Maricopa County Hosts Large Urban County Caucus
National Association of Counties (NACo) President-elect Don Stapley and his fellow Maricopa County supervisors hosted the Large Urban County Caucus' annual meeting this
week in Phoenix. The event focused on healthcare policies and highlighted current and future ways to improve wellness and quality healthcare access in communities.
The forum provided insight into the health reform proposals of the 2008 Presidential candidates and summarized the possible ways the nation's healthcare system could change under a new administration.
"We were proud to host so many prominent elected officials as they heard the latest in national healthcare proposals," stated Supervisor Stapley. "As Maricopa County Supervisors, we were able to showcase how we break down barriers in delivery of healthcare to those in need. In fact, so many attendees were impressed by the tour of our human services campus that they organized an additional visit to find out how to create that solution in their own communities. These are exactly the kind of results we were looking for: the ability to spark immediate actions. We were honored to host the meeting."
NACo's Large Urban County Caucus is a bipartisan coalition of elected officials who collectively represent approximately 130 million people across the nation. The caucus' objective is to provide important policy information and develop solutions to the challenges facing the nation's 100 largest counties.
SWAG Continues Water Supply Development Funding Options
The Statewide Water Advisory Group (SWAG) reconvened last week to consider the next steps that should be taken to obtain funding for the Water Supply Development Revolving Fund (Fund). Though no definite plan action was identified, the group focused on several key requirements for any funding source.
Many felt that those benefiting from the Fund should be required to contribute to it, and all believed that the Fund's resources must be as dependable and predictable as possible. To accomplish this, members seek funding from a variety of sources.
Existing funding options were outlined in a summary from the Arizona Department of Water Resources (DWR), which includes property taxes, water withdrawal fees, transaction privilege (sales) tax, impact fees and state general fund appropriations. SWAG members recognized the limited resources of the state's general fund given the current budget deficits, but believed it should be a future funding option. (
Click here to view the DWR document.)
The SWAG intends to continue their discussions, and each member was asked to choose their top three funding preferences before the next meeting.
This Week at the Legislature: Issue Updates
Budget
There are still no updates on the details of closed-door bipartisan budget negotiations, though House and Senate leadership continue their meetings with Governor Napolitano. Several proposals with severe impacts to counties remain on the table, including the shift of state prisoners to county jails, dramatic increases to the use of photo radar, and HURF sweeps.
The joint
CSA/AACo resolution against the potential transfer of state prisoners was timely and well-received by both legislative leaders and rank-and-file legislators. Many legislators of both parties expressed their opposition to the concept, which would only shift costs to county taxpayers and significantly strain the state's criminal justice system.
Budget talks are scheduled to continue next week.
Property Tax
The Senate again failed to hold a vote on
SB 1256: special districts; secondary levy limits (B. Burns) when a majority of senators told the bill's sponsor they planned to vote against the proposal. The bill, which would arbitrarily restrict county-controlled library, public health and jail districts to an annual increase of two percent plus new construction, has repeatedly been held back as Senate leadership attempts to corral the necessary votes.
After several months of negotiations on another property tax proposal, the Senate held a vote on
HB 2220: state equalization property tax repeal (J. Weiers) when Senator Ken Cheuvront (D-15) changed his vote to allow the measure to pass. The permanent repeal of the state's education property tax rate had been stalled due to division in the Senate Republican caucus. If approved by Governor Napolitano, the proposal would permanently establish the property tax repeal that was suspended for three years in 2006. It is unclear whether or not the Governor will sign the legislation.
Legislative Vacancies
The Senate Government Committee upheld the county supervisors' role in filling legislative vacancies this week, when it failed to hold a vote on HB 2759: legislative vacancies; precincts; election (B. Miranda). The proposal would have allowed precinct committeemen in Maricopa County to appoint individuals to fill legislative vacancies without any involvement of the county board of supervisors. Currently, a legislative vacancy is filled by a process that involves both the precinct committee chairs and the board of supervisors; supervisors must choose a candidate from the top three names nominated by the district's precinct chairs.
