ISSUE 14 - April 13, 2012

Legislative overview

Today is the 96th day of the second regular session of Arizona's fiftieth Legislature. Today was also the deadline for conference committees to meet - until that deadline was extended by motion to next Tuesday, April 17. The purpose of conference committees is to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of bills that have passed both chambers.

As the session nears its 100-day deadline established by rule, legislative leadership has initiated small group meetings with membership to discuss the status of budget negotiations. Published reports indicate that significant progress has been made in bridging the differences between the legislative and executive budgets and that the session could conclude within the next two weeks.

On Wednesday, April 11, Representative Daniel Patterson of Tucson resigned his District 29 seat in the wake of an ethics committee recommendation that he be expelled from the House of Representatives. The Pima County Board of Supervisors will choose a replacement to serve the balance of Patterson's term.

Council procedures

HB 2570 (political subdivisions; proceedings; governing bodies) provides that a city or town council may not take action on a proposed ordinance until it has been publicly posted in its final form for at least seven days. The bill also prescribes a process for the adoption of emergency ordinances and exempts certain other ordinances from the bill's enhanced notice requirements.

The bill was amended in the Senate Committee on Government Reform to stipulate that emergency ordinances expire 90 days after adoption instead of 60. Additionally, the amendment makes certain clarifying changes to last year's SB 1598 (cities; counties; regulatory review) regarding licensing timeframes and exempt permits and licenses.

On Monday, April 9, the measure was further amended by the Senate Committee of the Whole. Unfortunately, the amendment did not adequately address outstanding concerns of the League.

The bill failed on its third reading in the Senate on Thursday, April 12, by a vote of 9-21. The Senate also approved a motion to reconsider HB 2570, which means that the bill could come up for a revote at a later date. In the meantime, the League extends its appreciation to those senators who opposed the measure, which represents nothing if not a solution in search of a problem.

Traffic control

On Thursday, April 12, both the House and Senate appointed members to a conference committee to produce a consensus version of HB 2557 (NOW: intersection; definition). The measure, which arose as a strike-everything amendment in the Senate, redefines the definition of "intersection" in the transportation statutes to make it more difficult to cite drivers for red light violations.

Firearms

On Thursday, April 12, the Senate passed HB 2729 (state regulation of firearms) by a vote of 19-11. The bill, opposed by the League, requires governmental entities to permit guns into public establishments, unless armed personnel and metal detection equipment are installed at the entrances to such establishments. The measure, sponsored by Rep. David Gowan (R-Sierra Vista), further preempts municipalities from having firearms ordinances stricter than state law. The League has formally requested that the bill be rejected by Governor Brewer, to whom the legislation has been transmitted for signature or veto.

Revenue allocation districts

On Tuesday, April 10, the Senate passed HB 2469 (revenue allocation districts) by a vote of 22-8. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Rick Gray (R-Sun City), authorizes municipalities to form Revenue Allocation Districts, which can pledge increases in both property tax and sales tax revenue to secure bonds issued to benefit the district. The League supports the measure and has formally requested the Governor to sign the bill into law.

Animal cruelty

On Wednesday, April 11, the House agreed to accept the amendment of the Senate to HB 2780 (animal cruelty; ranching dogs) and approved the bill on final passage by a vote of 42-15. The bill was signed into law by the Governor on Thursday, April 12.

HB 2780 provides an exemption from animal cruelty statutes with respect to dogs involved in ranching and farming activities. The bill specifically preempts municipal ordinances involving abuse of ranching dogs.

Alarm installation

On Tuesday, April 10, representatives of the House and Senate met in a conference committee on HB 2748 (NOW: alarm business; alarm agent; certification). The measure provides for the establishment of a statewide certification requirement for alarm businesses and alarm agents, and preempts further local regulation of alarm installation. The measure was further amended in the conference committee to avoid dual registration requirements by the Registrar of Contractors and the Board of Technical Registration. The bill next proceeds to final passage votes in both chambers.

Politcal signs

On Tuesday, April 10, Governor Brewer vetoed SB 1200 (political signs; hazardous locations). The bill, sponsored by Senator Sylvia Allen (R-Snowflake), stipulates that a government agency must notify the owner of a political sign in writing if a particular sign is deemed to create a hazardous condition. It further provides that, for purposes of calculating the time frame for permissible sign installation, a primary election begins on the day that early ballots are first mailed out to voters.

The bill includes one provision that permits the installation of political signs along state highways and another that permits private property owners to remove political signs from rights-of-way adjacent to their property. Focusing on these provisions in rejecting the measure, the Governor expressed her concerns that the legislation could compromise both public safety and First Amendment rights.

