Weigh in on Wolves, Wildlife, Water, Overreach and Sprawl!

This week there are several bad bills that you can weigh in on that hurt wildlife, increase sprawl (at the expense of water) or over-burden our state departments. You can find them under the Legislative update and a petition to protect wildlife.
.
Please use the Request to Speak app to weigh in on the bills before they are heard in their respective committees on Tuesday. After signing into the system and clicking on New Request, you can simply copy and paste the bill number into SEARCH PHRASE, SEARCH then click on ADD REQUEST

Sign into the Request to Speak system: https://apps.azleg.gov/account/signon

If you haven't signed up for the system, you can find the form here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdjBMoAJrjHD57GGegmdUCKAowcr93K4vQA6a7_AjyElBtrQ/viewform

Full directions here:
https://desktopactivisttucson.blogspot.com/2018/03/request-to-speak-time.html

Need more direction? The Sierra Club is offering Request to Speak training at 6pm on Thursday, March 12th. (See information below.)


LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

This week, the House and Senate continued a fair amount of work on the floor, sending bills across the mall to the opposite house. Some bills did die in the process, however. One of the best moments was when HB2492 (urban growth boundaries; prohibition) went down in flames, failing in the House 27-29-3-0-1. The bill said no city, county, or other state entity can implement or enforce directly or indirectly any act that would limit urban sprawl or limit extension of services. This was to accommodate even more runaway sprawl -- as if we did not have enough. It would have ensured that those who can afford it least pay the cost for developers to sprawl farther and farther away from existing infrastructure. The bill could have been used to block conservation plans, too. Thank representatives who voted no. You can see the list here. (Click the Show House THIRD button to see the names and how they voted.)

Sadly, while legislative leadership blocked all efforts to require more of data centers and to eliminate their tax breaks, they allowed numerous bills to advance to accommodate siting of both data centers and small modular nuclear reactors. We will have an alert on those next week, but one bill has passed in the Senate and is on a House agenda next week. See more on SB1418 in the section on committees.

HB2331 electric service providers; energy reliability (Marshall: Heap) passed out of the House 32-23-4-0-1. It requires that 85% of generation for utility retail customers be from "reliable" sources. The bill creates its own definition of reliable and defines it as a generation resource that is not solar or wind. We will update the alert and share it as the bill gets scheduled.

On a positive note, HB2641 PFAS; firefighting foam; prohibition (Ligouri: Biasucci, Fink, et al) passed out of the House with no opposition, 50-0-9-01. HB2641 bans the use of firefighting foam with PFAS in it. PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" that cause serious health issues. Limiting them in firefighting foam is an important public health issue for firefighters and will help limit contamination of lands and waters. Hooray for a positive step!

Over the last two weeks, several bills to remove protections from Mexican gray wolves and other wildlife have advanced. Most of those are in the Senate and a few will be heard in committee next week.

Please tell your senator to vote no on these harmful wildlife measures!

Tuesday, March 10th

Senate Natural Resources Committee at 1:30 PM
Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here.

