Holding up vote on state park license fee an abuse of power

[Source: Daily Sun Editorial 3-10-2010]  -  Now we know at the state level what the exercise of personal privilege in the U.S. Senate feels like. State Rep. John Kavanagh is Arizona’s equivalent of Jim Bunning, the North Carolina senator who held up the recent jobs bill for several days by refusing to join in “unanimous consent” to let the bill proceed to a vote without a filibuster. Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican, doesn’t like a bill that proposes to fund state parks with a vehicle license surcharge. The $12-per-plate fee would raise tens of millions of dollars a year, and in return any vehicle with an Arizona license plate gains free entrance to a state park. Also, the extra money would be used to help ADOT reopen some of the highway rest areas closed for lack of funds.

“It’s a tax increase, which isn’t consistent with the Republican program,” Kavanagh told Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services. That’s a debatable point – fees that pay for a specific user benefit are usually not considered taxes. But even if Kavanagh were correct, he is still making his point in a profoundly anti-democratic way. He is refusing as the appointed chair of the House Appropriations Committee to hold a hearing on the bill. And without a hearing and a vote in committee, the bill can’t move forward to the floor [to read the full editorial click here].

Funding proposal for state parks hits roadblock: 1 legislator

[Source: Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services 3-8-2010] - A single legislator is blocking a plan to ask voters to permanently fund the state parks system with a surcharge on vehicle license fees. Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, refuses to schedule a hearing on HCR 2040 in the Appropriations Committee, which he chairs, and will not agree to have the measure withdrawn from his committee. That effectively keeps the plan from going to the full House, where Rep. Russ Jones, R-Yuma, said he has the votes for approval.

The parks system is being stymied on two fronts in its efforts to minimize closures. A second bill, HB 2060, would provide a $40 million loan over the next two years to the parks. But it is stalled because it needs a supermajority – 45 of 60 House votes and 23 of 30 Senate votes – because the money would come from the Growing Smarter fund, approved by voters more than a decade ago to buy or lease state trust land for open space [to read the full article click here].

Attack on Voter Protection Act threatens our valuable initiative process

[Source: William C. Thornton Special To The Arizona Daily Star 3-8-2010] -Voters Beware! Once again our right to legislate by initiative is under attack in the Arizona Legislature.  Inspired by the progressive movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, framers of the Arizona Constitution provided citizens with the initiative and recall as remedies for an unresponsive Legislature and direct means of removing corrupt or incompetent public officials from office.

It’s no secret that many legislators don’t like initiatives. Many voter-approved measures provide evidence of a gap between an electorate with a progressive streak and the conservative legislative leadership. Examples include the Arizona Heritage Fund, which passed by a 2-1 ratio in 1990. With Heritage funds, the citizens of Arizona have invested more than $400 million of lottery revenue in Arizona State Parks and Game and Fish, and earned many additional millions of dollars in matching grants. If you hunt, fish, hike, camp, boat or picnic, you have benefited from the Heritage Fund at no cost to taxpayers.

By initiative we have also banned the barbaric blood sport of cockfighting, the hideously cruel use of leg-hold animal traps and mandated more humane conditions for factory-farmed hogs. These measures all passed with overwhelming public support when the Legislature couldn’t or wouldn’t act.

Through the mid 1990s legislators engaged in a series of fund transfers and other actions designed to undermine the initiative process. Matters came to a head when, in a particularly outrageous display of contempt for voters, legislators took it upon themselves to “fix” an initiative that legalized the limited use of medical marijuana. The backlash produced the “Voter Protection Act” of 1998 that rendered voter-approved initiatives immune from legislative tampering [to read the full opinion click here].

Viewpoint: Let us vote on plan to save state parks

[Source: Arizona Republic editorial board] – A ballot measure to save our state parks has stalled in the Legislature.   The park system is on the verge of financial collapse.  The system is so cash-strapped that iconic places are closing, from Tombstone Courthouse to Picacho Peak.  How smart is that for a state that relies on tourism?  It doesn’t have to happen.

HCR 2040 would let voters decide whether to create a steady source of funding by raising vehicle-registration fees by $9 a year.  (An additional $3 would pay for rest areas and be used for other transportation purposes.)  In return, Arizona-registered vehicles would get free entry to all state parks.  And private enterprises would still have ample opportunity to develop and operate marinas, campgrounds and other services.

States like Montana and Washington have already adopted this common-sense system. The proposal passed out of the Natural Resources and Rural Affairs Committee.  But it’s inexplicably stuck in Appropriations.  If Chairman John Kavanagh won’t put it on the agenda, he should let it move along to a floor vote.  Voters should get a chance to ensure the future of our parks.

