Governor Doug Ducey: pro-education...until the rubber hits the road

Many folks are weighing in on Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's FY2016 budget proposal.  They are using a lot of words.

Tonight, I believe in the old saying about pictures being worth a thousand words.  :)

Ducey's steps to the budget proposal, illustrated (source documents here):

1. Proclaim the awesome things that you are doing for K-12 public education -

2. Contradict yourself.

Ducey claims that he wants to allocate nearly $160 million dollars more to K-12 education but tries to gloss over the fact that in his proposal, most of the funds come from...wait for it...K-12 education.

And at that, even the putative increase to education spending seems to be predicated on the state obeying a court that ruled that the state must allocate more for spending.  They (the governor and the lege) have been fighting the ruling.  If the judge backs down, expect the funding to disappear.

But not the cuts.



3. Screw over higher ed, expecting the Arizona Board of Regents to make up the lost funding with tuition increases.

The hypocrisy here is that he spent most of his gubernatorial campaign blaming his opponent, former Regent chair Fred Duval, for tuition increases necessitated by previous cuts to higher ed funding.

4.  Make sure your pals in the private prison industry are taken care of.

Even if it is at the expense of the state's education system.

Other information -

This next one is just wishful thinking (aka - fairy tale math).  It also looks like an easy way for the Ducey admin to give out a lucrative contract to some FOD* with little to no oversight -

* = "Friend of Dougie"

Doug Ducey, less "pro-education" and more "pro-incarceration"

The coming week: everybody else edition

All info gathered from the websites of the relevent public bodies/agencies, and is subject to change without notice.

Federal level -

In the House, the agenda for the week is focused on the Republicans' H.R. 2, "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act."  Related: H. Res. 9, "Instructing certain committees to report legislation replacing the job-killing health care law."

The Senate isn't in session this week.


Arizona level -

The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have a full meeting scheduled for this week.  It's hearing schedule is here.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission doesn't have a meeting this week, either.  They are seeking applicants for an open spot on the Commission. Interested folks who aren't registered as Democrats or Republicans and who do NOT reside in Maricopa County can apply (there are other requirements, but those are the big ones).

The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project is meeting on Thursday to select new officers, hold an orientation for new members on the topic of internal audit, and hold a meeting of the Finance, Audit, and Power Committee.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a Special Meeting scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m.  The agenda looks quiet, but as is usual for this bunch, there's an executive session planned.

The Tempe City Council doesn't have a meeting scheduled for this week.  The City's City Council Calendar is here.

The Scottsdale City Council doesn't have a meeting scheduled for this week.  The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.

The coming week...

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

...At the federal level, both the U.S. House and Senate are on a break. They'll be back in session next week.

...Back here in Arizona...


- The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have any regular meetings scheduled, however they will be travelling to gather public comment on specific issues.

-- On Wednesday at 1 p.m., they will be holding a special meeting in Tucson to solicit public comments on line extension policies for Arizona utilities.

-- Later on Wednesday, they will hold two public meetings in Nogales. The first will start at 6 p.m. and will concern Rio Rico Utilities rates; the second is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will concern Valle Verde Water Company rates.

-- The ACC's hearing schedule is here. Most of this week's hearing activity involves Arizona American Water (a name near and not-so-dear to Scottsdale readers :) ).


- The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will meet on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. It's a special meeting with one topic - a settlement with the Department of Labor over MCSO's forcing detention officers to work unpaid overtime. AZ Republic coverage of the matter here.


- The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will have a busy week.

-- On Tuesday at 1 p.m., there will be a meeting of the Project ADD Water group.

-- On Thursday at 9 a.m., the Board's Public Policy Committee will meet.

-- After the committee meeting, the full Board with hold a regular meeting. The highlights of this meeting will be the setting of property tax and service rates.


- The Tempe City Council isn't meeting this week; the Council Calendar of events is here.


- The Scottsdale City Council also isn't meeting this week; the City of Scottsdale's Community Meeting Notice is here.

Note: When memorial service arrangements for late Councilman Tony Nelssen are announced, an update will be posted.


Not meeting this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Arizona Board of Regents

The coming week...

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

These schedule posts have become intermittent, due in part to the lack of interesting tidbits to cover, as well as election year deadlines in Arizona (sigs are due Wednesday!) cutting into available blogging time. However, this week, there will be a *lot* of budget-related action and other interesting matters up for consideration, especially in D.C. and with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Stuff that is definitely post-worthy.

On to the important stuff...

On the federal level -

- The U.S. House will be handling a number of bills this week as they get ready for the holiday break next week. The highlight this week will be H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2011 (CRS summary here). There will be a massive amount of election-year posturing over this one, whether of the "fiscal responsibility" or the "I'm a patriot" variety. Still, it's only an authorization bill, not an appropriations bill, and they all will want to make the earliest possible flights out of town on Friday. The posturing will be loud, but efficient.

