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.
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Congress called on account of weather
From an announcement from Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader -
Congress will be spending next week in their districts.
Personally, I think that they are just wimping out in the face of a little light snow. :)
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the schedule for the U.S. House of Representatives:
“As a result of the inclement weather affecting Members’ ability to travel to Washington, DC this week, there will be no votes in the House for the remainder of the week. The change this week means that we will add two days to the schedule as we look to take action on a jobs bill and other critical measures. Therefore, the House will reconvene on Monday, February 22, one day earlier than previously scheduled. The House will now also be in session on Friday, February 26th.”
Congress will be spending next week in their districts.
Personally, I think that they are just wimping out in the face of a little light snow. :)
Sunday, February 07, 2010
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...
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...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Exodus Continues - Waring resigns from State Senate
From the EV Tribune -
Waring (R-LD7) joins Pam Gorman (R-LD6) in exiting the Senate in order to pursue the Republican nomination to replace the soon-to-be retired Congressman John Shadegg (R-CD3).
Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker and State Rep. Sam Crump (R-LD6) have already announced their intents to enter the race. They haven't resigned their positions yet, but are rumored/presumed to be considering that move.
Sen. Jim Waring has resigned from the state Legislature to focus on his bid for Congress.
Waring announced his resignation on the Senate floor Thursday and said it would be effective at the end of the day.
Waring (R-LD7) joins Pam Gorman (R-LD6) in exiting the Senate in order to pursue the Republican nomination to replace the soon-to-be retired Congressman John Shadegg (R-CD3).
Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker and State Rep. Sam Crump (R-LD6) have already announced their intents to enter the race. They haven't resigned their positions yet, but are rumored/presumed to be considering that move.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
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.
...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.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
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...
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...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
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! :))
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! :))
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Health care reform: It's not time to get out the tar and feathers...yet
Desert Beacon in Nevada puts it far better than I can here...but that's not going to stop me from trying anyway. :)
Most of the recent developments regarding health care reform in the Senate have been disheartening to those of us who support substantive reform.
Between Joe Lieberman behaving as if he is relevant, the death of a single-payer plan, and the way that the Senate plan has morphed from a plan to "reform" health care to a plan to "enhance" insurance industry profits, it's easy to be discouraged.
Don't be, not yet anyway.
This whole mess still has to go to conference committee to be merged with the bill that passed the House.
What is more important than the Senate bill is the final bill, the one that reaches the President's desk.
Many people in the center and on the left may not understand that, but you can be sure that the Republicans understand it all too well. They are less interested in seeing that a "bad" bill passes the Senate than in seeing *no* bill pass the Senate.
They know that it is easier to fix the shortcomings in a bad program than to start one from scratch (witness the months-long kerfluffle over health care reform).
Now is the time for all of us to contact our representatives in Congress again (I know a couple of office staffers who aren't going to be happy about that line :)) ) and let them know that the only acceptable reform is real reform, not an insurance industry wish list. Let them know that their constituents need them to stand strong in supporting substantive reform.
We've given up on single-payer (with all due respect to Senator Sanders, his amendment was never going to pass even if he hadn't withdrawn it). but a non-mandatory public option is a must, and it's a reasonable compromise.
Well, "reasonable" to most anyone who doesn't work for the insurance industry, like Jon Kyl, John McCain, and Joe Lieberman (ok, so it's Lieberman''s wife who works for the industry. He works for her.)
We can get that in conference, but first, we have to *get* to a conference committee.
For that, we need the Senate to pass *something.*
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (CD8) can be contacted via this online form.
Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD7) can be contacted here.
Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (CD1) can be reached here.
Congressman Harry Mitchell (CD5) has a contact form here.
Congressman Ed Pastor (CD4) can be reached via this generic House contact form.
I'm not bothering to list the contact info for any of the Arizona Republicans in the House or Senate. They've all made it clear that they are opposed to any form of health care reform, or at least any that isn't structured to increase insurance company profits and reduce choice for average Americans. If you want to contact them, then use a search engine to find their official websites and work from there.
Most of the recent developments regarding health care reform in the Senate have been disheartening to those of us who support substantive reform.
Between Joe Lieberman behaving as if he is relevant, the death of a single-payer plan, and the way that the Senate plan has morphed from a plan to "reform" health care to a plan to "enhance" insurance industry profits, it's easy to be discouraged.
Don't be, not yet anyway.
This whole mess still has to go to conference committee to be merged with the bill that passed the House.
What is more important than the Senate bill is the final bill, the one that reaches the President's desk.
Many people in the center and on the left may not understand that, but you can be sure that the Republicans understand it all too well. They are less interested in seeing that a "bad" bill passes the Senate than in seeing *no* bill pass the Senate.
They know that it is easier to fix the shortcomings in a bad program than to start one from scratch (witness the months-long kerfluffle over health care reform).
Now is the time for all of us to contact our representatives in Congress again (I know a couple of office staffers who aren't going to be happy about that line :)) ) and let them know that the only acceptable reform is real reform, not an insurance industry wish list. Let them know that their constituents need them to stand strong in supporting substantive reform.
We've given up on single-payer (with all due respect to Senator Sanders, his amendment was never going to pass even if he hadn't withdrawn it). but a non-mandatory public option is a must, and it's a reasonable compromise.
Well, "reasonable" to most anyone who doesn't work for the insurance industry, like Jon Kyl, John McCain, and Joe Lieberman (ok, so it's Lieberman''s wife who works for the industry. He works for her.)
We can get that in conference, but first, we have to *get* to a conference committee.
For that, we need the Senate to pass *something.*
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (CD8) can be contacted via this online form.
Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD7) can be contacted here.
Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (CD1) can be reached here.
Congressman Harry Mitchell (CD5) has a contact form here.
Congressman Ed Pastor (CD4) can be reached via this generic House contact form.
I'm not bothering to list the contact info for any of the Arizona Republicans in the House or Senate. They've all made it clear that they are opposed to any form of health care reform, or at least any that isn't structured to increase insurance company profits and reduce choice for average Americans. If you want to contact them, then use a search engine to find their official websites and work from there.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
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...
...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...
Sunday, December 06, 2009
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 ofobstructions 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.
...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
...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.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
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 brief post due to other pressing matters, but I'll try to hit the high points.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, they'll be reconvening after their holiday recess on Tuesday. Much of the week's agenda will be taken up with post office namings and the like, but one highlight will be consideration of H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009. From the CRS summary -
Oh yeah...
...The most interesting week should be in the U.S. Senate - they'll be holding floor debate on health care reform. Because of the cloture vote taken on November 21, there will be limits on the debate (though there will still be a lot of it). As such, expect Republican obstructionists to whine that there won't be "enough time" to properly consider all of the ramifications of health care reform.
That's crap.
The Senate's committee schedule is here.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a securities meeting on Monday; the ACC's hearing schedule is here.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will meet on Thursday and Friday at U of A. The agenda is here.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will meet in "informal" session on Monday and *formal* session on Wednesday.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a regular meeting on Thursday.
...The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week, but the Council Calendar is here.
...The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday. At 2 p.m., they will hold an executive session to interview three candidates for the vacant City Attorney job. At 5 p.m., they will hold a regular meeting. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.
Later...
This will be a brief post due to other pressing matters, but I'll try to hit the high points.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, they'll be reconvening after their holiday recess on Tuesday. Much of the week's agenda will be taken up with post office namings and the like, but one highlight will be consideration of H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009. From the CRS summary -
Repeals provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) eliminating the tax on estates and generation-skipping transfers and the step-up in basis provisions for property acquired from a decedent for estates of decedents dying after 2009. Declares that the sunset provision (general terminating date of December 10, 2010) of EGTRRA shall not apply to title V of such Act (Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Provisions).Yup, there will be serious controversy over this one.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a $3.5 million estate tax exclusion and a reduction in the maximum estate and gift tax rate to 45% after 2009.