Gov. Jan Brewer and lawmakers should avoid unnecessary damage in the short term. They’re considering a budget proposal that would create an immediate crisis, draining what little money remains for the parks to run on.  This defies logic.  State leaders talk a lot about making Arizona more competitive.  Our parks are unique recreational and economic assets, especially for the rural communities.  Let’s capitalize on those strengths.

Help save Arizona State Parks. Contact your legislators NOW!

Arizona’s State Parks — natural areas, historic places, archaeological sites, cultural resources, and much more — are in trouble.  Parks funding from the Arizona State Legislature has decreased significantly over the last eight years, and a number of parks are closing.  To protect our parks for future generations, legislators should do two things:

FIRST, they should restore the enhancement fund (parks fee dollars we all pay) and the Heritage Fund so State Parks can continue to operate in the short term.

SECOND, they should support HCR2040, which refers to the ballot a measure to allow free day use of our parks for a fee on vehicle registrations.  The vote is scheduled for 2 p.m., Thursday, February 25!

While you’re certainly welcome to show up in person, YOU CAN CLICK HERE NOW to send a message to your legislators asking them to vote YES on HCR2040.

If passed by the Legislature, this measure will be referred to the ballot.  If Arizona’s voters approve, the fees will be voter protected, meaning that the Legislature could not divert them for other purposes.  This is a crucial step toward saving our state park system!

Thank you for your support of our state parks and Arizona’s heritage!

Arizona Heritage Alliance Board of Directors (and 175 other organizations listed here)

Arizona Republic editorial cartoonist Steve Benson on state parks’ plight

Lake Havasu City proposes taking over popular state park

[Mohave Daily News, Christine Harvey, Cronkite News Service, 2-16-2010] — With Arizona State Parks facing an uncertain future due to budget cuts, Lake Havasu City is proposing taking over operations of a popular facility there.  Unlike some other communities that have partnered to keep state parks open, however, Lake Havasu City wants a long-term lease to operate Lake Havasu State Park, home of the community’s busiest and largest boating ramp.

“Help us help you,” Mayor Mark Nexsen told the House Natural Resources and Rural Affairs Committee on Monday.  “The state cannot afford to keep our park open, and we cannot afford to have it close.”  In response to budget cuts, the Arizona State Parks Board plans to close 13 parks around the state while keeping nine open.  For now, Lake Havasu State Park is slated to remain open.

Rep. Doris Goodale, R-Kingman, who is sponsoring a bill to make the lease possible, said that could change. Her bill, HB 2786, would require Arizona State Parks Board to enter into a 25-year lease with Lake Havasu City, with the community paying the state $50,000 per year.  With Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, the committee’s chairman, not in attendance, the panel put off voting on the proposal until next week.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Record 40,499 sandhill cranes counted in southern Arizona

[Source: Outdoor News Daily.com, 2-13-2010] — The Sulphur Springs Valley in Arizona attracted a record 40,499 wintering sandhill cranes, providing an unparalleled wildlife watching opportunity in southern Arizona this year, say Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists.  “In 2008 this agriculturally-rich valley in southern Arizona drew a record 36,708 sandhill cranes.  This year circumstances and conditions conspired for this 80-mile-long valley to attract thousands more of these magnificent large birds,” said Mike Rabe, the department’s migratory game bird program manager.

Sandhill cranes are some of the largest birds in North America and have a wingspan of six to eight feet across, allowing them to fly and soar up to 100 miles in a single day in their quest for food.  Huge V-shaped flights of sandhill cranes plying the skies provide a thrilling sight for wildlife viewers.  When standing on the ground, adult sandhills can reach six feet tall.  “Experiencing the morning sandhill crane launch at the department’s two wildlife areas, especially Whitewater Draw, is truly spectacular.  Witnessing the cranes return to roost at these wildlife areas can be equally spectacular, especially during one of Arizona’s brilliant sunsets,” Rabe said. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Heritage Fund sweeps still possible, says Sierra Club

[Source: Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club, 2-12-2010] — The lottery reauthorization bill did pass and did keep the Heritage Fund in the mix.  So the Heritage Fund lives, so they can sweep it another day.  We will continue to fight that, of course.

Support growing to save Arizona’s state parks

[Source: Verde Independent, Steve Ayers 2-2-2010] — About 40 supporters from the Verde Valley, joined by at least 150 more from around the state, converged on the state capitol Monday urging lawmakers to find a way to keep the Arizona State Park system operating. It was just one of many campaigns organized recently to get the Legislature’s attention and voice opposition to their repeated raids on the agency’s budget.

Not all that long ago the park system had a $30 million budget that funded operations, maintenance and capital improvements to a system of 30 parks and conservation areas.  But after two huge cuts by the Legislature, the budget has been cut to $9 million, forcing the closure of all but nine parks by the end of this fiscal year.  The citizen-initiated campaigns, however, are beginning to have an effect. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]