HB2013 exceptional events; air quality; wildfires (Fink) mandates that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) file an exceptional event demonstration if a wildfire occurs on federally managed land. There is already a process for exceptional events, demonstrations and established criteria. Why add this time consuming burden and expense? OPPOSE
HB2101 supply and demand; assessment; groundwater (Griffin) requires the ADWR to include more specific data in the supply and demand assessments. Asks for a lot of data that isn't a part of many current groundwater models and there is no funding for updating models. OPPOSE
HB2113 public service corporation; rates; intervenor (Martinez: Carter N, Hendrix, et al.) forces the Residential Utility Consumer Office (RUCO) to intervene when there's an increase of 100% or more with a public service corporation. While a rate increase of 100% or more is extreme, it doesn't seem like RUCO should have the authority to intervene. OPPOSE
HB2158 predatory animals; definition (Diaz) expands the definition of “predators” to include bears, cougars, and mountain lions. The bill is problematic on its face - bears are mostly omnivorous and cougars and mountain lions are the same animal (Puma concolor). HB 2158 would remove these apex carnivores from science-based wildlife management and open the door to unregulated, extreme killing, including by cruel methods such as traps, snares, hounding, and aerial gunning—practices that destabilize populations and undermine the public trust. A floor amendment in the House removed wolves from the definition, but this bill is still harmful to other wildlife and would change the management mechanisms around these animals, providing fewer limits on their take. OPPOSE
HCM2011 Mexican wolf; delist; urging support (Diaz: Biasiucci, Blackman, et al.) is a message to Congress asking it to pass H.R. 4255 (Rep Paul Gosar's terrible bill) and delist the Mexican wolf from the endangered species list and to defund the Nonessential Experimental Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project. Decisions on delisting endangered species should be based on science, not political favors for ranchers. OPPOSE
HCR2020 for-sale housing; development; groundwater replenishment (Griffin: Taylor) says the legislature supports building housing outside designated service providers of water if the proposed development is enrolled in the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD). The CAGRD was established by and for developers and is truly a house of cards as it only worked when there was "excess" Colorado River water and, as we know, there is a shortage on the Colorado. OPPOSE

House Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee at 2:00 PM
Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. 

SB1418 corporation commission; small modular reactors (Carroll) preempts counties – except Maricopa and Pima – from regulating the location of these small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with a large industrial electricity user – basically data centers. We already have data centers locating here in our communities indiscriminately and using enormous amounts of water and electricity, plus providing very few sustainable jobs. It also says nuclear power units are not subject to requirements for a certificate of environmental compatibility, if they are being sited where there was another thermal unit. It doesn't make sense to replace an existing coal plant with a nuclear plant without a certificate of environmental compatibility. OPPOSE

Thursday, March 12th

Make Your Voice Heard at the AZ Legislature using Request to Speak. Training at 6:00 PM

RSVP Here.

Supporting Heroic Actions by Arizona's Top Leaders

While the media amplifies their differences, I would like to highlight some heroic contributions of our Governor and Attorney General. Last week, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed several bad bills (see below.) As of late February 2026, she has blocked measures related to Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), and unemployment benefits. Last week, AG Kris Mayes went after property managers involved in a rent fixing conspiracy. In the past year she has also filed or joined at least 30 lawsuits focusing on halting the withholding of federal funds, protecting environmental regulations, and challenging new immigration rules. AG Mayes is challenging TEP's 14% rate case at ACC.

Thanks to these strong women for standing up for Arizonans and to Progress Arizona for sharing the following update.   

Since she was elected, Governor Hobbs has been the last bastion in defeating Republican-led legislation that harms working-class Arizonans. Most recently, she vetoed 8 incredibly harmful bills this legislative session:

SB1051 would have forced hospitals to work with ICE and HSI to turn over patients seeking emergency care based on their citizenship status.

SB1002, SB1331, SB1334, HB2206, and HB2396 would have significantly increased restrictions on SNAP eligibility and [the types of] food recipients could buy.

SB1036 would have made unemployment harder for workers to receive, putting unnecessary strain on those in need of support; this bill has been vetoed by Gov. Hobbs in previous years as well.

HB2796 would have duplicated the extremely rigid Medicaid eligibility requirements recently set by the Trump administration; versions of this bill have also been vetoed by Gov. Hobbs in previous years.

With more harmful legislation to rapidly reach Governor Hobbs’ desk as it continues to advance in the Republican-controlled legislature, it is a perfect time to let Gov. Hobbs know that we expect her to continue to work in the interests of Arizona’s working families. Let Gov. Hobbs know that we appreciate her work to stop harmful legislation and deliver on her promises!

AZ GOP killed millions in education funding. Republicans at the Arizona legislature killed a bill to extend Prop. 123 funding, which was set to expire this year. Since its passing, Prop. 123 has delivered over $270mil every year to public education. We continue to see educators leave the profession due to a lack of resources in Arizona’s public schools. The GOP is not fixing the school funding crisis they caused. Arizona’s working families deserve better — it’s time to invest in our public schools.

