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Leadership ♦ Research ♦ Advocacy ♦ Newsletter ♦ Speakers ♦ Counties ♦ Alliances ♦ Calendar ♦ Contact
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 The Arizona State Senate paused this week to remember Senator Jake Flake, a legislative leader and close friend to Arizona counties and rural Arizona who passed away on June 8 last year.
Senator Flake's family joined the Senate for a tribute, as members shared their memories of Jake's long service in the legislature. He was remembered for his extraordinary
 leadership, his willingness to work across the aisle, and the kindness he extended to everyone. Former Senator Rusty Bowers sang a tribute to Flake on the floor, and unveiled a clay bust of the Senator that will be bronzed and placed at the state Capitol.
Click here to view the Senate's tribute to Jake Flake, which begins at 4:30. Click here to read the Senate's memorial resolution.
County Leaders Testify During Governor's Stakeholder Hearings Governor Brewer invited county supervisors to the Capitol on Tuesday to speak about the damage the legislative FY10 budget plan will do to local governments.
CSA President Sharon Bronson (Pima) led the delegation that included Supervisors Elizabeth Archuleta (Coconino), Max Wilson (Maricopa) and James Palmer (Graham). The supervisors described the local impact of the $100 million fiscal impact to be shouldered by counties. The most damaging impacts are the mandated direct total transfer of $27.9 million from Maricopa and Supervisor Wilson said, "The counties pay our own bills, and we live within our means. When the state can't live within its means, they just pass the bills on to us."
To view a complete listing of county impacts in the Legislature's FY10 proposed budget, click here.
 Closed door meetings on the budget continued, although many Senators were consumed with long committee hearings. After the legislature passed a joint budget proposal last week, leaders opted not to transmit the budget to the Governor, after she had promised a veto. The Governor met with Republican and Democrat leaders this week, and held public panels on numerous aspects of the budget.
The job of balancing the state budget will be tougher than ever in light of April's revenue numbers. Tax collections in Arizona were down 47.9% from a year ago in April, leaving the FY09 receipts $663 million below projections. Sales tax revenues were down 19.8%. Income tax revenues declined by 44% compared to a year while refunds increased, leaving the state with the lowest level of income tax collections since 1996.
The National Conference on State Legislators conducted a survey on tax performance across the country. Arizona had the steepest decline in the nation in income tax, and the 3rd steepest decline in sales tax.
To read the NCSL survey, click here. For more information on Arizona's revenue collections, read the Joint Legislative Budget Committee's Monthly Fiscal Notes.
After a six month budget stalemate, the passage of a preliminary plan last week opened to the door for the state Senate to begin hearing bills this week, after 150 days in session. The Senate held marathon hearings Monday through Thursday, and scheduled a special floor session on Friday. The Senate is planning to work overtime over the next two weeks (some committees will be meeting twice a week) to hear Senate bills and House bills before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Among the many bills with county impact, the Senate Appropriations committee considered and advanced two transparency bills this week with passage of SB 1142: public expenditure transparency database (Paton) and SB 1441: public expenditure transparency (Melvin). Both bills put a significant burden on county budgets during the worst economic conditions in state history. Despite concerns about the cost and resource requirements of these bills, both bills passed out of committee with party line votes. CSA will continue to communicate that counties cannot afford any unfunded mandates no matter how worthy.
The Government Institutions Committee heard two CSA agenda measures this past week: SB 1111: county planning and zoning; revisions (Paton) and SB 1313: county merit system; hearing officers (Tibshraeny). Both measures passed without significant opposition. CSA has agreed to amend out a provision granting subpoena power to merit commission hearing officers because no other merit system hearing officer at the county level has that authority. The Government Institutions Committee is scheduled to meet twice next week (on Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon) as the Senate works its way through non-budget related measures.
In a flurry of activity, the Senate held its first hearings of the session. Many Senate bills moved through committees early in the week, were approved by the Rules committee yesterday, and heard in COW today. The House continued to Third Read and COW bills.
The legislature heard the following bills with county impacts this week:
SB 1002: elected officials; print; visual media (Waring) was held in Senate Appropriations.
SB 1038: agency accounts; technical correction (Pearce) (Strike Everything: revenue sharing; Native American tribes) was held in Senate Appropriations.
SB 1111: county planning and zoning; revisions (Paton) passed 6-0 out of Senate Government Institutions.
SB 1142: public expenditure transparency database (Paton) passed Senate Appropriations 7-3 and Senate Rules.
SB 1157: department of environmental quality, continuation (Nelson) was held in Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt (NRIPD).
SB 1161: PSPRS; reemployment (Pearce) passed Senate Retirement and Rural Development 6-0.
SB 1162: GIITEM; appropriation; multijurisdictional task force (Pearce) passed Senate Appropriations 8-3.
SB 1175: illegal aliens; enforcement; trespassing (Pearce) passed Senate Public Safety and Human Services 4-3 and Senate Rules.
