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Home My WebLink About03/06/2007 Blue Sheet Legislative Update TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION MEETING DATE: TOWN OF MARANA March 6, 2007 AGENDA ITEM: L. 2 TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL FROM: Michael A. Reuwsaat, Town Manager SUBJECT: State Lee:islative Issues: Discussion/Direction/Action regarding legislation and 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 7 and 8. 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/02/27/2007/9:20 AM League of Arizona Cities AND Towns IN THIS ISSUE *Action Alert*: Revenue Sharing Still Under Attack! ... Yet Another Revenue Sharing Attack ................................... I Fire Protection For County Islands ................................... 2 Last Minute Blue Stake Amendment Passes ............... 2 Title 34 Compromise Passes Through Committee .............. 3 Measure To Ban Public Lobbyists Advances .............. 3 A Sign Of The Times ............ 3 Impact Fees Bill Moves With Stakeholder Support .............. 3 Session Milestone Reached ... 3 Attachment(s} 1. Oppose S. B. 1246 2. The League Of Arizona Cities & Towns Opposes The "Strike Everything" Amendment to H.B. 2066 3. We Support The Flake Strike-Everything Amendment to S.B. 1556 4. Title 34 Legislative Balletin 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 7, February 16,2007 *ACTION ALERT*: REVENUE SHARING STILL UNDER ATTACK! Senate Bill 1246 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 was held last week, but will be heard on Tuesday, February 20th at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Please keep up the pressure on the committee members to vote against this egregious attack on state shared revenue. We've listed the contact information for the members below. Also, the League's fact sheet is attached for your convenience. Members Paula Aboud Amanda Aguirre Carolvn S. Allen Robert "Bob" Burns Jake Flake Jorge Luis Garcia Albert Hale Jack W. Harper John Huppenthal Karen Johnson Jim Waring 602-926- 5262 4139 4480 5993 5219 4171 4323 4178 5261 3160 4916 E-Mail paboud@azleg.gov aaguirre@)azleg.gov callen@)azleg.gov rburns@azleg.gov jflake@azleg.gov jgarcia@azleg.gov ahale@azleg.gov iharper@azlea.aov i h uppenthal@)azleg.gov kiohnson@azleg.gov iwaring@azleg.gov YET ANOTHER REVENUE SHARING ATTACK Funding for the Southern Arizona DPS State Crime Lab should have been a no- brainer, but Senator Bob Bums amended the appropriation, Senate Bill 1035, to take $17.7 million from the urban revenue sharing fund instead of the general fund. The sponsor of the bill is Senate President Tim Bee (602-926-5683, tbee@azleg.gov). Particularly irksome is that the state already has the money from the Attorney General's Anti-Racketeering Fund (RICO) Fund for the construction of a new Southern Arizona Crime Lab and that this facility would serve DPS, Tribes and County Sheriff s Departments, not just city police. Please encourage the Senate President to use the funds the state already has allocated for the Lab instead of raiding the urban revenue sharing fund. Contact Jeff Kros at the League with any questions. FIRE PROTECTION FOR COUNTY ISLANDS Senate Bill 1556, the County Island Fire District bill introduced by Senator Jay Tibshraeny, passed out of the Senate Natural Resources committee unanimously last week. Stakeholders will discuss clean-up language for the bill during this next week. For your convenience, the League's fact sheet detailing the major points of this compromise legislation is attached. Unfortunately, House members decided to draft and drop county island fire district legislation at the eleventh hour in the form of House Bill 2780. The House version differs from the League-supported Senate version in several respects, particularly in regard to a de facto mandate on cities to provide fire protection to county islands. Here are the key provisions of the bill: · Limits formation to noncontiguous county island property in a municipal planning area that is part of an automatic aid consortium and where there is no private provider at time of district formation. The result is that if a city has been providing services to the county island, the county island can form a fire district but can't form a fire district if Rural Metro has been providing services as of the time of formation. · Allows multiple fire districts in a city; · Allows the district to receive the fire district assistance