Though HB 2759 only applied to Maricopa County, numerous legislators had expressed their support for amending the legislation to impact all counties. County supervisors from across the state expressed concern, and believe the current process is an efficient, transparent way to balance local insight and political accountability.
Impact Fees
A proposal that would have imposed unreasonable limitations on county development fees failed to move forward this week when SB 1237: county development fees; schools (Waring) received a strike-everything amendment in the House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs Committee that changed the full content of the bill.
The proposal would have prohibited school districts and charter schools from paying county impact fees other than those related to water, sewer utility needs and new street improvements immediately adjacent to the school. Counties objected to the limitations on fees for street improvements, since school districts benefit from good transportation infrastructure throughout the region, not just from the streets immediately surrounding the school. The bill's sponsor understood the objections, and agreed to allow impact fee limitations to be addressed through SB 1406: municipal development fees; procedures (Bee), which allows counties to charge impact fees in the traditional manner for all the area's streets, as well as water and sewer utility needs. SB 1406 passed by a vote of 6-3.
Voter-Protected Spending
The Senate Appropriations Committee discussed HCR 2044: voter-protection; temporary budget suspension (Pearce) at length this week, but failed to move the bill forward when numerous members of the committee expressed a desire to see specific changes made to the proposal.
"The loopholes in this bill are very troubling to me," explained Senator Carolyn Allen (R-8). Legislators, and many individuals who testified on the proposal, believe the proposal should limit legislative authority over state spending obligations that are currently protected due to voter approval of the priorities.
Senator Bob Burns (R-9), the Appropriations Committee chairman, held the bill until next Tuesday, but said he disagreed with the way the proposal was frequently viewed. "This is being couched as "us" (legislators) versus "them" (voters)," he stated. "I just don't see it that way. This would go to the voters for their approval."
CSA Agenda Progress Report
House, Senate Committees Approve Temporary Worker Program
The latest version of the Arizona Temporary Worker Program progressed through both the House and Senate with lightning speed this week and was approved by one House and two Senate Committees. HB 2863, the House version of the bill, cleared House Commerce by a vote of 7-2 and was forwarded through House caucuses by Wednesday. In the Senate, the companion measures (SB 1508 and SCM 1011) were approved by the Commerce and Economic Development and Natural Resources and Rural Affairs committees, respectively.
The new measure reflects a compromise to bring more conservative measures on board, and now includes specific prohibitions that bar guest workers from bringing family members to the U.S. or applying for benefits, as well as a "tamper-proof" ID card.
In testimony, Senator Marsha Arzberger (D-25), the Senate sponsor of the legislation, focused on the economic downturn in Arizona and the need for workers in many industries. She responded to numerous questions about provisions relating to working conditions for laborers, as well as the possibility of acquiring workers from foreign countries other than Mexico. One member of the committee, Senator Barbara Leff (R-8) signaled her intention to amend the bill to require employers to provide health insurance to temporary workers.
Senator Jay Tibshraeny (R-21) summed up what seemed to be a common sentiment about the bill, stating, "I think there are good things in this legislation and things we need to work on, but if we're sitting around waiting for the federal government [to act on immigration], I'll have great-great-great grandkids."
DUI "Omnibus" Cruises Out of Senate Committee
A DUI-related strike-everything amendment to HB 2395 cleared the Senate Public Safety and Human Services committee on Thursday by a vote of 5-2. The measure, sponsored by House Speaker Jim Weiers (R-10) includes provisions from a number of Senate bills related to DUI that were introduced earlier in the session but failed to move forward in the House.