Oh yeah...
...The most interesting week should be in the U.S. Senate - they'll be holding floor debate on health care reform. Because of the cloture vote taken on November 21, there will be limits on the debate (though there will still be a lot of it). As such, expect Republican obstructionists to whine that there won't be "enough time" to properly consider all of the ramifications of health care reform.
That's crap.
The Senate's committee schedule is here.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a securities meeting on Monday; the ACC's hearing schedule is here.
...The Arizona Board of Regents will meet on Thursday and Friday at U of A. The agenda is here.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will meet in "informal" session on Monday and *formal* session on Wednesday.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a regular meeting on Thursday.
...The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week, but the Council Calendar is here.
...The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday. At 2 p.m., they will hold an executive session to interview three candidates for the vacant City Attorney job. At 5 p.m., they will hold a regular meeting. The City's Community Meeting Notice is here.
Later...
Saturday, November 21, 2009
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 week's schedule is pretty sparse due to the holiday on Thursday, though there will be some excitement at the Arizona legislature early in the week.
...The U.S. House and Senate are in recess this week. I was going to offer a quip about the turkeys having some turkey this week (or something else equally trite), but since the Senate Dems held together long enough to break a Republican filibuster on health care reform, I'll be nice. :)
...The Arizona legislature will meet again on Monday to attempt to pass the latest budget patch. They may get something done, or they may not. I'm not betting on this one. If it doesn't get done this week, a patch may have to wait until the next special session, rumored to be taking place early next month.
It's already looking like the next regular session of the lege (starting in January) will see the ideologues of the Arizona chapter of the Flat Earth Society running roughshod over pragmatism - the first two House bill proposals are already posted on the lege's website. HB2001 would establish the "I didn't pay enough fund" for taxpayers to voluntarily pay more in taxes; HCR2001 would proclaim Arizona's sovereignty from federal laws under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (aka the "we're going to ignore any federal law that we want to" Act).
Those measures are sponsored or cosponsored by 46 and 47 of the most extreme members of the lege GOP caucus.
Of course, given that there are only 53 GOPers in the lege, that should tell you something about how nutty this bunch is.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have any full meetings scheduled this week, but they do have an abbreviated hearing schedule (nothing on Thursday, Friday, or next Monday).
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a special meeting on tap for Monday at 1 p.m. The highlight looks to be a settlement/surrender in the case of the lawsuits (here and here) brought by County Treasurer Charles Hoskins. Some background from AZCentral.com here. No word on if the results of the latest audit of the Treasurer's office played a part in the settlement.
...On Monday, the Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has two meetings on tap - an executive session at noon and a regular meeting at 1 p.m. The exec session will focus mostly on employment issues.
...On Tuesday, the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will hold a regular meeting. The agenda is light. There is an executive session (contracts and compensation) followed by an open meeting that is almost entirely consent agenda stuff.
In short, they should be adjourned by 7:30 p.m. And given that it is a holiday week and there is another meeting scheduled for early December, they may just make it on this one.
...The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week, but their brief Council Calendar is available here.
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week either, but their Community Meeting Notice is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project.
This week's schedule is pretty sparse due to the holiday on Thursday, though there will be some excitement at the Arizona legislature early in the week.
...The U.S. House and Senate are in recess this week. I was going to offer a quip about the turkeys having some turkey this week (or something else equally trite), but since the Senate Dems held together long enough to break a Republican filibuster on health care reform, I'll be nice. :)
...The Arizona legislature will meet again on Monday to attempt to pass the latest budget patch. They may get something done, or they may not. I'm not betting on this one. If it doesn't get done this week, a patch may have to wait until the next special session, rumored to be taking place early next month.
It's already looking like the next regular session of the lege (starting in January) will see the ideologues of the Arizona chapter of the Flat Earth Society running roughshod over pragmatism - the first two House bill proposals are already posted on the lege's website. HB2001 would establish the "I didn't pay enough fund" for taxpayers to voluntarily pay more in taxes; HCR2001 would proclaim Arizona's sovereignty from federal laws under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (aka the "we're going to ignore any federal law that we want to" Act).
Those measures are sponsored or cosponsored by 46 and 47 of the most extreme members of the lege GOP caucus.
Of course, given that there are only 53 GOPers in the lege, that should tell you something about how nutty this bunch is.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have any full meetings scheduled this week, but they do have an abbreviated hearing schedule (nothing on Thursday, Friday, or next Monday).
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a special meeting on tap for Monday at 1 p.m. The highlight looks to be a settlement/surrender in the case of the lawsuits (here and here) brought by County Treasurer Charles Hoskins. Some background from AZCentral.com here. No word on if the results of the latest audit of the Treasurer's office played a part in the settlement.
...On Monday, the Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has two meetings on tap - an executive session at noon and a regular meeting at 1 p.m. The exec session will focus mostly on employment issues.
...On Tuesday, the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will hold a regular meeting. The agenda is light. There is an executive session (contracts and compensation) followed by an open meeting that is almost entirely consent agenda stuff.
In short, they should be adjourned by 7:30 p.m. And given that it is a holiday week and there is another meeting scheduled for early December, they may just make it on this one.
...The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week, but their brief Council Calendar is available here.
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week either, but their Community Meeting Notice is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
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 is shaping up to be a busy week as most political entities try to clear as much work as possible off of their dockets before the holiday season hits full force.
...The U.S. House of Representatives is back in session this week, starting Monday afternoon. The official agenda doesn't list "health care reform politicking", but that activity is certain to grab most of the media's attention this week and every week until a final bill is passed by both chambers.
The House does have some regular work to do this week, and while none of the items at hand shape up to be as interesting or contentious as health care reform, this will still be a busy week for politics-watchers.
Of interest to Arizonans -
H.R. 1834, the Native American Business Development Enhancement Act of 2009, sponsored by AZ1's Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. The purpose of the bill is to "..amend the Small Business Act to expand and improve the assistance provided to Indian tribe members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians..." CRS summary here. Heard under suspension of the rules, so a 2/3 majority is required for passage.
H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009. The bill is sponsored by AZ5's Rep. Harry Mitchell. CRS summary is here. CBO analysis here (cost estimate: $2.7 billion thru 2014, $2.1 billion thereafter, assuming funds are appropriated. This is only an authorization bill). This bill will be the subject of a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday at 3 p.m. (EST).
- Of more general interest, but certain to generate some serious controvery -
H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009. CRS summary here. CBO estimates here (expected to increase federal spending by $210 billion over 10 years).
Possible consideration of the conference report on H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. CRS summary here. This one has some "interesting" provisions, like prohibiting the use of funds "to implement, administer, or enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion."
Who wrote this stuff? Bush appointees?
...Over in the U. S. Senate, expect some serious arm-twisting over health care reform. The Senate's committee schedule is here.
...Back here in Arizona, the Arizona Legislature may or may not be holding a special session this week. And whether or not they do, in fact, hold a session this week, few Capitol watchers expect any significant progress toward a real fix for the budget mess until after the new year.
However, special session or no, the makework schedule continues unabated.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development will meet on Monday at 8:30 a.m. in SHR1.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1. The meeting will be chaired by the mining industry's personal representative to the State Senate, Sylvia Allen. She will be asking mining industry lobbyists and executives what kind of government regulations they want for their business.
Look at the agenda (linked above). I'm not exaggerating.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Agriculture Regulations will meet on Monday at 3 p.m. in HHR1. Agribusiness' personal rep in the State Senate, Steve Pierce, will be in the same place doing the same thing for his keepers that Sylvia Allen was doing for hers two hours earlier.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Private School Tuition Tax Credit Review will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR5. It's already apparent that Speaker Adams' hand-picked committee to look into STOs and the tax credit program is less an "inquiry" and more a "pep rally."