Also on the agenda: Consideration of a Senate amendment to H.R. 4213, the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (most current CRS summary here); H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act (CRS summary here - it's designed to limit corporate control of election campaigns); and further consideration of H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (previously blocked by the House GOP when the measure came to the House floor under "suspension of the rules," requiring a 2/3 majority to pass, it's coming back in a way that will require only a simple majority to pass).

- The U.S. Senate will be doing, you know, "Senate" stuff this week. That includes a committee schedule with hearings on the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, impacts of consolidation on the airline industry, and more (lots of executive branch nominations). There will also be floor consideration of H.R. 4899, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010.

...Back here in Arizona -

- The Arizona Corporation Commission will be holding a public comment session in Prescott Valley on Tuesday. The subject will be

Public Comment in the Matter of the Application of the Commission’s, Docket No. E-00000J-10-0044, inquiry and potential rulemaking regarding line extension policies of electric utilities, including but not limited to, alternative rate designs related to apportionment and rate recovery of cost of construction and installation of electric utility line extensions, the use of free footage and/or dollar allowances in line extension tariffs, the treatment of proceeds associated with line extensions as contributions in aid of construction (CIAC) and/or revenue, and the ability for third-party vendors to contract to install line extensions for electric utilities.

The ACC will be holding a regular "Utilities" meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, agenda here.
The Commission's regular hearing schedule is here.

- The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a busy and "colorful" week on tap.

-- Monday's Informal meeting is dedicated to budget matters, including the tentative adoption of next year's budget.

-- Later on Monday, the Supes will be holding a Special meeting dedicated to a financial review of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. This one could include a contempt hearing over Sheriff Joe Arpaio's refusal to turn over financial records for the review. There is some question about the procedures for the contempt hearing, so the hearing schedule may yet be changed or be cancelled entirely. More AZ Republic coverage here. This one could be the most interesting event of the week, or it could fizzle completely.

- - On Wednesday, the Supes have a Formal meeting scheduled. The agenda is a long one.

- The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System will be holding an executive session on Monday (relating to legal matters and contracts - the agenda items are rather vague, intentionally so, I think) and a regular meeting on Wednesday (highlight: budget-related stuff). MIHS' Legislative summary will also be on the agenda. Like most of us, their primary focus is on the state's budget situation.

- The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, agenda here. It looks pretty mundane thus far, though there is an item to change the length of the terms of the Board President and Secretary from one to two years. After the regular meeting will be an executive session regarding employment of the Chancellor of the District, Rufus Glasper. There have been issues of contention between the Chancellor and certain board members, so this particular exec session could be one that most MCCCD observers wish was a public session. Look for public fallout from this meeting to reach an agenda in June.

- The City Councils of Tempe and Scottsdale aren't scheduled to hold regular meetings this week, though Tempe will hold a special meeting on Friday to accept the results from last week's election. Tempe's Council Calendar is here; Scottsdale's Community Meetings Notice is here.

Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona Board of Regents, Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project

Later...

The coming week....

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

Ahhhh...the first lege-free week of the year...ahhhhhhhhhhhh


...In D.C. -

- The House looks to have a relatively quiet week this week. The agenda is very heavy on memorials and congratulations and such, while light on substantive legislation.

- The Senate will continue to consider reform of financial regulations. In addition, the Senate's committee schedule is here. The item of most interest to Arizonans could be Wednesday's hearing of the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. The topic will be "Drug Trafficking Violence in Mexico: Implications for the U.S."

Edit on 5/2 to add: The AZ Republic has an article up documenting that while nativist rhetoric about cross-border violence is up, there hasn't actually been an increase in border-related violence in Arizona.

End edit.


...Back here in Arizona...

- The Arizona Corporation Commission won't be meeting this week, but their hearing schedule is here.

- The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will be meeting on Thursday. Rate-related items and the Navajo Generating Station dominate the agenda this time around. CAP's Public Policy Committee agenda (preceding the full Board meeting) is here.

- The Tempe City Council will have an active week. They will be part of a special meeting on Thursday to seek public comment on and give preliminary approval to Tempe's budget for the coming fiscal year. Budget-related coverage from the AZ Republic here. The agenda for the Council's regular meeting is here. The Council's calendar is here.

- The Scottsdale City Council will be meeting Tuesday. The agenda includes the likely hiring of the City's next future ex-City Manager. AZ Republic coverage here.

Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District.

The Coming Week - Everybody Else Edition

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, and subject to change without notice...

In DC...

