Time Out: Senator Flake Recovers from Painful Accident
Senator Jake Flake (R-5), staunch county champion and veteran legislator, will take awhile to get back in the saddle after his horse came out from under him on his ranch near Snowflake last weekend. The senator is resting at home with broken ribs but hopes to return to the legislature soon. "I've had broken ribs before," he told the Associated Press. "You just have to take it easy on 'em."
Senator Flake is sorely missed at the legislature and we wish him a speedy recovery.
This Week at the Legislature: Issue Updates
Text Messaging
The Senate went through a whole range of parliamentary exercises when Senator Charlene Pesquiera (D-26) attempted to add an amendment to HB 2049: ADOT rule revisions (McClure) that would ban text messaging while driving. Senator Pesquiera explained that the idea had been brought in a bill by Representative Steve Farley (D-28) that failed to move forward. She cited the deaths of two women in a Phoenix car accident last year caused by texting and said the legislation was necessary due to the increasing amounts of young people using cell phones on the road.
Some Republicans, including Senator Ron Gould (R-3), opposed the bill on the grounds that driving while texting is already illegal under the reckless driving statute. Senator Gould offered numerous amendments to kill the Pesquiera motion, including one that specified it was illegal to eat, talk, look away from the road, or change the radio stations (among a list of 13 other actions) while driving. After a proposed verbal amendment by Senator Pamela Gorman (R-6) left the chair somewhat befuddled, Senate leadership opted to retain the bill on the calendar.
Impact Fees
The House gave its approval to a negotiated agreement on impact fees this week, passing SB 1406: municipal development fees; procedures (Bee) by a vote of 36-23. The measure makes numerous changes to limitations on impact fees imposed by municipalities and prohibits counties from assessing or collecting development fees from a school district or charter school except for fees assessed or collected for streets, water and sewer utility functions. SB 1406 came about through months of negotiations between the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and the Central Arizona Homebuilders Association.
Opponents of the proposal expressed concerns that it deviates from the long-held policy that growth should pay for itself, but the bill's supporters feel the bill will ensure the profitability of projects that been approved in the local land-use process. The measure now heads back to the Senate for final approval.
Rights-of-Way
Governor Napolitano vetoed
SB 1264: public rights of way; claims (Johnson) this week, citing concerns that it would "inject unnecessary confusion" into land ownership in Arizona. The proposal would have asserted state and political subdivision ownership of rights-of-way known as R.S. 2477, roadways that were established during the western expansion prior to 1976.
Proponents of the measure felt it would protect public access to roads that have been used for decades, and would prevent the U.S. Forest Service from implementing its planned road closures under the recently-created Road Management Plan. Some believed, however, that the bill instead created confusion and legal liablity over regions of the state.
The governor urged Arizona's counties to address ownership of rights-of-way on an individual, case-by-case basis.
CSA Agenda Progress Report
FY09 Budget: Bipartisan Groups Reconvene
Bipartisan budget groups met this week, beginning across-the-aisle negotiations on a solution to the FY09 budget shortfall after several weeks of Republican-only budget discussions. The projected deficit for FY09 is now over $2 billion. In addition to meetings of Republican and Democratic leadership groups, Governor Napolitano sat down with President Bee and Speaker Weiers to discuss the budget.
In a recent
interview, President Tim Bee (R-30) defended the weeks of Republican discussions. "We needed to spend some time with the Republican caucus to get a sense of where they wanted to go with the budget proposal," he stated. "It's difficult to enter into negotiations if you don't know how you want to proceed. We're now prepared to move forward with the larger group and get it done."
No solution has been reached and the two sides still appear to lack agreement on important issues such as budget cuts and bonding for school construction.
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.
For daily information on votes and schedules, visit the legislative calendar.
