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Leadership ♦ Research ♦ Advocacy ♦ Newsletter ♦ Speakers ♦ Counties ♦ Alliances ♦ Calendar ♦ Contact
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By Darryle Purcelle, Mohave County Public Information Officer
 State Representative Nancy McLain was honored by CSA during the Mohave County Board of Supervisors meeting in Kingman this week, and praised for her efforts to benefit county interests at the state legislature."Each year, we recognize legislators who really step up and work on behalf of local government interests," stated CSA Executive Director Craig Sullivan. "This year, like last year, Rep. Nancy McLain was always available to talk with us about how various proposals would impact county constituencies. And she has worked to protect local control, to protect local taxpayer dollars and to assist with measures that would improve efficiencies within local governments."
"CSA is a strong advocate for the needs of Mohave County," said Supervisor Pete Byers, Chairman of the Mohave County Board of Supervisors, "and so is Nancy. I can always reach Nancy to talk about a concern for Mohave County. She is responsive and tries to help out and do good things for the citizens of Mohave County. She is always there for us."
"Rep. McLain has served in the Legislature since 2004," Sullivan said. "From the beginning, she has always been available and willing to learn about what a bill would do to her county. On behalf of our membership, I am proud to recognize Rep. Nancy McLain as a County Advocate for her work for counties across the state and for a record of outstanding effort to protect her constituents' interests."
By Rod Ross, Navajo County Government Relations Administrator
Calling the situation "unsustainable," State Senator Sylvia Allen (R-5) expressed alarm at the deteriorating condition of
Joined on the committee by Senators Chuck Gray (R-19), Karen Johnson (R-18), Navajo County Supervisor David Tenney and Navajo County Farm Bureau Chairman Gerald Flake, Senator Allen chaired a meeting that featured testimony from a number of forest experts who warned the Task Force that Arizona's forests are dangerously unmanaged, threatening neighboring residents and shortchanging local communities of revenue. Among other concerns, the speakers warned the committee that:
"In 2002, the Rodeo-Chedkiski Fire burned nearly half-a-million acres of prime forest land," Allen observed. "Yet, six years later, only a small portion of the burn area has been harvested, and an even smaller area of the surrounding forest has been thinned. This is unacceptable." Dr. Marty Moore, an expert on forest policy, echoed Allen's remarks. "We have a situation where, at some point in time, the national forest budgets are going to be consumed by firefighting costs. Right now, firefighting consumes 60 percent of their budgets, which hampers our Forest Service officials' ability to manage and treat the forest." Moore called upon the Task Force to establish forest health as a state priority. "I strongly encourage you to ramp up the call to restore the landscape in our national forests. If we don't, we're going to lose our forests." The Task Force also heard from Dr. Alex Thal, from Western New Mexico University, who described how environmental litigation has led to the removal of forest thinning, leading to an unprecedented drop in revenue to local communities such as cities, towns, and counties. "From 1990 to 2007, forest receipt revenues decreased from $4.2 million to $869,000. This is a direct impact to local governments that provide essential services to communities in and around the forests." Created at the behest of Senator Allen by Senate President Tim Bee (R-30), the Senate Forest Task Force is charged with examining current forest management policies and making recommendations to local, state, and federal policymakers. Last week's meeting was the first of what Allen expects to be several meetings of the Task Force. Attended by nearly sixty community leaders, local and state officials, and residents, the meeting concluded with a call from Allen for removal of the regulatory roadblocks to effective forest management. "We have created a regulatory Berlin Wall that is blocking us from solving our problems," Allen declared. "We're killing the forest for the trees."
Employer Sanctions Impacts on Counties Become Effective September 30
On September 30, two provisions contained in HB 2745 will become effective. The first requires an employer to register with and participate in the federal E-verify program before a government can award the employer with an economic development incentive. The second stipulates that before a governmental entity can award a contract, they must ensure that the contractor is complying with federal immigration law. HB 2745 was an effort to close some of the loopholes left by last year's landmark employer sanctions measure, which set penalties for employers hiring unauthorized workers. The new requirements mean that, to be eligible for any government contract, an employer must certify that their workers have been verified as having legal status and contractors must also open their employment records to random verification. Although the legislation as a whole took effect on May 1, a delayed effective date applies to these two provisions. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) announced this week that it will begin a stakeholder process to consider a draft rule for reporting greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed rule change is expected to be consistent with the basic reporting elements to be released by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) later this year.
The WCI is a collaboration between the governors of western states to address climate change, and is identifying, evaluating and implementing collective and cooperative ways to reduce greenhouse gases in the region. Click here for more information on the WCI and its recommendations.
ADEQ plans to open a rule-change docket without a draft rule, and will work with stakeholders in the months ahead to develop a proposal.
 Three citizen-driven ballot initiatives failed to qualify for the November ballot due to a shortfall in valid signatures. After a dramatic process of signature verification and court cases, it is now clear that the November ballot will offer eight proposals for voter consideration. (Note: voters will also consider a school district unification proposal in some counties.)Click here for an updated summary of the proposals that will be considered in November.
The Arizona Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program has announced an upcoming grant cycle that will distribute $2.5 million to counties, cities, towns, schools, school districts, tribes, and non-profit organizations for safe school route projects.
The goal of the SRTS Program is to make it safer and easier for K-8 students to walk and bicycle to school, and it provides funding both for infrastructure projects (trails, sidewalks, crossings, and others) and non-infrastructure programs (education, law enforcement, and encouragement/activities).
The application deadline is December 31, 2008. Click here for additional information or to apply.
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