Legislative Update – April 15, 2016

This week in Arizona politics, we still have not seen a budget introduced.  Many are now predicting (and hoping) the Senate will introduce a version next Wednesday.  Of course, this means that we will most certainly not be able to adjourn sine die on Day 100, which falls next Tuesday.   Out of the 1,219 bills introduced, still just 105 have been signed and just one has been vetoed.   

Rule Requiring Background Checks for Reporters Rescinded

On Tuesday, Speaker of the House David Gowan decided to reverse his new rule that required extensive background checks on reporters in order to access the House floor.  The short lived policy faced overwhelmingly negative publicity and criticism from many, including Governor Ducey.   “Although many of you have asked that the House heighten security measures, some of you have also expressed concern about the policy’s effect.  Having heard those concerns and taken them to heart, I am suspending the background check requirement effective today and for the balance of the legislative session,” said Gowan.  

Senator Sherwood will not run again in LD 26

Senator Andrew Sherwood (D-Tempe) announced this week that he will not seek reelection this fall and will be moving to Colorado with his wife.  This has cleared the path for his seatmate, Rep. Juan Mendez (D-Tempe), who was also running for the Senate seat.  Mendez is now unopposed for both the primary and general elections. 

Commissioner Burns to Vote Against APS

Corporation Commissioner Bob Burns has announced that he will vote against any measure brought by APS until they comply with his request to open their books revealing their election spending.   “Using my oath of office, the Arizona Constitution and statutes as my guides, I plan to use the tools available to me, including my vote, to encourage APS’s compliance with my request for information,” said Burns.   Some have speculated that the utility funneled money supporting Commissioners Forese and Little into the 2014 election.  APS has never confirmed nor denied the allegations. 

Burns’ decision has already been impactful and resulted in stalling a fee increase for APS.  With Commissioner Stump out sick and Commissioner Tobin recused from voting, the measure did not have enough votes to move forward this week.

Clean Elections Ballot Measure Proposed

A citizens initiative that hopes to strengthen and revitalize Arizona’s Clean Elections system has been filed by the Arizona Advocacy Network.  The proposal allows legislative candidates to collect up to $160 from donors and then matches the total on a six-to-one basis. That means a $50 contribution would bring in an additional $300.  The matching funds would be capped at four times the amount of the initial lump sum that candidates would get.  The cost of the expansion, which is expect to be about $5 million), would be covered by Arizonans giving a voluntary $10 contribution on their tax forms. 

Additionally, the new system would weaken those using traditional funding by reducing the current contribution limit of $5,000 to $1,000 for legislative and $2,500 for statewide.  It would also do away with the legislation from this year that allowed a candidate to contribute to another candidate (aka the “kingmaker” provision).

The initiative faces a decidedly uphill battle.  They must have 150,642 valid signatures before July 7 to make it on the ballot, which is no simple feat. 

Finance Advisory Committee Update

The Finance Advisory Committee updated lawmakers on Wednesday of this week and had generally positive news to share.   Their projections showed Arizona bringing in about $43 million (3.9% revenue growth) more this fiscal year, but about $8 million (3.4% revenue growth) less than expected in the next year.   Though the state’s economic recovery has been slow-moving , there will be an expected $660 million in cash next year.   Of course, this is with the caveat that even a 1% margin of error could throw these numbers off by millions.  

The $8 million dollar drop shouldn’t be immensely impactful.  “I don’t think saying we’re $8 million down is really anything to worry about.  But for folks who really want to spend a bunch of money, they need to be cognizant that we’re not steepening that trajectory. We’re staying relatively flat,” commented Senate President Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert).   House Minority Leader Eric Meyer (D-Phoenix) commented that he believes this is a sign that his caucus’s spending requests are very reasonable. “Without raising taxes or touching rainy-day funds, we could invest in our schools, our universities and our infrastructure to create jobs while still leaving a large cash balance,” he said.