...The House's agenda is here. It looks fairly quiet thus far, though H.R. 2499 (Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009) and H.R. 5013 (Implementing Management for Performance and Related Reforms to Obtain Value in Every Acquisition Act of 2010, aka IMPROVE Act) may generate some controversy.

It looks like that after the healthcare reform dust-up earlier this year, the leadership; in the House is going to take it easy on the really controversial stuff.

...Over in the Senate, much of their week will be consumed by consideration of financial regulation overhaul (S. 3217). Call me cynical, but much of the contention on this one seems to be over deciding between faux reform (Senate Ds) and no reform (Senate Rs). The Senate's committee schedule is here.


Here in Arizona...

...The Arizona Corporation Commission is holding a utilities-related meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, agenda here. On Friday, they'll be holding a special open meeting in Globe to solicit public comment on line extension policies of electric utilities.

The ACC's hearing schedule is here.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is meeting this week. Their "informal" meeting on Monday has been cancelled, however, Wednesday's "formal" meeting is still on tap.

...The Citizens Clean Election Commission is meeting on Thursday. No agenda posted as yet.

...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will meet on Tuesday, with an executive session at 5:30 p.m. and the regular session at 6:30 p.m. Agenda here.

...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System is meeting on Wednesday. The executive session agenda is here; regular session agenda here.

...The Tempe City Council isn't meeting this week. Their calendar of events is here.

...The Scottsdale City Council has a regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday and a special meeting scheduled for noon on Friday to interview finalists for the City Manager's position. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.

Not meeting this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project

The coming week - everybody else edition

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

...The post regarding the planned activities of the Arizona Legislature this week is here.

...In D.C., both chambers of Congress will be back in session this week, and should be until the week of Memorial Day at the end of May/beginning of June.

- The House's floor schedule is here. As might be expected during a week where they will be getting back up to speed after two weeks off (and most of a year devoted to health care reform), the schedule is kind of light. Only one bill looks like it might generate some serious controversy, H.R. 4715, the "Clean Estuaries Act of 2010." It amends the Clean Water Act, and the only "amendment" to that Act that the Rs will accept is a complete repeal. They aren't getting it with this.

- The Senate's website is unavailable at this writing, but they are expected to take up an extension of unemployment benefits, one that expired for hundreds of thousands of Americans due to Republican obstructionism.

...Back here in AZ -

- The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a Securities, Safety, and Utilities meeting on Tuesday. They are holding "special" meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, and Thursday and Friday. Lastly, the ACC's regular hearing schedule is here.

- The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has two regularly scheduled meetings on tap this week. Monday's "informal" session will be focusing on renewable energy contracts for the Jefferson St. Garage and the Downtown Justice Center. Wednesday's "formal" meeting looks to be longer but pretty mundane.

- The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is holding a "work session" on Tuesday evening. The scheduled topic of the meeting is "EFFECTIVE TEACHING & LEARNING – ON-LINE/IN-CLASS/HYBRID?"

- The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a rate setting workshop for its customers on Thursday. Preliminary rate schedule here.

- The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week. The Council's Calendar is here.

- The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday. Things look pretty mundane so far. The agenda has been revised to announced the appointment of John Washington to the Channel 11 Programming Commission by Councilman Tony Nelssen. Info on Washington is here. He was a write-in candidate for mayor in 2008 and is acting as the treasurer for Nelssen's reelection committee. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.


Not meeting this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Arizona Board of Regents

The coming week - everybody but the lege edition

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted) and subject to change without notice.

Changing up the order this week (normally, the lege schedule is posted first), because, well, mostly because I feel like it.

Oh, and one of the most interesting events of the week won't be at the lege. :)

On to the post...

...Both chambers of the U.S. Congress are still in recess this week.

...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have any regular meetings scheduled for this week, but it will have a special meeting on energy preparedness for this summer on Thursday and Friday. The ACC's hearing schedule is here. The only item of interest, in fact the only item on the docket this week, is a public comment session on some rate hike proposals from Arizona American Water. If you live in the Anthem Water District, Sun City Water District, Anthem/Agua Fria Wastewater District, Sun City Wastewater District, or Sun City West Wastewater District and do business with AAWC, you may want to attend the meeting in Anthem on Wednesday evening.

...The highlight of the week has to be Monday's special meeting of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to discuss and take action on Andy Thomas' resignation as County Attorney. They are expected to initiate the process for naming an interim CA to replace Thomas in the office.

Expect *lots* of smiles on West Jefferson (where many county offices are located). :)

...The Tempe City Council isn't meeting this week. Their Council Calendar is here.

...The Scottsdale City Council will meet on Tuesday. The agenda includes the City's monthly financial report, issuing the official call for this fall's elections (OK, the primary will be in August, but that's close enough for blogging :) ), and discussion of possible projects to include in the 2010 bond election. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.