One of the scheduled presenters at the hearing is Dr. Charles M. North, an economics professor from Baylor University.
I thought that Waco, Texas (home of Baylor U) was a *little* far to go in search of an economics expert who could discuss the economic impacts of STOs and tuition tax credits on Arizona. U of A, ASU, and NAU have economics faculty who are competent. Even renowned.
And UA, ASU, and NAU are a LOT closer.
Hmmm...I wonder who's paying for Dr. North's trip to AZ? I would love to get a look at the expense records of the lege and a couple of STOs to find out.
Anyway, a little quick research on Dr. North found he has authored publications like "Going to College, Getting a Job: What Happens when Mom and Dad Take Their Kids to Church," "Must the poor always be with us? What do we do?" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger? The Role of Vouchers in Regulating Private Schools."
And that was just stuff from his official bio at Baylor, linked above.
Instead of handing out copies of the agenda before this meeting, why don't they just hand out copies of the script, so everyone can follow along???
- The House Government and Senate Government Institutions Committee of Reference will meet on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in HHR5. The meeting is for the sunset reviews of the Arizona Legislative Council, the Office of the Auditor General, and the Arizona State Library, Archive and Public Records.
- The Ad Hoc Legislative Committee on Agency Information Technology will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR5.
...Anyway, I've got something else to do this afternoon, so I will complete this post later today...
Edit later on 11/15 to complete this post with info from county, local, and other state political bodies/agencies...
...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday. The agenda is a long one. Many of the items will impact readers all over the state (rate hikes and related items) but the one that could have the most direct impact on readers in my vicinity (LD17 and environs) is this one -
...The Citizens Clean Election Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. No agenda posted online as of this writing.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has its normal schedule of meetings for the week - an "informal" meeting with an executive session component on Monday and a "formal" meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Both agendas look to be pretty mundane, but there is a *lot* of stuff here as they try to clear the decks in preparation for the holiday season.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has a special session on tap for Monday. It will primarily be an executive session discussing the contract of Betsey Bayless, the CEO of MIHS. On Wednesday, the Board has a "retreat" scheduled - discussion of objectives, best practices, and the like.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project doesn't have a full board meeting scheduled this week, but it will still be active.
- On Wednesday, CAP's Systems Operations Advisory Group will meet at 9 a.m.
- On Thursday, their Public Policy Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m.
- On Thursday, the Board (or such members as show up) will hold a work/study session on Recovery Planning/Projects.
...The Tempe City Council will meet Thursday. The agenda looks pretty boring except for initial consideration of a resolution expressing support for a consolidation plan from the City Manager for Tempe city government.
The Council's Calendar is here.
...The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, and the agenda looks to be an interesting one.
- Item 10, on the consent agenda, covers the referral to a special election of charter amendments. Assuming approval, the election would be held on March 9, 2010.
- Items 13 and 14, also on the consent agenda, are related to lawsuits against the City. 13 is funding for the settlement of one suit, 14 is for paying an attorney to fight another one.
An AZ Republic article on the lawsuit behind #14 here.
- Item 23 relates to discussion and possible initiation of a Zoning Ordinance text amendment to update current regulations of live entertainment. This one was requested by Council member Lisa Borowsky.
- Item 24 concerns the appointment of an Acting City Manager (candidates David Ellison, David Richert, and Brent Stockwell, all current City employees) and the establishment of a process for finding a permanent City Manager (includes the creation of a Mayor-appointed "City Manager Recruitment Ad Hoc Committee). This one has a possible executive session component associated with it.
- Item 25 (no hyperlink available) is "requested" by Council member Borowsky but it looks like it is straight out of Mayor Jim Lane's "outsource everything" playbook.
The City's Community Meetings notice is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District. The Arizona Board of Regents has *something* going on, but I'm not sure what.
This is shaping up to be a busy week as most political entities try to clear as much work as possible off of their dockets before the holiday season hits full force.
...The U.S. House of Representatives is back in session this week, starting Monday afternoon. The official agenda doesn't list "health care reform politicking", but that activity is certain to grab most of the media's attention this week and every week until a final bill is passed by both chambers.
The House does have some regular work to do this week, and while none of the items at hand shape up to be as interesting or contentious as health care reform, this will still be a busy week for politics-watchers.
Of interest to Arizonans -
H.R. 1834, the Native American Business Development Enhancement Act of 2009, sponsored by AZ1's Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. The purpose of the bill is to "..amend the Small Business Act to expand and improve the assistance provided to Indian tribe members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians..." CRS summary here. Heard under suspension of the rules, so a 2/3 majority is required for passage.
H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009. The bill is sponsored by AZ5's Rep. Harry Mitchell. CRS summary is here. CBO analysis here (cost estimate: $2.7 billion thru 2014, $2.1 billion thereafter, assuming funds are appropriated. This is only an authorization bill). This bill will be the subject of a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday at 3 p.m. (EST).
- Of more general interest, but certain to generate some serious controvery -
H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009. CRS summary here. CBO estimates here (expected to increase federal spending by $210 billion over 10 years).
Possible consideration of the conference report on H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. CRS summary here. This one has some "interesting" provisions, like prohibiting the use of funds "to implement, administer, or enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion."
Who wrote this stuff? Bush appointees?
...Over in the U. S. Senate, expect some serious arm-twisting over health care reform. The Senate's committee schedule is here.
...Back here in Arizona, the Arizona Legislature may or may not be holding a special session this week. And whether or not they do, in fact, hold a session this week, few Capitol watchers expect any significant progress toward a real fix for the budget mess until after the new year.
However, special session or no, the makework schedule continues unabated.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development will meet on Monday at 8:30 a.m. in SHR1.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1. The meeting will be chaired by the mining industry's personal representative to the State Senate, Sylvia Allen. She will be asking mining industry lobbyists and executives what kind of government regulations they want for their business.
Look at the agenda (linked above). I'm not exaggerating.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Agriculture Regulations will meet on Monday at 3 p.m. in HHR1. Agribusiness' personal rep in the State Senate, Steve Pierce, will be in the same place doing the same thing for his keepers that Sylvia Allen was doing for hers two hours earlier.
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Private School Tuition Tax Credit Review will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR5. It's already apparent that Speaker Adams' hand-picked committee to look into STOs and the tax credit program is less an "inquiry" and more a "pep rally."
One of the scheduled presenters at the hearing is Dr. Charles M. North, an economics professor from Baylor University.
I thought that Waco, Texas (home of Baylor U) was a *little* far to go in search of an economics expert who could discuss the economic impacts of STOs and tuition tax credits on Arizona. U of A, ASU, and NAU have economics faculty who are competent. Even renowned.
And UA, ASU, and NAU are a LOT closer.
Hmmm...I wonder who's paying for Dr. North's trip to AZ? I would love to get a look at the expense records of the lege and a couple of STOs to find out.
Anyway, a little quick research on Dr. North found he has authored publications like "Going to College, Getting a Job: What Happens when Mom and Dad Take Their Kids to Church," "Must the poor always be with us? What do we do?" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger? The Role of Vouchers in Regulating Private Schools."
And that was just stuff from his official bio at Baylor, linked above.
Instead of handing out copies of the agenda before this meeting, why don't they just hand out copies of the script, so everyone can follow along???
- The House Government and Senate Government Institutions Committee of Reference will meet on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in HHR5. The meeting is for the sunset reviews of the Arizona Legislative Council, the Office of the Auditor General, and the Arizona State Library, Archive and Public Records.
- The Ad Hoc Legislative Committee on Agency Information Technology will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR5.
...Anyway, I've got something else to do this afternoon, so I will complete this post later today...
Edit later on 11/15 to complete this post with info from county, local, and other state political bodies/agencies...
