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Leadership ♦ Research ♦ Advocacy ♦ Newsletter ♦ Speakers ♦ Counties ♦ Alliances ♦ Calendar ♦ Contact
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The June CSA Board of Directors meeting will be held at the AACo Mid-Year Conference. Register now for the event, which will take place June 4-6 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Those who register before May 21 will receive a discounted fee for the conference and all related events. Visit the AACo website for additional information.
NACo Opens Steering Committee Nomination Process The annual nomination process for membership on a National Association of Counties (NACo) policy steering committee is now underway. Do you want to serve as NACo's front line in their grassroots efforts? Would you like to be a part of debating and creating national policies and priorities affecting counties? Well, here is your chance through NACo steering committees.
There are 11 steering committees from which to choose: Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Community and Economic Development; Environment, Energy and Land Use; Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs; Health; Human Services and Education; Justice and Public Safety; Labor and Employment;
All nominations are processed through CSA and will be forwarded to NACo for approval by incoming NACo President Don Stapley after the Annual Conference in July. NACo will announce the appointments to steering committees in September. Please return the forms or provide validation of current committee membership to CSA by June 13 so that we can process the information for forwarding to NACo.
Budget
 House and Senate leadership continues to work with small groups of Republican legislators to craft a Republican-backed FY09 budget proposal. The process is not popular, since many feel left out of the negotiations; Democratic representatives and the Governor have not been involved in the budget discussions since the FY08 budget changes were approved two weeks ago.The members who are involved in the negotiations process cannot release details about the discussions, but have signaled that numerous options with negative impacts to counties are still being considered. Shifting prisoners to county jails, increasing photo radar, amending statutory ALTCS cost-sharing and sweeping HURF transportation resources have been discussed.
Though legislative leaders hoped to have a budget plan this week, most participants estimate no proposal will be released for approximately two more weeks.
Wildfire Prevention
After several weeks of stalled progress, the House Committee of the Whole approved SB 1238: outdoor fires; counties (Flake) this week. The proposal would allow counties to implement fire bans during times of high fire danger - a step that is much-needed in the current climate of wildfire threats. Currently, counties can implement emergency fire bans only on very limited areas so many unincorporated lands are unprotected.
Regional Attraction Districts
"What we're doing is allowing a private entity to levy a tax," stated Representative Andy Biggs. "...it seems a bit absurd to me and certainly is not good public policy." Other members argued that the use of the district as an economic development tool is of great value, and pointed to the fact that the special district would be governed by a politically-appointed board of directors. "Don't say you've given [taxing] authority to an outside group," argued Speaker Weiers. "It is a government authority. I stand in support of the measure." The House approved the measure by a vote of 39-17 and forwarded the bill back to the Senate for final consideration.
Employer Sanctions
Governor Napolitano approved legislative changes to the state's employer sanctions law this week, signing HB 2745: employer sanctions (Pearce) into law. The proposal, which became effective upon the signature of the Governor, provided clarification on several contentious issues that were raised by last year's employer sanctions law (HB 2779). Among other things, it specified that the law applied to employees hired after December 31, 2007 and allows complaints to be filed anonymously with the county attorney's office.
Local Enforcement
 On Monday, Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed HB 2807: immigration; local enforcement (Nelson), which would have required all local governments to train a portion of their law enforcement officers in immigration enforcement. In addition, it prohibited "sanctuary policies," or local government ordinances that prevented information relating to immigration status from being used for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits or verifying legal status. Despite bipartisan support in the legislature, several Democratic legislators altered their position on the bill and asked the governor to veto it. They cited concerns about racial profiling and said the measure was a violation of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In her veto letter, the Governor said the bill was an "unnecessary" and "unfunded" mandate, and cited the federal 287(g) program's statement that "demand for training has, predictably, significantly outstripped federal resources." (The program certifies local officers in immigration enforcement.) The Governor argued that Arizona taxpayers, therefore, would end up paying millions of dollars towards the training.
Not surprisingly, the veto upset the bill's sponsor and other House Republicans, who signaled they may attempt to override the Governor's veto.
Border Agreements
The Governor also vetoed HB 2359: border officers; state laws; enforcement (Paton), which would have allowed county sheriffs to enter into agreements with Customs and Border Patrol without the county board of supervisors' approval. The bill was amended to specify that such agreements could not relate to matters that would have a fiscal impact to the county, but Governor Napolitano said the measure simply affirmed existing law.
This week, the legislature considered the following bills with county impacts. Click here to obtain archived videos of legislative proceedings.
Both the House and Senate have wrapped up their regularly-scheduled committee hearings, and only the Appropriations committees will continue to hold hearings throughout the rest of the session. The deadline for conference committees has been extended into May. For daily information on votes and schedules, visit the legislative calendar.  The Coordinating Committee for History in Arizona will sponsor the fifth annual Arizona Centennial Workshop on May 29 and 30 at Arizona State University, and will provide numerous opportunities to plan your centennial celebrations.The event will feature keynote speakers, workshops and roundtable discussions that will highlight our state's rich history. The fee is $75, or $40 for one day. Click here for a registration form, or contact Susan Valeri at (420) 965-5775 for additional information.
Visit the AZ Centennial website for information on current and ongoing plans to celebrate Arizona's centennial in 2012.
 The National Association of Counties (NACo) will host a series of free green government webinars for county officials and/or staff. Participants will learn valuable background information, discover new resources and hear case studies from various participating counties.Click here for a listing of the available presentations or to reserve your spot.
Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.
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Rock n' roll took center stage at the legislature this week as the House considered |
County Supervisors Association of Arizona
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