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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/21/2006 Blue Sheet State Legislative Issues TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION TOWN OF MARANA MEETING DATE: March 21, 2006 AGENDA ITEM: K. 1 TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL FROM: Michael A. Reuwsaat, Town Manager SUBJECT: State Lesdslative Issues: DiscussionlDirectionlAction 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. ATTACHMENTS Legislative Bulletin, Issues 8 and 9. RECOMMENDATION Upon the request of Council, staff will be pleased to provide recommendations on specific legislative issues. SUGGESTED MOTION Mayor and Council's pleasure. lCB/03/14/2006/11 :16 AM IN THIS ISSUE Continuing the Eminent Domain Discussion ............... 1 Community Facilities Districts Bill Advances ............... 1 Website Posting Requirements Bill Heard in the House ..... 2 Legislative Update ......... 2 League of Arizona ~II~ Cities AND Towns Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your conunents or suggestions to: League of Arizona Cities & Towns 1820 West Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-258-5786 Fax: 602-253-3874 Email: league@mg.state.az.us Internet: www.azleague.org LEG ISLA liVE BU LLEll N Issue No.8 March 3, 2006 * ACTION ALERT * CONTINUING THE EMINENT DOMAIN DISCUSSION The League and many other stakeholders are continuing to meet with legislative leadership in our effort to provide more focus on the discussion on eminent domain. We have proposed eliminating the 20 various bills on the subject and creating a single bill that outlines safeguards for the property owner but still allows cities and towns to condemn as necessary to eliminate slum and blight. We have also continued to insist that the regulatory takings language in SCR1 019 and HCR2031 be taken out of any bill that moves through the process. As currently drafted, the regulatory takings provisions would effectively eliminate planning and zoning and set up countless takings lawsuits funded at the taxpayers' expense. In addition to meeting with Leadership, League staff and representatives from many cities have been speaking with individual legislators to discuss our concerns about eminent domain and regulatory takings. Many members are willing to consider a compromise that is focused on giving property owners some additional safeguards in redevelopment condemnations. They also are interested in learning about the effects that the proposed regulatory takings language will have on all levels of government. ACTION REQUESTED: Please continue to contact your legislators and express your concerns about the far- reaching consequences of all the eminent domain bills. We are willing to reform the redevelopment process, but language regarding general condemnation authority and regulatory takings must be stricken from the legislation. * ACTION ALERT * COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICTS BILL ADVANCES HB2236 dramatically expands the authority of counties to form community facilities districts and issue general obligation bonds to fund district projects. This bill allows unincorporated areas to pick and choose which services it would like to receive as the area urbanizes. Such a development pattern encourages poor or virtually no planning and removes the incentive for those areas to incorporate or annex which is vital to insuring that the construction of public infrastructure is closely coordinated with sound planning and growth management. The bill failed a third read vote in the House 26-30 early this week. However, a motion to reconsider passed and the bill was voted on again on Thursday passing 49-4. HB2236 now moves on to the Senate for consideration. ACTION REQUESTED: Please contact your Senators and express your opposition to HB2236 as it will greatly encourage urban sprawl and the urbanization of unincorporated areas. WEBSITE POSTING REQUIREMENTS BILL HEARD IN THE HOUSE S81209 was heard in House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs on Tuesday and passed with a 7-1 .vote. This bill requires any city with a website to post notice of meetings, as well as all meeting minutes within two days of approval. In addition to the bill placing a mandate on wh~t should be decided at the local level, the League IS particularly concerned about the potential burden ~n smaller cities and towns that maintain relatively static websites limited to basic information about their municipality. We supported a committee amendment ~hat would have exempted municipalities with populations under 50,000, but the amendment failed. We will continue to work with the sponsors and stakeholders to address municipal concerns. While the emergence of websites has provided cities and towns with an additional means to disseminate information to the public, we fear that mandates regarding the posting of information within certain timelines will discourage smaller municipalities from creating or maintaining websites. LEGISLATIVE UPDATES H B2348 passed out of the Senate Govern ment Com mittee on Thursday 7-0. This bill allows a city to process warrants electronically if they choose and if they have an agreement with the financial institution. HB2251 failed its final vote in the House 30-30. This bill would have retroactively forced the City of Scottsdale's Loop 101 Project to become a taxpayer-funded. project rather than the violator funded, revenue neutral project that it is currently. This bill took any portion of issued citations that went to the city and transferred it to the State Highway Fund for unspecified uses. This bill will likely be reconsidered next week. HB2677, which increases the tax credits for research and development activities within the State, passed t~e H?us.e Committee of the Whole on Thursday. ThiS bill IS consistent with our League resolution to bring more of these activities to the State. HB2174 passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday with a 3-0-2 