tax; · Allows noncontiguous county island fire districts to merge or consolidate with each other; · Requires the County Board of Supervisors (BOS), not a petitioner to initiate proceedings for a fire district. · Waives requirement for a district impact statement; BOS determines need for a district; · Removes the requirement that 51 % of assessed real and personal property owners sign petitions; · Restricts inspections for fire code enforcement to ~ommercial and industrial property, speCifically excluding residential property; · Specifies that within 60 days of formation of district, the district may either enter into an IGA with a city or issue an RFP for a private provider. The city has 21 days from formation of district to declare intent of entering into an IGA, and if the city doesn't declare intent, only then may the district issue an RFP. If the district enters into a contract (duration of 3-5 years) with a private provider, the city may not annex anyone, regardless of whether being served by the fire district, into the city; Requires the fire district, if it does not enter into an IGA or a contract with a private provider, to provide fire protection services to the fire district property as soon as "practicable," and the district is automatically part of the automatic aid consortium. This essentially mandates city fire protectio~ district property; Allows the fire district to issue a separate RFP and enter into a contract for EMS services; Allows a city to inspect all county island property (including residential property) before responding to RFP; and Removes session law language regarding annexation. We encourage city officials to contact the bill's chief architects, Representative Bob Robson (602-926- 5~49; brobson@azleg.gov) and Representative Andy Biggs (602-926-4371; abiegs@azleg.gov) to let them know all cities oppose a mandate to provide city services outside of city boundaries. . . . . LAST MINUTE BLUE STAKE AMENDMENT PASSES The House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs (CMMA) committee passed a strike everything amendment to House Bill 2066 that mandates cities and towns locate and mark sewer laterals owned by private citizens. This amendment was posted just before 5:00pm on Friday and after our publication of last week's bulletin. The League opposed the amendment in committee and Representative John Nelson, who chairs the committee, asked the members to hold the bill once it was clear this legislation was not a consensus. The committee opted to pass the bill on an 8-1 vote to encourage all the parties to keep working to find a solution. The League and many cities and towns met with Rep. Nelson and other stakeholders the next day and are working on an alternative solution. In the meantime, it is critical for every city and town to inform their legislators that we are adamantly opposed to any mandate to mark these facilities. The League fact sheet is attached for your use. Please contact Cheyenne Walsh from the League with any questions or concerns. 2 February 16, 2007 TITLE 34 COMPROMISE PASSES THOUGH COMMITTEE Our agreement with the County Supervisors Association (CSA) and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) on Title 34 passed out of the House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs (CMMA) committee this week after being struck onto HB2065. The League supported this amendment and will follow it through the process and work with the other stakeholders over the next two years to collect the information as specified in the bill. A fact sheet on the compromise is attached for your convenience. We are grateful to Rep. John Nelson, the chairman of the committee, for his hard work in bringing all parties to a compromise agreement. Please contact Matt Lore from the League with any question or concerns. MEASURE TO BAN PUBLIC LOBBYISTS ADVANCES Senator Linda Gray used a strike-everything amendment on Senate Concurrent Resolution 1016 to put a measure on the ballot to ban the use of ANY public funds to "lobby" at the Capitol. The result would be absurd: . Elected officials, from the Governor to the Mayors, would have to personally testify on all bills; they could not send staff or any representatives to do it for them. Those same elected officials could not use public funds to make the trip or testify in their official capacity. Representatives from agencies, counties, school boards and cities could only provide testimony if asked by a member of the Legislature and