Border Counties Coalition Meets With Obama Team
Representatives from the Border Counties Coalition, chaired by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manuel Ruiz, recently met with President-elect Obama's Transition Team in Washington, D.C. Isaac Reyes represented the Coalition in a meeting with senior staff members of the Obama team, including Tino Cuellar, the head of Obama's transitional working group on immigration. Representatives from municipal governments and the national law enforcement community also attended the meeting.
Mr. Reyes provided the transition team with materials reflecting the Coalition's position on immigration reform, border traffic management and other policy issues. He expressed the need for additional federal reimbursement for counties impacted by the costs of immigration, through a few key mechanisms:
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Full funding of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP): This federal program assists local governments with the un-reimbursed costs of processing criminal aliens and currently includes funds for aliens convicted of a crime. The Border Counties coalition is advocating for a change in the formula to allow the funding to be used to cover pre-conviction expenses as well.
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Reauthorization of Section 1011: this reimburses local health care providers for emergency care for undocumented immigrants.
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Funding of the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative: this provides money for border states to prosecute federal drug crimes occurring on the U.S./Mexico border.
Mr. Reyes called the meeting "productive" and said, "I get the sense that they are making a real effort to understand the reality of the situation on the ground along the border." He expects further meetings on this issue to follow in upcoming months.
For more information on the border counties coalition, click here.
Legislative Update: Taxes, Education and Transportation
As the legislature moves closer to the 2009 legislative session in January, some items of interest are beginning to sprout. Among those issues:
Former Speaker Jim Weiers (R-10) has been appointed to chair a special committee on school funding by the incoming Speaker Kirk Adams (R-19). Due to the requirements around school funding in the budget, the special committee may play a key role in the upcoming budget negotiations.
Former Speaker Weiers also convened a special blue ribbon committee to study the Arizona tax code in light of the recent budgetary shortfall. While it appears that many stakeholders were unaware of either the membership or purpose of the committee, most expect the committee to examine all options to help solve the coming deficit. Click here for more information.
The state property tax rate is already a leading issue in the legislative session. Senator Jim Waring (R-7) announced this week that he is drafting legislation to permanently repeal the state education equalization tax, which was previously suspended for three years. Without legislative action the tax would return next year. Proponents of the bill, including much of the state's business entities, strongly urged the permanent repeal last year but are ready to try again. Opponents say the state budget deficit prohibits any elimination of state tax revenues.
EPA Gives More Policy-Making Voice to Local Governments
From the NACo County Resource Center
State and local governments will have more involvement in developing federal environmental rules thanks to a new EPA policy that broadens the agency's consulting efforts with intergovernmental partners when new regulations and policies cost more than $25 million each. This is a significant lowering of the previous consultation threshold of $100 million.
The EPA's new policy updates existing practices that were put in place to carry out an Executive Order. The order requires the federal government to consult with elected state and local government officials before proposing regulations or actions that have substantial direct effects below the national level, either by virtue of their implementation costs or their preemption of state or local authority.
When the order was first issued in 1999, EPA and other federal agencies adopted an interpretation of "substantial direct effects" consistent with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), a 1995 law that set the state and local consultation threshold at $100 million per rule.
However, based on its experience in conducting rulemakings over the last several years, the EPA said it has determined a need for state and local input on a wider range of regulations and is lowering the consultation threshold to $25 million.
The EPA's action comes at a time when state and local officials are calling for a stronger working relationship with their federal partners in solving many of today's major environmental challenges.
The National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the International City/County Management Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors recently issued a joint statement urging the incoming administration to "adopt a policy of constructive engagement" and to "cooperate and consult with state and local leaders."
These seven associations, along with three others (National Association of Towns and Townships, County Executives of America, and Environmental Council of the States), constitute the group of 10 organizations with whom EPA will consult under its new Federalism policy.
Supervisors Ray Carroll (