As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevant political bodies/agencies, and subject to change without notice...
In terms of *official* activity, this is going to be one of the quietest weeks of the year so far.
...At the federal level, both the U.S. House and Senate are in recess. Expect most of the news in regard to congresscritters to be reports of teabaggers disrupting public appearances of elected officials, or, as in the cases of AZ's Harry Mitchell (closed office) and Gabrielle Giffords (public showing of a movie by another organization), teabaggers showing up where they know that the public officials *won't* be and complaining that the officials are "ducking" them. Note: I won't provide free publicity via direct links; this is a recurring theme in the Republican blogosphere. It won't take much digging to find the posts.
...The heaviest action could be at the Arizona Legislature. The speculation is that the lege, specifically the Senate, will conduct budget business on Monday. This week, they're trying a new tactic - splitting the tax package into two bills.
One bill will have the referral of a temporary increase to the state's sales tax in it; the other will have the huge cuts in taxes targetted to benefit corporations and the wealthy.
The Republican leadership in the Senate hopes that the scheme will persuade those who have voted against the referral to vote for the cuts, and that those who have voted against the cuts will vote for the referral.
On Friday, the Senate referred two bills, HB2007 and HB2015, to the Appropriations Committee. No Approps agenda has been posted as yet, but look for action on those bills and more on Monday.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission is holding a securities meeting on Thursday at 10 a.m. The agenda is a short one, though significant to those folks who are involved.
...That looks to be it for planned public meetings.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Boards of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System and the Central Arizona Project, and the City Councils of Tempe and Scottsdale.
While none of the aforementioned is scheduled to meet this week, emergency executive sessions are always possible, especially with the Scottsdale City Council and the County Board of Supervisors.
Showing posts with label ABOR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ABOR. Show all posts
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Sunday, August 02, 2009
The coming week...
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevant political bodies/agencies and subject to change without notice...
...In a move that is certain to brighten the days of Thane and certain other readers ( :-) ), the U. S. House of Representatives is on their "district work period" and is not in session until September 8, 2009.
...However, the U.S. Senate is still in session this week. Look for a vote on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.
...The Arizona State Legislature is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Your guess is as good as mine on whether or not they're going to actually accomplish anything this week. One thing is certain though - if they finally do get their act together, any budget they pass is most likely to be punitive, not professional.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an informal session scheduled for Monday at 9:15 a.m. The agenda is a sparse one, but unsurprisingly, it includes yet another executive session. At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, they've got a formal session scheduled. The agenda for that one is much longer, but looks to be pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will be holding a series of public comment meetings regarding proposed rate hikes for APS and UNS Gas. Up this week: Flagstaff on Monday and Prescott on Thursday. The full hearings schedule is here; no formal ACC meetings are scheduled this week.
...The Arizona Board of Regents is scheduled to meet on Thursday and Friday at ASU in Tempe. The agenda is here. One of the highlights is ABOR approval of a multi-year contract for ASU basketball coach Herb Sendek (hint: coaching D1 college hoops is a lucrative field :) ). There will also be a presentation on the activities of the legislature this year. For numbers geeks, ABOR will consider, and likely approve, an item regarding the FY2010 State Expenditure Authority.
Of interest to students, prospective students, and their parents will be an item to move the Board's tuition setting calendar back to the spring. A few years back, the tuition setting process was moved to the fall to allow students more time to prepare financially.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a regular meeting on Thursday at 10 a.m. The agenda is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, and the City Councils of Tempe and Scottsdale.
Later...
...In a move that is certain to brighten the days of Thane and certain other readers ( :-) ), the U. S. House of Representatives is on their "district work period" and is not in session until September 8, 2009.
...However, the U.S. Senate is still in session this week. Look for a vote on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.
...The Arizona State Legislature is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Your guess is as good as mine on whether or not they're going to actually accomplish anything this week. One thing is certain though - if they finally do get their act together, any budget they pass is most likely to be punitive, not professional.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an informal session scheduled for Monday at 9:15 a.m. The agenda is a sparse one, but unsurprisingly, it includes yet another executive session. At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, they've got a formal session scheduled. The agenda for that one is much longer, but looks to be pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will be holding a series of public comment meetings regarding proposed rate hikes for APS and UNS Gas. Up this week: Flagstaff on Monday and Prescott on Thursday. The full hearings schedule is here; no formal ACC meetings are scheduled this week.
...The Arizona Board of Regents is scheduled to meet on Thursday and Friday at ASU in Tempe. The agenda is here. One of the highlights is ABOR approval of a multi-year contract for ASU basketball coach Herb Sendek (hint: coaching D1 college hoops is a lucrative field :) ). There will also be a presentation on the activities of the legislature this year. For numbers geeks, ABOR will consider, and likely approve, an item regarding the FY2010 State Expenditure Authority.
Of interest to students, prospective students, and their parents will be an item to move the Board's tuition setting calendar back to the spring. A few years back, the tuition setting process was moved to the fall to allow students more time to prepare financially.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a regular meeting on Thursday at 10 a.m. The agenda is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, and the City Councils of Tempe and Scottsdale.
Later...
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The coming week...
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, and subject to change without notice...
...In the U.S House of Representatives this week, the agenda is again a full one, and again, most of the bills up for consideration are pretty mundane.
Of course, again there are a couple of nuggets that will generate some serious conflict.
- H.R. 1035, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Amendments Act of 2009, sponsored by AZ's Raul Grijalva and cosponsored by the other four Democratic members of AZ's delegation, Ann Kirkpatrick, Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, and Ed Pastor.
- H.R. 3326, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010. Lots of money, lots of arguments. Jeff Flake alone plans to file 540 amendments to this bill.
H.R. 3326 is scheduled for a Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday at 3 p.m. (noon AZ time).
- H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009. CRS summary here. This one could have the effect of limiting some of the more outrageous executive compensation packages that were seen at the height of the economic bubble and that some corporations are itching to bring back.
...Over in the U.S. Senate, they'll be starting the week with floor consideration of H.R. 3183,"appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies." Various committees will be considering other budget bills during the week. Also, there will be continuing consideration of Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.
In addition to all that, expect more hubbub over President Obama's health care reform plan.
...Back here in the AZ lege, the never-ending session is, well, not ending. Not this week, anyway. They are scheduled to meet this week, but thus far the plans seem to include only a prayer and a pledge. The rooms where the deals are made may no longer be "smoke-filled" (since smoking in public buildings is illegal), but closed doors are even less transparent. It's looking more and more like they're going to futz around until the last possible moment, then engage in a round of panic cutting in order to balance the rest of the budget.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in Phoenix. The agenda is a full one. Hearing schedule here.