An AZ Republic article on the City's proposed budget is here.

...Not meeting this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Boards of Directors of the Central Arizona Project and Maricopa Integrated Health System.

Later...

The coming week - everybody else edition

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

...The schedule of activities at the Arizona Legislature was covered in an earlier post here.

...In D.C., both chambers of Congress are in recess/district work period for a couple of weeks.


...Back here in Arizona...

- The Arizona Corporation Commission has a regularly scheduled utilities meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. The agenda is here. The ACC's hearing schedule is here.

- The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has two regularly scheduled meetings on tap this week.

At Monday's "informal" meeting, the normally quiet agenda has a couple of items of possible controversy - an update and some contractual items regarding the Downtown Court Tower project, and a move to initiate litigation over Sheriff Joe Arpaio's purchase of a really expensive inmate transport bus. AZRepublic coverage of that last item here.

The agenda for Wednesday's "formal" meeting includes an item for a settlement in the case of "Robert Cole v. Maricopa County and Joseph Arpaio."

- The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will meet on Thursday. Its agenda is here; its Public Policy Committee meeting agenda is here.

- The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to hold any regular meetings this week. The Council Calendar of activity is here.

- The Scottsdale City Council isn't scheduled to hold any regular meetings this week. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.

Also not meeting this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Governing Board of Maricopa County Community College District

Later...

The coming week - everybody else edition

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies except where noted, and subject to change without notice...

...In the U.S. House of Representatives, last week is blending into next week as they are still in session even as I write this, working toward a vote on the latest health care reform package. As such, no agenda has been posted online as yet. Once that agenda is posted, expect a quiet week as the members look to recover from this week's exertions.

...Over in the U.S. Senate, a lot of their time will be taken up (presumably, assuming passage by the House) with consideration of a reconciliation bill relating to HCR. On the Senate's committee schedule, there is one item of direct interest to Arizonans - the Armed Services Committee's consideration on Tuesday of the nomination of Katherine Hammack to the post of Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations and Environment. Ms. Hammack is a senior manager at Ernst & Young in Phoenix.


...Back in Arizona...

- The legislature's committee schedule is covered here.

- The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have any full meetings scheduled this week, but their hearing schedule is here.

- The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. No agenda available online as yet.

- The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will meet on Tuesday, with an executive session planned for 5:30 p.m. and a regular meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Agenda here. Looks relatively quiet thus far, though there is one item of interest to political geeks like me - a consent agenda item to participate in a program from First Things First to pay fees at the Children's Learning Center at Gateway Community College for qualifying parents.

The same First Things First that the legislature wants to eliminate.

- The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has two meetings this week. On Monday, there is a special session scheduled, with an executive session component. On Wednesday, there will be a full meeting. The agenda includes consideration of proposed rate changes for services.

- The Tempe City Council will meet on Thursday. The agenda is here, and it includes approval of the results of Tempe's election from two weeks ago. The Council Calendar is here.

- The Scottsdale City Council will meet on Tuesday. First up will be a special meeting devoted to appointments to some of the City's Boards and Commissions. The agenda for the regular meeting includes, as with Tempe, approval of the election results from earlier this month. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.


...Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona Board of Regents, and the Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project.

The Coming Week - Everybody Else Edition

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice...

...In Congress, most of the MSM attention will be on health care reform but there are other matters on the agenda this week.

- In the House of Representatives, their agenda includes many of the usual memorial, congratulatory, building naming and similar "window dressing" motions.

However, there are also a few items that could generate some heat.

- H.R. 4621, the Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act. This one is targeted at groups and organizations that have sent out fundraising mailers that look like official Census documents. Like the GOP.

- H. Con. Res. 248, a privileged resolution by Dennis Kucinich to compel the President to remove American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year. It won't pass, but it will take hours of debate to not pass it. Unless leadership decrees that is should just be tabled. Only the most progressive Democrats will support this one and all Rs will oppose it. Where things could get cute is if there is a move to table the resolution or to refer it to committee, the Rs could vote to keep it on the floor. As a privileged resolution, the measure takes precedence over almost everything else so they will have to deal with it before any other measure (like HCR) can be considered.

- H. Res. 1031, to impeach federal judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana for ethics breaches. More info here.

...The Senate's committee schedule is here.


...Here in Arizona:

...The Arizona Board of Regents will meet on Thursday and Friday at U of A in Tucson. The agenda includes setting tuition and fees (there are other items related to tuition, but the link is the big one).

...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have a full meeting this week. Their hearing schedule is here, however.

...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System don't have a meeting this week, but they are scheduled to be at MIHS' employee picnic on Friday.