Some good news, as a treat. On Wednesday, AG Kris Mayes announced a settlement with one property management company involved in the RealPage-led rent-fixing conspiracy with Arizona landlords. Weidner Property Management LLC has terminated its revenue management contracts with RealPage. Under the agreement, Weidner will pay $1 million to current and former tenants, refrain from using algorithm-driven rent recommendation services, and renounce data-sharing with competitors. Weidner is also required to provide annual certifications and reports to the AG’s office to verify compliance with these demands. “Arizona renters deserve a fair and competitive housing market—not one manipulated by secret algorithms and backroom deals,” said Attorney General Mayes. “My office will continue to hold companies accountable and restore transparency and fairness to the rental market.” According to a statement from her office, AG Mayes will continue pursuing claims against other defendants in the case to ensure accountability and protect Arizona consumers.

NO on HB2175. The Arizona House of Representatives is debating your First Amendment right to have and express political beliefs. HB2175 would give prosecutors broad discretion to pick and choose who gets charged with a hate crime based on their political affiliations. We’ve already seen protestors targeted for prosecution for speaking up about ICE abuses. If passed, HB2175 could lead to increased and unfair criminal penalties for all sorts of actions like demonstrating opposition to elected officials. This is a direct violation of our First Amendment rights. Tell our legislators: NO on HB2175.

Thanks to Tyler for sharing this update on Last Week, This Morning for Progress Arizona.

Don't let the lights go out on clean energy

This week was crossover week at the Legislature, where bills approved on the floor of one chamber go to the other chamber for hearings. If you've been keeping up with the Request to Speak actions, there is nothing new this week. If you haven't weighed in you can find the past RTS actions here:

Below the legislative update, please find two petitions from the Sierra Club. Use them to contact your legislators on some bad energy bills that are still up for a vote.

Legislative Update:

Among the bills that passed were a bunch of bad water bills, some of which have been previously vetoed by the Governor, measures to allow siting of small modular nuclear reactors with no local review, bills to hinder voting, and several anti-solar bills.

On a positive note, it appears that HB2641 PFAS; firefighting foam; prohibition (Ligouri: Biasucci, Fink, et al) will make it to the floor. It is on a calendar for Monday. HB2641 bans the use of firefighting foam with PFAS in it. PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" that cause serious health issues. Limiting them in firefighting foam is an important public health issue for firefighters and will help limit contamination of lands and waters. We're glad to see this advance.

HB2267 passed out of the Arizona House this week along party lines 31-23-6. It establishes that any utility-scale solar or wind project that is built within four miles of a residence is automatically considered a public nuisance, meaning wind and solar are automatically considered harmful. Thanks for taking action on this bad bill while it was in the House. You can now contact your senator about it as it is likely to be in a committee soon.

Ask your Arizona Senator to vote NO on HB2267!

Act on Solar!

HB2331 was retained (held) on the House Committee of the Whole calendar, so there is still time to take action on it. HB2331 (electric service providers; energy reliability) as amended requires that 85% of generation for utility retail customers be from "reliable" sources. The bill creates its own definition of reliable and defines it as a generation resource that is dispatchable. Battery storage would be excluded, even though it is dispatchable as it is not a generation resource. The definition would exclude most forms of renewable energy and effectively requires that 85% of generation capacity for utilities has to be from fossil fuels, such as coal and gas.   Please tell your representatives to Vote NO on HB2331!

Say NO to Even More Fossil Fuels!

Here are a couple of sessions you might want to listen in on.