could not give their opinion on any legislation! . . During the committee hearing this past Thursday, the Goldwater Institute, claiming to be neutral on the bill and not lobbying because they are a non-profit organization, handed out their "study" to the committee members slamming public lobbying in Arizona and encouraged the members to vote for the measure! But they weren't lobbying.... The League will continue to oppose this measure. Locally elected officials are encouraged to contact their senators and express their disapproval of this bewildering proposal. Contact Jeff Kros at the League with any questions or comments. A SIGN OF THE TIMES Representative Bob Robson sponsored House Bill 2369 and the strike-everything amendment that allows the state to tell municipalities how to regulate temporary signage in their communities. A direct affront to local control, the bill says that cities and towns cannot have ordinances that restrict the number of signs and even stipulates how big signs can be. This bill does allow cities and towns to collect fees and surcharges, a portion of which would stay with the municipality and a portion that would go to a new freeway cleanup fund. This fund would only apply to freeways that enter or exit municipalities that are over 50,000 in population. The bill also states that once an entity has paid fees and surcharges of $250.00, no other cities and towns can charge that entity any more money. This is a blatant effort to micromanage municipalities from the state level and the League will be opposing this measure every step of the way. Please contact Dale Wiebusch at the League with any questions. IMPACT FEES BILL MOVES WITH STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT Senate Bill 1423 passed the Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee (CED) on Wednesday with a 5-1 vote. This bill is the League's effort to address concerns raised by the development community about transparency in the development fee process. Senate President Tim Bee is sponsoring the bill and is leading the on-going meetings to address further concerns with the bill. The League supported the bill in its current form in committee, along with all of the stakeholders involved, included all three homebuilder's associations. We are continuing to meet next week to finalize the remaining issues on the table and see if a consensus can be reached on any of those items. Please contact Cheyenne Walsh with any questions or concerns. SESSION MILESTONE REACHED This week marks the final week for bills to be heard in their house of origin (i.e. House bills heard in House committees, Senate bills heard in Senate committees). While the leadership of each house could extend this deadline, we understand that an extension will not be given. This means that many of the more than 300 bills that the League tracks will be eliminated since they did not get a hearing. These bills could always reappear as a strike everything amendment but we 3 February 16, 2007 Session Milestone Reached contd. have a much better idea of what has support to move forward. Since both houses have not done a lot of floor action, there are not many bills that are ready to be heard in the other house, so next week looks to be a light week and a welcome break after this week of 15 bill agendas. Some other upcoming milestones for this session are listed below. These are guidelines set by the leadership and can be changed at any time. The session is on track to be a short one, but as we learned last year, the timeline set by leadership often changes. Last year's session was scheduled to be 82 days and ended up being 164 days, ending June 21 st. March 15- Last day to hear bill in the opposite house committees April 6- Last day for conference committee April 17- 100th day of session April 22- Deadline for sine die without formal extension (majority vote of each house) 4 February 16, 2007 League of Arizona ~C. ..