State Trust Land Reform Supporters Brief Supervisors
At Thursday's CSA board meeting Pat Graham, the director of the Arizona Nature Conservancy and Chair of the Conserving Arizona's Water and Land campaign, presented the details of a proposed initiative which would make changes to Arizona's state trust land system.
Graham explained that the initiative was introduced after a number of failed attempts at reform. With the stakeholders involved unable to come to a consensus, Graham admitted that the proposed initiative did not include all the pieces suggested by various parties. "The more complicated the measure, the more difficult it is to pass," he stated. However, it does include:
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A designation of over 500,000 acres of current state trust lands as conservation lands
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Permission for cities, towns, and counties to purchase conservation lands at market value, rather than through a public auction
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Modernization of the State Land Department, allowing the Department to consider non-monetary values such as roads or water features in appraising lands and permitting the state legislature to direct proceeds from land sales to fund the department
The initiative does not address the controversy over pubic rights-of-way left in "legal limbo" by the 1968 Lassen decision. Graham explained that the issue could be addressed through appeals on the issue that are still making their way through the court system, although draft opinions indicate that the court will find that Lassen could not be applied retroactively.
The initiative will need over 230,000 preliminary signatures before July 3 to be placed on the November ballot. If voters approve it, the U.S. Congress would have to make changes to the Enabling Act before the measure could be fully implemented.
Click here to read the initiative, and here to view maps of the lands that would be impacted by the proposal.
Navajo County Urges Opposition to Road Closure Plan
Navajo County Supervisor David Tenney urged his colleagues to join his county in their fight against the U.S. Forest Service's proposed management plan at the CSA Board meeting this week, citing concerns about public access to nature.
The plan, which was requested by the Forest Service in 2004, was created to address damage done by the inappropriate and uncontrolled use of off-road vehicles throughout Arizona's forests. Opponents of the proposal argue that the plan goes overboard and could close up to 85 percent of roads throughout forested regions. If implemented, the plan would make numerous changes, including prohibitions on camping more than 100 yards from an open road, motorized game retrieval and forest-wide wood gathering. In addition, forest roads would be considered closed unless they were posted as "open" - a switch from the current assumption that roads are open unless blocked by "closed" notices.
Not everyone opposes the Forest Service's proposed plan. The Sierra Club and other conservation-related organizations support the provisions, which they feel are "long overdue...to control the rampant off-road vehicle abuse of our public lands."
Supervisor Tenney agrees that those who use off-road vehicles unwisely should be limited or punished, but argued that the Forest Service's plan would punish everyone who uses the forest rather than those who abuse it. He and his Navajo County colleagues continue to work with the federal government "to be sure that whatever happens will be reasonable and make sense for our constituents."
Legislature Broadcasts Capitol TV Online
Can't get enough of the Arizona Legislature? Now you can watch Arizona Capitol Television online via a link on the
legislature's website.
Following the successful launch of online video archives of Capitol proceedings, the legislature turned to Arizona Capitol Television (ACTV) to introduce online access to their full-time broadcast of Capitol news.
ACTV launched in March of 2007, and has been broadcasting public access of legislative activities ever since via Cox cable. Now those without cable access can watch the legislative highlights, news and programs online.
This Week at the Legislature: Budget and Issue Updates
Budget
Still no FY09 budget proposal as the legislature held ongoing closed-door negotiations this week, and legislators continue to offer very diverse projections on when a proposal will be released. The small working group, composed of select members of the Republican caucuses, is charged with creating a budget proposal that will address the estimated $1.9 billion state deficit in FY09. To do so, they are focusing on potential budget cuts, cost shifts and fund sweeps that were outlined by the Appropriations Committee chairmen last January - that list includes significant impact to counties, as outlined in the CSA analysis.
Budget negotiations will resume again on Monday.
Visit our Advocacy webpage for up-to-date information on budget news as we hear it.
Long-Term Care
The legislature urged Arizona residents to prepare for their long-term care when the Senate approved
SB 1223: insurance; long-term care (Allen) this week by a vote of 20-7. The bill would allow the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) to enter into long-term care partnership policies, which are public-private partnerships between states and private insurance companies designed to reduce Medicaid expenditures by delaying or eliminating the need for reliance on Medicaid for long-term care services. Due to the large annual increases in costs of the Arizona Long-Term Care System (ALTCS) to counties and the state, AHCCCS spokesperson Jennifer Hott said the agency supports the legislation because "our hope is that we can incentivize people to think about their long-term care and plan ahead. This could delay or prevent enrollment in ALTCS."
Long-term care partnerships have been around for approximately ten years, when several states implemented them. Due to a Congressional act in 2005 all states can now adopt these partnerships, and a General Accounting Office report states that many who purchase long-term care insurance through such a partnership are unlikely to later access Medicaid services (
click here to view the GAO report on long-term care partnerships).
Lot Splits
A conference committee was appointed this week to address House and Senate differences on SB 1491: subdivision reports; notice (Gorman). Originally, the bill's sponsor, Senator Pamela Gorman (R-6) agreed to the House changes that required the Arizona Department of Real Estate to record a public notice with the county when land has been unlawfully subdivided. It also permitted the Real Estate Commissioner to impose civil penalties against persons that subdivide lands without a public report. The measure did not, however, help Senator Gorman's constituents who wanted a solution that would grant access to their homes that were on land designated as illegal lot splits.
Senator Gorman indicated she was interested in "a little fix" that would prevent additional citizens from going through the hassles faced by her constituents, and requested the conference committee. The appointed conferees are Senators Burns, Gorman, and Pesquiera and Representatives Barnes, Nichols and Prezelski.
CSA Agenda Progress Report
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Guest Worker Program Sponsors Hold Informational Hearing
Senator Marsha Arzberger (D-25) and Representative Bill Konopnicki (R-5), advocates of the proposed Arizona Temporary Worker program (SB 1508 and SCM 1011), held an informational hearing on the measures this Wednesday. Representatives from the hospitality and farming industries and from chambers of commerce testified on the need for the program to fill a labor shortage in Arizona.
The hearing was intended to get more legislators to support the proposal, which has recently run into difficulty in the Senate. When the measure was scheduled for a hearing last week, it was repeatedly retained so senators could take a closer look at the 20 amendments proposed by Senator Ron Gould (R-3). Gould, an outspoken opponent of the measure, has told his caucus he "will not be a party to selling out the American worker." His proposed amendments would change the measure in a variety of ways, from banning pregnant foreign workers to making the temporary worker program contingent on the governor declaring the border has been secured.
Arzberger told the audience that some of the amendments could be incorporated while others would not. After a question from Linda Gray (R-10), Arzberger also indicated that an amendment that would screen temporary workers for disease would be included.
Despite the sponsors' best intentions, it looks like there will more tough sledding ahead for the proposal. Not many legislators attended the hearing and not all who did were supportive. Senator Paula Aboud (D-28) stated, "I came here to get compelling stories of the need for this program, and I haven't heard that today."
County-Related Legislation
This week, the legislature considered the following bills with county impacts. Click here to obtain archived videos of legislative proceedings.
Next Week at the Legislature
As budget negotiations continue, the House and Senate will likely focus on the handful of legislative proposals still working their way through the process. No Appropriations Committee hearings have been scheduled.