...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a joint meeting with the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association on Friday in Phoenix.

...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.

...The Tempe City Council also isn't meeting this week. The Council Calendar for the week is here.

Also not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Election Commission, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

The coming week - the everything but the lege edition

The lege's schedule this week - almost no committee hearings while the lege "focuses" on the budget - has been covered here, in a post at Blog for Arizona.

...As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies except where noted, and subject to change without notice...

In Congress, most of the week will be spent on committee hearings and behind-the-scenes work on health care reform and jobs bills. The short agenda for the House's floor activity mostly covers a number of non-controversial memorial and congratulatory resolutions. Even the one meaningful bill, HR4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (CRS summary here; an AP article on the need for the proposed legislation, via AZCentral.com, here) should pass easily...after the Rs oppose even bringing the measure to the floor, of course (they oppose everything these days, no matter the worthiness of the legislation),

The Senate also has a long committee schedule (media highlight: the Commerce Committee's hearing looking into Toyota's recalls). Floor work may include consideration of the jobs bill recently passed by the House and an extension of the Patriot Act.

...Here in Arizona...

...The Arizona Corporation Commission will be holding a "utilities" meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. The ACC's hearing schedule is here.

...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will be meeting on Thursday in Casa Grande. CAP's Public Policy Committee will also meet on Thursday, as will its Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District & Underground Storage Committee.

...The Tempe City Council is scheduled to meet Thursday evening for a regular meeting (agenda here); earlier on Thursday, they are going to hold a special meeting on balancing the city's budget (agenda here). On Friday, they'll hold an executive session as part of the process of choosing a new City Clerk for Tempe (agenda here). The Council's calendar is here.

...The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday (agenda here). The Council's Community Meeting Notice is here.

Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Maricopa Board of Supervisors, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District (though they have some kind of "retreat" scheduled for Tuesday evening), Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

The coming week - everybody else edition

After a one-week hiatus due to other things needing my attention, it's time for another one of these. A separate post on the activities of the AZ legislature is here.

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

First up: Congress, where they have a short week with nothing scheduled for Monday or expected on Friday, followed by a week of district work next week.

In the U.S. House, the agenda seems to be short, but colorful.

- H.R. 2701, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. This act involves money (even though it is only an "authorization", not an "appropriation") which always means arguments. What is curious is that not only are we well into FY2010 already (and trust me, they've been spending $$$ on "Intelligence" activities), but this bill was introduced last June and not acted upon since then.

Why are they just getting to it now?

- Also on the agenda is an as-yet-unnumbered bill titled the "Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act." I don't have any details on the bill, but if it in any way lives up to the title, expect some serious screaming from the Republicans in the House.

...The Senate's hearing schedule is here. Nothing seems to be specific to Arizona, though hearings on Don't Ask, Don't Tell and global warming (Thursday, though no link is available as of this writing) may generate some interest.

...Back here in AZ, the Arizona Corporation Commission isn't holding any formal meetings this week, but their hearing schedule is here.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has two regularly scheduled meetings this week.

- Monday at 9 a.m., they'll be holding their "informal meeting." The agenda includes the appointment of a state senator for LD6, budget presentations from the various county officials and the judicial branch.

Oh yeah - there's an executive session component, too. No, I'm not shocked by that either.

- Wednesday at 9 a.m., they'll be holding their "formal meeting." Looks pretty mundane so far, but things are sort of fluid with the supes and the Sheriff and County Attorney. Changes to the agenda could happen anytime.

...The Tempe City Council isn't meeting this week, but their Council Calendar is here.

...On Tuesday at 5 p.m., the Scottsdale City Council has a joint meeting with the McDowell Corridor/South Scottsdale Economic Development Task Force, followed by a short agenda Special Meeting. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.

...Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the Boards of Directors of the Central Arizona Project and the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District.

...Later...

Brewer appoints anti-government activist to Arizona Board of Regents

Yesterday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced the appointment of former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Mark Killian to fill a vacancy on the Arizona Board of Regents.

The press release touting the appointment cites as qualfications his speakership and background in real estate sales and landscaping, along with membership on a few advisory and community committees related to ASU and Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

No education management experience at all.

However, that isn't my biggest problem with his appointment - Killian is hardly the first person appointed to such a board with less-than-pristine qualifications.

Nope, my problem with his appointment is the fact that he is a director for the Scottsdale-based anti-government group ORANGE Coalition. It's been fronting for the Goldwater Institute and Arizona American Water in their efforts to rewrite Scottsdale's city charter into a document that elevates corporate interests above residents' interests.