...The Governing Board for the Maricopa County Community College District will meet on Tuesday for an executive session at 5:30 p.m. and a regular meeting at 6:30. The agenda is long and mostly boring. There is a monitoring report on the District's budget status that might be a little interesting, and a contract award for management consulting services too, but that seems to be it thus far.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is scheduled to meet at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. No agenda posted yet.
...The political highlight of the week, at least in Central AZ, seems to be the trial of State Senator John Huppenthal on Wednesday. It is scheduled to be at 8 a.m. in the San Marcos Justice Court, but it is highly likely that it will take place in another courtroom in that building (there are four Justice Courts in that one building) as Huppenthal and his attorney have waived a jury trial in their case but there is a jury trial scheduled for that specific courtroom that day. If you are a total geek and plan to go watch the trial, get there a little early and inquire as to which courtroom the case has been assigned.
The incident that merited the charges pertain to some shenanigans on Election Day last November that involved tampering with some political signs critical of him and a confrontation/assault with an elderly Democratic activist.
All charges are misdemeanors (hence the assignment of the case to a justice court) and will result in no more than a slap on the wrist, even if he is convicted.
Background on the Huppenthal matter from Ray Stern of the Phoenix New Times here.
Thus far, the Arizona Board of Regents, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the Boards of Directors of the Central Arizona Project and the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the City Councils of Scottsdale and Tempe are not scheduled to meet this week.
...In the U.S House of Representatives this week, the agenda is again a full one, and again, most of the bills up for consideration are pretty mundane.
Of course, again there are a couple of nuggets that will generate some serious conflict.
- H.R. 1035, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Amendments Act of 2009, sponsored by AZ's Raul Grijalva and cosponsored by the other four Democratic members of AZ's delegation, Ann Kirkpatrick, Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, and Ed Pastor.
- H.R. 3326, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010. Lots of money, lots of arguments. Jeff Flake alone plans to file 540 amendments to this bill.
H.R. 3326 is scheduled for a Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday at 3 p.m. (noon AZ time).
- H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009. CRS summary here. This one could have the effect of limiting some of the more outrageous executive compensation packages that were seen at the height of the economic bubble and that some corporations are itching to bring back.
...Over in the U.S. Senate, they'll be starting the week with floor consideration of H.R. 3183,"appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies." Various committees will be considering other budget bills during the week. Also, there will be continuing consideration of Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.
In addition to all that, expect more hubbub over President Obama's health care reform plan.
...Back here in the AZ lege, the never-ending session is, well, not ending. Not this week, anyway. They are scheduled to meet this week, but thus far the plans seem to include only a prayer and a pledge. The rooms where the deals are made may no longer be "smoke-filled" (since smoking in public buildings is illegal), but closed doors are even less transparent. It's looking more and more like they're going to futz around until the last possible moment, then engage in a round of panic cutting in order to balance the rest of the budget.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in Phoenix. The agenda is a full one. Hearing schedule here.
...The Governing Board for the Maricopa County Community College District will meet on Tuesday for an executive session at 5:30 p.m. and a regular meeting at 6:30. The agenda is long and mostly boring. There is a monitoring report on the District's budget status that might be a little interesting, and a contract award for management consulting services too, but that seems to be it thus far.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is scheduled to meet at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. No agenda posted yet.
...The political highlight of the week, at least in Central AZ, seems to be the trial of State Senator John Huppenthal on Wednesday. It is scheduled to be at 8 a.m. in the San Marcos Justice Court, but it is highly likely that it will take place in another courtroom in that building (there are four Justice Courts in that one building) as Huppenthal and his attorney have waived a jury trial in their case but there is a jury trial scheduled for that specific courtroom that day. If you are a total geek and plan to go watch the trial, get there a little early and inquire as to which courtroom the case has been assigned.
The incident that merited the charges pertain to some shenanigans on Election Day last November that involved tampering with some political signs critical of him and a confrontation/assault with an elderly Democratic activist.
All charges are misdemeanors (hence the assignment of the case to a justice court) and will result in no more than a slap on the wrist, even if he is convicted.
Background on the Huppenthal matter from Ray Stern of the Phoenix New Times here.
Thus far, the Arizona Board of Regents, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the Boards of Directors of the Central Arizona Project and the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the City Councils of Scottsdale and Tempe are not scheduled to meet this week.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The coming week...
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevant political bodies/agencies and subject to change without notice...
...The U.S. House of Representatives will continue its job of cobbling together a federal budget this week. On its agenda: H.R. 3170, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2010 and H.R. [no number assigned yet], the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010.
That last will be sponsored by AZ's Ed Pastor (D-CD4).
...While those bills will be sure to generate a lot of debate, the highlight of the D.C. week will be over in the Senate.
At 10 a.m. (EDT) on Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its hearing on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Look for one of AZ's own, Sen. Jon Kyl, to lead the Republican opposition to the first Hispanic woman nominated to the Court.
...In the Arizona legislature, no floor schedule has been posted yet. However, this week's session of the Special Session is expected to be pro forma. That means that the "plan" for both chambers is a prayer, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, utter a few comments, and get the hell out ofDodge the Phoenix heat.
The only sign of movement is in bill introductions - in the Senate, John Huppenthal has introduced 3 vehicle bills and 2 vehicle referendum proposals (aka - "technical correction" proposals); in the House, no new bills have been posted so far.
In other words, there *could* be some progress on dealing with the state's deficit this week, but it doesn't seem likely at this point.
Note: At 9:30 a.m. Monday on the Senate lawn, the AZ Senate Democrats and the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers will hold a press conference and rally to protest plans to privatize Arizona's prisons.
...The Arizona Board of Regents' Capital Committee will hold an executive session meeting on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The guts of that agenda -
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will hold a special/executive meeting on Wednesday at 10 a.m. No agenda posted yet, though some of the MCBOS' legal tribulations are sure to be on the docket for the executive session.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will hold an RFP Advisory Committee meeting on Monday at 2 p.m.
The highlight (in fact, the only "light") of that agenda -
...The Arizona Corporation Commission, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Boards of Directors for the Central Arizona Project and the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the Tempe and Scottsdale City Councils are not scheduled to meet this week.
Later...
...The U.S. House of Representatives will continue its job of cobbling together a federal budget this week. On its agenda: H.R. 3170, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2010 and H.R. [no number assigned yet], the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010.
That last will be sponsored by AZ's Ed Pastor (D-CD4).
...While those bills will be sure to generate a lot of debate, the highlight of the D.C. week will be over in the Senate.
At 10 a.m. (EDT) on Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its hearing on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Look for one of AZ's own, Sen. Jon Kyl, to lead the Republican opposition to the first Hispanic woman nominated to the Court.
