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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/21/2006 Blue Sheet State Legislative Issues TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION MEETING DATE: TOWN OF MARAN A February 21, 2006 AGENDA ITEM: K. 1 TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL FROM: Michael A. Reuwsaat, Town Manager SUBJECT: State Le2islative Issues: Discussion/Direction/Action regarding all pending bills before the Legislature DISCUSSION This item is scheduled for each regular council Meeting in order to provide an opportunity to discuss any legislative item that might arise during the current session of the State Legislature. Periodically, an oral report may be given to supplement the Legislative Bulletins. A TT ACHMENTS Legislative Bulletins, Issues 4 and 5. RECOMMENDATION Upon the request of Council, staff will be pleased to provide recommendations on specific legislative issues. SUGGESTED MOTION Mayor and Council's pleasure. JCB/02/14/2006/ll:47 AM IN TH IS ISSUE Senate Works to Eliminate State Shared Revenue to Our Largest Cites and Towns .. 1 County Island Bills Still Place Mandates on the Town of Gilbert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eminent Domain Update 2 Photo Enforcement Thre~ened ........... 2 Mandatory Yellow Light Bill Fails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 Updates on Other Legislation ............ 2 League of Arizona ~Q~ Cities AND Towns Legislative Bulletill is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestlons to: League of Arizona Cities & Towns 1820 West Washington Street Phoenix. Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-258-5786 Fax: 602-253-3874 Email: Icague@mg.state.az.us Internet: www.azleague.org LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN Issue No.4 February 3, 2006 *ACTION AlERT* SENATE WORKS TO ELIMINATE STATE SHARED REVENUE TO OUR LARGEST CITIES AND TOWNS The Senate Finance Committee voted 5-4 on Thursday to pass SB1408, which eliminates urban revenue sharing, our portion of the state-collected income tax, over a ten-year period to those cities and towns with populations over 100,000. The bill would also provide additional revenue to cities and towns with populations under 1,500. Thanks to Mayors Keno Hawker of Mesa and Monica Badillo of Hayden for testifying against the bill. Although the bill would provide additional revenue to the Town of Hayden, Mayor Badillo expressed her opposition, making it clear to the committee members that cities and towns will not be divided on this issue and will continue a unified front against these attacks. Urban revenue sharing is a voter approved initiative created in 1972 to simplify the tax system; it prohibits cities and towns from levying an income or luxury tax in exchange for receiving a portion of the state-collected income tax. As has been the case historically, the protection of state shared revenue is a core principle of the League and will remain a top priority of this organization. We will continue to oppose this and any legislation that threatens shared revenue distributions to any city or town. On another note, the League resolution to increase funding for smaller cities has been introduced by Senator Tim Bee. SB1413 will be heard next Tuesday in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Please let your Legislators know that SB1413 is the appropriate approach to addressing the revenue concerns of our smaller communities rather than SB1408. ACTION REQUESTED: Please contact your Senators early next weekto oppose S81408 and reiterate how important state shared revenues are to the provision of local services. *ACTION AlERT* COUNTY ISLAND BillS STill PLACE MANDATES ON THE TOWN OF GilBERT The two bills moving through the Legislature regarding county island fire service continued their fast track through the process this week. HB2145, sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs of Gilbert, was amended on the House floor Wednesday to make Gilbert the provider of last resort. However, the amendment creates a cumbersome process where, in reality, it is highly unlikely that the created district will ever receive a qualified bid for the service, thus making Gilbert the eventual provider. This amended version passed out of the House that same day with a 44-12-3 vote. The Senate heard its version, SB1177 on the floor on Thursday, where it was amended to match the House version. It now awaits a final vote in the Senate, which could occur as early as Monday. ACTION REOUESTED: The league will continue to oppose these bills as long as they mandate Gilbert to provide the service. This bill sets a dangerous precedent for the State mandating that a city or town provide a service outside of its jurisdiction to non-residents. Please contact your Senators prior to their 11 :30 a.m. reconvening on Monday to express your opposition. EMINENT DOMAIN UPDATE The onslaught of em inent domain bills slowed this week, with the introduction of only one new bill. In total, nineteen bills have been introduced, all of which work to prohibit the use of eminent domain by either banning it outright or making the process very cost-prohibitive and time consuming. Eleven of these bills affect all condemnation, not just takings for redevelopment. These would impact numerous public projects including roads, sewers, power lines, prisons and parks. Over the last week, we have worked with other levels of government and the private sector to develop a broad-based coalition to slow down and provide more structure to the debate on this issue. We hope that with the help of other interests we will be able to demonstrate to Legislators that collectively these bills are overreaching and would have dire consequences for the State if enacted. If we can successfully stop the progress of the bills that impact