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Leadership ♦ Research ♦ Advocacy ♦ Newsletter ♦ Speakers ♦ Counties ♦ Alliances ♦ Calendar ♦ Contact
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 Graham County Supervisor Drew John received an Award of Excellence from the Arizona Game and Fish Commission for his work on off-highway vehicle policy. The award was announced at the Graham County Board of Supervisors meeting on March 2 in Safford.Supervisor John was chosen for the Award of Excellence, given to a few Arizona citizens annually, because of his many years of hard work promoting responsible off-highway recreation. He has served on the Off-Highway Vehicle Board for over five years, and chaired the Board for the last two years (the Board is associated with the Arizona State Parks Board).
Mr. John has also been a longstanding member of a legislative committee formed to design the state's first off-highway vehicle legislation. With that committee's input, the state passed SB 1167, regulating off-highway vehicles and setting standards for off-road land use.
Budget Update: Brewer Announces Five Point Plan; Legislature Gets More Details on Health Care and Education Stimulus Funds
 Wednesday was a big day at the state capitol: as a large group of teachers and parents gathered on the mall to protest education cuts, Governor Brewer delivered her first state of the state address to a joint session of the legislature. Brewer said that the state was in a severe fiscal crisis that she attributed to excessive spending and unrealistic revenue estimates. She then unveiled a five point plan to balance the budget, which included:
Reaction to Brewer's plan among legislators was mixed: some moderate Republicans expressed support for the governor, while more conservative members of the party criticized Brewer's tax increase proposal. To view Governor Brewer's speech, click here.
In other budget news, the Senate Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform Committee, chaired by Senator Carolyn Allen (R-8), heard more details on the healthcare portion of the federal stimulus (or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-ARRA). The Joint Legislative Budget Committee reported that the stimulus included an increase in the federal government's share of state Medicaid spending from 66.7 percent to 75 percent. However, "maintenance of effort" requirements in the bill mandate that the state cannot reduce eligibility requirements or increase counties' share of long term care costs.
JLBC estimates that stimulus related savings in FY09 would total $500 million and between $700 million and $775 million in FY10. Click to view the video of the Senate Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform hearing.
Also included in the federal stimulus money provided to Arizona is over $1 billion in education funds. This money will come through a newly created fund called the "state fiscal stabilization fund." These funds are to be used to prevent cuts to K-12 and higher education.
Because these federal funds are now available to help support the education system, the state will be able to reallocate some of the general fund monies that would have been needed for education to other areas of government. Even with the stabilization fund monies and additional Medicaid monies being fully utilized, the FY10 deficit still stands at approximately $1 billion.
 County attorneys and sheriffs from across the state attended a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday to tell lawmakers that the state's recently enacted policy of charging local governments for use of the DPS crime lab is a bad idea. The hearing began with a presentation from John Thomas of the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police. Thomas reviewed the provision, included in the FY09 budget, which would have originally charged local governments $7.8 million in fees to use the state DPS crime lab. DPS used supplemental funding to reduce the balance to $2.6 million, however, Thomas told the committee that option would be unavailable in future budget years. He said a coalition of local officials had come to the hearing with a unified message: "this newly imposed fee system crime lab fees does not work. It is difficult, if not impossible to administer in a fair and equitable manner and it will hinder law enforcement efforts across the state."
DPS officials testified that, of the $2.6 million owed, only $9,000 has been collected. Police chiefs from Kingman and Sahuarita told the committee that law enforcement work frequently crosses jurisdictional boundaries; a suspect may travel through multiple areas and it can be difficult to determine which local agency should be responsible for the crime lab charges. Sheriff Steve Waugh testified that sheriff's deputies assist DPS officers in highway investigations on a regular basis, but the sheriff's office doesn't charge the agency for its services.
County attorneys from across the state testified on the importance of crime lab results to successful prosecutions, but told the committee that the fees would require the office to choose which cases to pursue or lay off staff in order to afford the fees.
Senator Russell Pearce (R-18) said that he understood the concerns of the law enforcement and that the state needed to do its part to support law enforcement-"the ability to process evidence should not be a budget issue, where we let bad guys go because we couldn't pay the bill." The fees continue to be included in the Chairman's Options for FY10 budget cuts.
