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Leadership ♦ Research ♦ Advocacy ♦ Newsletter ♦ Speakers ♦ Counties ♦ Alliances ♦ Calendar ♦ Contact
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 The National Association Of Counties (NACo) wrapped up the 2009 Legislative Conference this week in Washington, D.C. Over 2,000 county leaders from across the U.S. came to meet with each other and interact with federal officials. Representatives from 11 Arizona counties attended the conference.Maricopa County Supervisor and NACo President Don Stapley said, "Many counties across the country are struggling to maintain the level of services and programs their residents have come to expect. In these tough economic times, county officials need to communicate directly to the administration and Congress regarding our needs and challenges. The Legislative Conference provided that opportunity."
The conference included speeches from four members of President Obama's cabinet. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told the conference that under the Obama administration, Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) would no longer be subject to legislative appropriation: "You will get full payment at least until the year 2012." Other sessions covered a wide range of issues, including the implementation of the federal stimulus package, municipal bonding in the economic downturn, and climate change.
During the conference, the US/Mexico Border Counties Coalition held its annual legislative meeting. Chaired by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manuel Ruiz, the meeting allowed border county officials to talk to federal officials about the challenges of governing on the border. Coalition members met with staffers from the office of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the White House to urge the federal government to fully fund programs, like the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) and Section 1011 (which reimburses health care costs for undocumented immigrants). Chairman Ruiz called the meeting a "great experience" and said, "Our border counties are economic engines, but when we are reimbursed with only pennies on the dollar to offset the costs of immigration that should be borne by the federal government, our local taxpayers bear a heavy burden."
For NACo's 2009 Legislative Conference Report, click here.
By Kevin Tunell, Yuma County Public and Legislative Affairs Director
 County officials announced today that nearly 75 county and city personnel will participate in a series of rigorous training exercises designed to prepare the community for a significant emergency response. Yuma County Supervisors and selected personnel including key leaders of the county, cities, state and representatives of various departments, agencies and community organizations will travel to the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, March 22-27.
Professional Instructors in the field of emergency management will engage the delegation in classroom training and scenario exercises for four days. "This training center will sharpen the county's emergency response skills and help us to become more secure and prepared," said Greg Ferguson, chairman of the Yuma County Board of Supervisors. As the course progresses, scenario-related events of increasing complexity, threat, and pressure will be introduced. Participants will develop emergency policies, plans, and procedures to ensure an effective response. The range of exercises will trigger delegation members to enact their own corresponding plans in the event of an emergency. "The scenarios we will undergo will focus on earthquake response, but the training we receive is applicable to all other types of emergency response situations," said Lou Miranda, Yuma County Emergency Manager. "Throughout the course, participants employ not only new ideas, skills, and abilities, but also increase their own knowledge and experience in emergency operations. In this way, the integrated emergency management course allows individuals to rehearse their real-life roles in a realistic emergency situation." The course will conclude with an emergency exercise designed to test participants' knowledge, awareness, flexibility, leadership, and interpersonal skills under extreme pressure. "Our goal in participating in the program is for all of Yuma County to be on the cutting edge of emergency preparedness," said Robert Pickels, Yuma County Administrator. The training center is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is the premiere emergency management training center in the country for key decision-makers and policy makers across all levels of government. FEMA's National Emergency Training Center places public official and emergency personnel in a realistic crisis situation within a structured learning environment. Municipal leaders from Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and New York City have participated in this intense training course. The federal government is paying the full cost of travel, housing, course instruction and for reserving the training facilities for the duration of the Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC).
State legislators in both chambers rushed to pass companion budget bills (HB 2051 and SB 1184) that make additional changes to the FY09 budget. The bills restore funding to some programs in order to leverage federal stimulus money and reduce the amount of some fund sweeps passed earlier in the session.
The bills also provide additional money to the Department of Economic Security, in an effort to fund that agency's child care program to a level which would allow it to qualify for federal stimulus money. The measures also undo fund sweeps affecting the Department of Environmental Quality, in order to allow the state to leverage stimulus funds.
The bills made no changes to the amount, over $60 million, that counties have contributed to the state budget deficit.
The bill was approved with 50 in favor in the House, and 23 in favor in the Senate.