Even Republicans, who are generally most sympathetic to GI's advocacy efforts for its clients, have noticed and are crying foul. (Note: I don't know who is responsible for the content of the website as it seems to be an anonymous one thus far)

Now, I've never met Mr. Killian personally, and he may just be a "name on the letterhead" with ORANGE Coalition, but the state's education system, from K thru grad school, is one of the keys to a viable and sustainable future for Arizona.

It, and the state, need it to be led by people who will fight to enhance it, not fight to undermine the education infrastructure in Arizona.

And, given the available evidence, Mr. Killian should be considered utterly unqualified to be a member of the Arizona Board of Regents.

If you are a student, parent, faculty member, or staff member at one of the state's universities, or just an Arizonan who cares about our future, then write to your state senator (they have to approve executive appointments). Also, write to the members of the Senate Education Committee, the committee where this appointment will probably be assigned (and if your Senator is on the Committee, so much the better.)

Urge them to fully examine Mr. Killian's suitability to be a Regent before casting their votes.

EV Tribune coverage here. There are quotes from Killian in the story, that if he is sincere, make me believe that he might not be horrible in the slot. However, those are just words; his work with ORANGE Coalition are actions.

And we all know the old cliche about what speaks louder.

Later...

The coming week...

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, and subject to change without notice...


...In Congress, it will be a rather brief week due to the President's State of the Union address on Wednesday.

Possibly controversial items on the House's scheduled agenda -

- An as-yet-unnumbered bill titled "Emergency Aid to American Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake Act" from Rep. Charlie Rangel

- An as-yet-unnumbered bill regarding "additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958" from Rep. Nydia Velazquez

There won't be any business conducted in the House on Thursday and Friday so that the House Republicans may meet in an issues conference.

Over in the Senate, they'll be attending the State of the Union address with the members of the House, but before and after that, they'll be conducting business. Their committee schedule is here. There doesn't seem to be anything of specific interest to Arizona this week, though something could crop up.


...The committee schedule for the Arizona legislature was covered in a separate post here. There is one additional meeting to add: the Joint Committee on Capital Review will meet on Tuesday at 8 a.m. in HHR4.


...The Arizona Corporation Commission will be holding a Public Comment Meeting in Litchfield Park on Monday at 6:30 p.m. They will be soliciting public input on a rate increase request from Liberty Water, formerly known at Litchfield Park Service Co. ACC's full hearing schedule is here.


...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. No agenda posted as yet, but expect at least an informal discussion of the recent court ruling outlawing CE's matching funds provisions. (Note: CE is appealing the decision.)


...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will hold an informal meeting on Monday and a formal meeting on Wednesday (agenda available on this page).


...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System will have a busy week -

- An executive session on Monday at 1 p.m.

- A formal meeting on Monday at 3 p.m.

- Another formal meeting on Wednesday at 1 p.m.


...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will meet on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., with an executive session at 5:30 p.m.


...The Tempe City Council's Calendar is here. No formal council meetings are scheduled for this week. However, since last week's meeting was postponed due to the weather issues in the area, it may be rescheduled for this week. Stay tuned.


...The Scottsdale City Council will have a busy Tuesday -

- A 3:30 p.m. Executive Session

- A 4 p.m. Special Meeting on Board and Commission appointments

- A 5 p.m. Regular Meeting, assuming that all will still be running according to schedule.

The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.

On Monday, the City's Charter Review Task Force will be meeting on Monday evening. An AZRepublic preview of the meeting is here.


Not meeting this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project

The Coming Week... - Everybody but the lege edition

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevant political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

...In the halls of Congress, expect developments regarding health care reform, though those could be accelerated/slowed by the results of the special Senate election in Massachusetts.

There are other matters on the agenda, regardless of the outcome in MA.

- - The House agenda has a few items of interest to Arizonans.

- H.R. 725, Indian Arts and Crafts Amendments Act of 2009, sponsored by Rep. Ed Pastor (D-AZ4). CRS summary here. Heard under "suspension of the rules," so a 2/3 vote is required for passage.

- H.R. 1065, White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2009, sponsored by Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ1) and cosponsored by the rest of the Arizona delegation. CRS summary here. Subject to Rules Committee consideration.

- - Over in the Senate, they will be getting back to work on Wednesday. Their committee schedule is here.

Highlights of that list include a Wednesday hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that will look into the failed Christmas Day explosive underwear attack. Former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, the current Secretary of Homeland Security, is scheduled to appear. There will also be a Thursday meeting of the Armed Services Committee to look at the findings of an independent review of the Fort Hood shootings. An FBI press release on the shootings, dated January 15, 2010, here.


...Back here in Arizona, the legislative session is in full swing; their committee schedule for the week was covered in this post.


...The Arizona Corporation Commission isn't meeting this week. Their hearing schedule is here, however.