...In the Arizona legislature, no floor schedule has been posted yet. However, this week's session of the Special Session is expected to be pro forma. That means that the "plan" for both chambers is a prayer, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, utter a few comments, and get the hell out of
The only sign of movement is in bill introductions - in the Senate, John Huppenthal has introduced 3 vehicle bills and 2 vehicle referendum proposals (aka - "technical correction" proposals); in the House, no new bills have been posted so far.
In other words, there *could* be some progress on dealing with the state's deficit this week, but it doesn't seem likely at this point.
Note: At 9:30 a.m. Monday on the Senate lawn, the AZ Senate Democrats and the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers will hold a press conference and rally to protest plans to privatize Arizona's prisons.
...The Arizona Board of Regents' Capital Committee will hold an executive session meeting on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The guts of that agenda -
It is anticipated that the Board may vote to convene in Executive Session, in accordance with A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3), (4), and (7) for the purposes of discussing and seeking legal advice regarding real property transactions: a) forAlpha Drive properties at the ASU Tempe Campus; b) The Towers on the ASU Tempe Campus; and c) Cholla Housing Facilities on the ASU Tempe Campus.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will hold a special/executive meeting on Wednesday at 10 a.m. No agenda posted yet, though some of the MCBOS' legal tribulations are sure to be on the docket for the executive session.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will hold an RFP Advisory Committee meeting on Monday at 2 p.m.
The highlight (in fact, the only "light") of that agenda -
C. Presentations from the three finalists for RFP # 2906-1 Management Consulting Services for MCCCD to the RFP Committee.
1. Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services2. Huron Consulting
3. MGT of America
...The Arizona Corporation Commission, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Boards of Directors for the Central Arizona Project and the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the Tempe and Scottsdale City Councils are not scheduled to meet this week.
Later...
Sunday, July 05, 2009
The coming week...
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevant political bodies/agencies, and subject to change without notice...
...Top billing this week goes to the Arizona Legislature, who are scheduled to gather in special session to address the continuing budget. The session is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Monday. More details in this story from AZCentral.com.
No budget bills (only vehicle bills that can be amended later into budget bills), floor calendars, or committee schedules have been posted as of 10:45 a.m. on Sunday.
...The U.S. House is back in session on Tuesday, and it has one thing in common with the AZ lege - most of its week will be consumed by budget work. Unlike AZ however, we're not past the start of the new fiscal year without a budget, so it's not all they will be working on.
Among the items on the agenda -
H.R. 1511, the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2009
H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009
H.R. 2701, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010
H.R. 2997, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
H.R. 3081, the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2010
Possible consideration of H.R. 3082, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010
The bills listed, whether actual appropriations measures or simply authorization bills, are all money bills, and will be subject to proposed amendments and earmarks (from both parties) and a likely attempt from Jeff Flake to bar earmarks.
H.Rs. 2965, 2997, 3081, and 3082 are expected to have hearings before the House Rules Committee this week, where amendment proposals will be made in order for floor consideration.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission has an open meeting scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. The agenda is a brief one, with two securities-related items, and two items related to linesitings (utilities.)
...This is a quiet period for goverment bodies in AZ - the Arizona Board of Regents, Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Tempe City Council, and Scottsdale City Council are not scheduled to meet this week.
In fact, the CAP Board and both City Councils are not scheduled at all in July. Neither is the Arizona Board of Regents, but one of their committees, the Capital Committee, is scheduled to meet next week.
...Top billing this week goes to the Arizona Legislature, who are scheduled to gather in special session to address the continuing budget. The session is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Monday. More details in this story from AZCentral.com.
No budget bills (only vehicle bills that can be amended later into budget bills), floor calendars, or committee schedules have been posted as of 10:45 a.m. on Sunday.
...The U.S. House is back in session on Tuesday, and it has one thing in common with the AZ lege - most of its week will be consumed by budget work. Unlike AZ however, we're not past the start of the new fiscal year without a budget, so it's not all they will be working on.
Among the items on the agenda -
H.R. 1511, the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2009
H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009
H.R. 2701, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010
H.R. 2997, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
H.R. 3081, the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2010
Possible consideration of H.R. 3082, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010
The bills listed, whether actual appropriations measures or simply authorization bills, are all money bills, and will be subject to proposed amendments and earmarks (from both parties) and a likely attempt from Jeff Flake to bar earmarks.
H.Rs. 2965, 2997, 3081, and 3082 are expected to have hearings before the House Rules Committee this week, where amendment proposals will be made in order for floor consideration.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission has an open meeting scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. The agenda is a brief one, with two securities-related items, and two items related to linesitings (utilities.)
...This is a quiet period for goverment bodies in AZ - the Arizona Board of Regents, Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Tempe City Council, and Scottsdale City Council are not scheduled to meet this week.
In fact, the CAP Board and both City Councils are not scheduled at all in July. Neither is the Arizona Board of Regents, but one of their committees, the Capital Committee, is scheduled to meet next week.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The coming week - everybody but the AZ lege edition
As usual, all info culled from the websites of the respective political bodies and agencies and subject to change without notice.
...The U.S. House has an agenda this week that is dominated numerically by memorials and post office namings and the like, but the debate is likely to be dominated by money issues.
Among the items to be considered -
- H.R. 2661, the Court Security Enhancement Act of 2009. Proposed by Texas Republican Louie Gohmert, it changes the penalty for violations of Title 18, section 119 from 5 years to 10 years.
- H.R. 403, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009. Seeks to improve veterans' access to HUD programs and homeless assistance programs.
- H.R. 1674, National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009. From the CRS summary - "National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009 - Amends the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act to declare that a nonprofit corporation (established to succeed the abolished Office of Self-Help Development and Technical Assistance) shall be deemed to be a community development financial institution, unless the National Consumer Cooperative Bank or any of its affiliates participates in certain depository institution incentives under the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994."
- Yet again, possible consideration of the conference report for H.R. 2346, the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act.
- H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 and H.R. [Unknown], the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010.
There are 23 other measures on the current agenda, but these last two should generate more controversy and debate than all of those others combined.
...Moving the focus to central AZ...
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an informal meeting scheduled for Monday that is mostly employee service awards, but there is an executive session scheduled to be part of the agenda for that meeting. They have a formal meeting scheduled for Wednesday. That agenda is long, but it looks to be boring.
OK, maybe not so boring to political/government ops geeks -
Item 35 is a hiring freeze for the coming fiscal year;
Item 36 is a capital purchasing freeze for the same period;
Item 40 is the premium pay rates schedule applicable to county employees for the same period;
Items 42 and 43 involve all sorts of fund transfers;
Item 86 is an appeal of a trial court ruling in the case of Braillard v. Maricopa County (background here)
Items F-3 and F-4 are the FY2009-2010 hiring freeze and capital purchasing freeze for the flood control district;
Items L-4 and L-5 are the same, but for the county library district;
Items S-4 and S-5 are the same, for the stadium district.