Tuesday, March 3rd House Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee at 2:00 PM  Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. Presentation - Arizona Water Banking Authority Thursday, March 5th House Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Committee at 9:00 AM  Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. Presentation: National AI Legislative Trends - Adam Kuckuk, National Conference of State Legislatures

Don't let our legislators tip the scale towards fossil fuels

Our legislators (well, those in the majority) are tipping the scale towards fossil fuels by making it illegal to install solar or wind within 4 miles of homes (HB2267) and requiring 85% of energy to come from fossil fuels (HB2331). Please use the Sierra Club's petitions to send a message to your legislators to oppose these harmful bills. 

There are no Request to Speak actions this week. But we've included an update from Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club on the status of some of the bills we have weighed in on. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Next week is known as cross-over week at the Legislature, where they start to move a lot of bills from one chamber to the other. The list of 2,118 bills that legislators introduced has been whittled down after the last day of committee hearings -- that means a lot of bills are dead, including nearly all of the minority party's bills and most of the bills we were supporting.  And remember that the legislature can revive a dead bill by adopting a strike-everything amendment. (This is an amendment that takes a bill and turns it into a brand new bill. It can be on the same topic or a totally different one. Confusing, I know.) Among the bills killed was the portable solar bill. Representative Gail Griffin heard testimony and then held it from a vote in the House Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee. Two bills we supported did survive the week, including HB2342 homeowners' associations; shade structures (Travers: Weninger, Willoughby). It passed out of the House Commerce committee. It prohibits Homeowners Associations (HOAs) from erecting unreasonable impediments to shade structures in backyards. The strike-everything amendment on SB1571 -- affordability; utilities; marketing expenses  -- also advanced out of committee. It limits monopoly utilities from passing through any costs to a customer that are associated with marketing, partnerships, advertising, community relations, sponsorships or any other similar activity. Utilities, of course, are trying to kill it. Sadly, four Democrats (C Hernandez, L Hernandez, Tsosie, and Volk) helped the Republicans pass an awful water bill this week. HB2758 (McMullen Valley; eligible entities; groundwater) allows private water companies to engage in the interbasin transfer of groundwater from the McMullen Valley in La Paz County to the Phoenix area. This bill benefits a private hedge fund -- Water Asset Management -- and private water companies, as well as developers. It will feed unsustainable urban sprawl. Read about this bad deal for rural Arizona here. HB2267  is very likely to come to the floor of the House this week. It establishes that any utility-scale solar or wind project that is built within four miles of a residence is automatically considered a public nuisance, meaning these are automatically considered harmful. It would also define other renewable energy projects as public nuisances, regardless of location, unless they obtain a certificate of environmental compatibility from the Arizona Corporation Commission, but at least they removed the prohibition on private residential solar that was in the initial bill - we think our RTS comments made that happen.   If you have not done so already, please use this link to send a message to your two representatives and ask them to vote NO on HB2267!

Also, likely to come to the House floor this week is HB2331, a bill that is making the rounds in several states. HB2331 (electric service providers; energy reliability) as amended requires that 85% of generation for utility retail customers be from "reliable" sources. The bill creates its own definition of reliable and defines it as a generation resource that is dispatchable. Battery storage would be excluded, even though it is dispatchable, as it is not a generation resource. The definition would exclude most forms of renewable energy and effectively requires that 85% of generation capacity for utilities has to be from fossil fuels such as coal and gas. Utilities are already building massive amounts of gas generation -- they don't need a mandate! This mandate could result in even higher utility rates. Fossil fuels are heavily subsidized and still are more expensive than clean renewable energy, especially as renewable energy does not have ongoing fuel costs. HB2331, if enacted, would virtually ensure that customers would pay higher utility rates.   Please use this link to tell your representatives to Vote NO on HB2331!

And as if the many attacks on clean energy and democracy were not enough this session, legislators have quite literally targeted Mexican gray wolves. Please send a message to your representatives asking them to oppose bills that seek to weaken protections for wolves and other wildlife. Use this link to learn more and take action.

Dan and I would like to invite you to join Sustainable Tucson's Water Committee online this Monday for our monthly meeting: Rainwater Harvesting and Keeping Cool with Storm to Shade. 