...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday. The agenda is a long one. Many of the items will impact readers all over the state (rate hikes and related items) but the one that could have the most direct impact on readers in my vicinity (LD17 and environs) is this one -
26. Arizona-American Water Company (W-01303A-08-0227 and SW-01303A-080227) – Application for a Determination of the Current Fair Value of its UtilityThe ACC's full hearing schedule is here.
Plant and Property and for Increases in its Rates and Charges Based Thereon For Utility Service by its Agua Fria Water District, Havasu Water District, Mohave Water District, Paradise Valley Water District, Sun City West Water District and Tubac Water District; Application for a Determination of the Current Fair Value of its Utility Plant and Property and for Increases in its Rates and Charges Based
Thereon For Utility Service by its Mohave Wastewater District.
...The Citizens Clean Election Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. No agenda posted online as of this writing.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has its normal schedule of meetings for the week - an "informal" meeting with an executive session component on Monday and a "formal" meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Both agendas look to be pretty mundane, but there is a *lot* of stuff here as they try to clear the decks in preparation for the holiday season.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has a special session on tap for Monday. It will primarily be an executive session discussing the contract of Betsey Bayless, the CEO of MIHS. On Wednesday, the Board has a "retreat" scheduled - discussion of objectives, best practices, and the like.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project doesn't have a full board meeting scheduled this week, but it will still be active.
- On Wednesday, CAP's Systems Operations Advisory Group will meet at 9 a.m.
- On Thursday, their Public Policy Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m.
- On Thursday, the Board (or such members as show up) will hold a work/study session on Recovery Planning/Projects.
...The Tempe City Council will meet Thursday. The agenda looks pretty boring except for initial consideration of a resolution expressing support for a consolidation plan from the City Manager for Tempe city government.
The Council's Calendar is here.
...The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, and the agenda looks to be an interesting one.
- Item 10, on the consent agenda, covers the referral to a special election of charter amendments. Assuming approval, the election would be held on March 9, 2010.
- Items 13 and 14, also on the consent agenda, are related to lawsuits against the City. 13 is funding for the settlement of one suit, 14 is for paying an attorney to fight another one.
An AZ Republic article on the lawsuit behind #14 here.
- Item 23 relates to discussion and possible initiation of a Zoning Ordinance text amendment to update current regulations of live entertainment. This one was requested by Council member Lisa Borowsky.
- Item 24 concerns the appointment of an Acting City Manager (candidates David Ellison, David Richert, and Brent Stockwell, all current City employees) and the establishment of a process for finding a permanent City Manager (includes the creation of a Mayor-appointed "City Manager Recruitment Ad Hoc Committee). This one has a possible executive session component associated with it.
- Item 25 (no hyperlink available) is "requested" by Council member Borowsky but it looks like it is straight out of Mayor Jim Lane's "outsource everything" playbook.
Request: At the request of Vice Mayor Borowsky, discussion and possible action or direction to staff on reorganizing the Government Relations Department, including budgetary matters, possible initiation of the RFP process to use outside contractors to provide government relations services, and location of the Government Relations Department within the city organizational structure.The City's Charter Review Task Force is scheduled to meet on Monday. Agenda here.
The City's Community Meetings notice is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District. The Arizona Board of Regents has *something* going on, but I'm not sure what.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
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...
...After the rare Saturday hubbub in the U. S. House (over health care reform), the House will be in recess for a week. Which probably explains the need to hold a Saturday session...
...The U. S. Senate is also expected to recess for a week, though their committee schedule will continue...
...Here in Arizona, the budget is still out of balance and the legislature is still out of session.
There are rumors that a special session is in the works, but a special session hasn't actually been called yet.
The intersession makework schedule continues, however -
- On Monday, the House Health and Human Services and Senate Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform Committee of Reference will meet in SHR1 at noon for sunset reviews of the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Board of Psychologist Examiners, Advisory Council on Aging, Board of Homeopathic and Integrated Medicine Examiners, Department of Health Services, Maricopa Integrated Health System, and Arizona Athletic Trainers Association.
Note: Some of the Auditor General's sunset review audits can be found on their website.
- On Tuesday, the House Judiciary and Senate Judiciary Committee of Reference will meet at 10 a.m. in HHR5 to consider the sunset review of the Arizona Department of Gaming.
- On Tuesday. the Joint Committee on Capital Review will meet at 2 p.m. in SHR109. The agenda includes an executive session on a prison concession agreement.
- On Thursday, the House Military Affairs and Public Safety and Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee of Reference will meet at 10 a.m. in HHR5 for the sunset review of the Department of Juvenile Corrections.
- On Thursday, the Bipartisan Task Force on the Private School Tuition Tax Credits program will meet at 1 p.m. in HHR2. This meeting will include a presentation from the Attorney General's office on the status of their investigation in the abuses by STOs, as well as a call to the public for their input on the matter.
Not to say that the Republican leadership of the lege is showing their pettiness, but this committee is chaired by a Democrat (D17's own Rep. David Schapira) and it is *not* included on the schedules of activities at the lege. The committee hearings chaired by their members are, and yesterday's Nazi rally at the Capitol was (as is a teabagger rally coming up on Wednesday), but not this.
Hmmm...
...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have any meetings of the full Commission scheduled, but their hearing schedule is here. It's a light one, with a holiday on Wednesday and an off day on Friday.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a few things on tap this week.
- On Monday, they are holding a special meeting, with both executive session and open session components. This one involves continuing an agreement with the MCSO over computer use and operation. This one should be simple, but given the rancor between MCBOS and MCSO, this could blow up at any moment.
- On Tuesday, the Board is holding another special session, though this one will be less contentious - it's ceremony to honor Veterans' Day on Wednesday.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project does not have a regular meeting scheduled for this week, but it still has the "eye-opener" of the week, at least as far as this list of events is concerned.
- On Thursday, the CAWCD Insurance Company, Inc. (insuring the Central Arizona Project) is holding its annual membership meeting and its annual directors meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.
A little pre-Thanksgiving junket to Hawaii? Nice work if you can get it...
There's a good reason for it, though (really!! :)) ) - this corporation, which exists solely to insure CAP, a quasi-governmental entity in Arizona, is incorporated in Hawaii. Not in Arizona.
Hmmm2...
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week, but their Community Meetings notice is here.
...The Tempe City Council also is not scheduled to meet this week; their Council Calendar is here.
Also not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District.
...After the rare Saturday hubbub in the U. S. House (over health care reform), the House will be in recess for a week. Which probably explains the need to hold a Saturday session...
...The U. S. Senate is also expected to recess for a week, though their committee schedule will continue...
...Here in Arizona, the budget is still out of balance and the legislature is still out of session.
There are rumors that a special session is in the works, but a special session hasn't actually been called yet.
The intersession makework schedule continues, however -
- On Monday, the House Health and Human Services and Senate Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform Committee of Reference will meet in SHR1 at noon for sunset reviews of the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Board of Psychologist Examiners, Advisory Council on Aging, Board of Homeopathic and Integrated Medicine Examiners, Department of Health Services, Maricopa Integrated Health System, and Arizona Athletic Trainers Association.
Note: Some of the Auditor General's sunset review audits can be found on their website.
- On Tuesday, the House Judiciary and Senate Judiciary Committee of Reference will meet at 10 a.m. in HHR5 to consider the sunset review of the Arizona Department of Gaming.
- On Tuesday. the Joint Committee on Capital Review will meet at 2 p.m. in SHR109. The agenda includes an executive session on a prison concession agreement.
- On Thursday, the House Military Affairs and Public Safety and Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee of Reference will meet at 10 a.m. in HHR5 for the sunset review of the Department of Juvenile Corrections.
- On Thursday, the Bipartisan Task Force on the Private School Tuition Tax Credits program will meet at 1 p.m. in HHR2. This meeting will include a presentation from the Attorney General's office on the status of their investigation in the abuses by STOs, as well as a call to the public for their input on the matter.