~ Itles AND .lOWnS 1820 W. Washington. Phoenix,AZ 85007. Phone: (602) 258-5786. Fax: (602) 253-3874 Email: lcague@mg.statc.az.us. Web site: www.azleague.org OPPOSE S.B. 1246 - urban revenue sharing; tax credit Back2round Senate Bill 1246 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. Urban revenue sharing was created through an initiative measure by a vote of the people and has been working well for nearly 35 years. In exchange for a dedicated amount of state collected revenues, cities were barred from imposing local income taxes and various excise and luxury taxes. Urban Revenue Sharing Benefits ALL Arizonans The 17 percent of people who do NOT live in incorporated cities and towns benefit greatly by having strong cities in this state: . Cities provide the infrastructure that encourages economic development and jobs-the overwhelming majority of people work in cities and towns. . More than 91 % of all state income tax revenue and 93% of all state sales tax revenue comes from inside cities and towns. That is revenue that is used to benefit all citizens of our state, both inside and outside incorporated areas. . Non-city residents drive on city roads and streets. . They use the city airports, arenas, recreation facilities and other public venues. . They work and shop in cities and towns. Reducing urban revenue sharing will also put the public safety of cities and towns at risk since by far the largest expenditure from city general funds is for police and fire services. The 83% of Arizona residents who reside in cities are paying the same property tax rate to the county as county-only residents, but they don't receive the same services-they are subsidizing county residents. You don't help one group of people by hurting another group, especially when the economic acti vity of this state is so intertwined across city and county lines. This proposal makes as much sense as giving city residents a tax credit for county services which they do not use. This is why people don't trust government and the state legislature. Once a deal is made by a vote of the people it should be upheld. The legislature makes itself an unreliable partner with these kinds of actions. Please vote NO on S.B. 1246! League of Arizona ~C" '.~ Itles AND lowns 1820 W. Washington. Phocni.x,AZ 85007. Phone: (602) 258-5786. Fax: (602) 253-3874 Email: leaguC@azlcague.org . Web site: w\vw.azlcague.org The League of Arizona Cities and Towns opposes the "strike-everything" amendment to HB 2066. The proposed "strike-everything" amendment to HB 2066 mandates political subdivisions to locate and mark privately owned sewer laterals upon request. The amendment also requires local governments to establish a permitting program to administer and coordinate locating requests by July I, 2008. The proponent of this legislation, Southwest Gas Corporation, has pursued similar legislation in the past, shifting their current sewer lateral locating procedures onto public water and sewer departments. The League's opposition is based on the following: Unnecessary Exoansion of Government Local governments would have to expand their water/sewer departments and institute another layer of permitting regulations to implement this mandate. Increased Costs for our Shared Constituents Water and sewer bills may increase as a result of this legislation. While the language allows for some cost recovery via permit fees, the amendment calls for "reasonable" permit charges. This language is vague, ignoring the fact that there is no clear data on the possible costs associated with locating these privately owned sewer laterals. As a result, any funding short fall will be offset in an increase in municipal water rates. Safetv Issue Not Resolved During stakeholders meetings that have been ongoing since the fall of 2006, Southwest Gas Co. representatives stressed their concern with safety, concerned that their contracted excavators may not exercise the safest methods in locating the sewer lateral, creating the potential for an incident that may lead to property damage, or worse, loss of life. The reality is that, given the small number of available contractors, the vast majority of political subdivisions will hire the same excavation companies to provide the same service they currently are to Southwest Gas Co., maintaining - not diminishIng - the potential for an incident. Unreliable Information on the Location of Sewer Laterals The vast majority of public water/sewer departments do not have accurate information on the location of privately owned sewer laterals. As communities have grown throughout time, local governments have invested their resources into the water/sewer infrastructure needed to provide water and collect sewage. Developments connect to the public water/wastewater system; the sewer operator does not connect to private property. As a result, information is not collected on how these connections run from the water/sewer mains to the property, meaning that local governments do not know where these laterals are located. Local