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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/20/2007 Blue Sheet Legislative Update TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION TOWN OF MARANA MEETING DATE: February 20, 2007 AGENDA ITEM: L. 3 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 Bulletin, Issues 5 and 6. 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/02/12/2007/4:52 PM League of Arizona Cities 'AND Towns IN THIS ISSUE Your Input Is Needed On The Latest Blue Stake Proposal....... I Action Alert Construction Sales Tax Bill Moving Forward ......... 2 Revenue Sharing Attacked ....... 2 The League's Proposal?! .......... 2 Liquor Omnibus Bill ................ 3 Fire Protection For County Islands ...................................... 3 Progress On Impact Fees Bill ........................................... 3 Negotiations Continue On Title 34 Reform ........................ 3 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) ................ 3 Latest On DUI .......................... 3 Sales Tax Holiday Update ........ 4 League Reception At The Capitol Was A Success!! ...................... 4 Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your conunents or suggestions to: League of Arizona Cities & Towns t820 West Washington Street Phoenix. Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-258-5786 Fax: 602-253-3874 Email: league@azteague.org Internet: www.azleague.org Issue 5, February 2, 2007 YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED ON THE LA TEST BLUE STAKE PROPOSAL Southwest Gas brought the League a proposal requiring cities and towns to mark existing sewer laterals. This issue comes up every session and several pieces of legislation have already been enacted, the most significant of which requires cities and towns to mark all new sewer laterals through the Blue Stake process. The outstanding issue continues to be who should locate existing laterals and how should that location take place. Another huge issue for us is the impending liability concern that comes with taking responsibility for marking these facilities. Southwest Gas' proposal incldes the following provisions: Removes new and existing sewer lateral requirements from the Blue Stake Process but mandates that cities and towns create a permit process to address how these facilities will be marked. · Cities and towns would have to mark sewer laterals for all utilities permit requests to access the right of way. Statutory language to address the liability issue and possible include shared liability. · Clarify ownership of sewer laterals and who is responsible for clogs, etc. Possible benefits: . Working outside the Blue Stake Process removes the two day requirement and allows adequate time to locate and mark the facility. Addressing our liability concerns could provide protection in the event of an accident due to miss-marked laterals. Allows us to map and record these systems for future reference. Costs could be recouped in the permit process through fees. Delayed effective date to give us time to implement any new requirements. . . . Concerns: · Currently we are not responsible for marking these facilities and therefore will incur additional costs with the additional responsibilities We will also incur some liability, no matter how the protection statute is written. · Opening up the ownership of sewer laterals could make us responsible for fixing clogs, etc. It may not be possible to mandate permit processes in statute. The League is meeting with stakeholders and Representative Nelson on this issue on a weekly basis. Your iuput is greatly needed, especially from the smaller rural cities and towns. Please contact Cheyenne on League Staff (602-258-5786) for more information on the proposal and the meeting schedule. *ACTION ALERT* CONSTRUCTION SALES TAX BILL MOVING FORWARD The Senate Finance Committee will hear Senate Bill 1366, brought by the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona, on Wednesday, February 7th at 1:30 p.m. The bill mandates that cities and towns dedicate ALL construction sales tax revenue to new development infrastructure if that city or town levies a construction sales tax rate that is higher than the rate imposed on the other sales tax classifications. We need YOU to contact the members of the Finance Committee! Please let them know that: . Sales taxes constitute the main source of general fund revenue for many small communities. . This bill could jeopardize essential services such as: · Public safety Transportation · Trash collection. . This bill allows special interest groups to dictate the expenditures of local revenues instead of the locally elected officials. Here is the contact information for the Finance Committee Members: Name Phone 602-926- E-Mail District Cities Reoresented Jim Waring, Chair 4916 iwaring@az!eg,gOV 7 Carefree, Cave Creek, Phoenix, Scottsdale Barbara Leff, Vice Chair 4486 blcff@azlcg,!!ov 11 Phoenix, Paradise Valley Robert Bums 5993 rburns@azleg,gov 9 Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Y oungtown Ken Cheuvront 5325 kchcuvront@az!eg.oov 15 Phoenix Pamela Gorman 5284 [)oordotl@azlcl!:,l!:ov 6 Phoenix Ron Gould 4138 rgould@az!eg,gov 3 Bullhead City, Colorado City, Fredonia, Kingman, Lake Havasu Citv, Page, Parker, Quartzsite Debbie McCune Davis 4485 dmccunedavis@azlcg, 14 Glendale, Phoenix gOY Richard Miranda 5911 rmiranda@'azleg.gov 13 Phoenix, Tolleson, Avondale, Glendale REVENUE SHARING ATTACK Senate Bill 1246, which proposes a tax credit (equal to 15 percent of their income tax liability) for county residents and comes out of the urban revenue sharing fund, has not moved recently. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by the bill's sponsor, Senator Bob Bums. Though attacks on state shared revenues have become an annual exercise for Senator Bums, we take each proposed measure very seriously and pledge to fight it to the last. If this bill is scheduled for a hearing, we will be asking you to weigh in with your adamant disapproval. THE LEAGUE'S PROPOSAL?! We were deeply concerned about Senate Bill 1334 because it creates two classes of cities for revenue sharing purposes. Cities and towns with populations less than 100,000 persons would receive their 15 percent revenue sharing amount, but calculated before the 2005-2006 tax cuts went into effect. Cities with populations greater than 100,000 persons receive their 15 percent from the post-tax cut pool. However, after speaking with the bill's pnmary sponsor, Senator Tom O'Halleran (a long-time supporter of cities and towns), he indicated that he was told it had the League's support. League staff quickly corrected this notion and Senator O'Halleran affirmed he would not support the bill and keep it from moving forward. 2 February 2, 2007 LIQUOR OMNIBUS BILL House Bill 2391, the liquor omnibus bill, was held in House Commerce on January 31 st due to inadequate amendments that did not address our concerns. It is on the agenda in that same committee for next Wednesday at 8am. As we previously mentioned, this bill as currently written diminishes our ability to regulate liquor establishments. There was a meeting of interested parties on Friday, February 2nd in the afternoon to try and iron things out. We are hopeful new amendments will come forward to improve this legislation. We will keep you abreast on this bill. We may need you to call your representatives to explain the problems with is bill. FIRE PROTECTION FOR COUNTY ISLANDS Senate Bill 1556, the County Island Fire District bill introduced by Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, is still a work in progress-but progress is being made. League representatives have continued to work to modify language in the bill in an attempt to meet the interests of cities in both the east and west valley. In addition, they have discussed the bill with representatives from Maricopa County, Rural-Metro, and the fire districts association. This complex bill process is in response to the controversy over last year's House Bill 2145, which required the Town of Gilbert to provide fire and emergency service to county islands within the town boundaries. That bill was later found unconstitutional because it was narrowly written to apply only to one town. But, the issue of fire service within county islands still remains and could result in another proposal opposed by cities and towns unless a compromise is reached. Once the next round of proposed amendments has been drafted, we will be calling another meeting of affected. cities to discuss the details before the bill moves forward. That meeting should occur early next week. PROGRESS ON IMPACT FEES BILL The Senate assigned Senate Bill 1423, which is the impact fees solution that we brought to the table in response to the Governor's veto of House Bill 2381 last year, to the Senate Government committee this week. The League continues to work with the other stakeholders on the bill. Once any further amendments are complete, we will send them out for your comments. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Cheyenne at League staff. NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE ON TITLE 34 REFORM The League and several interested cities, along with the County Supervisor's Association and representatives from some of the counties, continue to work with Representative John Nelson and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) to address their concerns with Title 34. Specificaily, AGC wants to put a threshold on certain types of maintenance that we currently do not have to bid out to the private sector. The focus is now down to chip seals, slurry seals and fog seals and how we bid out those projects. Representative Nelson asked that a sampling of our members provide information on their maintenance budgets and the League is collecting those numbers for our meeting next week. The discussions with Representative Nelson remains focused on finding a solution without legislation but AGC stated that they may seek legislation despite our efforts to work out a solution. The League will continue to work on a solution and will keep you informed of the progress and any legislative efforts from AGe. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) House Concurrent Memorial 2002, the Community Development Block Grant measure that urges Congress to fully fund the CDBG, passed out of the House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs committee (CMMA) 7-2 on Tuesday, January 30th. It now will go to the Rules Committee and then to the full floor. LATEST ON DUI Senate Bill 1026, (extreme DUI; sentence) with Senator's Garcia's amendment was awaiting Third Read in the Senate. Third Read is the final floor vote for bills in their house of origin. However, the sponsor of the bill, Senator Jim Waring, is using one of his other bills and striking that language and inserting his DUI bill. This is known as a strike 3 February 2, 2007 Latest On DUI contd. everything amendment, or a "striker." Senate Bill 1252 is the striker vehicle and has a hearing in Senate Transportation next Tuesday afternoon. SALES TAX HOLIDAY UPDATE Last week we told you about Senate Bill 1147, which passed out of the Senate Finance Committee, that essentially gives shoppers a tax break for certain clothes, computers and school supplies during the first week of August. The initial legislation also contained substantial provisions holding cities, towns and counties harmless from the revenue impact. Because the hold-harmless provisions did not survive the Finance Committee we contacted the bill's original sponsor, Senator Richard Miranda, to let him know we cannot support the bill. !f the bill moves forward, we will ask you to help stop it. LEAGUE RECEPTION AT THE CAPITOL WAS A SUCCESS! A big thank you is in order to all the city and town elected officials and staff that attended the reception at ~he Capitol on Wednesday. Despite some very mclement weather earlier in the day, the evening brought beautiful weather and we had an excellent turnout. The League also appreciates all of the State Legislators and their staff that attended the event. This small step is one of many that the League plans to take in order to further a partnership in government between the local and state levels of government. If you have any questions regarding any of these measures, do not hesitate to contact League staff at 602-258-5786. 4 February 2, 2007 League of Arizona Cities AND Towns IN THIS ISSUE Action Alert Revenue Sharing Attack.................. ........ ....1 Construction Sale Tax Bill Passes Senate Finance............................1 Blue Stake Still A Major Concern..................................... .2 Impact Fees To Be Heard Next Week............. ...... .................. ... ...2 Title 34 Agreement On The Horizon..................................... ..2 Liquor Omnibus Bill..................3 Fire Protection For County Islands.. ............ ...........................3 The Weekly Spotlight.................3 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@azleague.org Internet: www.azleague.org Issue 6, February 9, 2007 *ACTION ALERT* REVENUE SHARING ATTACK We've told you about Senate Bill 1246, which proposes a tax credit (equal to 15 percent of their income tax liability) for county residents and comes out of the urban revenue sharing fund. The bill will be heard next Tuesday at 1 :30 p.m. in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is chaired by the bill's sponsor, Senator Bob Bums. Apparently Sen. Bums assumes county residents derive no benefits whatsoever from cities, despite the roads, hospitals, 9-1-1 service, airports, etc. those residents very likely use and enjoy. You must contact the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to let them know that this proposal is ridiculous. Members Pfl\JlflAboqo Amanda AquirrE: Carolvn S. Allen Robert "Bob" Burn~ Jake Flake JorQe...Lqi$~<:![l:::ia Albert Hale JackW.....HarPE:f John HUPPerJthqj KafeOJ9ho.$oO Jim Warinq 602-926- 5262 4139 4480 5993 5219 4171 4323 4178 5261 3160 4916 E-Mail PaPQ\Jo@azleQ.QQv aaquirre@azleq.qov callen@azleq.Qov rburns@azleq.qov iflake@azleQ.Qov iq<:!fcia@<:!zleQ.,Qov ahale@azleq.qov iharPef@azleQ,QQv ihuppenthal@azleq,qoy kioho$oo@<;izleQ,QQ'I iwarinq@azleq.qov CONSTRUCTION SALES TAX BILL PASSES SENATE FINANCE The Senate Finance Committee passed Senate Bill 1366 with a 6 to 2 vote. As you know, the bill mandates that cities and towns dedicate ALL construction sales tax revenue to new development infrastructure if that city or town levies a construction sales tax rate that is higher than the rate imposed on the other sales tax classifications. February 9, 2007 Construction Sales Tax Bill Passes Senate Finance contd. Clearly this is unacceptable. Therefore we need you to contact the members from your area to let them know the current bill is unacceptable. Specifically, let them know that: · Sales taxes constitute the main source of general fund revenue for many small communities. · This bill could jeopardize essential services such as: o Public safety o Transportation o Trash collection. · This bill allows special interest groups to dictate the expenditures of local revenues instead of the locally elected officials. If you need assistance locating or contacting your member, please call Jeff Kros, the League's Legislative Director, at 602-258-5786. BLUE STAKE STILL A MAJOR CONCERN Representatives from Southwest Gas have indicated that they are going to seek legislation mandating that sewer operators (including cities and towns) locate and mark vrivatelv owned sewer laterals in the public right of way. At a municipal stakeholders' meeting this week, cities expressed concerns with the increased costs, liability and an impending rate increase for their water/sewer customers. While discussions will continue with the League and private utility representatives, we need your input as to how such requirements would impact your municipal budget. Please call Cheyenne at 602-258-5786 with your impact information as soon as possible. IMPACT FEES TO BE HEARD NEXT WEEK The League is working on final negotiations on Senate Bill 1423 before it is heard in the Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. So far, the bill greatly