Not to say that the Republican leadership of the lege is showing their pettiness, but this committee is chaired by a Democrat (D17's own Rep. David Schapira) and it is *not* included on the schedules of activities at the lege. The committee hearings chaired by their members are, and yesterday's Nazi rally at the Capitol was (as is a teabagger rally coming up on Wednesday), but not this.
Hmmm...
...The Arizona Corporation Commission doesn't have any meetings of the full Commission scheduled, but their hearing schedule is here. It's a light one, with a holiday on Wednesday and an off day on Friday.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a few things on tap this week.
- On Monday, they are holding a special meeting, with both executive session and open session components. This one involves continuing an agreement with the MCSO over computer use and operation. This one should be simple, but given the rancor between MCBOS and MCSO, this could blow up at any moment.
- On Tuesday, the Board is holding another special session, though this one will be less contentious - it's ceremony to honor Veterans' Day on Wednesday.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project does not have a regular meeting scheduled for this week, but it still has the "eye-opener" of the week, at least as far as this list of events is concerned.
- On Thursday, the CAWCD Insurance Company, Inc. (insuring the Central Arizona Project) is holding its annual membership meeting and its annual directors meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.
A little pre-Thanksgiving junket to Hawaii? Nice work if you can get it...
There's a good reason for it, though (really!! :)) ) - this corporation, which exists solely to insure CAP, a quasi-governmental entity in Arizona, is incorporated in Hawaii. Not in Arizona.
Hmmm2...
...The Scottsdale City Council isn't meeting this week, but their Community Meetings notice is here.
...The Tempe City Council also is not scheduled to meet this week; their Council Calendar is here.
Also not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
H.R. 3962 passes - YESSSSSS!
After more than 12 hours of debate on a Saturday, and nearly 100 years of delay, dallying, and outright obstruction, the House passed a significant health care reform measure.
With a tally of 220 in favor, 215 against, and none voting present or not voting, H.R. 3962 passed the House of Representatives. 39 Democrats crossed over and voted with the Republicans, while 1 Republican, Joseph Cao of Louisiana, voted with the majority Democrats.
All of AZ's Democrats voted in favor of health care reform; all of AZ's Republican opposed health care reform.
Harry Mitchell's statement of support (pre-vote) is here.
Gabrielle Giffords statement of support (pre-vote) here.
Ann Kirkpatrick's statement on her vote is here.
Jeff Flake's statement about his vote here.
Trent Franks' statement on the vote here.
The others, Pastor, Grijalva, and Shadegg, didn't have relevent statements up on their House websites as of the writing of this post.
Biggest disappointment: By a vote of 240 to 194, with 1 voting present (AZ's John Shadegg...more on that in a moment), the House amended H.R. 3962 with language proposed by Bart Stupak (D-MI) to ban payments for abortions under the public option.
Shadegg's plan behind the "present" vote was that by voting that way, he could help defeat the amendment without actually voting against it. He thought that would be a good tactic to defeat the underlying bill. He thought that the anti-choice amendment made the bill palatable for some reluctant Dems.
As for AZ's delegation, the five Democrats voted against the Stupak amendment while Republicans Franks and Flake voted in support. [Thanks to commenter Eli Blake for spotting the typo here. This is the corrected version.]
As was noted by most of the speakers who opposed the amendment, funding for abortions was already pretty much banned anyway (Section 222, or page 110 of this .pdf, courtesy of the House Rules Committee). Stupak's amendment was actually a ploy to whittle away at private access to a legal medical procedure.
One ray of hope here: The amendment could still be stripped out in conference committee, which will be needed because the Senate's version of health care reform is *somewhat* different than the House's.
There's a lot more to say on this, but my cold is kicking my butt, so let me close with this:
Thank you, Congresswomen Giffords, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, Congressman Pastor, Congressman Grijalva, and especially (because he is my representative) Congressman Mitchell.
Your votes today to support the interests of your constituents ahead of the interests of big insurance companies illustrates why your constituents elected you in the first place.
And why they'll continue to elect you for as long as want to serve as their representatives.
Later...
With a tally of 220 in favor, 215 against, and none voting present or not voting, H.R. 3962 passed the House of Representatives. 39 Democrats crossed over and voted with the Republicans, while 1 Republican, Joseph Cao of Louisiana, voted with the majority Democrats.
All of AZ's Democrats voted in favor of health care reform; all of AZ's Republican opposed health care reform.
Harry Mitchell's statement of support (pre-vote) is here.
Gabrielle Giffords statement of support (pre-vote) here.
Ann Kirkpatrick's statement on her vote is here.
Jeff Flake's statement about his vote here.
Trent Franks' statement on the vote here.
The others, Pastor, Grijalva, and Shadegg, didn't have relevent statements up on their House websites as of the writing of this post.
Biggest disappointment: By a vote of 240 to 194, with 1 voting present (AZ's John Shadegg...more on that in a moment), the House amended H.R. 3962 with language proposed by Bart Stupak (D-MI) to ban payments for abortions under the public option.
Shadegg's plan behind the "present" vote was that by voting that way, he could help defeat the amendment without actually voting against it. He thought that would be a good tactic to defeat the underlying bill. He thought that the anti-choice amendment made the bill palatable for some reluctant Dems.
As for AZ's delegation, the five Democrats voted against the Stupak amendment while Republicans Franks and Flake voted in support. [Thanks to commenter Eli Blake for spotting the typo here. This is the corrected version.]
As was noted by most of the speakers who opposed the amendment, funding for abortions was already pretty much banned anyway (Section 222, or page 110 of this .pdf, courtesy of the House Rules Committee). Stupak's amendment was actually a ploy to whittle away at private access to a legal medical procedure.
One ray of hope here: The amendment could still be stripped out in conference committee, which will be needed because the Senate's version of health care reform is *somewhat* different than the House's.
There's a lot more to say on this, but my cold is kicking my butt, so let me close with this:
Thank you, Congresswomen Giffords, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, Congressman Pastor, Congressman Grijalva, and especially (because he is my representative) Congressman Mitchell.
Your votes today to support the interests of your constituents ahead of the interests of big insurance companies illustrates why your constituents elected you in the first place.
And why they'll continue to elect you for as long as want to serve as their representatives.
Later...
Watching the House debate on health care reform
Just one thing that I wanted to note...
They're currently considering an amendment to bar abortion funding under the public option in the proposed bill.
It's interesting to observe that the vast majority of the Congressfolk opposing the amendment are women yet most of those supporting it are men.
And one of the women who is supporting the amendment is Michele Bachmann (R - MN), and her attire for this day of what is perhaps the most significant Congressional debate in decades, well, it includes a Hawaiian lei. Not really adding to the credibility of her side there.
They're currently considering an amendment to bar abortion funding under the public option in the proposed bill.
It's interesting to observe that the vast majority of the Congressfolk opposing the amendment are women yet most of those supporting it are men.
And one of the women who is supporting the amendment is Michele Bachmann (R - MN), and her attire for this day of what is perhaps the most significant Congressional debate in decades, well, it includes a Hawaiian lei. Not really adding to the credibility of her side there.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Breaking news: Mitchell to vote in favor of H.R. 3962
Apparently, the "power of bloggers" has swayed a member of Congress.
Either that, or he looked at the same factors as I did, and has decided to vote in the best interests of his constituents.
And while my ego would *love* to take credit for this, the news of his decision broke in two separate emails that hit my inbox while I was writing my earlier post urging him (and the Blue Dogs) to support it. I just didn't check my email until after I had written the next post.
So thank you, Congressman Mitchell.
To all readers: Please join me in showing our gratitude by making a contribution to his re-election campaign.