After coming under fire earlier in the session for stalling progress on the Senate bills, the Speaker worked on an agreement with Senator Linda Gray, the sponsor of several DUI-related proposals. Although there had been rumors of tension over the bills earlier in the session, Senator Gray and the Speaker exchanged accolades during the hearing. The Speaker thanked Senator Gray for her work in the issue which "had saved thousands of lives."
The new DUI omnibus includes parts of four separate measures introduced this year. The bill:
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Increases penalties for operating a boat under the influence
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Requires DUI offenders who have had their licenses suspended to complete alcohol or drug testing to get it back
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Requires that the amount of time a person must use an ignition interlock device be reduced to six months from the current one year, among other provisions.
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Pest Control Oversight Still Searching for Permanent Home
The Senate Natural Resources and Rural Affairs Committee significantly amended HB 2822: pest control; department of agriculture (Crandall) at the request of the agricultural and structural pest control industries. The re-structuring of the Structural Pest Control Commission (SPCC) has been the focus of stakeholder meetings that have stretched throughout the legislative session, and the House-endorsed version of HB 2822 sought to place the duties of the SPCC under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture.
Citing concerns about changes to agency culture, limited agency resources and the effect on both agricultural and pest control industries, Senator Flake amended the bill to place the pest control oversight duties with an independent agency under the control of an administrator appointed by the Director of the Department of Administration.
The amendment retained a provision that exempts political subdivisions from the qualified party requirement and the requirement to hold a business license, two ways the SPCC had previously attempted to over-regulate county health department pest control operations.
Discussions on the SPCC are certain to continue; the bill's sponsor, Representative Rich Crandall (R-19), indicated he would consider going to conference committee to remove the Flake amendment.
Committee Limits Public Officials' Media Announcements
Public officials would be limited on the ways they could use their photo under an amendment adopted by the House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs Committee this week. As amended, SB 1237 would prohibit Arizona's elected officials from using public monies or causing public monies to be used in any print media announcements, visual medium announcements, broadcast media announcements, website campaign or similar type of general public communication.
Representative Nelson (R-12*) supported the sponsor's goal of limiting the misuse of media, but recognized there are some instances when an official's communications with their constituents should not be hindered. He successfully offered an amendment that clarified the restriction cannot limit an elected official's right to communicate, in any manner, on matters of public concern or to prevent an elected official from performing the duties of office.
The bill's sponsor, Senator Jim Waring (R-7), said he believes SB 1237 is necessary due to the long-standing practice of using official documents to prominently display photos of an elected official. "This is not targeting any party or any one elected official," he stated. "I think there's plenty of blame to go around."
Senator Waring minimized concerns about the impact the legislation would have on public access television channels, stating, "I think these [television channels] should be the first thing to go during a budget downturn. All legislative proceedings are online, and the [channels] are something we can do without."
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County-Related Legislation
This week, the legislature considered the following bills with county impacts. Click here to obtain archived videos of committee hearings. Note: click here for a listing of committee names and their abbreviations.
Looking Back: Monday, April 7
Looking Back: Tuesday, April 8
Looking Back: Wednesday, April 9
Looking Back: Thursday, April 10
Next Week at the Legislature
Both the House and Senate wrapped up their regularly-scheduled committee hearings this week, and only the Appropriations committees will continue to hold hearings throughout the rest of the session without special permission.
The following proposals with county impact are scheduled to be considered in the week ahead; click here to watch the committee hearings live, or click here to view archived video of committees. (Agendas are subject to change; visit the legislative calendar for updates on daily calendars.) Note: click here for a listing of committee names and their abbreviations.
Coming Up: Tuesday, April 15
Coming Up: Wednesday, April 16
NACo Offers Online Class on Best Practices for Valuable Properties
Registration is open now for NACo's Brownfields Webinar Series on "Making the Most of Valuable Properties." The event, which will take place April 25 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., will provide insight on what makes a valuable property, how to insure appropriate uses of valuable property, how to meet the public needs, and how to negotiate with developers.
Space is limited, so
click here to reserve your spot on the webinar.
