In the October 10, 2008 CSA Update:
CSA, Maricopa County Honor Senator Linda Gray
Maricopa County Supervisor Max Wilson, County Manager David Smith, and County Chief Probation Officer Barbara Broderick joined with CSA on Wednesday to thank Senator Linda Gray (R-10) for standing up for counties throughout the 2008 legislative session. Senator Gray was presented with the CSA County Advocate award on the floor of the state Senate.
Senator Gray's open door and willingness to work with counties was essential in the passage of multiple parts of CSA's legislative agenda. Her work on HB 2193 saved taxpayers over $250,000 by allowing counties to publish minutes online, and she also supported HB 2378, which improved efficiency for constituents by allowing counties to accept debit and credit cards. Most importantly, counties across the state appreciated Senator Gray's willingness to stand up against the proposal to shift thousands of state prisoners and millions of dollars in costs to county jails.
Senator Gray expressed her gratitude for the award and said she hopes to return to the legislature next year to continue fighting for taxpayers and constituents. Mr. Smith and Ms. Broderick made it a point to thank Senator Gray for her work on SB 1476, the Safe Communities Act, which provides probationers with an incentive to complete their sentence by shortening their probation term for each month of successful probation completion. Ms. Broderick said, "This bill is groundbreaking because it provides probationers with a real incentive to do the right thing...we have always had enforcement, the 'stick;' now we have the carrot, too."
Supervisor Tenney Helps Shape Wildlife Policy
A 2008 White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy held in Reno, Nevada, last week was designed to achieve the goals of a 2007 Presidential Executive Order on Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation. Deeply interested in the subject matter, Navajo County Supervisor David Tenney attended the conference. The intent of the conference was to introduce a plan containing strategies for strengthening America's hunting heritage and wildlife conservation through expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities and management of game species and their habitat along with their supporting institutions.
Hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the conference attendees included leaders from the hunting/conservation community, elected officials from all levels of state, federal and tribal government and leaders from agencies involved with wildlife and wildlife habitat management. Supervisor Tenney stated, "I was grateful and honored to participate in the White House Conference on Wildlife Conservation Policy, where we began the process of developing a ten-year nationwide plan for protecting our hunting heritage. Fortunately, the forum also provided me an opportunity to express my opposition to the Forest Service's Travel Management Plan by explaining to the federal officials in attendance that we can't preserve our outdoor heritage by restricting public access to the forest." In addition, Supervisor Tenney noted, "I was also grateful to be listening to Vice President Cheney rather than hunting with him."
The conference report recommendations will, hopefully, help develop the shared vision and commitments needed to ensure success going forward. Click here to view a copy of the Executive Order.
Cartoonist Captures County Plight at Legislature
CSA's Executive Director Craig Sullivan presented at the 2008 Arizona Tax Conference last week, highlighting the somewhat grim impacts of the economic downturn on state and county resources. David Fitzsimmons, a political 
cartoonist with The Arizona Daily Star, captured the action and message with a couple of quick sketches. (Please click the photos to enlarge.)
Mr. Fitzsimmons' hilarious lunchtime routine was a highlight of an outstanding conference hosted by the Arizona Assessors' Association and the Arizona Chapter of the International Association of Assessing Officers.
ADEQ Implements Emergency Fee Increases
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) hosted a public hearing this week to discuss plans to implement emergency rule-making policies that will increase specific fees related to solid waste facilities. Their authority to do so comes from HB 2462, legislation included in the state's FY09 budget, that allows certain state agencies to implement fees in order to generate a specified amount to backfill budget cuts.
The fee increases will impact landfill registration fees, special waste disposal fees and solid waste facility plan review fees. The new fees will be effective October 20, 2008 through June 30, 3009, or until the fees meet the statutory cap of $600,000. ADEQ estimates the rule change will generate $300,000 in FY09.
ADEQ staff also indicated they plan to move forward soon with the broad solid waste rule change they have been working on for the past year; they are finishing evaluation of the comments they received during the informal public hearing process of the rule change.
