Arizona legislature: The coming week

Time for the first 2014 post previewing committee activity in the Arizona legislature.

Notes:

All committees meetings and agendas are subject to change without notice, and frequently do.  If you plan to travel to the Capitol to observe or weigh in on the consideration of a particular measure, check with the lege ahead of time to confirm that the meeting that you are interesting in is still on schedule and your item(s) of interest is still on the agenda for that meeting.

Meeting rooms designated "HHR" are in the House of Representatives building.

Meeting rooms designated "SHR" are in the Senate building.

Some agendas are summarized as "looks harmless", but if they cover an area of interest to you, examine the agenda and the bills on it.  If I missed something significant, leave a comment letting me know.

All House committee agendas can be found here.

All Senate committee agendas can be found here.


On to the meeting schedule, which is relatively sparse this week.

On the House side of the Capitol -

- Joint Appropriations, HHR1, Tuesday, 9 a.m.   Hearing a presentation on the governor's budget proposal.

- Insurance and Retirement, HHR3, Tuesday, 2 p.m.  A number of bills relating to the state's retirement systems.  While these all probably fall into the "quietly really bad" category, the one that stands out is HB2203.  It seeks to "refine" the qualifications required for membership on the board of directors of the state's retirement systems.  It also has an amendment that would add charter school employees to the list of those eligible to serve in the slot on the board reserved for educators.

- Government, HHR4, Tuesday, 2 p.m.  One bill on the agenda.  Looks harmless, so far.

- Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility, HHR1, Tuesday, 2 p.m.  One bill on the agenda, but not so harmless.  HB2014 seeks to undermine voter initiatives by mandating that in any advertisement for the measure and in any publicity pamphlets that include a given measure, and Proposition 105 notice be included, that states that, if approved, can "never" be changed, except under specific conditions.  The sponsor, Rep. Michelle Ugenti, made sure to put "never" in there, even though it isn't true.

- Agriculture and Water, HHR5, Tuesday, 2 p.m.  Presentation only, no bills.  Looks harmless so far.

- Health, HHR4, Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.  Two bills (look harmless) and a presentation by TGen.

- Appropriations, HHR1, Wednesday, 2 p.m.  Budget presentation by JLBC.

- Transportation, HHR3, Thursday, 9 a.m.  One bill so far - HB2027, relating to the use of golf carts and other "neighborhood electric vehicles" (NEVs) in retirement communities in unincorporated parts of Maricopa County.  Looks relatively harmless.

- Technology and Infrastructure, HHR5, Thursday, 9 a.m.  Nothing on the agenda so far.

- Reform and Human Services, HHR1, Thursday, 10 a.m.  Nothing on the agenda so far.

- Judiciary, HHR4, Thursday, 10 a.m.  Nothing on the agenda so far.


On the Senate side of the Capitol -

- Joint Appropriations, HHR1, Tuesday, 9 a.m.  Hearing a presentation on the governor's budget proposal.

- Appropriations, SHR109, Tuesday, 2 p.m.  Budget hearing for the Department of Corrections.  No bills so far.

- Natural Resource and Rural Affairs, SHR109, Wednesday, 9 a.m.  One executive nomination and one presentation; no bills.

- Health and Human Services, SHR1, Wednesday, 2 p.m.  Looks relatively harmless, but SB1039, allowing the chiropractor members of the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to have attended the same chiropractic school, is too specific and technical a change. *Somebody* has called in a favor (or something similar) from the sponsor, Sen. Nancy Barto (R).

- Finance, SHR3, Wednesday, 2 p.m.  A bunch of Steve Yarbrough-sponsored bills relating to finance, insurance and the state retirement system.  Some of their provisions are too technical for me to understand in the time I have available for this post, but given Yarbrough's involvement, I can't believe that these are good for the average Arizonan.

- Government and Environment, SHR3, Thursday, upon adjournment of the Senate floor session.  Highlight of the agenda and (perhaps) the week: SB1060.  This one would bar the practice of lobbyists giving tickets to sports events to legislators.  Probably the most contentious item on any agenda this week, and the division won't break along party lines - there are a few Ds who accept the tickets, and a few Rs who are opposed to the practice.  Best guess:  will pass committee, but fail on the floor.

The lege's calendar of events for the week is here.
AZ Department of Administration meeting public notices are here.