Also, tell your friends, in person, by telephone, by email, or via social networking sites like Facebook.
Beyond that, write letters to the editor (EV Tribune here, AZ Republic at opinions@arizonarepublic.com, ASU State Press at letters.editor@asu.edu).
After that, contact your District Democratic chairs for information your neighborhood's "Day of Action," walking with Congressman Mitchell and other Democratic candidates as they meet, greet, and sign up Democratic voters.
Later...
Either that, or he looked at the same factors as I did, and has decided to vote in the best interests of his constituents.
And while my ego would *love* to take credit for this, the news of his decision broke in two separate emails that hit my inbox while I was writing my earlier post urging him (and the Blue Dogs) to support it. I just didn't check my email until after I had written the next post.
So thank you, Congressman Mitchell.
To all readers: Please join me in showing our gratitude by making a contribution to his re-election campaign.
Also, tell your friends, in person, by telephone, by email, or via social networking sites like Facebook.
Beyond that, write letters to the editor (EV Tribune here, AZ Republic at opinions@arizonarepublic.com, ASU State Press at letters.editor@asu.edu).
After that, contact your District Democratic chairs for information your neighborhood's "Day of Action," walking with Congressman Mitchell and other Democratic candidates as they meet, greet, and sign up Democratic voters.
Later...
An open letter to Congressman Harry Mitchell (and the Blue Dogs)
Normally, these “open letters” are something that I’ve written and submitted to a particular public official. As I am living in CD5 that usually means Harry Mitchell. They are written with a formal, respectful tone.
This one is written more as a blog post, with a less formal tone and links, though it also is respectful. It will also be submitted to Congressman Mitchell.
Dear Congressman Mitchell,
Tomorrow (or perhaps later today as you read this), you and your colleagues will be asked to vote on H.R 3962, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act. I am writing to you to urge you and them to support the bill, and to work to ensure that there is a viable and robust public option in it.
The CBO's analysis of the bill, with the proposed manager's amendment is here; the CBO's analysis of the Republicans' proposed substitute is here. The text of the actual manager's amendment is here, courtesy the House Rules Committee.
All of you are certain to hear from many of your constituents today on this issue, expressing their support or opposition to health care reform. (I tried calling your district office for more than 40 minutes, but the line was always busy. So, I called your D.C. office. The woman who answered was very pleasant and courteous while I voiced my opinion in support of health care reform.)
You and many of the Blue Dogs represent districts that are evenly split in terms of partisan voter registration, or like you, represent districts that are Republican-majority districts.
Congressman Mitchell, you are known as somebody who has "steered a middle course" during your more than four decades of public service. You have been a friend, mentor, teacher, mayor, state senator, and now, United States Congressman, for generations of Tempeans and now for residents of Scottsdale, Ahwatukee, Mesa, Fountain Hills, and Chandler.
Because of that middle course and your own reasoned, friendly, and warm approach to public discourse, you have been elected and re-elected to offices where the "conventional wisdom" said that no Democrat could win.
And on many issues, such an approach is not only a workable way of addressing issues, but it is the best way.
However, on the subject of health care reform, the debate is so polarized that tacking to the middle is only the best way if one wants to get pummeled from all sides.
Many of your Blue Dog colleagues have expressed concerns that if they vote for a health care reform package with a public option, they will have difficulty gaining re-election next year. They fear that many of the Republicans and Independent voters in their districts won't support them as they have in the past.
I think it is more likely that a "yes" vote on health care reform will cost them votes that they weren't ever going to get anyway. The health care vote will just be the latest excuse.
On the other hand, a "no" vote will cost them votes, contributions, and, perhaps most importantly, the enthusiasm of their most energetic supporters. After the defeat of health care reform in 1994, the Democrats who lost that year were those who were vulnerable anyway, regardless of their vote on the issue. Many of those who previously supported them closed their wallets and/or stayed home during the campaign season instead of volunteering.
To be sure, tomorrow's vote won't be the last word, or vote, on the subject. There will be many more as the House and Senate work to reconcile their versions of health care reform.
Many folks in Congress, possibly including you and the other Blue Dogs, will view that fact as an opportunity to "have it both ways."
None of you should fall into that trap.
People will remember, and voting for health care reform before voting against it, or vice versa, only serves to alienate both sides.
Additionally, many of you will be tempted to find an imperfection in the bill, and use it as an excuse to say to your constituents "Hey, I support health care reform, but I can't vote for..." XYZ, no matter how trivial "XYZ" is.
Don't fall for that trap, either.
No bill is ever perfect, and if you and your colleagues waited for perfection, no bill would ever pass, to the point of no post offices ever being named or college sports teams being congratulated on winning a championship.
Polls show that an overwhelming number of Americans support reform of the America's health care delivery system. There is, of course, disagreement over what that form those changes should take. One thing is clear though, the only real failure possible here is to simply do *nothing.*
*Nothing* is what was delivered to America in 1994, and the aftereffects of that failure devastated the country for 12 years until 2006, when the Republicans were stripped of their majority status in Congress.
To sum up, you and your colleagues are fated to be criticized harshly after your votes, regardless of whether those votes are "yea" or "nay."
It's unavoidable.
So be it.
While I do believe that you and your colleagues should support health care reform (and stated so earlier in this letter), each of you, whether you end up supporting or opposing health care reform, should do one thing.
Consider the best interests of your constituents, and vote your consciences.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Regards,
[Craig]
Later...
This one is written more as a blog post, with a less formal tone and links, though it also is respectful. It will also be submitted to Congressman Mitchell.
Dear Congressman Mitchell,
Tomorrow (or perhaps later today as you read this), you and your colleagues will be asked to vote on H.R 3962, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act. I am writing to you to urge you and them to support the bill, and to work to ensure that there is a viable and robust public option in it.
The CBO's analysis of the bill, with the proposed manager's amendment is here; the CBO's analysis of the Republicans' proposed substitute is here. The text of the actual manager's amendment is here, courtesy the House Rules Committee.
All of you are certain to hear from many of your constituents today on this issue, expressing their support or opposition to health care reform. (I tried calling your district office for more than 40 minutes, but the line was always busy. So, I called your D.C. office. The woman who answered was very pleasant and courteous while I voiced my opinion in support of health care reform.)
You and many of the Blue Dogs represent districts that are evenly split in terms of partisan voter registration, or like you, represent districts that are Republican-majority districts.
Congressman Mitchell, you are known as somebody who has "steered a middle course" during your more than four decades of public service. You have been a friend, mentor, teacher, mayor, state senator, and now, United States Congressman, for generations of Tempeans and now for residents of Scottsdale, Ahwatukee, Mesa, Fountain Hills, and Chandler.
Because of that middle course and your own reasoned, friendly, and warm approach to public discourse, you have been elected and re-elected to offices where the "conventional wisdom" said that no Democrat could win.
And on many issues, such an approach is not only a workable way of addressing issues, but it is the best way.
However, on the subject of health care reform, the debate is so polarized that tacking to the middle is only the best way if one wants to get pummeled from all sides.
Many of your Blue Dog colleagues have expressed concerns that if they vote for a health care reform package with a public option, they will have difficulty gaining re-election next year. They fear that many of the Republicans and Independent voters in their districts won't support them as they have in the past.
I think it is more likely that a "yes" vote on health care reform will cost them votes that they weren't ever going to get anyway. The health care vote will just be the latest excuse.
On the other hand, a "no" vote will cost them votes, contributions, and, perhaps most importantly, the enthusiasm of their most energetic supporters. After the defeat of health care reform in 1994, the Democrats who lost that year were those who were vulnerable anyway, regardless of their vote on the issue. Many of those who previously supported them closed their wallets and/or stayed home during the campaign season instead of volunteering.
To be sure, tomorrow's vote won't be the last word, or vote, on the subject. There will be many more as the House and Senate work to reconcile their versions of health care reform.