general condemnation authority, we can then engage the Legislature in a meaningful dialogue on redevelopment. Hopefully addressing their concerns regarding safeguards for property owners while not eliminating our ability to redevelop slum and blighted areas. We will keep you informed on new developments. PHOTO ENFORCEMENT THREATENED Several bills were heard in the Legislature this week that attack municipal use of photo enforcement to keep their streets and highways safe. H B2411, which limits the fine for a photo enforcement citation and prohibits any assessment of points on the violator's license, effectively takes the teeth out of photo enforcement. This bill was held in the House Transportation Committee but is expected to be heard next week. HB2174, which requires redundant signage to alert drivers to a photo enforcement area, is now ready for its final reading in the House. Its sponsor, Rep. Bob Robson, amended it on the floor to address some city concerns. As amended, the signage numbers and size are reduced and only applies to roadways with speed limits greater than 40 mph. While an improvement over the original bill, the legislation still places mandates on municipal photo enforcement practices. There are currently three Se nate bills and six House bills impacting photo enforcement, continuingthe trend of legislation that has been pursued over the last several years to eliminate or water down the use of photo enforcement technology. We will continue to update you on the progress of these bills. MANDATORY YELLOW LIGHT BILL FAILS Cities and towns around the State prevailed on Tuesday when the Senate Transportation Committee failed SB100l. This bill would have required all intersections to have a yellow light length of at least four seconds unless the city or town council voted to make a specific intersection less. Traffic engineers from the cities of Mesa and Phoenix testified to the committee regarding the science and complexities of setting light durations and why establishing a mandatory light length would be bad public policy. In short, the lights that need to be four seconds or longer have already been set at such a length and there are very good reasons why some durations around the State are shorter. In addition, the cost and resources needed to implement such a change would have been prohibitive. Senators Soltero, Rios and Allen recognized that this was an unnecessary burden on municipalities and voted no, failing the bill. UPDATES ON OTHER LEGISLATION: HB 2220: This bill, which gives code enforcement officers the same identity protections as law enforcement officers, passed out of the House Government Reform and Government Finance Accountability on Wednesday. It now moves to the House floor. HB 2136: This League resolution, which clarifies that cities and towns can use alternative methods of construction, such as CM@Risk and Design-Build, passed out of the House Government Reform and GovernmentFinance Accountability on Wednesday. It now moves to the House floor. HB2205: This League resolution preempts homeowners' associations from restricting utility vehicle parking in their neighborhoods. It passed the House Government Reform and Government Finance Accountability on Thursday. 5B. 1044: This bill, first heard during the first week of session, passed the Senate Committee of the Whole on Thursday with no amendments. The introduced version of the bill required water rate adjustments to be "just and reasonable" which is already the practice. The bill became an issue when efforts to define "just and reasonable" were pursued in committee. After astakeholder meeting, the sponsor, Senator Linda Gray, has indicated that she will no longer pursue amendments. It now waits for a final vote in the Senate before moving to the House. 5B 1068: This bill, which exempts impact fees from state and local transaction privilege taxes, passed out of the Senate this week with a 28-2 vote. It now moves to the House. 5B1209: This bill will require cities and towns to post meeting notices on their website and also mandates that the minutes or an audio recording of the meetings be posted on websites within three working days after the meeting. It was passed by the Senate Government Reform Committee and now moves to the Senate floor. LEGI5LA TlVE BU LLETlN PAGE 2 February 3, 2006 IN TH IS ISSUE State Shared Revenue Attack! .............. County Island Fire Bill Sent to the Governor . . . . . . . . .. 1 Eminent Domain Update Retaining Physicians in Arizona .............. 2 Photo Enforcement Attack 2 Municipal Tax Incentive Update .............. 2 League Resolutions Supported in the Legislature ....... 2 League of Arizona ~q~ CitiesANDTowns Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to: League of Arizona Cities & Towos 1820 Wesl Washington Street Phoenix. Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-258-5786 Fax: 602-253-3874 Email: lcaguc@mg.state.az.us Internet: www.azlcague.org LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN Issue No.5 February 10, 2006 STATE SHARED REVENUE ATTACK! 