vote. Its sponsor, Rep. Robson, amended this bill in the House to address many of the city concerns but the bill still places additional mandates on municipal photo enforcement use. SB1269 passed out of Senate with a final vote of 25-3-2. This is a League resolution that allows cities to privately contract for parking enforcement. This will free up police officers to focus on other law enforcement activities and better protect the citizenry. The bill now waits to be heard in the House. SB1413 passed the Senate Committee of the Whole on Thursday. This bill appropriates $850,000 to be distributed to the smallest cities and towns around the State. This bill is also a League resolution. It now awaits a final vote in the Senate before moving to the House. LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN PAGE 2 March 3, 2006 IN THIS ISSUE Municipal Tax Incentives Meth Bill Passes the House. . . New Liquor License Class Continues to Move. . . . . . . .. 2 Senate Passes Small Town Revenue League Resolution 2 Property Tax Valuation Limit 2 Prime Contracting Sales Tax Under Assault ............ 2 The Governor Signs the Cable BiB Plumbing Code Repeal Passes the Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 Parking Enforcement Bill Gets Hearing in the House. . . . . .. 3 Blue Stake Update . . . . . . . .. 3 Another Photo Enforcement Bill Dies.................... 4 Residential Inspection Legislation Fails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 Updates on Other Legislation . 4 League qf Arizona ~II~ CitiesANb To\vns Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to: League of Arizona Cities & Towns 1820 West Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-258-5786 Fax: 602-253-3874 Email: league@mg.state.az.us Internet: www.azleague.org LEG ISLA liVE BU LLEll N Issue No.9 March 10, 2006 * ACTION ALERT * MUNICIPAL TAX INCENTIVES HB2737, Rep. John Nelson's tax incentives bill, was heard on the House floor Thursday, where it passed out the Committee of the Whole. This bill limits the amount of retail tax incentives rather than a prohibition or penalty as found in SB1243 introduced by Sen. Ken Cheuvront. HB2737 limits an incentive to five years and can be for no more than one-half of one percent of the revenue generated at the site for the duration of the incentive agreement. A maximum cumulative dollar amount for the incentive must also be set at the time of the agreement. The bill now waits for a third-read vote of the House members. SB1243, a repeat of Sen. Cheuvront's bill from last year, passed the Senate several weeks ago and will be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday. This bill penalizes a city for using tax incentives by reducing its state shared revenue by the same amount of the incentive. This bill preempts locally elected officials' decisions on local sales tax, which is purely a local government issue. The bill will hinder the ability of cities and towns to attract new retail and economic growth to their communities. Both bills include exemptions for incentives involving infrastructure, historical preservation, environmental cleanup and redevelopment projects. Action Requested: Please contact your Senators and express your opposition to SB1243 and indicate that while you would prefer no additional restrictions from the State, HB2737 is a compromise that is preferable to SB1243. METH Bill PASSES THE HOUSE HB2815, our priority League resolution on regulating the sale of pseudo-ephedrine products, passed the House this week with a 43-14-3 vote. Many cities and towns have adopted ordinances regulating the sales of these products. This bill greatly enhances the minimum standards for statewide regulation but does not prevent cities and towns from adopting stricter laws in their effort to stop methamphetamine production in their neighborhoods. This bill is one of our highest priorities and we will continue to fight efforts to weaken the bill as it moves forward. Some discussion has occurred regarding the insertion of a clear preemption on local governments from adopting stricter laws than the provisions of this bill. While those discussions have not resulted in the preemption being inserted, we will need to continue to monitor and lobby against any further efforts. City and town police officers are on the frontline of this battle in our communities so it is vital for municipalities to have the flexibility to adopt local ordinances to address local challenges which may differ from municipality to municipality. * ACTION ALERT * NEW LIQUOR LICENSE CLASS CONTINUES TO MOVE H82740 was considered on the House floor this week during committee of the whole. A floor amendment was offered that addressed our concern about municipal input into the awarding of these licenses. The council will now have a 60-day period to review the application and make a recommendation. If the application is denied, the business owner can appeal to the State Liquor Board, who will make the final decision. However, there are still many problems with this bill. The League's biggest concern is that it allows the holder of a restaurant license to convert to a bar or beer/wine license and be grandfathered from the distance requirements for proximity to churches, schools, playgrounds, etc. if the restaurant was there first. In addition, many of the other provisions lack specificity and seem to work towards creating loopholes in the current system. Overall, this bill works to encourage businesses to circumvent current liquor laws. With this bill, there will be no incentive to maintain proper food sales and bar establishments will be encouraged to obtain a restaurant license and operate as a bar until they are notified of an audit, at which time they can use the provisions of this bill to avoid the high costs and stricter laws of obtaining and using a bar liquor license. Action Requested: please contact your Representatives and express your concerns about the impacts of creating a new liquor class that allows for