 Transparency database issues continued to garner attention at the state capitol this past week when Senate Republicans discussed the need improve government accountability. Bills have been introduced that require political subdivisions to establish and maintain a searchable database of all receipts and expenditures on their websites. While lawmakers acknowledged that the government's accountability to the public is a necessary component of democracy, some senators noted that the expense to counties and towns may make the implementation of a searchable database cost-prohibitive, in light of the budget concerns shared by all levels of governments. Although costs are a factor, some senators are pursuing disclosure through a variety of means, including a stakeholder process to identify "best practices" and examining other state's online expenditure databases and monitoring their use.
Last year, the legislature passed a measure to establish the database at the state level. Senate staffers reported that implementing law has been a challenge, due to outmoded information technology infrastructure. Some senators noted that the difficulties faced by the state should serve as a cautionary tale before imposing transparency requirements on local governments.
This year's theme is "Greening Our Future." Counties across the state can use this opportunity to show their residents the many ways they work to protect the environment and demonstrate the wise use of natural resources. Click here for a flyer providing some ideas and suggestions for your county to implement.
Only a few House committees that received special permission from the speaker met this week, while Senate committees continued with budget presentations. Budget work consumed both chambers for most of the day on Thursday (see "Budget Update" above).
HB 2013: community colleges; non-residents; reimbursement (Konopnicki) passed 12-0 out of House Appropriations.
HB 2101: county supervisors; membership; numbers (Williams) passed 8-0 out of House Rules.
HB 2253: publication of notices; websites (Jones) passed 8-0 out of House Rules.
HB 2368: property valuation; equalization calendar (Murphy) passed 8-0 out of House Rules.
HB 2397: sports authority district (Williams) passed 7-1 out of House Ways and Means.
HB 2480: regional transportation authority; qualifying counties (Jones) passed 7-1
HCM 2008: economically depressed area; Navajo Nation (Deschene) passed 8-0 out of House Rules.
As the deadline for hearing House bills in committee has passed and the Senate has yet to hear bills, no county related bills are scheduled for hearings next week. Bills may move through House Committee of the Whole. Both chambers are expected to continue small group meetings on budget related issues. The Senate will continue to hear program presentations in committee.
HB 2015: county retiree health insurance (Konopnicki)
-Permits small counties to pay pre-Medicare health insurance costs for retirees
Passed out of House Public Employees, Retirement and Entitlement Reform-Awaiting House Rules
HB 2190: nuisance abatement; entry on premises (Barnes)
-Grants counties authority to enter abandoned properties to eliminate a public health threat with a 24 hour posted notice
Passed out of House Judiciary-Awaiting House Rules
HB 2236: county offices; business periods (County Omnibus Measure) (Tobin)
-Establishes county authority to set work week and holiday schedules
-Permits small counties to pay pre-Medicare health insurance costs for retirees
-Permits counties to utilize hearing officers in employee merit system appeals
-Specifies that counties are the payer of third resort for court-ordered mental health evaluation services
Passed House Government and House Rules-Awaiting House Floor
HB 2268: county and municipal budgets (Crump)
-Removes the requirement that counties post a full budget in newspapers and streamlines budget notices
Passed House Government, Awaiting House Rules
HB 2460: mental health services; court costs (Goodale)
-Specifies that counties are the payer of third resort for court-ordered mental health evaluation services
Passed House Health and Human Services, Awaiting House Rules
HB 2581: library districts; county reimbursement (Jones)
-Permits library districts to reimburse counties for administrative and maintenance costs.
Passed House Government, Awaiting House Rules
HCR 2027: county expenditure limitation; population estimate (McClain)
-Permits the inclusion of second homeowners in population estimates for counties under 175,000 people, for the purposes of calculating expenditure limits
Passed out of House Ways and Means, Awaiting House Rules
SB 1111: county planning and zoning; revisions
-Amends, without making substantive changes, county planning and zoning statutes for easier, more consistent implementation
Introduced in the Senate
SB 1193: government construction; project delivery methods (Huppenthal)
-Incorporates "design-build" bidding and procurement for county special districts
Introduced in the Senate
SB 1297: flood control districts; remainder parcels (Nelson)
-Permits flood control districts to acquire remainder parcels impacted by flood control capital improvement projects.
Introduced in the Senate SB 1313: county merit system; hearing officers (Tibshraeny) -Permits counties to utilize hearing officers in employee merit system appeals
Introduced in the Senate
Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.
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County Supervisors Association of Arizona
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