Dan Stormont, Water Committee member and Certified Water Harvesting Practitioner, will give a brief background of the history of water in Tucson, the current water situation, and how you can reduce your household water use with harvested rainwater. Then, Xochitl Coronado-Vargas, the City of Tucson's Storm to Shade Public Outreach Coordinator, will provide background on the Storm to Shade program and the current status of these neighborhood projects using harvested stormwater to make our neighborhoods cooler. 

With looming cuts in our Colorado River allocation there has never been a better time to think about where our water comes from and the steps we can take in our homes and our neighborhoods to conserve our precious water.

Water Committee Meeting
Monday, February 23rd · 7:00 p.m. 

For meeting link, email: Jana@sustainabletucson.org 

Push Back on Bills that Target Tucson: Our Water, Solar & More

HB2263 would empty our recharge ponds in Avra Valley

This week many of  the bills at the AZ Leg are targeting what many Tucsonans value.

There are bills that attack renewable energy, while propping up fossil fuels. (Hmm... I wonder who is donating to these legislators?) There are bills that waste money on immigration enforcement (that's a federal responsibility anyway) and two on AI (a faulty tool for enforcement.) But the bills that really get my goat are the ones prohibiting Tucson Water from doing its good work on Colorado River water management.  (HB2263 and HB2099) Rep. Griffin is trying to get her hands on Tucson's water!   

Sign into the Request to Speak system: https://apps.azleg.gov/account/signon

If you haven't signed up for the system, you can find the form here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdjBMoAJrjHD57GGegmdUCKAowcr93K4vQA6a7_AjyElBtrQ/viewform

NOTE: One of the bills that passed out of the House Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee this week was HB2267. It establishes that any utility-scale solar or wind project that is built within four miles of a residence is automatically considered a public nuisance, meaning these are automatically considered harmful. It would also define other renewable energy projects as public nuisances, regardless of location, unless they obtain a certificate of environmental compatibility from the Arizona Corporation Commission. The bill has been revised so it no longer outlaws residential rooftop solar. Yay! I wonder if our comments helped get that removed.  Use this link to send a message to your two House representatives and ask them to vote NO on HB2267! https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/Arizona?actionId=AR0600920 REQUEST TO SPEAK BILLS FOR THIS WEEK

Please use the Request to Speak app to weigh in on the bills (below) before they are heard in their respective committees. After signing into the system and clicking on New Request, you can simply copy and paste the bill number into SEARCH PHRASE, SEARCH then click on ADD REQUEST.  

Full directions here:
https://desktopactivisttucson.blogspot.com/2018/03/request-to-speak-time.html

Keep an eye out for the four bills we support: SB1598, HB2843, HB2845, and SB1677.