increased liquor sales without the increased restrictions. A final House vote could occur as early as this Monday. SENATE PASSES SMALL TOWN REVENUE LEAGUE RESOLUTION On Monday, the Senate overwhelmingly passed S81413 by a vote of 27-2. The bill, sponsored by Senator Tim Bee, addresses the League Resolution to establish a floor amount of funding for smaller cities and towns to provide some assurance that minimal levels of service can be provided by the affected municipalities. Rather than reallocate state shared revenue, the bill appropriates $850,000 from the State General Fund to be distributed to all cities and towns with populations under 1,500. Funding will be distributed so that all of these cities and towns will be receiving a comparable amount of revenue to the state shared revenue that a municipality with a population of 1,500 would have received this year. The bill has been sent to the House for consideration and awaits House committee assignments. PROPERTY TAX VALUATION LIMIT The Senate voted to pass SCR1 025, which places a limit on valuation increases for property taxes, on Wednesday with a 16-14 vote. This bill, if approved by the voters in November, would create a similar situation to California's Prop. 13. Enacted in 1978, Prop. 13 caused a 57% reduction in collected property taxes in one year. This had a dramatic impact on government services and how they are provided in California. As with many of these measures, the impacts can be masked during periods of rapid economic growth but can have devastating impacts during a recession. SCR1025 limits property valuations to 2% growth per year and requires the Legislature to reduce assessment ratios. This bill also requires any city or town that intends or anticipates an increase in their levy to get voter approval. This bill takes away the control of locally elected officials to create a responsible budget capable of providing the necessary services to their citizens. This bill now moves to the House, where it waits to be assigned to committees. * ACTION ALERT * PRIME CONTRACTING SALES TAX UNDER ASSAULT After laying dormant for about a month, the Senate caucused S81463 on Tuesday enabling the bill to be heard on the Senate floor as early as this Monday. The bill eliminates prime contracting for transaction privilege taxes and transfers the taxable activity from prime contracting to retail. This would essentially shift the point of taxation from the construction site to the location where the construction materials are purchased. The bill is very problematic for any city or town experiencing a lot of new growth if the construction material retailers are not located in that same municipality. These communities would be losing the revenue from the construction yet needing to provide additional services and infrastructure to support the new growth. LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN PAGE 2 March 10, 2006 The State would also likely incur a significant revenue loss as the tax adjustment would no longer capture tax revenue from building materials purchased out of state. A substantial amount of construction materials are brought in from Mexico, and based on recent timber harvests, there clearly is not a lot of Arizona lumber being used for new development. This bill will likely be brought into the overall budget discussions so its future success as a stand-alone bill is in doubt. However, attempts to move the bill provide us with a good opportunity to voice and articulate our concerns to legislators. ACTION REOUESTED: Please contact your Senators and express your opposition to SB1463 and convey the fiscal impact that the bill would potentially have on your city or town as well as the State. THE GOVERNOR SIGNS THE CABLE BILL Governor Napolitano signed HB2812, enacting legislation that further regulates how local cable licensing agreements can be negotiated. The bill retains the ability of cities and towns to assess license fees up to 5% of gross revenue but includes a narrower definition of gross revenue. For in-kind services, cities and towns may require two PEG channels and another two channels dedicated to noncommercial governmental programming. The new provisions will impact any new license agreement reached after June of 2007. PLUMBING CODE REPEAL PASSES THE SENATE SB1497, which repeals the statewide plumbing code, passed outofthe Senate on Tuesday with a 30-0 vote. This repeal will reverse the statewide mandate on plumbing codes that has been a failure from the beginning. Restoring local control on this local issue is important to the League. We will continue to support this bill as it is considered in the House of Representatives. PARKING ENFORCEMENT BILL GETS HEARING IN THE HOUSE SB1269, which allows cities and towns to contract with private companies to enforce city parking laws, passed in the House Transportation Committee with a 7-0 vote on Thursday. This bill, a League Resolution, will free up local law enforcement to focus on other duties that better serve the citizens of your city or town. The bill, which has already cleared the Senate, is approaching final consideration in the House. BLUE STAKE UPDATE Much activity has occurred regarding the blue stake process this session. Fortunately, most of it has been redirected towards non-legislative fixes. A couple of bills were introduced that would have required sewer operators to mark existing lateral lines. As you will recall, the compromise reached last year was that future laterals will be marked but we would continue discussions regarding how to address the existing laterals. Only one of those bills remains alive and has been amended so that it will no longer address marking. However, the amended version of HB2708 now preempts local governments from requiring the installation of sewer clean-outs for the purpose of locating sewer lines. The authority to require clean-outs for maintenance is not impacted by the bill. HB2708 passed the House last night and is on its way to the Senate for