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Legislative OverviewToday marks the 47th day of the 2016 session. Committee agendas were mostly light as bills are being transferred to the other chamber. Floor activity was extremely heavy, including days in the House with approximately 100 bills processed. The Appropriations Committees may continue to hear bills from their house of origin, otherwise from now on the House will be hearing Senate bills, and the Senate will be hearing House bills. The last day for committee hearings besides Appropriations is March 18th.PawnbrokersOn Wednesday HB2566, S/E: pawnbrokers; transaction fee prohibited passed the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 7-6. Sponsored by House Speaker David Gowan (R - Sierra Vista) the strike-everything amendment precludes cities and towns from charging a fee on reportable transactions at pawn shops. The League opposed the bill as these fees go directly into law enforcement operations dealing with stolen property. The bill now goes to the House Rules Committee.Municipal Improvement DistrictsThe Senate Finance Committee passed HB2440, municipal improvement districts by a vote of 5-3. Sponsored by Rep. Warren Peterson (R - Gilbert), the bill as amended by the House stipulates petition requirements for the formation of such districts, and also outlines what properties are exempt from the process. The bill needs an amendment related to the order and timing of the resolution and petition process so that the financing mechanism of the district will work and for that reason the League remains opposed. The measure now goes on to the Senate Rules Committee.PSPRS LiabilitySponsored by Representative Doug Coleman (R - Apache Junction) HB2512, pension contributions; expenditure limit exemption allows for political subdivisions to exceed their expenditure limitation for the purpose of paying down their public safety pension liability. The bill passed the Senate Finance Committee 5-0, and proceeds to the Senate Rules Committee.Audio-Visual RecordingsHB2583, open meetings; audiovisual recordings failed on the House floor this week by a vote of 23-36. Sponsored by Representative David Stevens (R - Sierra Vista), the bill would have required all public bodies to post a complete audiovisual recording of all public meetings on their website within 24 hours of the meeting's conclusion. The League was opposed.Legislative Bill Monitoring(All bills being actively monitored by the League can be found here.)HB2512: pension contributions; expenditure limit exemption HB2440: municipal improvement districts; formation election HB2566: S/E pawnbrokers; transactions fee prohibited HB2583: open meetings; audiovisual recordings |
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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. |