Governments Have Already Comoromised to Previous Le!!islation In 2005, local governments agreed to locate and mark sewer laterals for residential developments built after January I, 2006. Although this agreement did pose a challenge, it was seen as manageable and a "good faith" effort to seek compromise with Southwest Gas Co. This legislative proposal runs contrary to this compromise, not even a year after its implementation. This legislation is an attempt by a private industry to shift its costs of doing business onto the public. By placing this responsibility onto the local government water/sewer providers, every public water user will bear the cost, rather than the Southwest Gas customers that benefit from the service. Southwest Gas already locates these facilities as part of their infrastructure maintenance/expansion process; taxpayers should not bear the burden of subsidizing their business through their water rates. The League respectfully requests that you oppose the "strike-everything" amendment to HB 2066. Please contact Cheyenne Walsh, Legislative Associate, with any questions or concerns with this legislation. League of Arizona ~.~ Cities AND Towns 1820W. Washington. Phoenix,AZ 85007. Phone: (602) 258-5786. Fax: (602) 253-3874 Email: league@azleague.org . \Veb site: www.azleague.org Title 34 HB 2065 S!E: construction contract bids: civil penalty Back2round In 1994, intense negotiations between The League of Cities and Towns, the County Supervisor's Association (CSA) and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) resulted in the current laws regarding bidding out public road construction to private contractors. This law is clear that local governments must bid out construction projects greater than a certain dollar amount (adjusted for inflation each year). It is also very clear that road maintenance is not governed by the threshold and local governments may bid out the work or not, depending on what is best for that community and its tax payers. Since that compromise, AGC has made anecdotal claims of violations of Title 34 by various local governments. In response to this, the League and CSA worked with AGC to put together a Title 34 Working Group, comprised of representatives from each of the three organizations, to explore complaints or concerns brought forth from either side and to resolve any issues in a cooperative manner. AGC never gave this process a chance to work, instead bringing forth legislation at the first meeting of the group in the fall of 2006. Despite maintaining that legislation is not needed on this issue, the League and CSA are working with AGC and Representative John Nelson in a cooperative process to address the private sector's concerns since late fall. HB 2065 S!E: construction contract bids: civil penalty The result of these discussions lead by Representative Nelson is HB 2065, a compromise agreed to by the League, CSA and AGe. This bill: · Establishes an MOD process that will create a two-year study involving 15 cities and towns and 15 counties to look at what maintenance activities are done in-house and what activities are bid out. · Increases 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 year period. The League supports this process established by HB 2065. Please contact Matt Lore at 602-258-5786 with any questions or concerns. League of Arizona ~..~ Cities AND Towns 1820 W. Washington. Phoenix,AZ 85007. Phone: (602) 258-5786. Fax: (602) 253-3874 Email: lcaguC@mg.state.az.us. Web site: www.a.zleaguc.org We Support the Flake Strike-Everything Amendment to Senate Bill 1556 SB 1556 - fire districts; noncontiguous county areas Backeround In 2006, the Legislature mandated that cities provide fire and emergency medical services outside their borders to the county islands within cities (HB2145). It was envisioned as a pilot program with a five-year review. The Maricopa County Superior Court held that the bill was special legislation and unconstitutional as it was written to apply only to the Town of Gilbert. The Court of Appeals upheld the decision. This year, the strike-everything amendment to SB 1556 addresses the same issue of fire protection & EMS services in noncontiguous county islands but without placing a mandate on cities to provide services to non- residents outside their municipal boundaries. Provisions 1. Defines and specifies the legal parameters of a noncontiguous fire district as: a. limited to Maricopa County, b. limited to one fire district per city, c. limited to county islands not currently receiving fire service, and d. currently within a city planning area. 2. Establishes limited powers and duties, so that the fire district is a pass-through for funds, prohibits fire district from issuing bonds, owning property or hiring employees. 