Yup, they're getting ready for an ugly fiscal year.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has cancelled the meeting that it had scheduled for June 18.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will be meeting at NAU on Thursday and Friday. Items of interest include approval of a five-year contract for Sean Miller, UA's new men's basketball coach ($1.6 million/year), approval of a contract extension for Clinton Myers, ASU's Softball coach ($104K/year), and approval of the reappointment of and new contract with Dr. John Haeger, the President of NAU (no $alary listed).
Ummm...why aren't they publishing the NAU president's salary? And while the variance between the salaries of the basketball coach and the softball coach are eye-opening (which one has won a championship recently and sees most of his players graduate? Hint: not the higher-paid one.), at least the money for the hoops guy comes out of Athletic Department revenues, not ABOR.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System and the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District are not scheduled to meet this week. The Tempe City Council and the Directors of the Central Arizona Project aren't meeting, either.
...The Scottsdale City Council is meeting on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The agenda there includes setting the FY2009/2010 property tax levees (combined rate of 0.74/$100 of valuation, a reduction of .06); setting the FY2009/2010 streetlight property tax levees (the city's 355 street light districts will each have different rates, depending on the circumstances of each district); and Mayor Jim Lane's proposal for the City of Scottsdale to withdraw from Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (aka light rail).
Of interest to political geeks is the .pdf of the legislative update to be presented to the city council by Scottsdale's Intergovernmental Relations Director, Bridget Schwartz-Manock. It includes a municipalities'-eye view of the state budget mess and presents a legal opinion (from an attorney at Perkin, Coie, Brown and Bain) that at least one part of the Republicans' scheme to balance the state's budget with municipal revenue is either illegal, or needs a 2/3 majority to vote for it in each chamber of the lege. It's couched in that CYA-sort of attorney-speak that protects the attorney in the event that a judge disagrees with the opinion, but that's the basic meaning.
AKA - a little light reading to start your week. :))
Note: if COS pulls the full lege update from its website, leave your email in a comment. I'll send you a copy.
...Folks, we're getting closer to the opening of the freak show known as "Fiscal Year 2010 - Arizona Edition." It's scheduled to start on July 1st, but with legislative shenanigans (such as playing "budget chicken" with the Governor) and court cases looming on the horizon, this pre-show could have an extended engagement.
Later...
...The U.S. House has an agenda this week that is dominated numerically by memorials and post office namings and the like, but the debate is likely to be dominated by money issues.
Among the items to be considered -
- H.R. 2661, the Court Security Enhancement Act of 2009. Proposed by Texas Republican Louie Gohmert, it changes the penalty for violations of Title 18, section 119 from 5 years to 10 years.
- H.R. 403, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2009. Seeks to improve veterans' access to HUD programs and homeless assistance programs.
- H.R. 1674, National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009. From the CRS summary - "National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act Amendments of 2009 - Amends the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act to declare that a nonprofit corporation (established to succeed the abolished Office of Self-Help Development and Technical Assistance) shall be deemed to be a community development financial institution, unless the National Consumer Cooperative Bank or any of its affiliates participates in certain depository institution incentives under the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994."
- Yet again, possible consideration of the conference report for H.R. 2346, the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act.
- H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 and H.R. [Unknown], the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010.
There are 23 other measures on the current agenda, but these last two should generate more controversy and debate than all of those others combined.
...Moving the focus to central AZ...
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an informal meeting scheduled for Monday that is mostly employee service awards, but there is an executive session scheduled to be part of the agenda for that meeting. They have a formal meeting scheduled for Wednesday. That agenda is long, but it looks to be boring.
OK, maybe not so boring to political/government ops geeks -
Item 35 is a hiring freeze for the coming fiscal year;
Item 36 is a capital purchasing freeze for the same period;
Item 40 is the premium pay rates schedule applicable to county employees for the same period;
Items 42 and 43 involve all sorts of fund transfers;
Item 86 is an appeal of a trial court ruling in the case of Braillard v. Maricopa County (background here)
Items F-3 and F-4 are the FY2009-2010 hiring freeze and capital purchasing freeze for the flood control district;
Items L-4 and L-5 are the same, but for the county library district;
Items S-4 and S-5 are the same, for the stadium district.
Yup, they're getting ready for an ugly fiscal year.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has cancelled the meeting that it had scheduled for June 18.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will be meeting at NAU on Thursday and Friday. Items of interest include approval of a five-year contract for Sean Miller, UA's new men's basketball coach ($1.6 million/year), approval of a contract extension for Clinton Myers, ASU's Softball coach ($104K/year), and approval of the reappointment of and new contract with Dr. John Haeger, the President of NAU (no $alary listed).
Ummm...why aren't they publishing the NAU president's salary? And while the variance between the salaries of the basketball coach and the softball coach are eye-opening (which one has won a championship recently and sees most of his players graduate? Hint: not the higher-paid one.), at least the money for the hoops guy comes out of Athletic Department revenues, not ABOR.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System and the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District are not scheduled to meet this week. The Tempe City Council and the Directors of the Central Arizona Project aren't meeting, either.
...The Scottsdale City Council is meeting on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The agenda there includes setting the FY2009/2010 property tax levees (combined rate of 0.74/$100 of valuation, a reduction of .06); setting the FY2009/2010 streetlight property tax levees (the city's 355 street light districts will each have different rates, depending on the circumstances of each district); and Mayor Jim Lane's proposal for the City of Scottsdale to withdraw from Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (aka light rail).
Of interest to political geeks is the .pdf of the legislative update to be presented to the city council by Scottsdale's Intergovernmental Relations Director, Bridget Schwartz-Manock. It includes a municipalities'-eye view of the state budget mess and presents a legal opinion (from an attorney at Perkin, Coie, Brown and Bain) that at least one part of the Republicans' scheme to balance the state's budget with municipal revenue is either illegal, or needs a 2/3 majority to vote for it in each chamber of the lege. It's couched in that CYA-sort of attorney-speak that protects the attorney in the event that a judge disagrees with the opinion, but that's the basic meaning.
AKA - a little light reading to start your week. :))
Note: if COS pulls the full lege update from its website, leave your email in a comment. I'll send you a copy.
...Folks, we're getting closer to the opening of the freak show known as "Fiscal Year 2010 - Arizona Edition." It's scheduled to start on July 1st, but with legislative shenanigans (such as playing "budget chicken" with the Governor) and court cases looming on the horizon, this pre-show could have an extended engagement.
Later...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The coming week...
As usual, all info culled from the websites of the relevant political bodies and agencies and subject to change without notice...
