If
you are having trouble viewing this e-mail with images, click
here. Please add to your address book to ensure our e-mails reach your inbox. |
 |
|
Leadership ♦ Research ♦ Advocacy ♦ Newsletter ♦ Speakers ♦ Counties ♦ Alliances ♦ Calendar ♦ Contact
|
  The 2008 legislative session has wrapped up and planning is already underway for 2009. CSA's policy development process assists county supervisors and staff identify priority policy items designed to help counties deliver efficient, responsive services to constituents.Proposals are due to CSA by July 30, and we are happy to provide assistance as your county analyzes its priorities. Click here to obtain the information needed to submit your ideas.
The legislature concluded its efforts late last Friday evening, wrapping up 166 days after the 2008 session began. In that time, the legislature introduced 1,380 proposals, approved 348 bills, and sent one referendum to the voters. So far, Governor Napolitano has signed 298 new bills into law and vetoed 27; she has until the end of next week to decide the fate of the remaining proposals on her desk.
The following articles outline several big issues that were addressed in the waning hours of the session. CSA staff is compiling a complete summary of all county-related bills and budget items, which will be released shortly.
Unless otherwise specified, all legislation enacted this session will become effective September 26, 2008.
The state's FY09 budget addresses a forecast deficit of $1.9 billion by cutting approximately $360 million from state agency budgets, sweeping nearly $340 million from a variety of funds, and bonding for nearly $560 million for new school construction.
The budget leans heavily on assistance from counties, sweeping funding streams and establishing large contributions to help meet the state's obligations. Click here for CSA's full budget analysis, which contains information on the following impacts:
Arizona to Implement Statewide Photo Radar
The Governor proposed the plan in January as an additional revenue source to balance the state budget, but the details were kept under wraps until the final budget was released. Revenue from tickets, which is typically distributed to local governments and a host of criminal justice entities, will be diverted almost exclusively to the state. The budget sets a fine of $165 for a photo radar violation.
County advocates, concerned about the potential impact on the justice court system, added a floor amendment to the bill (HB 2210) which required the Arizona Supreme Court to notify and collect revenues from photo radar offenders. Under the provisions of the amendment, a photo radar ticket would be filed in a justice court only if a driver contests responsibility or requests a hearing.
Another floor amendment specified that those photo radar tickets that do go through a justice court process are exempt from judicial productivity credit calculations.
As the first state in the nation to begin a statewide photo enforcement program, the plan will be watched carefully in the next year by voters and stakeholders alike. Despite consideration of three separate proposals that would have suspended or eliminated a statewide property tax rate, the legislature failed to send property tax cuts to the November, 2008 general election ballot.
Proponents of the measures were responding to the Governor's veto of HB 2220, a bill that would have permanently eliminated the state's education equalization property tax rate. The rate, which generates revenue for the state's education efforts, was temporarily suspended for three years but is scheduled to return in 2010 without legislative or voter-approved action on the issue.
The House approved two property tax-related measures in the final hours of the 2008 legislative session, but both proposals died when the Senate failed to consider them. HCR 2072 would have asked voters to permanently eliminate the tax rate; HCR 2073 would have asked for a three year suspension of the tax. Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee had failed to pass an amendment to HCR 2026 that would have also asked voters to eliminate the tax rate.
 A Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) report on state revenue collections for the month of May did nothing to brighten the dark cloud left over from FY09 budget discussions. According to the report, May's total general fund revenue collections were 5.2 percent ($696.6 million) below the same month of 2007. This month is not an anomaly, unfortunately: the state's general fund income is down 6.9 percent when compared to the same time period for FY07.The report's findings could directly impact the FY08 budget fix that was approved by the legislature in April. The budget bill, HB 2620, provided contingencies to address shortfalls that may exceed the measures already taken to meet shortfalls in FY08. Under the provisions of the bill, legislative and executive budget staffs must notify the Governor and legislature by July 28 if the FY08 budget is less than $0. If the shortfall does exceed the budget balancing measures put in place by HB 2620, the State Treasurer is required to transfer enough monies to cover the shortfall from the state's Budget Stabilization Fund.
According JLBC's report, the state has collected $190.4 million of the funds that were tapped to backfill the FY08 deficit; there are $105.6 million still to be directed to the state's general fund for FY08.
Not all news is bad, however. Arizona's personal income increased by 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
 The National Park Service (NPS) has opened a grant application process for communities that desire additional resources for trails and open space. The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) process enables grant recipients to work with NPS experts to conserve rivers, preserve natural areas and develop trails.Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NPS staff prior to submitting an application, which is due August 1, 2008. Click here for additional information.
Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.
|
The FY09 state budget included a plan, originally proposed by Governor Janet Napolitano, to implement a statewide photo enforcement system. Once the plan is implemented, stationary cameras and mobile photo enforcement vans will span the state to check for speeders and red light runners. |
County Supervisors Association of Arizona
1905 W. Washington, Suite 100 Phoenix, Arizona 85009 Privacy & Security Statement Leadership / Research / Advocacy / Newsletter / Speakers / Counties / Alliances / Calendar / Contact |