SB 1232: body art establishments; licensing (Burton Cahill) was held in Senate Health and Medical Liability Reform.
SB 1235: cooperative purchasing agreements (Nelson) passed Senate Government Institutions 6-1.
SB 1250: retirement; sick leave payments (Paton) passed Senate Retirement and Rural Development 6-0.
SB 1259: aggregate mine reclamation, initiation; extension (S. Allen) failed 3-3 in Senate NRIPD.
SB 1260: aggregate mine reclamation; law; exemption (S. Allen) was held in Senate NRIPD.
SB 1271: jail districts; property tax limit (S. Allen) passed Senate Finance 6-0.
SB 1297: flood control districts; remainder parcels (Nelson) passed Senate NRIPD 5-0 and Senate Rules.
SB 1303: open meeting laws; minutes; notice (Tibshraeny) passed Senate Government Institutions 7-0.
SB 1401: juvenile adjudications; probation; disposition (Verschoor) passed Senate Appropriations 8-3.
SB 1403: renewable; high wage industries incentives (Leff) passed Senate Commerce and Economic Development.
SB 1420: DUI; juvenile adjudications (Verschoor) passed Senate Appropriations 7-3.
SB 1421: special districts; secondary levy limits (Waring) passed Senate Finance 5-1.
SB 1441: public expenditure transparency (Melvin) passed Senate Appropriations 7-4.
HB 2202: county stormwater management; reference correction (Barnes) passed House Third Read 57-0.
HB 2367: property tax valuation; government actions (Murphy) passed House Third Read 57-0.
HB 2460: mental health services; court costs (Goodale) was retained on the House COW calendar.
HB 2570: fire districts; boundaries; consolidation; merger (Pratt) passed House Third Read 58-0.
HB 2581: library district; county reimbursement (Jones) passed House Third Read 58-0.
HCR 2019: judges and justices; Senate confirmation (Montenegro) passed House Government 6-3.
Long committee hearings are expected in the Senate again, as that chamber finishes Senate bills and may begin to hear House bills. The House may also begin to hear Senate bills after the Senate's Third Read session on Monday.
The legislature will hear 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. Check the legislative calendar for new agendas released during the week.
HB 2572: voter registration; technical correction (Strike Everything: Sports Authority Districts) will be heard in House Commerce on Monday, June 15, at 2:30 p.m. in House Room 5.
HB 2337: energy standards; buildings; contracting (Mason) and
HCR 2019: justices & judges; Senate confirmation (Montenegro) will be heard in House Rules on Monday, June 15, at 1:00 p.m. in House Room 4.
SB 1118: technical correction; defined contribution plan (S. Allen) (Strike Everything: Air Quality; Being Actual Construction) and
SB 1157: department of environmental quality, continuation (Nelson) and
SB 1256: aggregate mine reclamation; fees (Strike Everything: mining omnibus) and
SB 1259: aggregate mine reclamation, initiation; extension (S. Allen) and
SB 1260: aggregate mine reclamation; law; exemption (S. Allen)
HB 2396: transportation; public private partnerships (Biggs) will be heard in Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt on Monday, June 15, at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Room 109.
SB 1152: mental health services; court ordered treatment (Paton) will be heard in Senate Judiciary on Monday, June 15, at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Room 1.
SB 1073: counties; population thresholds (Paton) and
SB 1306: procurement services; costs; fees (Tibshraeny) and
SB 1323: emergency mutual aid agreements (Leff) and
SB 1466: council on efficient government (Gorman) will be heard in Senate Government Institutions on Tuesday, June 16, at 8:00 a.m. in Senate Room 1.
SB 1002: elected officials; print; visual media (Waring) and
SB 1025: technical corrections; state employees; reorganization (Strike Everything: judicial productivity credits) and
SB 1026: technical corrections; food standards (Strike Everything: DUI Abatement Fund; CJEF) and
SB 1038: agency accounts; technical correction (Pearce) (Strike Everything: revenue sharing; Native American tribes) will be heard in Senate Appropriations on Tuesday, June 16, at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Room 109.
SB 1341: unsubdivided property; disclosure; affidavit (S. Allen) will be heard in Senate Commerce and Economic Development on Tuesday, June 16, at 1:30 p.m.
SB 1062: law enforcement officers; disciplinary procedures (L. Gray) and
SB 1291: state photo enforcement system (Nelson) will be heard in Senate Public Safety and Human Services on Wednesday, June 17, at 8:30 a.m. in Senate Room 3.
HB 2285: fire district assistance tax; merger (Yarbrough) and
HB 2480: regional transportation authority, qualifying counties (Jones) and
HB 2365: county board of equalization; petitions (Murphy) will be heard in Senate Finance on Wednesday June 17, at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Room 3.
Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.
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County Supervisors Association of Arizona
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