend on the provisions of HB2017; the bill the governor vetoed which limited actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. HB2766 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. SUPPORT. HB2156 NOW: railroad projects; review (Paton, Pancrazi) should be on the Senate Committee of the Whole calendar again for next week. There was melt down on the floor on the bill that preceded this, so they never got to it in Committee of the Whole this week. Please ask senators to support this bill as well. 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. Finally, ask senators to oppose HB 2666 aggregate mine reclamation law; exemption (Biggs). It awaits a Third Read in the Senate (this one did get out of the caucus). It exempts sand and gravel pits which are intermittently used for specific governmental projects from aggregate mine regulatory and reclamation mandates. It is difficult to see why the bill is necessary or why someone doing government projects should get special consideration. There is already a provision in the current law which allows the mine inspector to grant three subsequent five year extensions before any reclamation has to begin, so someone can delay fixing a problem for 15 years. This additional exemption is unnecessary and provides another loophole for avoiding reclamation and cleaning up a mess. There are already plenty of opportunities for delays and exemptions in our mining laws, we should not add another. OPPOSE. To find your senator’s specific 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 other bills we are following: HB2221 county subdivisions; notification (Paton) had a strike everything on Green Building and still awaits action by the Rules Committee. It would be ever so nice if it never saw the light of day again. The bill limits the ability of cities and towns to implement green building programs. Apparently, someone – the Homebuilders Association – thinks there is entirely too much green building – as if. 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 still assigned to two other committees. It lowers the property tax assessment ration for property using renewable energy and the manufacturing of renewable energy equipment. There is still some discussion about adding tax credits to it. SUPPORT. HB2614 renewable energy valuation; expiration extension (Mason, Miranda, O’Halleran, et al) extends the date for the property tax incentive for the valuation of renewable energy equipment from 2011 to 2040. This was held in the Senate Republican Caucus, because two of the usual suspects raised objections. SUPPORT. HB2615 NOW: solar construction permits (Mason, Ableser, Reagan) was signed by the Governor. 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. HCR2044 voter-protection; temporary budgetary suspension (Pearce, Barnes, Biggs, et al) is still on hold. 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. 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 |