...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project isn't formally meeting this week, but their Finance, Audit, and Power Committee will meet on Thursday. In addition, they will be holding a Work/Study session on "ADD Water."


...The Tempe City Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday. The agenda is here. The Council Calendar is here.


...The Scottsdale City Council won't formally meet this week. However, they will be part of a joint meeting and dinner with the Tempe City Council at the District 1 Police Station on McKellips Road. That is scheduled for Tuesday evening. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.


...Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona Board of Regents, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District.

The coming week...

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice...

As with last week, the current schedule is a light one due to the holiday on Friday.

...In Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate are in recess until the new year, at which point they will start wrangling over health care reform.

...The Arizona legislature is doing its most beneficial work of the year for the people of AZ this week - no committee hearings, no legislative sessions, no nothing this week. They won't be actively making things worse for Arizonans this week (though some legislators may be making plans for just that during the coming session).

...The Arizona Corporation Commission has no public meetings scheduled this week, though there is a light hearing schedule. Everything seems to be focused on rates for Litchfield Park Service Co. and Global Water-Palo Verde Utilities Co.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a special meeting scheduled for Monday at noon. The agenda includes an executive session component as well as an open meeting component. The highlight of the open meeting portion is the adoption of financial disclosure standards for county elected officials. You know, the kind of stuff that Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas have used to cause so many problems for Supervisor Don Stapley et. al.

MCBOS' 2010 meeting schedule is here. There are already a couple of adjustments - the 1/5/2010 meeting will be held on 1/7 and the 1/13 meeting will be held on 1/12.

...The Tempe City Council isn't meeting this week, though their Council Calendar is here. It's all Insight Bowl-related events.

...The Scottsdale City Council also isn't meeting this week. Their Community Meeting Notice is kind of light - nothing is planned for the week.

...The biggest meeting of the week looks to be AHCCCS' Public Hearing on Governor Brewer's recently-ordered cap on KidsCare enrollment, a hearing that will take place on Tuesday. Full details at this earlier post.

Not meeting at all this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Boards of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System and the Central Arizona Project, the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College System, and the Arizona Board of Regents.

Later...

The coming week...

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted), and subject to change without notice...

This will be a quick post, mostly because almost everybody is on a holiday schedule this week. Meaning that almost nothing will be happening.

...Having said that, let's start off with the highest profile exception to that statement, the U.S. Senate. They'll be in session most of the week, considering health care reform (LA Times). Expectations are that a final vote will be taken by Christmas, meaning that the bill won't go to conference committee until after the new year as the House is adjourned for the holidays. (Actually, there's a session planned for Wednesday, but that seems to be a pro forma session. I'll update if that changes.) The Senate's committee schedule is here; there's only one committee scheduled to meet this week - Judiciary on Thursday.

...Back here in AZ, the Arizona Corporation Commission has a Securities and Utilities meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Agenda here. The ACC's full hearing schedule is here. It's a light one.

...The Arizona Board of Regents isn't meeting this week. However, they are looking for a President of the Board.

...The Tempe City Council isn't meeting this week, but their Council Calendar is here. There's one item on it this week - a holiday open house on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week, but the Community Meeting Notice is here. Summary: there's nothing scheduled this week. You might think that there is a holiday or something coming up. :)

...Everybody else isn't going to meet this week: Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Boards of Directors of the Central Arizona Project and the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona State Legislature.


Have a happy and safe Christmas everybody, even Republicans...and a certain Libertarian commenter! :))

The coming week...

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.


...In the U.S. House, the agenda looks to be pretty non-controversial, with the notable exception of possible consideration of a conference report on H.R. 3326, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010. Anything with that much money attached to it is certain to generate a fuss.

The House is expected (no guarantees on this however) to finish its business for the calendar year by Friday.

...The U.S. Senate will also be in session. Its committee schedule is here. Of interest to Arizonans: An Armed Services Committee hearing considering, among other things, the nominations of AZers Douglas Wilson as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Mary S. Matiella as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller.

Wilson's bio is on this page near the bottom (summary - he's a DLC Dem who spent most of the 1990s working for the Clinton administration); Matiella's bio is part of this article (she's held a number of finance-related positions in government, including for HUD and the Forest Service. She has been appointed to the Audit Subcommittee of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board.)

...Back here in Arizona, the intersession makework schedule seems to be nearing its end.

- On Tuesday, the House Study Committee on Sentencing will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR5.

- Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Capital Review will meet in SHR109 at 1 p.m. and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) will meet at 2 p.m in the same room. Both agendas contain an executive session component on private prisons. The item language on the respective agendas differs slightly so they may or may not pertain to the same matter. Either way, they address sending public money to private corporations that exist to profit from incarceration.