consideration. Homebuilders are claiming that the cost of the additional clean-outs is excessive and they are not intended to be location devices, particularly when cheaper means such as tracing wire or above-ground monuments can be used. Homebuilders also claim that clean-outs cause installation problems for infrastructure that is installed above the sewer lines. However, clean-outs are quite possibly the most reliable locator device available. The Legislature placed a significant additional burden on cities and towns this last year to improve the marking process in the name of public safety. Now the Legislature is scaling back our ability to effectively implement the new marking requirements. On the issue of existing laterals, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Pima County have committed to undergo pilot projects with Southwest Gas and the excavators to develop pragmatic improvements to locating existing lateral lines. The pilot projects will explore the excavation permitting process and the coordination of operator maintenance schedules with the capital improvement plans of other infrastructure operators such as Southwest Gas. The projects will be done in lieu of marking legislation this year so a big thank you needs to go out to Phoenix, Scottsdale and Pima County. lEGISLATIVE BUllETIN PAGE 3 March 10,2006 ANOTHER PHOTO ENFORCEMENT Bill DIES The League and the City of Scottsdale continued their success of fighting the many bills this session that work to end Scottsdale's photo enforcement demonstration project this week with the failure of HB2251. Sponsored by Rep. Gorman, this bill retroactively took the city's portion of photo enforcement tickets issued during the project and gave the money to the State Highway Fund, pr~sumably to help fund DPS. In effect, this bill would have either ended the project, or forced the taxpayers of Scottsdale to f~n? the program. Currently, drivers that violate the speed limit and are ticketed pay the costs of administering the program. This bill failed 27-27-6 on its first vote by the entire House, then failed again three days later on reconsideration. There are only 3 of the 13 photo enforcement bills introduced that remain moving through the process: 5B1146: This bill bans the use of photo enforcement on any controlled access highway. While the bill does n?t im pact Scottsdale's project, this ban would be premature m that the Loop 101 project is collecting data that will be useful in determining if the technology is appropriate for highway use. The Legislature should wa,it until next sessi,on when this data will be available for review before makmg this decision. This bill has been assigned to the House Transportation Committee and waiting to be heard. HB2174: This bill creates additional signage requirements for both speed and red-light enforcement. With Rep. Robson's help, many of the cities' concerns with this bill were addressed. This bill passed the Senate Transportation Committee last week and is now waiting for floor action in the Senate. HB2180: This bill preempts cities from using photo enforcement on a state highway and outlines the procedures necessary for the state to utilize the technology. The procedures as written are very cumbersome and appear to create an impossible method for the technology to be utilized on highways. This bill passed out of the House Transportation Committee and has been held for several weeks in the majority caucus. RESIDENTIAL INSPECTION lEGISLATION FAilS HB2347 would have placed limitations on how a city or town can inspect rental housing. The Multi-Family Housing Association worked with us to address many of our concerns with this bill amending it several times. It failed its first third read vote and then failed again on reconsideration with a 28-31 vote three days later. We will continue to monitor agendas for strike-everything amendments on this same subject. Also, much of the opposition came from members who indicated that the restrictions on cities and towns did not go far enough and wanted to see a more drastic preemption on local governments from inspecting rental properties so if this issue resurfaces, the new version of the bill could be very problematic. UPDATES ON OTHER lEGISLATION 5B1242, which creates a traffic ticket enforcement program that allows cities and towns to opt in and receive support in collecting past due tickets, passed the Senate 29-0 this week. 5B1351 is our League Resolution to encourage medical care reforms in order to recruit and retain doctors in Arizona. This bill creates a higher burden of proof if a patient wants to sue for malpractice, which should reduc,e doctor's insurance costs and overall health care costs. ThiS bill passed the Senate Committee of the Whole on Monday and now waits for a third read vote. HB2677, which enables Arizona to stay competitive in the field of biotechnology as well as allows for the expansion and diversifying of our economy, went to committee of the whole this Tuesday. The bill provides tax credits for research and development activities. This is a League resolution that will help cities bring more business and jobs from these industries into the State. This bill waits for a third read vote in the House. HB2686 authorizes a five-year extension for the enterprise zone program. This bill passed out of the Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee this week with a 4-2 vote. The program encourages new development and busines expansions in areas impacted by high unemployment and high poverty rates. HB2212, which creates a waiting period after a failed annexation attempt, was heard in the House Committee of the Whole on Thursday. Rep. Nelson amended it on the floor to reduce the waiting period from 90 to 45 days. The moratorium can also be waived by any of the affected property owners. This bill was then third read immediately afterwards and passed 46-13. It now moves to the Senate and waits to be assigned to committees. lEGISLATIVE BUllETIN PAGE 4 March 10, 2006