increases transparency in the impact fees process and also gives municipalities and developers flexibility with fee payment timing with the use of a development agreement. The development community continues to raise other concerns and the League is committed to discussing those issues but will stand firm that our charge was to increase the transparency of the process, but maintain our flexibility to administer development fee programs as best for each community. TITLE 34 AGREEMENT ON THE HORIZON Negotiations with the Arizona General Contractors (AGe) came to a head this week when it came to the League's attention that AGC planned to have Senator Harper introduce their language as a striker amendment in his committee on Monday. The League felt this was disingenuous and not in the spirit of the current negotiations lead by Representative John Nelson. On Thursday, the League, AGC and the County Supervisor's Association (CSA) met with Representative Nelson and legislative staff to try and come up with some type of language regarding a Memo of Understanding (MOU) that could be drafted and agreed to by all the parties. As of Thursday afternoon, it appears that an agreement is on the horizon. AGC has agreed to ask Senator Harper to not hear his striker bills in the Senate Committee on Monday. If it is heard, it will be on Senate Bill 1070 and we will be opposed to such an amendment. The tentative agreement, as we understand it, is as follows: · Create a study involving 15 cities and towns to look at what maintenance activities are done in-house and what activities are bid out over the next two years. · Increase the current penalty for violations of Title 34 from $5,000 to a tiered penalty of $10,000 for the first violation, $25,000 for a second violation and $75,000 for the third violation for two years. 2 February 9, 2007 Title 34 Agreement On The Horizon eontd. . The penalty would go back to the $5,000 after two years unless further amended after the study. We should have more information early next week on the proposal on the table and will keep you all informed as this moves forward. LIQUOR OMNIBUS BILL House Bill 2391, the liquor omnibus bill, was heard in House Commerce on February ih. It passed unanimously. There was an amendment that addressed many of our concerns. We do have issues however with some remaining points involving non-contiguous patios, local control and the liquor department's authority. The League is working with the department, cities and towns and the bill's proponents on addressing these remaining issues. It will proceed to the floor after we get some of these issues worked out. FIRE PROTECTION FOR COUNTY ISLANDS Senate Bill 1556, the County Island Fire District bill introduced by Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, will be heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Rural Affairs committee on Wednesday, February 14th. League representatives worked to craft language that meets the pressing interests of affected cities. In addition, the bill was discussed with representatives from Maricopa County, Rural- Metro, and the fire districts association. We expect the bill to move forward through the process with solid bi-partisan support. THE WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT This feature of our bulletin focuses on legislators who have been supportive of the League. This week we chose Senator Franklin "Jake" Flake, from Legislative District Five. A native Arizonan, Senator Flake was born and raised in Snowflake, Arizona-named after his great-grandfather who founded the town. Mr. Flake is a rancher, civic leader and one who believes in the value of hard work and self-sufficiency. Along with three of his brothers, they operate one of the most successful cattle operations in the Southwest. He and his wife Mary Louise celebrate over 45 years of marriage and his proudest achievement is his family. How do you see local government impacting people's lives? "My philosophy of government is the least amount of government you can get by with is the best and what government you do have should be as close to the people as possible. Town and city government should impact its citizens' lives more than any other government, but they should always impact their lives for the good." What issues do you see as particularly important to local government this session? "Water availability and authority over water." Tell us something about your family (favorite things to do with children, grandchildren, etc.?) "I have 13 children and at present 52 grandchildren. There is nothing I would rather do than saddle horses and go ride among our cattle with some of my kids and grandkids. Especially when doing a meaningful day's work." What is your favorite vacation spot? "Cruise ship to anywhere." What are your favorite hobbies? "Riding off into the sunset." Thank you for your time. "You're welcome. 3 February 9, 2007 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION TOWN OF MARANA MEETING DATE: February 20, 2007 AGENDA ITEM: M. TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL FROM: Frank Cassidy, Town Attorney SUBJECT: Executive Session DISCUSSION Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. S38-431.03 (A)(3), for discussion or consultation for le- gal advice with attorneys for the public body concerning negotiations with the MPOA regard- ing possible formal recognition and a formal meet and confer ordinance.