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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/06/2006 Blue Sheet State Legislative Issues TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION TOWN OF MARANA MEETING DATE: June 6, 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. ATTACHMENTS Legislative Bulletins, Issues 18 and 19. 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/05/31/2006/1O:57 AM IN THIS ISSUE Legislature Finally Reveals A Budget Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Budget Education Effort Continues .......... . . . . . . 1 Impact Fees Bill Sent to The Governor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Liquor Bill To Be Added to HB2621 In Conference Committee Next Week . . . . . . 2 Gun Control Preemption Passes The Senate ............... 2 Code Enforcement Bill Passes On Reconsideration ........... 2 League of Arizona ~II~ Cities AND Towns Legislative Bul/etin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. FOlWard 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 IS LA liVE BU LLEll N Issue No. 18 May 12, 2006 lEGISLATURE FINAllY REVEALS A BUDGET PLAN Last night, more than 120 days into the Session, legislative leadership finally released a budget proposal that will be discussed in earnest with rank and file members over the weekend and more formally at the Capitol next week. Only a summary was released last night, so many of the details are still very sketchy, There are definitely proposed income and property tax cuts. An across-the-board 10% reduction in personal income tax is proposed to be phased-in over the next two years. Property tax reforms include revising the truth in taxation formula, resetting the formula base year to 2005, limiting information in publicity pamphlets for bond elections, and mandating the November election date for all future bond elections. Several League Resolution measures are also included in the package. An appropriation of $850,000 for assistance to small cities and towns is in the plan. Also, increasing debt limitations for transportation and public safety projects from 6% of assessed valuation to 20% will be placed on the November ballot. Immigration reforms are also included. These include enforcement mandates on local governments and some grant funding for immigration enforcement purposes, We will provide further details as we receive them, The proposal, will obviously need the support of a majority of the legislators before it can advance to the Governor. A vote may be called as early as next week. However, based on what has been released, there appears to be significant differences between this proposal and the Governor's priorities so the probability of a veto is highly likely unless the proposal undergoes significant changes prior to reaching her. BUDGET EDUCATION EFFORTS CONTINUE League and city staff, along with representatives from the counties, met for a lunch meeting with several legislators this week to educate them about the impacts that state tax cuts could have on local government. The meeting began with presentations of how proposed tax cuts will affect local government. Afterwards, local government staff and elected officials discussed these proposals and how legislators can help protect local governments, especially from losses in state shared revenue. In addition, League staff is continuing to meet individually with legislators to discuss these concerns and working to set up additional group meetings as necessary. It is very important that these messages continue to come in and that legislators hear from the cities in their districts about budget concerns, Please continue to contact your legislators regarding the importance of shared revenue and how proposed income and property tax cuts could impact your local budget. * ACTION ALERT * IMPACT FEES Bill SENT TO THE GOVERNOR HB2381 makes substantial changes to the development fee process which have not had an adequate time to be deliberated and drafted. The concept of the bill was first considered as a strike everything amendment in a House committee more than a month into session, was substantially amended in a Senate committee, and was amended once again on the Senate floor. Considering the bill involves roughly six pages of virtually all new statutory language, the lack of time and deliberation involved in drafting such a substantial reform package is highly problematic. Reforms of this magnitude should have been considered and developed prior to the start of session. Cities and towns are very concerned that the bill will result in unintended consequences that could be detrimental to municipalities and homebuilders alike. In addition, many of the proposed reforms do not provide adequate direction for implementation and need to be more thoroughly developed. The number of major revisions that the bill has undergone in a relatively short time period is indicative of the drafting problems that will likely result in bad public policy if the bill is enacted in its current form. We have formally offered to the homebuilders to work cooperatively over the interim to develop a reform package that will have adequate time for proper deliberation and development. We are open to exploring many of the concepts brought forward by the homebuilders such as enhancing the opportunity for the public to participate in the development fee process and further assurances that the fees will be used to provide services for new development. However, we believe that the public's best interests and quite possibly the homebuilders would be best served by the development of a reform proposal over the summer rather than the passage of HB2381 this session. After two very close votes in both the Senate and House, 16- 13 in the Senate and 31-23 in the House, the bill was sent to the Governor earlier in the week. She has until Monday to act on it. Action Requested: Please contact the Governor and request that she veto HB2381. * ACTION ALERT * LIQUOR 81ll TO 8E ADDED TO H82621 IN CONFERENCE COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK After being significantly amended on the Senate floor early last week, HB2740 has been stalled in the Senate and has not yet been brought to a final Senate vote. As previously amended by the Senate, HB2740 combines provisions related to lowering the current 40% food requirement for failing restaurants, DUI penalties and allowing guns in restaurants. The League is largely concerned with the impact that reducing the food sale requirements will have on neighborhoods and on law enforcement's ability to maintain public safety. The guns in restaurants language is also very concerning. Since this bill will likely not come to a floor vote in the Senate, the sponsor and proponents of the bill are drafting an amendment to add the language to HB2621 in conference committee as soon as Monday. HB2621, which Rep. Reagan also sponsors, exempts liquor licensees from being liable for determining how much alcohol a customer consumed at other locations. The conference committee amendment, which will not be distributed before the committee hearing, is estimated to be around 60 pages. We anticipate that it will add many of the same provisions that are found in HB2740, excluding the guns in restaurants language. The League's fact sheet on this bill was contained in last week's Bulletin. The conference committee members are: Representatives Reagan, McComish and McCune-Davis Senators Tibshraeny, Allen and Arzberger. Action Requested: Please contact the members of the conference committee listed above and request that the provisions of HB2740 dealingwith circumventing the food sale requirements for restaurants not be amended on to HB2621. * ACTION ALERT * GUN CONTROL PREEMPTION PASSES THE SENATE The Senate passed H B2649 on Thursday with an 18-8 vote. This bill usurps the authority of local officials to make local government decisions by preempting them from enacting laws regarding firearms, with very few exceptions. Safety concerns and needs vary greatly from community to community. For example, a blighted downtown urban area needs a different regulatory framework to protect the public safety than a rural neighborhood. HB2649 preempts the ability of local officials to address the specific and often unique needs of a particular community. This bill was final read by the House last week 39-18. It will be sent to the Governor's desk early next week. Action Requested: Please contact the Governor to express your opposition to this "one size fits all" approach to regulating firearms. * ACTION ALERT * CODE ENFORCEMENT 81ll PASSES ON RECONSIDERATION HB2220, which protects code enforcement officers' residential information from public records requests, passed the Senate on reconsideration this week with a 16-13 vote. Code enforcement officers address complaints and enforce municipal ordinances. They can and quite often do encounter dangerous persons while doing their job. There are increasing instances where people cited for code violations make public records requests to identify the home address of code enforcement officers and have threatened the officers and their families. This bill now faces a final vote in the House before being sent to the Governor. Action Requested: Please contact your Representatives and ask them to support H B2220 which they will likely vote on next week. LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN PAGE 2 May 12, 2006 IN THIS ISSUE Legislators Drop First Budget Proposal ................. 1 Governor Vetoes Impact Fee Bill......................2 Liquor Bill To Be Added to HB2621 In Conference Committee ............... 2 Eminent Domain Bill Scheduled Outside Of Compromise. . . . . 2 Code Enforcement Bill Ready For Final Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Attachment HB 2381 Governor's Veto Letter League of Arizona ~I'~ Cities AND Towns Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. FOlWard 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 LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN Issue No. 19 May 19, 2006 LEGISLATORS DROP FIRST BUDGET PROPOSAL The first written budget we have seen this session was heard in committee this week and is now ready for the floor in the House and the Rules Committee in the Senate. There are some concepts within this budget that we support but many still are cause for concern. Based on discussions at the Capitol, it is unlikely that this proposal currently has enough votes to pass the Legislature. In addition, there are significant differences that will need to be worked out with the Governor. In summary, while we have finally seen a budget proposal on paper, a significant amount of work still needs to occur prior to a budget being enacted. Here is a breakdown of the major budget proposals that affect municipalities: Income Tax We support: . The underlying principle of holding cities and towns harmless in urban revenue sharing distribution. 'The general fund appropriation for the state's six smallest municipalities. Concerns: . The hold harmless provision is included for just one year. It must reflect the original intent of the. voters for 2008-09 and beyond. . The 2008-09 amount should be the greater of the itemized appropriation amount OR 15% of state income tax. Cities and towns should be held harmless going forward regardless of income tax rate cuts by the state legislature. Property Tax We do not actively oppose: 'Moving secondary property tax bond elections to November 'Increased disclosures in the bond pamphlet statement Concerns: . Resetting the base year to 2005 plus construction and inflation removes existing tax capacity for many cities and towns and may require some cities to amend already- adopted budgets. 'Assurance is required that bond issues will be put on the November ballot of the year requested. In addition, that bond issues will not be placed on a secondary ballot. 