No sign of a special session. There were rumors that one more would develop before the end of the month, but that doesn't seem likely at this point. Things could change Monday morning, but... :)

...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday. The agenda of that "utilities" meeting is here. Its hearing calendar is here.

...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday. Agenda here.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an "informal" meeting scheduled for Monday, agenda here. The highlight of this one is the presentation and discussion regarding adoption of financial disclosure standards for County elected officials.

Whatever comes out of this one, you can be sure that Andrew Thomas and Joe Arpaio a) won't like it, and b) won't think it applies to themselves.

The supes have a "formal" meeting scheduled for Wednesday, agenda here.

...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District looks to have a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday night, at least according an item on the previous meeting's agenda. I can't find an agenda for a meeting this week, though a phone call to the district on Monday morning should definitively confirm/refute the existence of a special meeting.

...The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week; the Council Calendar is here.

...The Scottsdale City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week; the Community Meeting Notice is here. The highlights of that are a meeting of the Charter Review Task Force on Monday and a meeting of the City Manager Recruitment Ad Hoc Committee on Tuesday (members: Mayor Lane and Council members Littlefield and McCullagh).

Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Boards of Directors of the Central Arizona Project and Maricopa Integrated Health System.

Later...

The coming week....

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted) and subject to change without notice.

...This should be the last "busy" week of the year as most political bodies try to get a month's work into the first two weeks of that month.


...In the U.S. House, the agenda includes the as-yet-unnumbered Tax Extenders of 2009 act some info here; it looks to be a bill to extend some tax relief for charitable contributions, alternative fuels development and more. Also on the agenda is H.R. 4173, The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009. CBO summary here. House Rules hearing on Tuesday.

This will pass the House but the Republicans will absolutely hate it, and enough Senate Dems (Baucus, Schumer, Lincoln, etc.) could cross over on this one and block it from passing the Senate or at least balk enough to remove any teeth from this bill.

...The Senate will continue to consider health care reform. They have hundreds of obstructions amendments proposed by the Rs to slog through. Other than that, the Senate's committee schedule is here. Perhaps of greatest interest to Arizonans is Wednesday's hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. There, they will consider a number of executive branch nominations, including that of Phoenix's P. David Lopez as general counsel (chief lawyer) for the EEOC. Lopez' statement from a November hearing is here. Lopez is an ASU alum and has worked for the EEOC since 1994, primarily as a trial attorney.

...Back here in Arizona, the Legislature's makework schedule is abating somewhat.

- On Monday, Sen. Sylvia "6000 years" Allen's Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR1.

- Also on Monday, the Ad Hoc Committee on Agriculture Regulations will meet at 1 p.m. in HHR1.

Look for these to be industry lobby-fests, and nothing more.

- Still on Monday, the Senate's Committee on Natural Resources, Infrastucture, and Public Debt will meet at 2:30 p.m. in SHR109 to discuss the state of the state's finances with JLBC and State Treasurer Dean Martin.

Look for this to be a combination bashfest (blaming Democrats for everything) and stump speech/posturing by unofficial candidate for governor Martin.

- In other lege news, House Democrats is inviting the public to legislative issue and advocacy forums in Tucson (Monday), Yuma (Tuesday), and Sierra Vista (Wednesday.) There will be more opportunities to meet with legislators about the state's budget issues and learn how to make their voices heard on West Washington.

...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to hold a special open meeting on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday concerning resource planning/rulemaking and APS' permanent rates. ACC's complete hearing schedule is here.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has special meetings scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

Monday's agenda is devoted hearing a presentation on the issues facing the County in the next five years and strategic planning.

Tuesday's agenda isn't posted yet, but an executive session regarding the latest litigation spawned by Joe Arpaio and Andy Thomas is well within the realm of possibility.


,,,The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System will hold a special meeting Monday afternoon. The agenda includes both executive and open session components regarding assignment of contracts from MedPro to the newly-formed District Medical Group.


...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will meet on Tuesday. The agenda includes an executive session at 5:30 p.m. and a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. The current agenda looks to be pretty mundane, though there will be special meetings on Wednesday (5:00 p.m.) and next Tuesday (6:30 p.m.) and officer elections in January, all of which promise to be interesting.


...The Tempe City Council will meet on Thursday. The Council's Calendar is here.


...The Scottsdale City Council will meet on Tuesday. The regular meeting agenda includes the appointment of a new City Attorney while the agenda for the executive session (planned for 2 p.m.) includes items regarding discussion of and legal advice pertaining to the acquisition of real property, including assets of Arizona American Water within Scottsdale. More on that last in a later post.

Scottsdale's Community Meeting Notice is here.


...Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona Board of Regents, the Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project.