5B1408, the proposed phasing out of urban revenue sharing for cities and towns over 100,000 in population passed out of the Senate Finance Committee last Thursday and is ready for consideration on the Senate floor next week. Senator Bob Burns, the Appropriations Chairman, pursued the same legislation last year, which was defeated by the full Senate. Please contact your Senators early next week to make sure that this year's version shares the same fate as last year's and is defeated. Also, one of the House Appropriations Committees passed HCR2022 on Wednesday with a 7-5 vote. This resolution would amend the State Constitution to include a "tax-payer bill of rights" (commonly referred to as TABOR), which would place a revenue limit on state government. Revenue would be limited using a very arbitrary formula based on population growth and inflation. Excess revenue would be refunded back to the taxpayers. Those revenue growth limitations would also apply to state shared revenue. This bill would impact spending, including education, prisons and transportation, by limiting allowed revenue growth. This means that even those expenditures that outpace growth and inflation will be limited by revenue capped by the formula. In periods of high growth rates, TABOR has less of an effect; however, when the economy enters a recession then begins to grow again, revenue levels are capped at the lowest recession level plus population growth and inflation. This means that revenues to state and local government will grow very slowly even as the demand for services grow again and previous cuts are backfilled. There is also nothing preventing voters from continuing to pass initiatives and referendums that mandate government spending that must be funded as entitlements with the limited revenue stream. A similar amendment was passed in Colorado, where it had disastrous results and has since been put on hold to allow a greater tax collection flow as their economy recovers. Information regarding Colorado's TABOR experience can be found at www.ncsl.orf!)programs/fiscal/taborpts.htm . Typical groups that often support Iimitingtaxesare opposed to TABOR; these groups include the Arizona Tax Research Association and many Chambers of Commerce. COUNTY ISLAND FIRE Bill SENT TO THE GOVERNOR HB2145 allows county islands within the Town of Gilbert to form a fire district and mandates that Gilbert provide emergency services to those districts if they are unable to contract with a private source. As expected, this bill was fast tracked through the process and was sent to the Governor on Tuesday. Governor Napolitano now has 5 working days to act on the legislation or it automatically becomes law. The bill is an emergency measure and will go into effect immediately if it becomes law. The League continues to oppose this bill as it mandates that the Town of Gilbert provide these services outside of its jurisdiction to non-residents and could be easily expanded in the future to be a statewide mandate. EMINENT DOMAIN UPDATE The flurry of eminent domain legislation continues as five more bills are scheduled to be considered in the House Federal Mandates and Property Rights Committee on Monday afternoon. At least 19 bills on the subject have been introduced this session. Eminent Domain Update contd. The coalition of public and private sector agencies opposed to the onslaught of bills is continuing to work with legislative leadership to limit the number and focus of the bills. While most of the concerns center around the potential of property being taken from one private person and conveyed to another, many of these bills impact general condemnation authority which would greatly impede public infrastructure projects such as roads, sewers, power lines, prisons and schools. In addition to limiting the bills to redevelopment authority, we want to insure that our ability to condemn to eliminate slum and blight is not preempted. We have offered to work on language that would provide additional safeguards to property owners but not eliminate our condemnation authority. One proposed change would be to require that the public benefit of a redevelopment project must substantially outweigh any private benefit. We will keep you updated on future developments. RETAINING PHYSICIANS IN ARIZONA: SB1351, sponsored by Senator Carolyn Allen, expands the burden of proof needed to bring a liability lawsuit on an emergency room physician or the hospital where treatment took place. The person bringing the lawsuit would have to provide clear and convincing evidence that the physician failed to exercise that degree of care, skill and learning expected of a reasonable, prudent health care provider in the profession or class to which he belongs and that the failure was a proximate cause of the injury. Currently many doctors are leaving the State because of the lack of laws to protect them from frivolous malpractice suits. In addition, the cost of their services is increasing rapidly due to the cost of malpractice insurance, which increas~s insurance costs for municipal citizens and em ployees. This bill will work to reduce these lawsuits and help retain doctors in our State who will also be able to charge more reasonable fees for their services. This bill is consistent with our League Resolution supporting healthcare reforms to enhance the recruitment and retention of physicians in Arizona. The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health Committee on Monday afternoon. Please contact your Senators to express your support. PHOTO ENFORCEMENT ATTACK The Legislature's attack on municipal photo enforcement use continued this week. HB2174, Rep. Bob Robson's bill that creates signage requirements for all photo enforcement use, passed out of the House with a 44-13-3 vote. It has now been sent to the Senate, where it faces another set of hearings. This bill was amended in the House to address many of our concerns but it still places mandates on municipal photo enforcement practices. SB1410 was heard this week in the Senate Transportation Committee and passed 4-1. This bill creates an accounting nightmare for all municipal courts by attempting to capture the revenue from photo enforcement on the state freeways, which is currently only used by one city. This bill mandates that 46% of each citation issued by a municipality be placed in a fund to help pay for more DPS officers. This percentage is not taken until the municipality reaches its FY 2005 collections, which is an attempt to limit the collections on new revenue. The bill was amended in committee to delay the effective date until january 1, 2007. There are currently 