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Leadership ♦ Research ♦ Advocacy ♦ Newsletter ♦ Speakers ♦ Counties ♦ Alliances ♦ Calendar ♦ Contact
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 Governor Jan Brewer visited Superior, Arizona this week to support a piece of federal legislation which would allow the Resolution Copper Mining Company to complete a federal land swap and open a new mining operation in southeast Arizona.
Brewer toured the proposed mining site on Thursday and publicly voiced her support for the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, which was introduced by Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain. The legislation would give Resolution Copper access to 3,000 acres of the Tonto National Forest which are said to contain the largest undeveloped deposit of high-grade copper in the world, in exchange for 5,500 acres of conservation land. The legislation also includes environmental protections and protections of Native American sacred sites.
In February, the CSA Board of Directors approved a resolution supporting the Resolution Copper Land Exchange. To view that resolution, click here.
To read the Arizona Republic article on Brewer's visit to Superior, click here.
Budget Update: Appropriations Hearing Scheduled, Canceled, Scheduled Again; Lawmakers Pass Stimulus Fixes
Legislative leaders pushed to secure votes for a FY10 budget plan this week. Anticipating a breakthrough, the Senate Appropriations committee scheduled a hearing for Thursday. However, the hearing failed to materialize as neither house had secured the necessary commitments to pass a proposal. Senate Appropriations is now scheduled for next Tuesday, and legislative leaders hope to produce a plan by that time.
Although lawmakers didn't act on the budget this week, they busied themselves with pieces of legislation designed to make sure Arizona qualifies for federal stimulus funds. SB 1102: eligibility determination, AHCCCS (Pratt) and SB 1322: unemployment insurance; benefits (Leff) were expedited through the legislature and sent to Governor Brewer on Thursday.
The bills make changes to AHCCCS and unemployment benefits in order to make the state eligible for federal stimulus funds. SB 1102 returns AHCCCS to its previous policy of determining eligibility on an annual basis. Last year, the legislature moved to require an eligibility determination every six months. The federal government determined that the change effectively reduced AHCCCS eligibility and, despite an appeal from Governor Jan Brewer, denied Arizona additional federal funds for Medicaid costs. The bill changes the eligibility determination back to an annual one, and allows the state access to the federal money.
SB 1322 also makes a conforming change necessary to bring the state into compliance with federal stimulus requirements. The stimulus package included an extension of unemployment benefits, allowing unemployed workers to draw benefits for as long as 20 additional weeks after regular benefits expire. In order to draw down federal unemployment funds, Arizona had to extend its eligibility period to permit the extended benefits.
The bills, which both contain an emergency clause, are expected to pass both chambers and be signed by the governor sometime next week.
Stimulus Update: Federal Hearing on Local Spending; GAO Takes a Close Look at AZ, Grants.Gov System Overwhelmed
 The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just released a three-hundred page report that details stimulus spending in select states, including Arizona. The report notes that the state might be challenged to meet the quarterly reporting requirements included in the stimulus, especially in the face of fewer state employees left to do the tracking after layoffs in Arizona's general accounting office and other state agencies. The GAO had recently selected Arizona as one of 16 states that will receive bi-monthly audits to determine how stimulus funds in the state are spent. The report tracks all of the money that has been sent to the state so far, for education, Medicaid, and transportation. It also details the measures the state plans to take to ensure that stimulus spending is accountable and transparent. To view the full report, visit the GAO-Arizona audit page here.
In other stimulus-related news, Grants.gov, the federal government's main portal for accessing grant opportunities, is being overwhelmed by thousands of grant applications. A notice posted on the site explains that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has authorized a plan that will allow certain agencies (including the Departments of Housing, Justice, and Energy, among others) to accept grant applications directly instead of through the Grants.gov site.
Procedures for applying for a grant through an agency may be different than the process applicants are used to using, and the notice advises grant applicants to carefully check grant solicitations and follow submission procedures exactly. To read the Grants.gov system alleviation notice, click here.
 The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a field hearing in Phoenix on Monday to discuss violence along the U.S.-Mexico border from a local perspective.
The committee took testimony from a number of local officials, including county sheriffs from Pima and Cochise counties, the mayors of Nogales and Phoenix, and representatives from the Tohono O'odham nation. Governor Brewer and Attorney General Goddard also testified. Officials underscored the impact border violence has on communities across the state. Governor Brewer told the committee that Arizona's designation as "ground zero" for drug trafficking and kidnapping is directly related to the porous southern border.
Although the committee praised the efforts of local law enforcement agencies along the border, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said that policing a federal border with diminishing local resources is a challenge. He said, "Fiscal assets in local jurisdictions are scarce and fiscal mechanisms at other levels of federal and state governments are currently near non-existent for local use. The assumption is made that local and tribal assets will be available to support operations with a nexus to the border. This assumption is critically flawed and is intensified without the assistance of federal funding."
To view more testimony from the committee, click here.
On Tuesday of this week (April 21), the legislative session marked its hundredth day. Legislative rules require the session to adjourn on the hundredth day, unless it is extended by leadership. This week, leadership extended the session another seven days to May 2nd.
In the last ten years, the legislative session has adjourned on day 100 only once (April 18, 2000). Last year's session, adjourning on June 27, was the longest since 1992 at 166 days. In 2008, 74 bills had been passed and signed by the legislature on day 100. This year, the total count of bills passed is two (HB 2051 and SB 1185).
This week, the legislature heard the following county related bills:
HB 2190: nuisance abatement; entry on premises (Barnes) passed House Rules 8-0.
HB 2202: county stormwater management; reference correction (Barnes) passed House Rules 8-0 and House COW.
HB 2063: probation; registration; monitoring (Konopnicki) passed House COW.
Check the legislative calendar at www.azleg.gov/alistoday.asp for updated schedules, as the House may release a COW or floor calendar later in the week.
Most committees are not meeting, although a few House and Senate standing committees continue to hear informational and program presentations. An Appropriations meeting has been scheduled in the Senate for Tuesday, although bills for the hearing have not yet been posted.
The legislature is scheduled to hear the following county related proposals next week:
To view CSA's Calendar of Events, visit www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.
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County Supervisors Association of Arizona
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