The coming week: legislative edition

Welcome to the first schedule post of 2011...

All information gathered from the website of the Arizona Legislature and subject to change without notice.

Note:  An "HHR" prefix indicates that the meeting place is in a hearing room in the House building, and an "SHR" prefix indicates a hearing room in the Senate building.

At the legislature this week, no committee hearings are scheduled for Monday, probably due to it being the legal holiday to mark the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

On the House side of the quad this week -

- Education will meet Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. in HHR3.  Housekeeping meeting with nothing significant on the agenda at this time.

- Joint Appropriations will meet Tuesday at ~9:15 a.m. in HHR1.  They will receive a presentation on the Governor's budget proposal.  Probably the week's most significant committee hearing.

- Government will meet Tuesday at 2 p.m. in HHR4.  Scheduled highlights include HB2077, requiring federal agencies to register with a county's sheriff and make a payment to said sheriff before operating in that county.

- Environment will meet Tuesday at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  No bills scheduled for hearing.  They will receive presentations from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, County Supervisors Association, Maricopa County, Pima County, Pinal County, Maricopa Association of Governments, and Pima Association of Governments.

- Employment and Regulatory Affairs will meet Tuesday at 2 p.m in HHR3.  On the agenda:  consideration of HB2025, a special assessment to help bring the state's unemployment insurance fund out of the red, and a presentation from the administrator of the state's primary public employee pension funds.

- Military Affairs and Public Safety will meet Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.  Presentations from Davis-Monthan AFB, Department of Public Safety, and Department of Veterans' Services.

- Higher Education, Innovation, and Reform will meet Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR2.  Presentations from Drs. Michael Crow (President of ASU), Robert Shelton (U of A), John Haeger (NAU) and Tom Anderes (Board of Regents).

- Commerce will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR5.  Short, discussion-only, agenda, and none of the bills on it look particularly bad.

- Health and Human Services will meet Wednesday at 10 a.m. in HHR4.  Short agenda, none of the bills currently on it look particularly bad.

- Appropriations will meet on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  Budget presentations from the Department of Corrections and School Facilities Board/Statewide Debt.  One bill on the agenda:  HB2016, removing a lot of budget-related reports currently required by law.

- Transportation will meet Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.  No bills on the agenda currently, just a presentation from the Arizona Department of Transportation.

- Technology and Infrastructure will meet Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR1.  Housekeeping meeting.

- Agriculture and Water will meet Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR5.  Presentations from Arizona Farm Bureau, Arizona Horse Council, and Arizona State Land Department.

- Judiciary will meet Thursday at 10 a.m. in HHR4.  Housekeeping meeting.

- Ways and Means will meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: HB2008, relating to internal revenue code conformity (I don't understand the language of this one, and it's from Jack Harper, who's *never* been known for introducing clean, "good governance" bills, so this one may merit a close eye); HB2069, relating to "corporate income tax; sales factor"; and HCR2006, raising the business personal property tax exemption amount from $50K to "an amount equal to the earnings per employee of twenty workers in this state according to a designated national measure of earnings per employee adjusted annually as provided by law."  Better known as a "return on investment" proposal for the big businesses who contributed to various Republican campaigns this past cycle.


...On the Senate side -

- Veterans' and Military Affairs will meet Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. in SHR3.  Only one measure on the agenda, and it should be non-controversial: SCR1009, honoring Hopi Code Talkers.

- Joint Appropriations will meet on Tuesday at ~9:15 a.m. in HHR1.  They will receive a presentation on the Governor's budget proposal.  Probably the week's most significant committee hearing.



- Banking and Insurance will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR3.  Only bill on the agenda: SB1102, making changes to law to continue/complete the privatization of the state's Worker's Compensation Fund.

- Appropriations will meet Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  Budget presentations from the Department of Corrections and School Facilities Board/Statewide Debt.

- Public Safety and Human Services will meet Wednesday at 9 a.m. in SHR3.  Seven bills on the agenda that didn't look to bad  upon a cursory examination.

- Governrment Reform will meet Wednesday at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  Housekeeping meeting.

- Commerce and Energy will meet Wednesday at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  Presentations from SRP and APS and consideration of SB1086, banning the use of fake ID by minors to purchase tobacco products and prohibiting the manufacture, sale or distribution of "blunt wraps," defined in the bill as "an individual tobacco wrapper, also known as a wrap or roll-your-own cigar wrap, which is made wholly or in part from tobacco, including reconstituted tobacco, whether in the form of tobacco leaf, sheet or tube, if the wrap is designed to be offered to or purchased by a consumer.”



- Water, Land Use, and Rural Development will meet Wednesday at 2 p.m. in SHR3.  Presentations by Central Arizona Water Conservation District and Natural Resource Conservation Districts.

- Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform will meet Wednesday at 2 p.m. in SHR1.  A few items on the agenda.  One interesting one:  SB1122, making "health care sharing ministries" tax exempt.  This one is from Nancy Barto, who is vehemently opposed to making health care more accessible to the general public, but apparently if one is devout enough...?

- Economic Development and Jobs Creation will meet Wednesday at 2 p.m. in SHR109.  Presentations on ecconomic development from Arizona State University, Curis, AECOM, Arizona's Workers' Compensation System.

- Finance will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  A number of technical bills on the agenda that I don't completely understand.

- Border Security, Federalism and States Sovereignty will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  Let the nativist looniness begin.  Presentations from the Cochise County Sheriff, Pinal County Sheriff, US Border Patrol, and a civilian representative of the Arizona Department of Public Safety's GITEM Task Force (gang task force).  Consideration of SB1046 ("juvenile corrections; discharge; ICE detainers"); SB1136 (a move to block a Tohono O'odham resort in the West Valley); and SR1001 (a resolution declaring that a casino in the West Valley is a "state sovereignty" issue and they will fight against it with every taxpayer dollar at their disposal [OK, they didn't use the language in that last part.  But it's what they mean.])

Judiciary will meet Thursday upon adjournment of the Senate floor session in SHR1.  Let the ugly begin.  The lowlights include consideration of SB1117, allowing the legislature, independent of the executive branch (i.e. - the Governor and AG), to "direct counsel" to appear in state or federal court on behalf of the respective chambers of the lege to protect last year's SB1070 from legal challenges and SCR1010, a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution that would bar Arizona courts from considering "the legal precepts of other nations or cultures" when rendering their decisions.  Many of the other bills on the agenda have a high potential for ideologically-based mischief, too.

- On Friday at 9 a.m., the three subcommitteesof the Appropriations Committee will hold budget hearings for various agencies and departments.  Agendas here, here, and here.


Other events posted for the Capitol (and environs) this week:

Tuesday is the Annual Tribal Day at the Legislature (a number of events taking place all day)

Wednesday, the Nucleus Club will host Greg Stanton, a member of the Phoenix City Council and candidate for mayor.

Saturday, both the Arizona Democratic Party (9 a.m - 6 p.m., Wyndham Phoenix) and the Arizona Republican Party (8:30 a.m. -  3 p.m., Church of the Nations, Phoenix) will hold their biennial reorganization meetings.