Meet other OCA members and discuss local issues in the OCA Arizona Forum
Arizona News & Alert Center
Mobilizing Organic Consumers in Arizona
Please Support Our Arizona Sponsors
Intelligent Nutrients:
The Organic Harmonic Science of Health
and Beauty
Become a State Page Sponsor
Recent Arizona Forum Posts
Arizona News
- 11/06/08 - Fight Against Wal-Mart Renewed
- 10/10/08 - South Phoenix Gets $1 Million to Fight Air Pollution; Climate Change Money Unchanged
- 10/08/08 - Railroading Immigrants
- 09/25/08 - "Curse of Black Mesa" Took Down Lehman Bros
- 09/16/08 - Fatal Explosion Puts Company's Past Violations in Spotlight
- 09/12/08 - States React to Arizona Court Decision on "Fair Fight Funds" in Publicly Financed Elections
- 09/12/08 - Councilmen, Candidate Side With Wal-Mart Protesters
- 08/28/08 - The Rise of 'The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party'
- 08/26/08 - Steve Rose Talks to Visionary Architect Paolo Soleri
- 08/25/08 - As Democrats Gather, Liberal Positions Gaining in Popularity
- 08/22/08 - Grassroots Direct Action: San Francisco Voters Nov. 4 Will Tell Their Congress Reps to Defund the War
- 08/21/08 - Water Scarcity Will Only Be Tackled If We Change the Way We Eat
- 08/19/08 - Raytheon's Cleanup History Is a Bit Spotty
- 08/15/08 - Mines Still Threaten Colorado River, Foes Say
- 08/15/08 - Many Restaurants Lying About Menu Items Being 'Organic' or 'Locally Produced'
- 08/13/08 - SRP Settlement: $400 Million to Cut Coal Pollution
- 08/09/08 - Has Your Town Declared Peace Yet?
- 08/03/08 - EPA Approves Coal-Fired Plant Despite Opposition from Navajo Nation
- 07/15/08 - More Seek Asylum on U.S.-Mexico Border
- 07/02/08 - Wasteland Of Up To 10 Million Tires Ignites Concerns of Fire
- 07/02/08 - Tainted Well Cuts Area Groundwater Level
- 07/02/08 - Mining Temporarily Halted Near Grand Canyon
- 06/30/08 - States Taking Initiative on Environmental & Climate Crisis while Feds Do Little or Nothing
- 06/26/08 - Homeland Security Czar is Acting Like One, With Blessing of Supreme Court
- 06/20/08 - Obama and Latino Voters: Brownout in Black Camelot
- 06/17/08 - Tiny, Clingy and Destructive, Mussel Makes Its Way West
- 06/11/08 - Move Over MoveOn: Grassroots Netroots Alliance (GNA) Launches New Progressive Campaign to 'Press the Politicians'
Submit News Stories
Arizona's 2008 Legislative Roundup
From Progressive States Network)
For Arizona, it was a session marked by papering over a large fiscal deficit, the approval of a ballot measure to ban gay marriage, and a number of nasty initiatives that were thankfully vetoed by the governor.
Budget: Lawmakers sought to close shortfalls of $1.2 billion for fiscal 2008 and $2 billion for 2009. Schools mostly escaped funding cuts, although construction and building maintenance funds were decreased. The state mostly bridged the deficit numbers by draining the rainy day fund and other financial borrowing tools. A special session may be called to deal with other parts of the deficit.
Universities were granted approval to sell $1 billion in bonds - which it is hoped will help the state's sagging construction industry through contracts for much-needed facilities for higher education. The legislature sought to permanently repeal a statewide property tax that was suspended three years ago, but the measure, HB 2220, was vetoed by the governor.
Transportation: While the legislature debated creating tolls roads to fund anti-congestion investments, the bills didn't pass. There will be an initiative on the ballot in the fall to use a one-cent sales tax increase for transit, including light rail, commuter trains and pedestrian paths.
Immigration: Revisiting last year's anti-immigrant legislation, the legislature approved HB 2745 which restricts penalties to businesses that "knowingly" hired illegal workers after the law went into effect, not retroactively for anyone hired before the law was implemented. Unfortunately, the bill also made it a state crime to use any fake ID to obtain employment and cracked down on day laborers.
The Governor vetoed HB 2807, which would have preempted local policies regarding undocumented immigrants and required sheriffs and police to implement a program to address violations of federal immigration laws.
Child Protective Services: Following the deaths of three Arizona children last year, the state increased the transparency of CPS foster care records and court proceedings and tightened agency rules (HB 2453). Another bill streamlined the process of adopting a child in the state. And another expanded the circumstances when parental rights can be terminated. SB 1442 mandates informing parents and guardians of their right to be heard in any hearing.
Health Care: The legislature tweaked the state's high-risk insurance pool, restricting access to one-person employer firms but also reducing to 90 days the time someone must go without insurance to qualify. Health-care-for-all plans were not even given hearings in committee.
Abortion: The governor vetoed HB 2263, which would have required a pregnant minor to provide "clear and convincing evidence" to a judge of her "maturity" to get an abortion without consulting her parent or guardian. The governor also vetoed HB 2769, which would have further restricted access to late-term abortions.
Gay rights: An anti-same sex marriage initiative will be on the ballot this fall, following ugly legislative maneuvering by supporters that even some who voted for the measure, including the Republican Senate President Tim Bee, described as "coercive."
Energy: On energy policy, the legislature failed to even pass the modest objective of standards for renewable energy use by government buildings and schools.
Take Action. Support Green Jobs!
The Green Jobs Act of 2007 authorized $125 million per year to create an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program as an amendment to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The Green Jobs Act (GJA) is an initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of industries - including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating "green pathways out of poverty."
Congress has not yet appropriated money for the Green Jobs Act. Please contact your Senator today and urge them to fund the Green Jobs Act of 2007!
Read more at Green for All's web site.
More Activities
- Click here to print this page
(and distribute it to co-ops) - Get involved with the OCA
- Donate
- Sign up for OCA's bi-weekly email update