3. Allows a city or town, a private provider or a fire district to bid to provide fire service to the county island fire district. 4. Allows fire district to assess secondary property tax to cover services and exempts the fire districts from the levy limit; this is in place of the subscription fee. 5. Fire district indemnifies municipality or political subdivision for liability. 6. Session law requires district to file an impact statement every 2 years to address the feasibility of continuing the district. 7. Session law allows a property owner to petition the municipality to annex without complying with all annexation laws, and municipality has option to accept or deny. 8. The act sunsets after six years. League of Arizona Cities IN THIS ISSUE *Action Alert*: Third Time is A...! .......................... 1 Signage ................................. 1 Income Tax Cuts Would Hurt Shared Revenue .................... 2 Progress Made On Fire Protection For County Islands ...................... 2 Blue Stake Bill May Move Forward ................................. 2 Liquor Omnibus Bill ............. 2 Negotiations On Impact Fees Finished! ............................... 2 Amendments To Last Year's Gun Law Pass The Senate ..... 2 Budget Process ...................... 3 Attachment{s) 1. HB2336-2337 Impact Legislative Bul/etin 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 Towns Issue 8, February 23, 2007 *ACTION ALERT*: THIRD TIME IS A... After holding the bill the last two weeks, Senate Appropriations Chair Bob Bums seems intent on hearing 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 on Tuesday, February 27th at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Please keep up the pressure on the committee members! If you have not done so yet, please contact the members below to voice your opposition. Senate Appropriations Committee 2007 Members Paula Aboud Amanda Aguirre Carolyn S. Allen Robert "Bob" Burns Jake Flake Jorqe Luis Garcia Albert Hale Jack W. Harper John Huppenthal Karen Johnson Jim Warinq SIGNAGE 602-926- 5262 4139 4480 5993 5219 4171 4323 4178 5261 3160 4916 E-Mail paboud@azleg.gov aaguirre@azleg.gov callen@azleg.gov rburns@azleg.gov iflake@azleq.qov iqarcia@azleq.qov ahale@azleg.gov iharper@azleg.gov i huppenthal@azleg.gov kiohnson@azleg.gov iwarinq@azleq.qov The House Committee of the Whole (known as COW) also heard House Bill 2369, Representative Bob Robson's signage bill on February 22nd. It passed on a very close voice vote. As amended, this bill tells cities and towns how many of these signs may be present, sets fee limits, and voids any municipal ordinance having to do with this type of permitting. Needless to say, this is a total affront to local control and we will continue to strongly oppose it. We strongly encourage all city officials to contact their House members and ask them to oppose this bill! The House will likely do a recorded, roll-call vote (known as the Third Reading, as prescribed in the state constitution) next week. INCOME TAX CUTS WOULD HURT SHARED REVENUES Two measures in the House have the potential of reducing the urban revenue sharing fund by $35.6 million. House Bill 2336 and House Bill 2337 reduce the corporate income tax rate and the individual income tax rates by 5 percent each, respectively. The League testified in committee against the bills based on their impact on shared revenue. Many cities registered their opposition as well. The bills passed out of committee by a 10 to 7 vote, strictly along party lines, and will now likely become part of the budget negotiations. The attached list shows the effect the bills would have on shared revenues for each city and town. PROGRESS MADE ON FIRE PROTECTION FOR COUNTY ISLANDS There is beginning to be more definition of legislation regarding county island fire districts. The League participated in a workgroup of stakeholders including firefighters, fire districts, Rural/Metro and Maricopa County in developing an amendment to Senate Bill 1556, the consensus bill sponsored by Sen. Jay Tibshraeny (R-Chandler). The amendment made only technical changes to the bill and was adopted by the Senate Thursday in Committee of the Whole. The