Many folks in Congress, possibly including you and the other Blue Dogs, will view that fact as an opportunity to "have it both ways."
None of you should fall into that trap.
People will remember, and voting for health care reform before voting against it, or vice versa, only serves to alienate both sides.
Additionally, many of you will be tempted to find an imperfection in the bill, and use it as an excuse to say to your constituents "Hey, I support health care reform, but I can't vote for..." XYZ, no matter how trivial "XYZ" is.
Don't fall for that trap, either.
No bill is ever perfect, and if you and your colleagues waited for perfection, no bill would ever pass, to the point of no post offices ever being named or college sports teams being congratulated on winning a championship.
Polls show that an overwhelming number of Americans support reform of the America's health care delivery system. There is, of course, disagreement over what that form those changes should take. One thing is clear though, the only real failure possible here is to simply do *nothing.*
*Nothing* is what was delivered to America in 1994, and the aftereffects of that failure devastated the country for 12 years until 2006, when the Republicans were stripped of their majority status in Congress.
To sum up, you and your colleagues are fated to be criticized harshly after your votes, regardless of whether those votes are "yea" or "nay."
It's unavoidable.
So be it.
While I do believe that you and your colleagues should support health care reform (and stated so earlier in this letter), each of you, whether you end up supporting or opposing health care reform, should do one thing.
Consider the best interests of your constituents, and vote your consciences.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Regards,
[Craig]
Later...
Monday, November 02, 2009
Jeff Flake - does Congress' health insurance cover dislocated shoulders?
He should check into that, because he has been patting himself on the back awfully energetically recently.
Specifically, he has been outdoing himself in the "clever" department. Witness his press release on his "no" vote on H. Res. 784, a resolution honoring the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Chinese philospher Confucius.
From Flake's press release -
For the purposes of this post, I'll only cover activities in Congress from 2003 thru 2005 (when the Republicans still had a majority in the House) and I'll define "trivial" having nothing to the regular business of governing or with the "big issues" of the day (9/11 aftermath, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hurricane Katrina debacle, the massive budget deficit, etc.).
Let's see -
In 2003 -
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 46, honoring the life and legacy of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 111, honoring the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the star of PBS' "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood";
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 195, honoring Sammy Sosa on the occasion of Sosa hitting his 500th home run;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 357, honoring the life and legacy of entertainer Bob Hope;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 359, welcoming the Dalai Lama to the United States on the occasion of his visit in 2003;
In 2oo4,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H.Res. 427, honoring the new leadership of the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam and calling for religious tolerance on the part of the government of Vietnam;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 578, supporting the goals of Financial Literacy Month. This one doesn't really fall into my definition of trivial (for the purposes of this post), but since it begins "Whereas the financial services industry in the United States benefits millions of people in the United States..." it merits inclusion here in light of the financial services industry's meltdown a few short years later due to the fact that it isn't run for the benefit of "millions of people," instead being operated for the benefit of a few people at the very top of the financial services corporations.
Credit where credit is due department: Flake voted against this one in 2005, when it was H. Res. 148.
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 660, commemorating Randy Johnson's perfect game on May 18, 2004. Flake was a cosponsor of this piece of vital legislation;
In 2005,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res 479, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 500, memorializing a Bermuda Triangle disappearance from 1945;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 579, supporting the protection of the Christmas holiday and its symbols;
And when he wasn't voting for trivial legislation, he was sponsoring or cosponsoring some of it.
- In 2004, Flake sponsored H. Con. Res. 410, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the constitution of the Marshall Islands;
- In 2003, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 125, honoring the long history of Freemasons in the United States;
- In 2005, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 551, honoring the 50th anniversary of the conservative magazine National Review;
- In 2006, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 1089, honoring the life of economist Milton Friedman.
And it's not as if being in the minority has focused Flake's attention on matters of true import this year - he signed on as a cosponsor of H. Res. 388, honoring mothers and supporting Mothers Day and he voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 60 to honor U of Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford on winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy.
Now, I don't have any problem with most of the above bills and resolutions (excepting the financial service industry smooch-jobs, and Flake ended up voting against those after 2003), and even I think that the measure regarding the 2560th birthday of Confucius is more than a little unnecessary.
However, that bill, the one he so snarkily voted against, is no more wasteful of Congress' time than the bills that he voted for and/or sponsored earlier in the decade.
Flake should forego the hypocritical self congratulations and focus on leading by example - if he wants to criticize his colleagues for expending time and effort on meaningless matters, that's his prerogative.
He should just live and work to the standards that he is holding others to.
Specifically, he has been outdoing himself in the "clever" department. Witness his press release on his "no" vote on H. Res. 784, a resolution honoring the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Chinese philospher Confucius.
From Flake's press release -
“He who spends time passing trivial legislation may find himself out of time to read healthcare bill,” said Flake.His vote, and his quote, inspired me to see how consistent Congressman Flake has been in regard to his votes on "trivial" legislation.
For the purposes of this post, I'll only cover activities in Congress from 2003 thru 2005 (when the Republicans still had a majority in the House) and I'll define "trivial" having nothing to the regular business of governing or with the "big issues" of the day (9/11 aftermath, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hurricane Katrina debacle, the massive budget deficit, etc.).
Let's see -
In 2003 -
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 46, honoring the life and legacy of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 111, honoring the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the star of PBS' "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood";
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 195, honoring Sammy Sosa on the occasion of Sosa hitting his 500th home run;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 357, honoring the life and legacy of entertainer Bob Hope;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 359, welcoming the Dalai Lama to the United States on the occasion of his visit in 2003;
In 2oo4,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H.Res. 427, honoring the new leadership of the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam and calling for religious tolerance on the part of the government of Vietnam;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 578, supporting the goals of Financial Literacy Month. This one doesn't really fall into my definition of trivial (for the purposes of this post), but since it begins "Whereas the financial services industry in the United States benefits millions of people in the United States..." it merits inclusion here in light of the financial services industry's meltdown a few short years later due to the fact that it isn't run for the benefit of "millions of people," instead being operated for the benefit of a few people at the very top of the financial services corporations.
Credit where credit is due department: Flake voted against this one in 2005, when it was H. Res. 148.
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 660, commemorating Randy Johnson's perfect game on May 18, 2004. Flake was a cosponsor of this piece of vital legislation;
In 2005,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res 479, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 500, memorializing a Bermuda Triangle disappearance from 1945;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 579, supporting the protection of the Christmas holiday and its symbols;
And when he wasn't voting for trivial legislation, he was sponsoring or cosponsoring some of it.
- In 2004, Flake sponsored H. Con. Res. 410, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the constitution of the Marshall Islands;
- In 2003, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 125, honoring the long history of Freemasons in the United States;
- In 2005, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 551, honoring the 50th anniversary of the conservative magazine National Review;
- In 2006, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 1089, honoring the life of economist Milton Friedman.
And it's not as if being in the minority has focused Flake's attention on matters of true import this year - he signed on as a cosponsor of H. Res. 388, honoring mothers and supporting Mothers Day and he voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 60 to honor U of Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford on winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy.
Now, I don't have any problem with most of the above bills and resolutions (excepting the financial service industry smooch-jobs, and Flake ended up voting against those after 2003), and even I think that the measure regarding the 2560th birthday of Confucius is more than a little unnecessary.
However, that bill, the one he so snarkily voted against, is no more wasteful of Congress' time than the bills that he voted for and/or sponsored earlier in the decade.
Flake should forego the hypocritical self congratulations and focus on leading by example - if he wants to criticize his colleagues for expending time and effort on meaningless matters, that's his prerogative.
He should just live and work to the standards that he is holding others to.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
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 week looks to be an active one at all levels of the political food chain.