To view an archive video of the hearing, click here.
All Arizona counties can apply for Energy Efficiency Community Block Grants (EECBG) included in the federal stimulus package. The grants, administered by the Department of Energy, are to be used to fund projects that increase energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions in local communities.
The ten Arizona counties with the largest population (subtracting the population of cities in the county with over 35,000 people) can apply for direct allocations of funding. Five other counties are eligible for competitive grants. The grants can be used for renewable energy incentive programs. energy efficiency audits, developing a comprehensive energy strategy, and other programs. The grants may also be used for projects that create jobs and support economic development.
To apply for funding, counties must be registered with the federal government, a process which takes 21 days to complete. To learn more about the registration process, click here to view the "How to Apply" section of the EECBG page.
For more information on the Energy Efficiency Community Block Grants, contact Robin Boudreu, Arizona EECBG Program Manager, at 602-771-1153 or robinb@azcommerce.com.
The House wrapped up work on House bills this week. Unless a committee has special permission from the Speaker, no more House bills will be heard in House committees. Only a few House bills have reached the House floor. The Senate has yet to hear a bill, in line with President Burns' promise not to move legislation until the FY10 budget is completed.
HB 2011: provisional community college districts; bonding (Konopnicki) passed 7-1 out of House Ways and Means.
HB 2013: community colleges; non-residents; reimbursement (Konopnicki) passed 10-0 out of House Education.
HB 2024: law enforcement; duty fitness examinations (Kavanagh) (Adopted Strike Everything: same subject) passed 7-0 out of House Military Affairs and Public Safety.
HB 2070: traffic complaint; notice of violation (Biggs) (Adopted Strike Everything: ballot measures; signatures; verification) passed 7-1 out of House Transportation.
HB 2080: contractors; payments (Reagan) (Adopted Strike everything: same subject) passed 6-2 out of House Commerce.
HB 2124: photo enforcement; allowable uses (Biggs) was held in House Transportation.
HB 2168: photo enforcement; highways; DPS study (Biggs) passed 5-3 out of House Transportation.
HB 2170: traffic tickets; complaints; photo enforcement (Biggs) (Adopted Strike Everything: photo radar; repeal) passed 5-3 out of House Transportation.
HB 2237: energy standards; buildings; contracting (Mason) (Adopted Strike Everything: Same subject) passed 6-1 out of House Water and Energy.
HB 2247: home sales; water supply disclosure (Ableser) passed 6-0 out of House Commerce.
HB 2278: technical correction; state trust lands (Jones) (Adopted Strike Everything: tires; abandoned mines) passed 6-2 out of House Natural Resources and Rural Affairs.
HB 2335: improvement districts; renewable energy (Mason) passed 9-0 out of House Government.
HB 2336: community facilities districts; renewable energy (Mason) (Adopted Strike Everything: county renewable energy incentive districts) passed 9-0 out of House Government.
HB 2368: property valuation, equalization calendar (Murphy) passed 8-0 in House Ways and Means.
HB 2372: tax credit; pollution control equipment (Murphy) was held in House Ways and Means.
HB 2570: fire districts; boundaries; merger; consolidation; (Pratt) passed 8-0 out of House Government.
HB 2571: fire districts; emergency services (Pratt) failed 0-8 in House Government.
HB 2581: library districts; county reimbursement (Jones) passed 9-0 out of House Government.
HB 2583: excess property tax payments; repayment (Konopnicki) (Adopted Strike Everything: Same Subject) passed 7-0 out of House Ways and Means.
HB 2584: national park support districts II (Konopnicki) was held in House Ways and Means.
HB 2587: petition circulators; payment prohibited (Lopes) passed 8-0 out of House Government.
HB 2615: government transparency; political subdivisions (Montenegro) passed 6-3 in House Government.
HCR2027: county expenditure limits; population estimates (McClain) passed 5-3 out of House Ways and Means.
The legislature will consider the following proposals with county impact next week. Click here to watch the committee hearings live, or click here to view archived video of committees. (Agendas are subject to change; visit the legislative calendar for updates on daily calendars.).
HB 2013: community colleges; non-residents; reimbursement (Konopnicki) will be heard in House Appropriations on Wednesday, March 11 at 2:00 p.m. in House Room 1.
Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.
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