'Voters must have unbiased information about bond payments. The $250,000 assessed valuation average is likely too high; plus, bonds are often refinanced and rates lowered, making the grand total amount irrelevant. Other We support: . The commitment to place HCR 2001, the bonding capacity increase measure, before the voters. .The decrease in the HURF diversion to DPS. 'Establishment of the State Transportation Acceleration Needs (STAN) account. 'Although we will be hurt financially by the increase in the business sales tax liability threshold, we do not oppose that provision. GOVERNOR VETOES IMPACT FEE Bill Governor Napolitano vetoed HB2381 on Monday, requesting that the homebuilders and local governments work together to create legislation that provides additional transparency to the development fee process without the extraneous provisions that this bill contained. These meetings will take place over the interim and will hopefully result in a bill that both parties can agree to. Thank you to everyone who placed calls and sent letter and emails to the Governor to oppose this bill. Her veto letter is attached. * ACTION ALERT * LIQUOR Bill ADDED TO HB2621 IN CONFERENCE COMMITTEE The sponsor and proponents of HB2740 added the bill as a last minute amendment to HB2621 in conference committee on Tuesday. This bill now lowers the food sale requirement for problem restaurant establishments from 40% to 30%, encouraging these places to operate outside of the law and allowing them to avoid the higher costs and stricter regulation of a bar license. These establishments will also be able to operate within 300 ft. of a church or school; businesses with high alcohol sales are currently restricted from these areas due to the sensitive nature of those institutions. This amendment, which was drafted 12 days before the conference committee but distributed only hours prior to the meeting, is another attempt by the proponents of the bill to get it out of the Legislature after HB2740 stalled in the Senate prior to 3,d Read, due to the floor amendment sponsored by Senator Harper that allowed restaurant patrons to carry firearms unless specifically prohibited by the restaraunt. HB2621 was amended with the liquor bill without the Harper amendment language. HB2621 is now ready for a final read vote in both the House and the Senate. Action Requested: Please contact your Representatives and Senators and ask them to oppose HB2621. EMINENT DOMAIN Bill SCHEDULED OUTSI DE OF COMPROMISE HB2675 appeared on a Senate 3'd Read calendar on Wednesday, despite a commitment from leadership to not bring any other eminent domain bills to the floor until our compromise language has a chance to be considered by both the Senate and the House. This movement comes after many weeks of discussion and drafting of compromise language. This bill was ultimately pulled from the calendar and has yet to be rescheduled. While the number of eminent domain bills that are still technically alive has approximately shrunk from twenty to five, local authority to use condemnation is still very much under threat. The compromise package that we have crafted provides additional protections and compensation for property owners in redevelopment condemnation actions but does not eliminate local authority to use condemnation to eliminate blighted conditions. Unlike many of the bills that have been introduced this year, our compromise package also does not impede "traditional" condemnation uses such as land acquisition for road construction. We will continue to provide updates on eminent domain and urge you to continue contacting your legislators on the subject. * ACTION ALERT * CODE ENFORCEMENT Bill READY FOR FINAL READ HB2220 is waiting to be final read in the House before going to the Governor's desk. This bill allows city code enforcement officers to protect their personal residential information from public records requests. These officers have faced an increasing number of disgruntled citizens harassing them at their homes after citations were issued for code violations. Action Requested: Please contact your Representatives and ask them to support HB2220. LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN PAGE 2 May 19, 2006 STATE OF ARIZONA JANET NAPOLITANO GOVERNOR OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR MAIN PHONE: 602-542-4331 FACSIMILE: 602-542-7601 1700 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, PHOENIX, AZ 85007 May 15, 2006 The Honorable Jim Weiers Speaker of the House Arizona House of Representatives 1700 West Washington Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Re: House Bill 2381: development; capital improvements plan Dear Speaker Weiers: Today I vetoed House Bill 2381, related to the assessment by municipalities of development fees and the requirement of a capital improvements plan. Last year, I signed into law House Bill 2066, which imposed significant new reporting requirements related to the collection and use of development impact fees. Although I continue to SUPPOlt efforts to provide even greater transparency related to such fees, I am not persuaded that on balance House Bill 2381 would make good law. The bill imposes restrictions on municipalities that unduly impede local control and could hamper the ability of our cities and towns to manage their own growth. For this reason, most municipalities in Arizona oppose the bill. Arizona must have a workable framework to allow home building that matches our state's population expansion while still allowing local jurisdictions to manage growth in a marmer that accommodates their infrastructure capacity and development. I encourage Arizona's homebuilders and municipalities to meet over the summer and develop consensus legislation that further improves transparency for the assessment and use of development fees while respecting the rights of municipalities to use such fees in the manner best suited for their own municipal developments. In the absence of such consensus, however, I will not sign a bill like House Bill 2381 at this time. For these and other reasons, I an1 vetoing House Bill 2381. Yours very truly, 4-fjJ7~ Jaet Napolitano Governor IN:TN/jm cc: The Honorable Ken Bennett The Honorable Jonathan Paton