...The U.S. Congress is on recess for the Memorial Day week. They'll gavel back into session next week.
...The AZ Legislature may be making up for that though. The "special" session to save Steve Yarbrough's STO will take up much of the lege's attention on Tuesday, and there are sure to be developments on the budget front (just no guarantees that there will be, you know, a budget passed.
On Tuesday, House Ways and Means (10 a.m., HHR1), House Rules (1:05 p.m.,HHR4) and Senate Appropriations (2 p.m., SHR109) will all be meeting in regard to the special session's SB1001 and HB2001. No floor schedule for either chamber is posted as yet, but quick passage is expected.
Note: Yarbrough sits on both of those House committees, and serves as vice chair of the Rules Committee.
Note2: Sen. Jack Harper has proposed SB1002, a bill to have the state, nearly-bankrupt that is it, pay for a special election for a constitutional amendment (SCR1001) to crack open the state constitution's prohibition against appropriating public money for religious purposes or private or sectarian schools.
The proposal would create an exception for monies to school programs that provide "PRIVATE SCHOOL TUITION TO PUPILS WITH DISABILITIES AND PUPILS WHO HAVE BEEN IN FOSTER CARE." (Their caps, not mine.)
The amendment was proposed by Harper and cosponsored by Sen. John Huppenthal, the man who wants to be the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
- Most regular session activity looks to be in the House.
On Tuesday, House Health and Human Services is meeting at 9:30 a.m. in HHR4 and House Rules is meeting on at 1 p.m., also in HHR4. The highlight/lowlight of those should be HHS's consideration of Rep. Nancy Barto's striker to HCR2014. Her striker is a constitutional amendment to protect corporate-controlled health care. It's very similar in nature to a proposal that Congressman John Shadegg sponsored during the last session of Congress.
Some may question my characterization of the measure's purpose (protect corporate health care profits), but Barto has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday. There will be four guests - three fromcorporate shill "free market" think tanks (Pacific Research Institute, Goldwater Institute, and the American Legislative Exchange Council) and just one doctor. And if that 3-1 ratio of corporatists to medical professionals doesn't convince you that Barto's primary concern is something other than the best interests of Arizonans in general and her constituents in particular, that doctor is an author for one of the shill groups.
In House floor action, there is a COW agenda and a Third Reading Calendar (aka final passage through the House) posted. The most controversial measure on those appears to be another corporate-defense measure, this one sponsored by Rep. Jim Weiers. HB2610 would make it significantly more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in product and civil liability cases. This one came up earlier this month for COW consideration but was held at the time.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission is meeting on Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m.
...The Board of Directors for the Central Arizona Project are not meeting this week.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors isn't scheduled to meet this week, but that is usually subject to change. And probably will be for the duration of the various lawsuits involving the supes against the sheriff, county attorney, and even the county treasurer.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will have a busy week, with a regular meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and special meetings on Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Among the items on the agenda for the regular meeting on Tuesday: a motion to approve a 10 year contract with a company to operate the district's bookstores. A comparison of self-operated vs. contract-managed bookstores here. One of the issues considered was the rising cost of textbooks.
The 10 a.m. meeting on Friday is an executive session meeting for the "discussion or consideration of employment of chancellor" and to seek legal advice regarding the same. It looks like standard annual evaluation stuff, but I'm not on the District's confidential email list, so it could easily be something else entirely.
The 1 p.m. meeting concerns the search for a vendor of management consulting services for the district. No links or details online, which is somewhat curious, given that MCCCD is usually pretty good about making this stuff available. More details later if they become available.
...The Governing Board for the Maricopa Integrated Health System is meeting on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m and 1 p.m.
The early meeting is an executive session regarding "Retention of One or More Lawyers or Law Firms to Provide Legal Services to the Board." What is it about county entities and the need for the services of lawyers? :)
The later meeting is a regular meeting, covering the April financial report, medical and allied health staff appointments, strategic planning, and budget stuff.
...The Citizens Clean Election Commission isn't meeting this week.
...The Arizona Board of Regents isn't meeting this week.
...The Tempe City Council will be meeting on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The agenda looks packed but mundane, filled with things like final plat approvals and service contract awards. There will also be an executive session concerning litigation/contracts regarding billboards, purchase of real property, and negotiations with employee organizations.
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week.
Later...
...The U.S. Congress is on recess for the Memorial Day week. They'll gavel back into session next week.
...The AZ Legislature may be making up for that though. The "special" session to save Steve Yarbrough's STO will take up much of the lege's attention on Tuesday, and there are sure to be developments on the budget front (just no guarantees that there will be, you know, a budget passed.
On Tuesday, House Ways and Means (10 a.m., HHR1), House Rules (1:05 p.m.,HHR4) and Senate Appropriations (2 p.m., SHR109) will all be meeting in regard to the special session's SB1001 and HB2001. No floor schedule for either chamber is posted as yet, but quick passage is expected.
Note: Yarbrough sits on both of those House committees, and serves as vice chair of the Rules Committee.
Note2: Sen. Jack Harper has proposed SB1002, a bill to have the state, nearly-bankrupt that is it, pay for a special election for a constitutional amendment (SCR1001) to crack open the state constitution's prohibition against appropriating public money for religious purposes or private or sectarian schools.
The proposal would create an exception for monies to school programs that provide "PRIVATE SCHOOL TUITION TO PUPILS WITH DISABILITIES AND PUPILS WHO HAVE BEEN IN FOSTER CARE." (Their caps, not mine.)
The amendment was proposed by Harper and cosponsored by Sen. John Huppenthal, the man who wants to be the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
- Most regular session activity looks to be in the House.
On Tuesday, House Health and Human Services is meeting at 9:30 a.m. in HHR4 and House Rules is meeting on at 1 p.m., also in HHR4. The highlight/lowlight of those should be HHS's consideration of Rep. Nancy Barto's striker to HCR2014. Her striker is a constitutional amendment to protect corporate-controlled health care. It's very similar in nature to a proposal that Congressman John Shadegg sponsored during the last session of Congress.
Some may question my characterization of the measure's purpose (protect corporate health care profits), but Barto has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday. There will be four guests - three from
In House floor action, there is a COW agenda and a Third Reading Calendar (aka final passage through the House) posted. The most controversial measure on those appears to be another corporate-defense measure, this one sponsored by Rep. Jim Weiers. HB2610 would make it significantly more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in product and civil liability cases. This one came up earlier this month for COW consideration but was held at the time.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission is meeting on Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m.
...The Board of Directors for the Central Arizona Project are not meeting this week.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors isn't scheduled to meet this week, but that is usually subject to change. And probably will be for the duration of the various lawsuits involving the supes against the sheriff, county attorney, and even the county treasurer.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will have a busy week, with a regular meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and special meetings on Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Among the items on the agenda for the regular meeting on Tuesday: a motion to approve a 10 year contract with a company to operate the district's bookstores. A comparison of self-operated vs. contract-managed bookstores here. One of the issues considered was the rising cost of textbooks.