Legislator profile - Representative Catherine Miranda

Representative Catherine Miranda
There is at least one Arizona legislator who can drive the lane as well as she can drive home a point. She can field a grounder with the same facility that she fields constituents' inquiries. And she can defend a goal with the same tenacity that she defends her policy positions and priorities on the floor of the Arizona House. Meet the Honorable Catherine Miranda (D-Phoenix), sports aficionado and state representative from Legislative District 16.

A native Arizonan who grew up in the heart of south Phoenix, Miranda explains: "Sports was my life. There were three girls and one boy in my family. My brother turned me into his little brother so he could have someone to play sports with. I was 100 percent tomboy."

The brother apparently picked the right sister. Miranda was the only girl who played baseball in her little league, where she: had a .500 batting percentage; made it a point to hit a home run in every game; and earned a position on the all-star team despite obvious male bias.

As good as Miranda was on the diamond, she was even better on the basketball court. She once scored 34 points in a high school basketball game while college scouts were watching. She was even offered a full-ride basketball scholarship to Arizona State University. Her athletic successes, however, did not come without a cost. Having undergone multiple surgeries in high school, Miranda's body endured too much punishment for her to pursue athletics to the next level. She is confident that she would be in the WNBA now if her sports career hadn't been shortened by the surgeon's knife.

Miranda does credit her sports experience for the development of strong leadership skills. "I learned when I need to be aggressive," she explains, "and I learned when I should pull back. I discovered and honed my ability to take charge and lead a team."

Team Miranda, the representative's nuclear family, arrived in Phoenix in the 1940's. Miranda's maternal grandparents came to the United States from Spain, and her mother was born in Superior. Her father's family hailed from Texas, and he was born in Los Angeles. Miranda's parents gravitated toward Phoenix, where her mother worked at AiResearch and her father worked in construction, helping to build Phoenix landmarks such as the Ocotillo Library and the Salvation Army's local flagship facility.

Miranda attended elementary school in the Roosevelt School District, in the heart of the very legislative district that she now represents. She was also a member of the last graduating class from East High School. A proud Longhorn (the school was located just north of the Phoenix-Tovrea stockyards in an area known for its ranching heritage), Miranda participated in student rallies to protest the planned school closure. That may have represented her first serious foray into political activism.

Though East High did shut down, Miranda's interest in education never waned. After her mother died following Miranda's high school graduation, the future lawmaker worked her way up through the ranks of Phoenix Union High School District administration. She began as an attendance clerk at South Mountain High School, became a secretary to the assistant principal and then secretary to the principal.

During the course of her work, she observed many teachers and developed her own vision of the ideal educator. To turn that vision into reality, she attended ASU as an adult with children to earn a teaching degree at age 36. With degree in hand, she continued her climb up the educational ladder, first as a classroom teacher, then as an assistant principal and ultimately as a member of the board of the Roosevelt School District. Along the way, she earned a master's degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University, and she helped found the Manzana Foundation, which prepares and transitions students for post-secondary education.

Miranda's commitment to the improvement of education policy is reflected in her legislative service. Asked by the Arizona Capitol Times about the ideal legislation she would develop if assured of its passage, Miranda explained that she would, "create a seamless education system with longer effective instruction time." She continued, "K-8 schools would all be effectively linked to their high school's curriculum and vision, and high schools would effectively be linked to our three Arizona colleges' curriculum and vision."

Miranda, who represents Phoenix and Guadalupe, is also a staunch defender of local decision-making authority. "Why would we invest time at the Legislature punishing cities," she rhetorically asks, "when they have been fiscally responsible while the State has not? It's seems like a desperate power grab by those who should pay more attention to getting the State's own house in order."

Though Miranda was not born into a political family, she is most assuredly in one now. Her husband of five years is former Arizona lawmaker Ben Miranda. They met while she was teaching elementary school and he was serving in the Legislature. The distaff Miranda fondly recalls that, "the principal invited Ben, who was a member of the board, to read to children during Dr. Seuss week." The representative kept returning to class, apparently interested in more than just the children's education.

Mr. Miranda served as his wife's campaign manager when she ran for the House in 2010. "Ben was tough," Miranda recalls. "He told me that it was my job to knock on doors and that he would attend to the details of the campaign. But as an educator, I had to micromanage. I needed to check the grammar in our brochures and select the pictures to use. In the end, I managed to win despite his interference," she laughs.

Although Miranda has not mapped out her future in detail, the warm and gracious legislator knows that, whatever she's doing politically or professionally, education will remain her focus. She could see herself involved in higher education policy at ASU or perhaps continuing her advocacy of education in the Arizona Senate. But wherever she goes and whatever she does, one thing is certain: she'll continue to swing for the fences and be ever competitive in the game of life. And that's a slam dunk.

Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.
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