bill now goes to the full Senate for a pass or fail vote. Please contact the members from your city to voice your support for this measure. Meanwhile, there continues to be intense discussions regarding House Bill 2780, the House bill that includes a de facto mandate for cities to provide service after other options have been exhausted. Many of the provisions of the House bill are comparable to those of the Senate bill-including the fact that both bills are written to apply only to cities and towns in Maricopa County-the key difference is the service mandate. The League will continue to negotiate with all stakeholders until an acceptable compromise is reached. BLUE STAKE BILL MAY MOVE FORWARD The League successfully kept House Bill 2066 from moving on the House floor this week as we continue to negotiate with Southwest Gas and other utilities on this issue. The bill currently requires cities and towns to locate and mark privately owned sewer laterals when these companies want to add or update their infrastructure in our rights of way. While we are trying to work on a solution, it is very important that your legislators hear from you that a mandate to mark these laterals is a huge financial impact on your community, an improper role for local government and that you are opposed. LIOUOR OMNIBUS BILL The House of Representatives Committee of the Whole (COW) retained House Bill 2391, the liquor omnibus bill on Thursday, February 22nd. We still have concerns over the bill's loosening of controls in an already under-regulated industry. Specifically, the bill: . Allows a license to be surrendered vs. revoked. Revocation means you can't apply for a new license for a year. Surrender means you can apply the next day. . Prohibits local ordinances from requiring stronger identification procedures. The bill's sponsor, Representative Rich Crandall, assures us that he will work with us to address remaining issues. We are firm in our commitment to make this bill better for our communities. NEGOTIATIONS ON IMPACT FEES FINISHED! The League's working group completed negotiations with the development community on changes to the impact fees statutes in Senate Bill 1423. We believe the final bill addresses the concerns about transparency while maintaining our ability to administer fee programs that benefit our communities. The Senate amended this bill for the final time and it is waiting for a vote in the Senate before going to the House. The agreement is this bill will move without amendments for the rest of the process and has the support of all parties at the table. We will continue to update you as this bill moves forward. AMENDMENTS TO LAST YEAR'S GUN LAW PASS THE SENATE Senate Bill 1251 passed out of the Senate this week with a 19-10 vote. This bill makes changes to the law passed last year that requires public facilities to provide storage for weapons if the owner is prohibited from carrying them. After cities and towns 2 February 23, 2007 Amendments to Last Year's Gun Law Pass The Senate contd. implemented this unfunded mandate, the Legislature is considering changing the requirements even more to include the following restrictions on how we address this law: . Storage facilities must be located within 200 feet of the entrance to the facility. . The storage method must only be accessible with a key. . The owner of the weapon must be allowed to store the weapon and to keep the key. . The city or town is prohibited from requiring or recording any identification of the owner or serial number of the weapon. . Urban Revenue Sharing will grow by 24 percent this year because of the two-year lag. FY 2008 income tax growth may be less than 1 percent. . Total available funds are $10.47 billion and total spending is $10.42 billion, leaving the General Fund with a cash balance of $45 million. . On-going spending outpaces revenues by $408 million. This bill is not only another unfunded mandate that will likely force many cities to change procedures they just implemented, but owner-accessible storage without any identification is a huge public safety concern. Please contact your Representatives and express your opposition to this bill. BUDGET PROCESS Both the House and the Senate are working on the budget, albeit in different fashions. The Senate uses the Appropriations Committee to address budget issues and the House forms small discussion groups. Revenue projections are down from last year, so many members are cautious about predictions as to what programs will wind up in the budget. According to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) staff, budget negotiators will start discussions with the following premises: · The consensus revenue forecast reflects below average growth. · Previously enacted legislation already committed $380 million in tax cuts and new spending for FY 2008. 