...In the U.S. House, the agenda has many of the usual memorials and such, as well as a couple of more controversial bills, but most of the country's attention will be focused on one bill that *may* be heard this week -
H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Preliminary analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) here. Also, the CBO has a brief explanation of its analyses and a comparison of this bill and the health care reform measure passed by the Senate Finance Committee here.
...Over in the Senate, their work will probably be overshadowed by the hubbub in the House, but their committee schedule is here.
...Back here in Arizona, the budget is still out of balance and the lege and Governor are still fiddling around. The pace of the make-work is picking up though, so maybe they'll start thinking about doing their real job.
Of course, they may just want to be in town early to get the best seats for next weekend's Nazi rally at the Capitol (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Senate lawn).
On to the schedule of make-work -
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1. The committee's co-chair is Sen. Sylvia Allen, so expect something along the lines of "the Earth was created without regulations 6000 years ago, and if no regulation worked then, it'll work now."
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development will meet on Monday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.
- The House Education and Senate Education Accountability and Reform Committee of Reference will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR1. The subject of the meeting will be the school district performance audits of Tempe Union High School District as well as the unified school districts of Apache Junction, Ash Fork, Lake Havasu, and St. Johns.
The Auditor's report is here; TUHSD's response is here.
This one *could* have a minor impact on next year's elections.
The school board of TUHSD is headed up by Mary Lou Taylor, a candidate for the Republican nomination for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The co-chair of the committee of reference is Rep. Rich Crandall, someone who has been rumored to be interested in that position, too. If he really is interested in the job, he could see that the heat is turned up on TUHSD.
Given that TUHSD's response to the audit report was one of agreement, I expect this one to be fairly uneventful.
- The Joint Legislative Audit Committee will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR1.
- The House Commerce and Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing sunset reviews of the office of the Auditor General (it's controlled directly by the lege leadership, so it is safe), the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (not so safe - who needs the DLLC and control, when there are now plenty of guns in bars to keep things under control? :) ), and the Sports and Tourism Authority (spends a lot of taxpayer money to help out corporate interests, so it is probably safe).
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Finance Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing the sunset review of the State Board of Investment.
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Retirement and Rural Development Committee of Reference will meet at 1:30 p.m on Wednesday in HHR5 to consider the sunset review of the Department of Insurance.
- The House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee of Reference will meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. in HHR4 to consider the sunset reviews of ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division and the Gila County Transportation Excise Tax (report here).
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a securities meeting on Thursday (agenda here). Radical Bunny LLC is part of the ACC's regular hearing schedule (Tuesday, 11 a.m.). That one should be familiar to people who follow fraud cases in AZ.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold two meetings this week. At Monday's "informal" meeting (agenda here) the highlight looks to be an item to consider and approve a settlement of legal actions between the County and former County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling.
The agenda for Wednesday's "formal" meeting includes an item to establish a photo enforcement fee for photo radar tickets adjudicated through the justice courts system. The justice courts are currently swamped under the load stemming from the increased use of photo enforcement, and need the revenue to hire pro tem judges specifically dedicated to hearing those cases.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is holding a special meeting on Friday at 8:30 a.m. to formulate a plan for addressing the matters brought out in the recent complaint to the Higher Learning Commission.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a meeting in Tucson on Thursday. The agenda includes consideration of legislative activities and a presentation on EPA rulemaking on emissions from the Navajo Generating Station.
...The Tempe City Council is holding a meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Agenda here; council calendar here.
...The Scottsdale City Council will be busy this week. In addition to the previously covered activities on Monday, they've got a regularly scheduled meeting on tap for Tuesday. The highlight of that agenda could be item 20, a reorganization of the City's Financial Services Division that would remove most of that area from the City Manager's purview (whoever that might be after Monday's special meeting on the employment status of John Little.) Also of interest is a proposal to increase the city's bed tax in order to provide more tourism development support.
The City's community meetings calendar is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the Arizona Board of Regents.
This week looks to be an active one at all levels of the political food chain.
...In the U.S. House, the agenda has many of the usual memorials and such, as well as a couple of more controversial bills, but most of the country's attention will be focused on one bill that *may* be heard this week -
H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Preliminary analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) here. Also, the CBO has a brief explanation of its analyses and a comparison of this bill and the health care reform measure passed by the Senate Finance Committee here.
...Over in the Senate, their work will probably be overshadowed by the hubbub in the House, but their committee schedule is here.
...Back here in Arizona, the budget is still out of balance and the lege and Governor are still fiddling around. The pace of the make-work is picking up though, so maybe they'll start thinking about doing their real job.
Of course, they may just want to be in town early to get the best seats for next weekend's Nazi rally at the Capitol (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Senate lawn).
On to the schedule of make-work -
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1. The committee's co-chair is Sen. Sylvia Allen, so expect something along the lines of "the Earth was created without regulations 6000 years ago, and if no regulation worked then, it'll work now."
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development will meet on Monday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.
- The House Education and Senate Education Accountability and Reform Committee of Reference will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR1. The subject of the meeting will be the school district performance audits of Tempe Union High School District as well as the unified school districts of Apache Junction, Ash Fork, Lake Havasu, and St. Johns.
The Auditor's report is here; TUHSD's response is here.
This one *could* have a minor impact on next year's elections.
The school board of TUHSD is headed up by Mary Lou Taylor, a candidate for the Republican nomination for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The co-chair of the committee of reference is Rep. Rich Crandall, someone who has been rumored to be interested in that position, too. If he really is interested in the job, he could see that the heat is turned up on TUHSD.
Given that TUHSD's response to the audit report was one of agreement, I expect this one to be fairly uneventful.
- The Joint Legislative Audit Committee will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR1.
- The House Commerce and Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing sunset reviews of the office of the Auditor General (it's controlled directly by the lege leadership, so it is safe), the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (not so safe - who needs the DLLC and control, when there are now plenty of guns in bars to keep things under control? :) ), and the Sports and Tourism Authority (spends a lot of taxpayer money to help out corporate interests, so it is probably safe).
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Finance Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing the sunset review of the State Board of Investment.
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Retirement and Rural Development Committee of Reference will meet at 1:30 p.m on Wednesday in HHR5 to consider the sunset review of the Department of Insurance.
- The House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee of Reference will meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. in HHR4 to consider the sunset reviews of ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division and the Gila County Transportation Excise Tax (report here).
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a securities meeting on Thursday (agenda here). Radical Bunny LLC is part of the ACC's regular hearing schedule (Tuesday, 11 a.m.). That one should be familiar to people who follow fraud cases in AZ.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold two meetings this week. At Monday's "informal" meeting (agenda here) the highlight looks to be an item to consider and approve a settlement of legal actions between the County and former County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling.
The agenda for Wednesday's "formal" meeting includes an item to establish a photo enforcement fee for photo radar tickets adjudicated through the justice courts system. The justice courts are currently swamped under the load stemming from the increased use of photo enforcement, and need the revenue to hire pro tem judges specifically dedicated to hearing those cases.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is holding a special meeting on Friday at 8:30 a.m. to formulate a plan for addressing the matters brought out in the recent complaint to the Higher Learning Commission.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a meeting in Tucson on Thursday. The agenda includes consideration of legislative activities and a presentation on EPA rulemaking on emissions from the Navajo Generating Station.
...The Tempe City Council is holding a meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Agenda here; council calendar here.
...The Scottsdale City Council will be busy this week. In addition to the previously covered activities on Monday, they've got a regularly scheduled meeting on tap for Tuesday. The highlight of that agenda could be item 20, a reorganization of the City's Financial Services Division that would remove most of that area from the City Manager's purview (whoever that might be after Monday's special meeting on the employment status of John Little.) Also of interest is a proposal to increase the city's bed tax in order to provide more tourism development support.
The City's community meetings calendar is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the Arizona Board of Regents.
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