County Supervisors Association of Arizona

In the November 20, 2009 CSA Update:

Supervisor Rios, Secretary Bennett Chair Leadership Forum
Special Session Update: One Appropriation Bill Fails in the Senate, Three Approved
AZ Counties Open Flu Clinics with Limited Supplies
Calendar

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Supervisor Rios, Secretary Bennett Chair Leadership Forum

Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios and Secretary of State Ken Bennett chaired the “Governing Arizona” forum, held in Phoenix November 17. The invitation-only event brought together leaders from government, business, the community, and the news media to focus on bi-partisan steps necessary in 2010 and beyond to confront the state’s serious fiscal situation.

The forum drew on the expertise of scholars from around the nation and a new comprehensive summary of Arizona spending and revenue over the past 30 years. Twenty two legislators attended, including members from Democratic and Republican leadership. County representation included supervisors Pete Rios (Pinal), David Snider (Pinal), Lenore Stuart (Yuma), Jim Palmer (Graham) and Fulton Brock (Maricopa). Maricopa manager David Smith and CSA’s Craig Sullivan and Mark Barnes also participated.

For more information, including the background report, consensus statement and press coverage, please click here.

Governing Arizona is funded by the Thomas R. Brown Foundation and conducted by The Communications Institute. Additional education programs will be scheduled around the state during the next 12 months.

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Special Session Update: One Appropriation Bill Fails in the Senate, Three Approved

The Arizona legislature made another attempt, in the fourth special session of 2009, to close the widening FY10 budget gap, but the Senate did not have the votes to approve the entire package, with the main appropriations bill failing on third read.

The Senate struggled to find the votes for three days, but on Thursday could not muster sufficient support to pass the general appropriations bill. The final vote in the Senate had 14 votes in favor, 13 against, and three not voting. Senator Chuck Gray changed his vote from "yes" to "no" in order to have the bill reconsidered.

The Senate did approve the other three bills in the package (SB 1002, 1003, and 1004). SB 1003 (a new version of last session's vetoed SB 1025) contained a provision requiring Maricopa and Pima counties to transfer a total of $22 million to the state general fund, and a shift of County Assistance Funds (derived from the AZ Lottery) to the state. The bill also included spending authority and revenue fixes for the state agencies (like the Corporation Commission) that were impacted by the Governor's veto of SB 1025 in the last special session.

The Senate plans to reconvene on Monday to reconsider the action on SB 1001. Republican Senator Barbara Leff was not present for today's vote and is expected to be away from the Capitol until the 24th. The House will also reconvene on Monday and may take a final vote on the package sometime next week.

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AZ Counties Open Flu Clinics With Limited Vaccine Supplies

Counties across the state are working hard to get H1N1 flu vaccines to vulnerable Arizona populations, although most counties received fewer doses of the vaccine at a slower rate than they anticipated.

Vaccine producers have released fewer doses than the federal Department of Health and Human Services expected, causing a shortage of H1N1 vaccines across the country. Vaccines are distributed from manufacturers to the federal government, who sends it to state agencies (like the AZ Dept of Health Services), who disburse the vaccine to local governments based on population. Despite the supply challenges, Arizona counties are taking innovative measures to get the vaccines to the populations most at-risk from H1N1 flu: children, pregnant women and young adults-and especially members of those groups that have chronic health conditions.

Mohave County has activated its "Department Operations Center" (DOC), a sub-sector of the health departments which meets weekly to update county responses to H1N1 flu. The DOC tracks vaccine shipments and helps providers and clinics determine who should be eligible for the immunizations. Both Mohave and Yuma counties have hotlines that can answer questions from constituents and connect people who need a vaccine to a clinic or provider where they can get one. La Paz County's public health department sent a letter to parents in the county encouraging them to teach children good hygeine and keep kids home from school if they are sick.

To minimize the time constituents have to wait in line at mass vaccination clinics, Pinal County has designed a system where people can check in, get a colored wristband, and come back at an appointed time to get the vaccine.

For now, the shortage is forcing many counties to limit access to the vaccine to the highest risk group. However, supplies of the vaccine are slowly increasing, and Will Humble, the Director of Arizona's Department of Health Services, anticipates that by December there will be enough vaccine to offer it to anyone who wants it.

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Calendar

Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.

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