Legislative overview

Today is the 103rd day of the second regular session of Arizona's 50th Legislature. Hopes for a sine die adjournment by the 100-day deadline established by rule were dashed, as the executive and legislative branches failed to reach an agreement on a budget for 2012-13. To increase the pressure on legislative negotiators to conclude a budget deal, the governor announced on Monday, April 16, that she would not sign any more bills into law until a budget accord is reached. This policy does not apply to those bills that had been transmitted to the Office of the Governor by the time the announcement was made.
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Consolidated elections

On Thursday, April 19, the Senate passed HB 2826 (consolidated election dates; political subdivisions) by a vote of 16-13. The bill had previously been defeated in the Senate by a vote of 11-17. The legislation has now been approved by each chamber with the bare minimum number of votes required for passage.
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Firearms

On Tuesday, April 17, the governor vetoed HB 2729 (state regulation of firearms). The bill 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), also preempts municipalities from having firearms ordinances stricter than state law. The League had formally requested that the bill be rejected by Governor Brewer.

Revenue allocation districts

On Tuesday, April 17, the governor vetoed HB 2469 (revenue allocation districts). 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. In her veto letter, the governor cited several concerns, including: a lack of detail surrounding projects that might be financed with this new mechanism; potential avoidance of constitutional debt limits; and administrative burdens. The League, which supports the measure, continues to work with the sponsor and proponents to address the governor's concerns.

Alarm installation

On Monday, April 16, the House approved HB 2748 (NOW: alarm business; alarm agent; certification) by a vote of 42-14. The bill includes an amendment adopted by a conference committee of senators and representatives appointed to produce a final version of the legislation. On Wednesday, April 18, the sponsor, Representative Amanda Reeve (R-Phoenix), made a successful motion to return the bill to another conference committee to make additional changes. In its current form, the measure provides for the establishment of a statewide certification requirement for alarm businesses and alarm agents, and it preempts further local regulation of alarm installation.

Law enforcement

On Wednesday, April 18, the House passed SB 1212 (law enforcement officers; just cause) by a vote of 55-0. Sponsored by Senator Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert), the bill mandates that the same "just cause" process required for the termination of law enforcement officers be applied to demotions. Language in the bill applying the same process to officer suspensions was stricken by an amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole.
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United Nations Rio declaration

SB 1507 (NOW: United Nations Rio declaration; prohibition) was calendared for consideration by the House Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, April 17. The purpose of the bill is to prohibit the state or its political subdivisions from adopting or implementing "the creed, doctrine, principles or any tenet" of the 1992 United Nations Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
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Business incentives

On Wednesday, April 18, the House passed SB 1442 (prime contracting; manufacturing facilities; infrastructure) by a vote of 46-10. The measure allows municipalities to recapture state transaction privilege taxes paid by qualified manufacturing facilities for public infrastructure necessary to support those facilities. The bill was amended in the Committee of the Whole to expand the definitions of associated improvement and manufacturing facility. The measure, which is supported by the League as a tool for attracting manufacturing jobs to Arizona, now returns to the Senate to address amendments made in the House.

Traffic control

On Thursday, April 19, the House defeated HB 2557 (NOW: intersection; definition) by a vote of 27-29. The bill redefines the definition of "intersection" in the transportation statutes to make it more difficult to cite drivers for red light violations. Following consideration of the measure, a motion was made and adopted to reconsider the vote in the House on Wednesday, April 25.

Spirituous liquor

HB 2606 (NOW: liquor omnibus) passed the House on April 19 by a vote of 46-11. Among other things, the bill, sponsored by Rep. J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler), permits the State Liquor Board to consider municipal tax delinquencies in liquor license suspension and revocation proceedings. It further permits a city or town to use the average of the last five years of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for fee increases (as opposed to just the previous year's CPI). The bill now proceeds to the Senate for final consideration.

Legislator profile - Representative Chad Campbell

If Representative Chad Campbell appears agitated - a lean mass of nervous energy pacing the House floor in restless motion - there could be several explanations. He could be in high dudgeon concerning some ill-advised legislative proposal or another. As the minority leader of the House, he could be preoccupied with the demanding task of keeping his caucus together. More likely, however, he'd just rather be outdoors.

Canoeing. Rock climbing. Boating. Gliding. Fishing. Snowboarding. Backpacking. Mountain bike riding. Camping. If a pursuit takes place outside and involves physical and mental challenge, then Campbell is good to give it a go. His love of the outdoors, reflecting an insatiable passion for life, is palpable.

No wonder, then, that the newlywed lawmaker tied the knot last year in Kauai, a Hawaiian island of rugged and beauteous adventure. "I was on the island in 2009," Campbell explains, "and I flew along the Na Pali coastline in a one-wing power glider." He later learned that, within a year of this geste, the guide who took him gliding crashed and died. Happily, everyone who participated in his recent wedding at a beach house in Poipu survived to tell the tale.
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Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.
Forward your comments or suggestions to league@azleague.org.