The 10 a.m. meeting on Friday is an executive session meeting for the "discussion or consideration of employment of chancellor" and to seek legal advice regarding the same. It looks like standard annual evaluation stuff, but I'm not on the District's confidential email list, so it could easily be something else entirely.
The 1 p.m. meeting concerns the search for a vendor of management consulting services for the district. No links or details online, which is somewhat curious, given that MCCCD is usually pretty good about making this stuff available. More details later if they become available.
...The Governing Board for the Maricopa Integrated Health System is meeting on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m and 1 p.m.
The early meeting is an executive session regarding "Retention of One or More Lawyers or Law Firms to Provide Legal Services to the Board." What is it about county entities and the need for the services of lawyers? :)
The later meeting is a regular meeting, covering the April financial report, medical and allied health staff appointments, strategic planning, and budget stuff.
...The Citizens Clean Election Commission isn't meeting this week.
...The Arizona Board of Regents isn't meeting this week.
...The Tempe City Council will be meeting on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The agenda looks packed but mundane, filled with things like final plat approvals and service contract awards. There will also be an executive session concerning litigation/contracts regarding billboards, purchase of real property, and negotiations with employee organizations.
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week.
Later...
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The coming week...budget crunch time is fast approaching
As usual, all info culled from the websites of the relevant political bodies and subject to change without notice...
...In the U.S. House, there aren't any post office namings (it's taken a while, but perhaps they've run out of post offices in need of renaming...OK, they're probably just catching their breath :) ), but there are a number of issues up for debate this week.
- There is a House amendment to S. 896, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. I couldn't find the text of the amendment, but there is a House Rules Committee hearing on it on Monday at 5:00 p.m.
- S.386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, as amended. This should pass, as it passed 92 - 4 in the Senate on April 28 (our own Jon Kyl was one of the four senators to vote in support of bank fraud, naturally :) ). This one passed the House already (with AZ's Flake, Franks, and Shadegg supporter fraudsters) (naturally :)) ), but there were differences between the Senate version and the House version. Those have been ironed out, and this amended version may pass on a voice vote.
- H.R. 2352, the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009. If passed, the bill would created a number of programs within the Small Business Administration to encourage and facilitate entrepeneurship, including among veterans, women, Native Americans, and those from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Republicans claim to support small businesses, but they will hate this one.
It'll pass anyway. :)
- H.R. 915 and H.R. 2200, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 and the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act of 2009, respectively. These are money bills, and there are always fights over money bills. Look for Jeff Flake to propose a couple of his cookie-cutter anti-earmark amendments.
...Over in the AZ lege, the floor schedule looks to be a light one pending developments on the budget front. The most controversial item appears to be on the House COW calendar.
They'll be considering HB2533, one of John Kavanagh's slate of anti-immigrant bills. The chair of the House Appropriations Committee wants to make it a class one misdemeanor to stand next to or in a roadway while soliciting employment from someone in a motor vehicle.
A class one misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a fine of $2500 (plus surcharges).
Ask for a job, go to jail...Actually, "Have brown skin, ask for a job, go to jail." Niiiiice...
- In committee action, House Rules is meeting on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR4. So far, that's the only House committee with an agenda posted.
Over in the Senate, the only committee agenda of interest (there are a couple of meetings to consider executive appointments) is Thursday's meeting of the Appropriations Committee at 9 a.m. in SHR1.
In a move that looks calculated to synch up with his nativist saddle partner's bill in House COW, Russell Pearce, the chair of Senate Approps, is forcing his committee to sit through a presentation on "Sanctuary Cities and the Cost to the State and its Citizens."
OK, "forcing" might be an overstatement - besides Pearce, the Republican members of the committee include Jack Harper, Pam Gorman, Ron Gould, Al Melvin, and Steve Pierce.
They live and breathe this stuff.
While the legislative Republicans fiddle with various ways to attack immigrants, every other level of government burns the midnight oil trying to fashion their annual budgets without knowing with certainty what their revenue will be. To whit...
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is holding an informal meeting on Monday at 10 a.m. in the Supervisor's Auditorium. The agenda is almost wholly devoted to FY10 budgets.
Wednesday's Formal meeting of the supes is filled with many mundane items, but there are some eyebrow-raising ones, too.
The best? Item 10 is a move by Joe Arpaio to get his hands on the $1.6 million earmark for him in the lege's 2009 budget fix. He wants to increase his staff by 15 positions - all deputies dedicated to his anti-immigrant putsch.
While all other County departments have to make cuts. Nice.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa Integrated Health District will hold a special meeting on Thursday at 3 p.m. in the Maricopa Medical Center.
The one item on the agenda? The FY2010 budget presentation for the Maricopa Health Plan. The budget is based on 5% provider fee cuts and an assumption of fewer "in-patient" days.
Interesting combination - cut already-low provider pay, reducing the the number of healthcare providers interested in working with/for MHP, and expect that the resulting degradation of quality of patient care will result patients needing fewer days in the hospital?
Who worked on the budget proposal, Pollyanna?
...On Tuesday night at 5, the Scottsdale City Council will be meeting in the City Hall Kiva. The agenda includes fee and rate hikes for the coming fiscal year and the FY10 operating budget and capital improvement plan.
...Over at the Central Arizona Project, the Finance, Audit, and Power Committee is meeting at 1:15 p.m on Thursday to discuss tax rates for the 2009/2010 tax year. The committee meeting will follow a meeting of the entire Board of Directors in a work/study session at 9 a.m. to discuss rates, taxes, and reserves for the coming year.
...The Board of Directors of Valley Metro will meet on Thursday at 12:45 p.m. to consider its preliminary operating and capital budget for FY2010. They aren't planning any cuts; in fact, the proposed budget is roughly 10% higher than the last one due to increase in bus service and in some contracted rates. The interesting part is where the increased bus service will be handled by the same number of employees (127) as this year. In addition (in a move certain to warm the hearts of anti-public employee Republicans everywhere), the budget doesn't include any raises for employees (merit, step, or even COLA).
In other words, the same staff is going to face an increased workload without even a token COLA (cost of living adjustment) to their compensation? Nice.
I've got a solution, or at least the beginning of a solution, for the state lege's dallying on the budget. Change the rules of both chambers - pass a budget through to the Governor by April 1, or no other bills can be considered until one is passed. And if May 1 arrives without a budget, no pay (salary or per diem) until one is passed.
It won't happen, but if they have time for immigrant-bashing, they have time to work on the budget.