3 February 23, 2007 $197,800,000 REDUCTION $29,670,000 15% SHARE 4,859,596TOTAL POPULATION 6.105445802 PER CAPITA FIGURE $40,000,000 REDUCTION $6,000,000 15% SHARE 4,859,596 TOTAL POPULATION 1.234670536 PER CAPITA FIGURE POPULATION ONE YEAR IMPACT FROM $197.8 MILLION REDUCTION REVENUE REDUCTION (HB2337) ONE YEAR IMPACT TOTAL REDUCTION FROM $40 MILLION REDUCTION REVENUE REDUCTION (HB2336) APACHE JUNCTION 34,070 $208,013 $42,065 $250,078 AVONDALE 69,356 $423,449 $85,632 $509,081 BENSON 4,740 $28,940 $5,852 $34,792 BISBEE * 6,570 $40,113 $8,112 $48,225 BUCKEYE 25,406 $155,115 $31,368 $186,483 BULLHEAD CITY 38,210 $233,289 $47,177 $280,466 CAMP VERDE 10,730 $65,511 $13,248 $78,759 CAREFREE 3,684 $22,492 $4,549 $27,041 CASA GRANDE 32,470 $198,244 $40,090 $238,334 CAVE CREEK 4,766 $29,099 $5,884 $34,983 CHANDLER 230,845 $1,409,412 $285,018 $1,694,429 CHINO VALLEY 12,325 $75,250 $15,217 $90,467 CLARKDALE 3,680 $22,468 $4,544 $27,012 CLIFTON * 2,596 $15,850 $3,205 $19,055 COLORADO CITY 4,080 $24,910 $5,037 $29,948 COOLIDGE 8,180 $49,943 $10,100 $60,042 COTTONWOOD 10,860 $66,305 $13,409 $79,714 DEWEY-HUMBOLDT 4,030 $24,605 $4,976 $29,581 DOUGLAS * 17,195 $104,983 $21,230 $126,213 DUNCAN * 812 $4,958 $1,003 $5,960 EAGAR 4,435 $27,078 $5,476 $32,553 EL MIRAGE 32,061 $195,747 $39,585 $235,331 ELOY 11 ,125 $67,923 $13,736 $81,659 FLAGSTAFF 61 ,185 $373,562 $75,543 $449,105 FLORENCE 20,530 $125,345 $25,348 $150,693 FOUNTAIN HILLS 24,492 $149,535 $30,240 $179,774 FREDONIA * 1,110 $6,777 $1,370 $8,148 GILA BEND 1,980 $12,089 $2,445 $14,533 GILBERT 173,072 $1,056,682 $213,687 $1,270,369 GLENDALE 242,369 $1,479,771 $299,246 $1,779,017 GLOBE * 7,495 $45,760 $9,254 $55,014 GOODYEAR 46,213 $282,151 $57,058 $339,209 GUADALUPE 5,555 $33,916 $6,859 $40,774 HAYDEN * 892 $5,446 $1,101 $6,547 HOLBROOK * 5,425 $33,122 $6,698 $39,820 HUACHUCA CITY * 1,830 $11,173 $2,259 $13,432 JEROME 330 $2,015 $407 $2,422 KEARNY * 2,249 $13,731 $2,777 $16,508 KINGMAN 25,860 $157,887 $31,929 $189,815 LAKE HAVASU CITY 53,435 $326,244 $65,975 $392,219 LITCHFIELD PARK 4,528 $27,645 $5,591 $33,236 MAMMOTH 1,762 $10,758 $2,175 $12,933 MARANA 26,725 $163,168 $32,997 $196,165 MARICOPA 15,934 $97,284 $19,673 $116,957 MESA 448,096 $2,735,826 $553,251 $3,289,077 MIAMI * 1,955 $11 ,936 $2,414 $14,350 NOGALES * 21,830 $133,282 $26,953 $160,235 ORO V ALLEY 39,400 $240,555 $48,646 $289,201 PAGE 7,110 $43,410 $8,779 $52,188 PARADISE VALLEY 13,863 $84,640 $17,116 $101,756 PARKER 3,280 $20,026 $4,050 $24,076 PATAGONIA * 920 $5,617 $1,136 $6,753 PAYSON 15,430 $94,207 $19,051 $113,258 PEORIA 138,143 $843,425 $170,561 $1,013,986 PHOENIX 1,475,834 $9,010,625 $1,822,169 $10,832,793 PIMA * 2,085 $12,730 $2,574 $15,304 PINETOP-LAKESIDE * 4,165 $25,429 $5,142 $30,572 PRESCOTT 40,770 $248,919 $50,338 $299,257 PRESCOTT V ALLEY 33,575 $204,990 $41 ,454 $246,444 QUARTZSITE 3,600 $21 ,980 $4,445 $26,424 QUEEN CREEK 16,414 $100,215 $20,266 $120,481 SAFFORD * 9,360 $57,147 $11,557 $68,703 SAHUARITA 13,990 $85,415 $17,273 $102,688 ST. JOHNS * 3,865 $23,598 $4,772 $28,370 SAN LUIS 22,930 $139,998 $28,311 $168,309 SCOTTSDALE 234,752 $1,433,266 $289,841 $1,723,107 SEDONA 10,935 $66,763 $13,501 $80,264 SHOW LOW 9,885 $60,352 $12,205 $72,557 SIERRA VISTA 43,690 $266,747 $53,943 $320,690 SNOWFLAKE 4,935 $30,130 $6,093 $36,223 SOMERTON 9,750 $59,528 $12,038 $71,566 SOUTH TUCSON 5,630 $34,374 $6,951 $41 ,325 SPRINGERVILLE 2,065 $12,608 $2,550 $15,157 STAR V ALLEY 2,006 $12,248 $2,477 $14,724 SUPERIOR 3,254 $19,867 $4,018 $23,885 SURPRISE 88,265 $538,897 $108,978 $647,875 TAYLOR 4,100 $25,032 $5,062 $30,094 TEMPE 165,796 $1,012,258 $204,703 $1,216,962 THATCHER 4,550 $27,780 $5,618 $33,398 TOLLESON 6,498 $39,673 $8,023 $47,696 TOMBSTONE * 1,610 $9,830 $1,988 $11,818 TUCSON 529,770 $3,234,482 $654,091 $3,888,573 WELLTON 1,970 $12,028 $2,432 $14,460 WICKENBURG 6,077 $37,103 $7,503 $44,606 WILLCOX * 3,885 $23,720 $4,797 $28,516 WILLIAMS * 3,145 $19,202 $3,883 $23,085 WINKELMAN * 443 $2,705 $547 $3,252 WINSLOW * 9,835 $60,047 $12,143 $72,190 YOUNGTOWN 6,163 $37,628 $7,609 $45,237 YUMA 88.775 $542.011 $109608 $651.619 4,859,596 $29,670,000 $6,000,000 $35,670,000