12 bills that either preempt, place cumbersome mandates, or try to water down the effectiveness of photo enforcement. Municipalities are charged with keeping their streets and their citizens safe and photo enforcement helps them achieve this goal; the League will continue to oppose these bills. MUNICIPAL TAX INCENTIVE UPDATE Rep. john Nelson introduced HB2737, his alternative to the preemptive tax incentive bill being considered in the Senate. HB2737 does not seek to prohibit municipal tax incentives or to penalize the city for using them, but rather puts a limit on the amounts that can be offered. It also creates specific public notice requirements for cities entering into tax incentive agreements and limits the potential for bidding wars between cities. This bill passed out of Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs on Tuesday with a 7-4-1 vote. This bill differs from SB1243, which is sponsored by Sen. Ken Cheuvront, in that SB1243 penalizes a city or town from using incentives by reducing state shared revenue by the same amount of the tax incentive. This is a repeat of last year's failed legislative effort. The bill is ready for floor consideration in the Senate. Last year's bill passed the Senate and failed in the House. Both bills provide exemptions for infrastructure, historical preservation, redevelopment and environmental remediation projects. LEAGUE RESOLUTIONS SUPPORTED IN THE LEGISLATURE There are several League of AZ Cities and Towns resolutions that are now moving through the legislative process this session. These resolutions are policy and action items that the League's membership selected to be a legislative focus this session. Standardized petition signature requirements: SB 1360 passed out of the Senate judiciary Comm ittee with a 7- 0-1 vote on Monday. SB1360 sets the same standard for signers of initiative, referendum and recall petitions that the Legislature created for nomination petition signers last session. This bill requires that the signer be a registered voter in the municipality where the initiative, referendum or recall will be decided. It is the League's position that only registered voters in that LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN PAGE 2 February 10, 2006 municipality should be able to change laws or policies and recall elected officials. Increased state revenue funding for Arizona's smallest towns: SB 1413 passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee with a 7-2-2 vote on Tuesday afternoon. SB1413 appropriates just over $800,000 from the State general fund to be distributed to towns with a population of less than 1,500. The funding will be allocated to the six towns that meet the population standard and will bring them up to the level of shared revenue funding that they would have received if they had populations of 1,500. These towns have not kept up with the State's growth rate and, in fact, some are losing population. This increase in funding will insure that at least minimal levels of needed services can be provided. Again, the bill appropriates money from the State general fund rather than state shared revenues and does not impact anyone else's shared revenue allocations. Mun icipal Parking Enforcement: SB1269 passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday with a 3-1-1 vote. This bill allows municipalities to contract for the private enforcement of parking regulations thus enabling police officers to focus on other law enforcement needs. Research and Development Tax Credits HB2677 passed out of the House Commerce Committee on Wednesday morning with a 9-0 vote. It now awaits a hearing in House Ways and Means. This bill allows Arizona to stay competitive in the biotechnology field and to expand and diversify our economy. Many cities are currently collaborating with public and private interests to create new bioscience research niches in our state. There is a similar bill in the Senate, SB1 065, which passed out of the Senate with a 25-2-3 vote and is now waiting to be heard in the House. HURF Repayment SB1298 passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday with a 5-0 vote. It will now be heard in Senate Appropriations. This bill was amended in Transportation to repay $63.2 million to the Highway User Revenue Fund that was diverted by the Legislature to fund DPS and balance the state budget. In total, $503 million has been diverted from HURF by the Legislature in the last five years. These monies are an important funding source for the state, counties, cities and towns to complete transportation projects and we are encouraging repayment of these monies. Another bill, HB2332, also appropriates $62 million to HURF. Increased Public Safety/ Transportation Bonding Authority HCR2001 is waiting for action on the House floor after passing out of the Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs and Government Reform/Government Financial Accountability Committees. This bill increases the bonding capacity for transportation and public safety projects from the 6% to the 20% level of assessed valuation within a city or town's jurisdiction. This expanded capacity will allow cities and towns to fund road improvement and public safety needs that continue to grow along with our tremendous population growth. Alternative Construction Methods HB2136 is waiting to be heard in House Rules after passing out of the Counties, Municipalities & Military Affairs and Government Reform/Government Financial Accountability Committees. This bill clarifies that capital projects may be financed with alternative construction methods, such as CM@Risk, design build and job order contracting. These methods have been credited with lowering costs and increasing turn around time on these projects and therefore are a valuable tool for cites and towns. lEGISLATIVE BU llETIN PAGE 3 February 10, 2006