...In non-budget related meetings (yes, there is at least one of those)....
- The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a Securities and Safety meeting on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
- The Tempe City Council, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, the Arizona Board of Regents, and the Citizens Clean Elections Commission are not meeting this week.
Later...
...In the U.S. House, there aren't any post office namings (it's taken a while, but perhaps they've run out of post offices in need of renaming...OK, they're probably just catching their breath :) ), but there are a number of issues up for debate this week.
- There is a House amendment to S. 896, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. I couldn't find the text of the amendment, but there is a House Rules Committee hearing on it on Monday at 5:00 p.m.
- S.386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, as amended. This should pass, as it passed 92 - 4 in the Senate on April 28 (our own Jon Kyl was one of the four senators to vote in support of bank fraud, naturally :) ). This one passed the House already (with AZ's Flake, Franks, and Shadegg supporter fraudsters) (naturally :)) ), but there were differences between the Senate version and the House version. Those have been ironed out, and this amended version may pass on a voice vote.
- H.R. 2352, the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009. If passed, the bill would created a number of programs within the Small Business Administration to encourage and facilitate entrepeneurship, including among veterans, women, Native Americans, and those from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Republicans claim to support small businesses, but they will hate this one.
It'll pass anyway. :)
- H.R. 915 and H.R. 2200, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 and the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act of 2009, respectively. These are money bills, and there are always fights over money bills. Look for Jeff Flake to propose a couple of his cookie-cutter anti-earmark amendments.
...Over in the AZ lege, the floor schedule looks to be a light one pending developments on the budget front. The most controversial item appears to be on the House COW calendar.
They'll be considering HB2533, one of John Kavanagh's slate of anti-immigrant bills. The chair of the House Appropriations Committee wants to make it a class one misdemeanor to stand next to or in a roadway while soliciting employment from someone in a motor vehicle.
A class one misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a fine of $2500 (plus surcharges).
Ask for a job, go to jail...Actually, "Have brown skin, ask for a job, go to jail." Niiiiice...
- In committee action, House Rules is meeting on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR4. So far, that's the only House committee with an agenda posted.
Over in the Senate, the only committee agenda of interest (there are a couple of meetings to consider executive appointments) is Thursday's meeting of the Appropriations Committee at 9 a.m. in SHR1.
In a move that looks calculated to synch up with his nativist saddle partner's bill in House COW, Russell Pearce, the chair of Senate Approps, is forcing his committee to sit through a presentation on "Sanctuary Cities and the Cost to the State and its Citizens."
OK, "forcing" might be an overstatement - besides Pearce, the Republican members of the committee include Jack Harper, Pam Gorman, Ron Gould, Al Melvin, and Steve Pierce.
They live and breathe this stuff.
While the legislative Republicans fiddle with various ways to attack immigrants, every other level of government burns the midnight oil trying to fashion their annual budgets without knowing with certainty what their revenue will be. To whit...
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is holding an informal meeting on Monday at 10 a.m. in the Supervisor's Auditorium. The agenda is almost wholly devoted to FY10 budgets.
Wednesday's Formal meeting of the supes is filled with many mundane items, but there are some eyebrow-raising ones, too.
The best? Item 10 is a move by Joe Arpaio to get his hands on the $1.6 million earmark for him in the lege's 2009 budget fix. He wants to increase his staff by 15 positions - all deputies dedicated to his anti-immigrant putsch.
While all other County departments have to make cuts. Nice.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa Integrated Health District will hold a special meeting on Thursday at 3 p.m. in the Maricopa Medical Center.
The one item on the agenda? The FY2010 budget presentation for the Maricopa Health Plan. The budget is based on 5% provider fee cuts and an assumption of fewer "in-patient" days.
Interesting combination - cut already-low provider pay, reducing the the number of healthcare providers interested in working with/for MHP, and expect that the resulting degradation of quality of patient care will result patients needing fewer days in the hospital?
Who worked on the budget proposal, Pollyanna?
...On Tuesday night at 5, the Scottsdale City Council will be meeting in the City Hall Kiva. The agenda includes fee and rate hikes for the coming fiscal year and the FY10 operating budget and capital improvement plan.
...Over at the Central Arizona Project, the Finance, Audit, and Power Committee is meeting at 1:15 p.m on Thursday to discuss tax rates for the 2009/2010 tax year. The committee meeting will follow a meeting of the entire Board of Directors in a work/study session at 9 a.m. to discuss rates, taxes, and reserves for the coming year.
...The Board of Directors of Valley Metro will meet on Thursday at 12:45 p.m. to consider its preliminary operating and capital budget for FY2010. They aren't planning any cuts; in fact, the proposed budget is roughly 10% higher than the last one due to increase in bus service and in some contracted rates. The interesting part is where the increased bus service will be handled by the same number of employees (127) as this year. In addition (in a move certain to warm the hearts of anti-public employee Republicans everywhere), the budget doesn't include any raises for employees (merit, step, or even COLA).
In other words, the same staff is going to face an increased workload without even a token COLA (cost of living adjustment) to their compensation? Nice.
I've got a solution, or at least the beginning of a solution, for the state lege's dallying on the budget. Change the rules of both chambers - pass a budget through to the Governor by April 1, or no other bills can be considered until one is passed. And if May 1 arrives without a budget, no pay (salary or per diem) until one is passed.
It won't happen, but if they have time for immigrant-bashing, they have time to work on the budget.
...In non-budget related meetings (yes, there is at least one of those)....
- The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a Securities and Safety meeting on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
- The Tempe City Council, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, the Arizona Board of Regents, and the Citizens Clean Elections Commission are not meeting this week.
Later...
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Upcoming this week...
As usual, all info gather from the websites of the relevent political bodies and subject to change without notice...
Kind of a full week, so an early start is called for.
Plus the game between the Yankees and the Red Sox is on ESPN tomorrow night. :))
...Congress is in session, and is expected to have a loud week.
Over in the House, while the agenda is populated with the usual post office namings, college sports championship congratulations, and memorials, there are three items scheduled for consideration that could create a furor.
- H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. AZ Dems Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, Raul Grijalva, and Ed Pastor are among the cosponsors of the bill. The House Rules Committee will consider the bill and proposed amendments to it on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
While the Republicans will want to look like they support law enforcement, they will make every effort to hamstring this bill. They "hate" hate crimes legislation.
It'll pass, but with some Reps 'tut-tutting' over it.
- H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009. AZ Dems Grijalva and Giffords are cosponsors. House Rules at will hear the bill on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The Christian Science Monitor has a summary here; CRS summary here.
This one *will* have some serious Rep opposition because of its restrictions on credit card issuers and other lenders.
- However, any angst over H.R. 627 will pale in comparison to that associated with consideration of the conference report for S. C0n. Res. 13, "Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2010..."
