Interim Legislative Update

Dear Friends:

Here is a brief synopsis of what the interim months have entailed for me and what I will be working to accomplish next session.

Balancing the Budget: It’s official – due largely to the slowing economy and the overzealous housing market, revenues are $1 billion short of projections for this budget year, so we must face reality. Over the last few years when economic growth was at 20% and surplus revenue was pouring in, spendthrift legislators and the Governor committed more to new spending than was affordable. The economy is still growing, but at a much slower rate, but our current year budget is running seriously short. We can and should look at the situation as an opportunity to focus on the things government needs to be about, doing it more efficiently and eliminating excess. Many will call for borrowing gimmicks, rollovers and raising taxes, but these are not true fixes for what ails us. We’ve overspent and now we need to deal with it.

Keeping taxes in check: As I mentioned above, in order to balance the budget some will suggest putting off the tax cuts we passed in 2006 or even raising taxes. This will compound the problem. In our competitive world, businesses move to low tax environments. Lower tax rates raise revenues by stimulating the economy. To this end, I support making permanent the 3 year suspension of the county equalization tax, legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Waring – heading off a 2009 tax increase.

Large lot property tax fix: The bill I proposed last session addressed the substantial tax inequities forcing residential property owners to pay 60% more in taxes if they own more than a single acre. The bill will bring some needed equity to the process since many counties allow the lower residential rate on up to forty acres. The current system is forcing property owners in Maricopa County to sell off their land in order to pay the taxes. This also leads to development in areas that are working to preserve open space. Next session I will reintroduce the bill with the necessary changes to avoid the veto pen.

CPS–related legislation: Child Protective Services has a reputation. After much public scrutiny, legislation, significant additional funding in 2003 and the responsive leadership of DES Director Tracey Wareing, the agency is slowly making changes aimed at correctly determining whether to remove a child from his home or keep him with parents who, 80% of the time, are drug or alcohol dependent and unable or unwilling to protect and provide for him. But the changes that have not occurred often come at a high cost. As a result of ongoing hearings focused on CPS’s role in the tragic deaths of several Arizona children over the past year, significant legislative reforms will be proposed this session to help ensure the safety of children caught up in dangerous situations where Child Protective Services is called upon to step in: agency transparency, open dependency hearings, coordinating law enforcement and CPS efforts and streamlining behavioral health treatment dollars.

Protecting Life - Partial-Birth Abortion: In April, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled laws banning partial-birth abortion constitutional. This landmark decision represents an important step towards protecting life and makes way for Arizona to reinstate our own law against this gruesome method of killing a partially delivered baby. It is difficult to see how legislators can defend this barbaric practice. For an excellent commentary on the decision, you may want to read: http://blogs.abcnews.com/legalities/2007/04/the_last_word.html.

Health Care Issues: As concerned as we are about the quality and rising costs of health care, the solutions lie with consumers having more control over their healthcare dollars and encouraging the markets to respond accordingly. At the state level, I support allowing insurance companies to offer more insurance options to their customers and encouraging health savings accounts and portability by removing regulatory barriers. In addition, as our population continues to expand, the number of qualified emergency physicians and health care professionals in the state is stifled without reducing the liability they encounter every day they practice emergency medicine. This common sense tort reform will encourage emergency medical professionals to locate and continue to practice emergency medicine in Arizona. We fell a couple votes short of success last session, but it’s important to overcome the trial lawyers on this one.

Another important job of the legislature is to hold state agencies and programs accountable for their deliverables and resources. Legislators serve on various “Committees of Reference” (aka COR) and other study and oversight committees. The public committee hearings are often a springboard for reforming legislation on the particular program/agency at hand.

These are the committees I served on during the interim session:

• The Joint House and Senate Human Services COR reviewed the Dept. of Economic Security, CPS (Child Protective Services) and the Division of Child Support Enforcement in November.

• The Joint House and Senate Higher Education COR evaluated the Arizona Commission for Post-Secondary Education and the WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) program.

• The House Homeland Security and Property Rights COR along with members on the Senate side evaluated the Arizona Emergency Response Commission.

• The Joint House & Senate Health COR reviewed five medical examining boards due to “sunset” and considered four “sunrise” requests by medical entities.

• Sen. Amanda Aguirre and I co-chair the In-Home Care Providers Study Committee. There have been two hearings so far evaluating the issue. The next one is scheduled for April.

• February 6, Sen. Karen Johnson and co-chaired the Joint Legislative Committee on Children and Family Services.

In addition, below are some of the activities/tours/conferences I have participated in over the past few months in an ongoing effort to better represent you at the legislature and in the community:

ALEC –American Legislative Exchange Council annual conference in Philadelphia
Arizona Right to Life Conference - legislative panel moderator
Child Protective Services ride-a-long and tour
Child Protective Services Hotline observation
Center for Arizona Policy Bio-Ethics Conference
Family Development & Fatherhood Town Hall
Sunnyslope Community Health Center tour (operated by the Maricopa County Integrated Health System)
EVIT – East Valley Institute of Technology – Health Sciences Center
NCSL – National Conference of State Legislators - Higher Education Conference in Denver; annual conference in Phoenix
Northern Arizona University “green” facility tour & research lectures
“Legislators’ Back to School Program” – 160 Sunrise Middle School students
“Running & Winning” – Coronado High School young women
City of Scottsdale Town Hall
Veterans Day Commemorations
“View from the Bench” – family court observation
Achieving Value-Based Health Care in AZ Conference

If you would like further information on any of these issues or another topic, please feel free to contact me. I truly appreciate your questions and feedback.

Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,

Nancy

NancyBarto2008@cox.net
602-569-4742