Again, it'll pass, but with major posturing from the party of no, who probably haven't gotten the message from their loss in NY-20.
Should be a good week for watching C-SPAN, especially on Wednesday and Thursday.
...In the AZ lege, the House COW calendar for Tuesday is posted already. The most controversial seems to be HB2136, a bill to expand the membership of the State Fire Safety Committee by adding a petroleum retailer/distributor to the board. It passed the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee on February 11 by a party line 5 - 3 vote (Reps supporting, Dems opposing).
- In committee activity, House Rules is meeting on Monday at 1:00 p.m. in HHR4. Over in the Senate, Senate Appropriations is scheduled to meet on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in SHR9. As with last week's agenda, they *may* consider some budget-related bills. Or, as with last week, they may not.
Only two other Senate committees are scheduled to meet; they are hearing presentations or considering executive appointments.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will be meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Hearing schedule here.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will be meeting in the U of A Student Union on Thursday and Friday. The agenda includes a number of items to impose a $1K+ surcharge on students at the state's universities. In a bit of less-than-perfect timing, the Board will also be considering an item to extend the contract and boost the pay of U 0f A' s head football coach, Mike Stoops. If approved, his regular pay will go from $685K to $1 million/year starting this year, escalating to $1.4 million by 2013.
The item write up stresses that "Stoops’ salary will be paid entirely from revenue generated by the Athletic Department" and no taxpayer monies will be used, but it still doesn't look good to hold up the universities' students at the beginning of the meeting doling out a generous pay raise a short time later.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has no meetings scheduled at this point, but as we saw last week, that is subject to change due to one or more of the many lawsuits that the supes are involved in.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health has a special board meeting that is focused on its budget (capital budget here).
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will meet Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Governing Board Room, 2nd Floor, 2411 West 14th Street, Tempe.
The agenda for the meeting seems to be pretty mundane (to my untrained eyes, anyway), but given the past behavior of some board members (i.e. - Jerry Walker's intimidation of a student while visiting the U.S. Capitol) and the ongoing budget process, this one could be interesting.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 9:30 a.m., but no agenda has been posted online as yet.
Edit on 4/26 -
Hat tip to commenter Zelph for reminding me (and all of us) that the CCEC will be considering the case of current Rep. Doug Quelland. He's been alleged to have committed some serious campaign finance violations. If found guilty of the violations alleged, he could lose his office.
End edit...
...The Scottsdale City Council will meet on Tuesday. A regular meeting with a short agenda follows an executive session to interview candidates for the vacant City Auditor's position (Brian R. Biggin, Alan G. Nixon, and Sharron E. Walker).
...On Wednesday, there will be two "Discover Papago Park" workshops; one at the Phoenix Zoo (10:00 a.m. - noon) and the other at Supai Middle School, 6720 E. Continental, Scottsdale (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
Later...
Kind of a full week, so an early start is called for.
Plus the game between the Yankees and the Red Sox is on ESPN tomorrow night. :))
...Congress is in session, and is expected to have a loud week.
Over in the House, while the agenda is populated with the usual post office namings, college sports championship congratulations, and memorials, there are three items scheduled for consideration that could create a furor.
- H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. AZ Dems Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, Raul Grijalva, and Ed Pastor are among the cosponsors of the bill. The House Rules Committee will consider the bill and proposed amendments to it on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
While the Republicans will want to look like they support law enforcement, they will make every effort to hamstring this bill. They "hate" hate crimes legislation.
It'll pass, but with some Reps 'tut-tutting' over it.
- H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009. AZ Dems Grijalva and Giffords are cosponsors. House Rules at will hear the bill on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The Christian Science Monitor has a summary here; CRS summary here.
This one *will* have some serious Rep opposition because of its restrictions on credit card issuers and other lenders.
- However, any angst over H.R. 627 will pale in comparison to that associated with consideration of the conference report for S. C0n. Res. 13, "Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2010..."
Again, it'll pass, but with major posturing from the party of no, who probably haven't gotten the message from their loss in NY-20.
Should be a good week for watching C-SPAN, especially on Wednesday and Thursday.
...In the AZ lege, the House COW calendar for Tuesday is posted already. The most controversial seems to be HB2136, a bill to expand the membership of the State Fire Safety Committee by adding a petroleum retailer/distributor to the board. It passed the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee on February 11 by a party line 5 - 3 vote (Reps supporting, Dems opposing).
- In committee activity, House Rules is meeting on Monday at 1:00 p.m. in HHR4. Over in the Senate, Senate Appropriations is scheduled to meet on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in SHR9. As with last week's agenda, they *may* consider some budget-related bills. Or, as with last week, they may not.
Only two other Senate committees are scheduled to meet; they are hearing presentations or considering executive appointments.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will be meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Hearing schedule here.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will be meeting in the U of A Student Union on Thursday and Friday. The agenda includes a number of items to impose a $1K+ surcharge on students at the state's universities. In a bit of less-than-perfect timing, the Board will also be considering an item to extend the contract and boost the pay of U 0f A' s head football coach, Mike Stoops. If approved, his regular pay will go from $685K to $1 million/year starting this year, escalating to $1.4 million by 2013.
The item write up stresses that "Stoops’ salary will be paid entirely from revenue generated by the Athletic Department" and no taxpayer monies will be used, but it still doesn't look good to hold up the universities' students at the beginning of the meeting doling out a generous pay raise a short time later.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has no meetings scheduled at this point, but as we saw last week, that is subject to change due to one or more of the many lawsuits that the supes are involved in.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health has a special board meeting that is focused on its budget (capital budget here).
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will meet Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Governing Board Room, 2nd Floor, 2411 West 14th Street, Tempe.
The agenda for the meeting seems to be pretty mundane (to my untrained eyes, anyway), but given the past behavior of some board members (i.e. - Jerry Walker's intimidation of a student while visiting the U.S. Capitol) and the ongoing budget process, this one could be interesting.
...The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 9:30 a.m., but no agenda has been posted online as yet.
Edit on 4/26 -
Hat tip to commenter Zelph for reminding me (and all of us) that the CCEC will be considering the case of current Rep. Doug Quelland. He's been alleged to have committed some serious campaign finance violations. If found guilty of the violations alleged, he could lose his office.
End edit...
...The Scottsdale City Council will meet on Tuesday. A regular meeting with a short agenda follows an executive session to interview candidates for the vacant City Auditor's position (Brian R. Biggin, Alan G. Nixon, and Sharron E. Walker).
...On Wednesday, there will be two "Discover Papago Park" workshops; one at the Phoenix Zoo (10:00 a.m. - noon) and the other at Supai Middle School, 6720 E. Continental, Scottsdale (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
Later...
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