Monday, February 16th House Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee at 2:00 P.M. Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2845 appropriation; Del Rio Springs; park (Bliss) appropriates $750,000 to the Arizona state parks board for development and necessary infrastructure at Del Rio Springs for a state park. I am sure they will need more funding for this, but it is definitely worth protecting. SUPPORT House Public Safety and Law Enforcement Committee Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2416 appropriation; DPS; local border support (Nguyen) appropriates $20 million for more border enforcement activities. As if we have not already spent enough or militarized the border enough. OPPOSE Tuesday, February 17th   Senate Natural Resource Committee at 1:30 PM Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. SB1200 assured water supply; certificate; model (Shope) requires the Arizona Department of Water Resources to review an application for a certificate of assured water supply if requested and requires it to use models that will misrepresent the available water. This is to allow those without assured water supplies to get a designation within the Phoenix AMA. OPPOSE SB1785 water storage facility; withdrawals; area (Petersen) requires the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources to assume that a recovery well for stored water is within the area of impact if the applicant does not submit a hydrologic study and adds some additions to allowable locations for recovery wells. Not requiring a hydrologic study and allowing recovery wells outside of the storage facility boundaries seem to be loopholes that allow for pumping water that is not actually in the storage facility. OPPOSE Senate Appropriations, Transportation, and Technology Committee at 1:30 PM Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. SB1088 appropriation; Arizona homeland security; cybersecurity (Carroll) appropriates $2.5 million to the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and requires $500,000 go to generative artificial intelligence for cybersecurity. In addition to the huge environmental impacts of generative AI, it has proven to be very bad at creating secure systems. OPPOSE SB1156 appropriation; short-term detention holds (Rogers: Finchem) appropriates $20 million for short-term detention holds. Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. Why are we paying $20 million of our limited state funds for this? OPPOSE SB1332 light rail expansion; participation; prohibition (Kavanagh) prohibits the state from participating in any light rail expansion until they do this economic feasibility study. The timeline makes it appear that this bill is trying to stop the (already in progress) Rio East-Dobson streetcar extension. If this project is stopped we will lose $15.9 million in federal grants. OPPOSE SB1598 appropriation; schools; community gardens (Alston: Connolly, Sandoval) appropriates $500,000 for grants for community gardens at schools. SUPPORT SB1677 appropriation; salt cedar mitigation (Dunn) appropriates $500,000 for salt cedar mitigation along the Gila River. Getting rid of water thirsty salt cedar is a good thing. SUPPORT SB1707 appropriation; artificial intelligence; border security (Rogers) appropriates $5 million for using AI on border security. AI has proven to be very ineffective in policing and has a huge environmental footprint. OPPOSE House Natural Resources, Energy, & Water Committee at 2:00 PM Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2099 long-term storage credits; shortage; prohibition (Griffin) prohibits municipal water providers from getting credit for stored Colorado River water during times of shortages. This prohibits Tucson from getting long-term storage credits for water left in Lake Mead. This is a blatant attack on Tucson Water for wisely managing our Colorado River resources.  OPPOSE  HB2263 Colorado River water; replenishment; restriction (Griffin) limits replenishment of Colorado River water to that associated with the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District. This bill would appear to prohibit Tucson Water from storing CAP water in the Avra Valley, which is how they serve Colorado River water to Tucson Water customers. OPPOSE HB2492 urban growth boundaries; prohibition (Taylor) says no city, county, or other state entity can implement or enforce directly or indirectly any act that would limit urban sprawl or limit extension of services. This is just to accommodate even more runaway sprawl -- as if we did not have enough. OPPOSE HB2757 Butler Valley; La Paz; groundwater (Griffin: Blackman) allows the interbasin transfer of groundwater from Butler Valley to any place in La Paz County. Essentially this will be draining one groundwater basin to provide water for another basin that doesn't have enough groundwater. OPPOSE HB2843 portable solar power devices; requirements (Contreras P: Aguilar, Cavero, et al) allows customers to install and use "portable solar generation devices" or balcony solar without utility approval, fees, or additional equipment requirements if the devices meet national safety and electrical standards. Prohibits cities, towns and counties from requiring permits, inspections or additional local approvals for compliant portable solar generation devices. SUPPORT HB2889 appropriation; uranium monitoring; mine inspector (Tsosie) appropriates a million dollars for the mine inspector to monitor uranium mining impacts in Arizona. The mine inspector is not the one to look at soil and water contamination. That office has no expertise with this. It's a good idea, but perhaps have the environmental (ADEQ) and health agencies do this. OPPOSE  HB2915 tax reduction fund; renewable energy (Marshall: Heap) is a nonsensical bill that establishes a fund related to a "property value reducing renewable energy project" to pay property owners, but it just assumes that any solar or wind project of 100 MW or more reduces the value of property, which is not the case. OPPOSE HB2918 renewable energy equipment; valuation; depreciation (Marshall: Heap) establishes punitive taxes (an increase from 20% to 100%) for renewable energy equipment. It's an attempt to make solar energy more expensive so fossil fuels can compete. OPPOSE HB4025 study committee; gas; petroleum; refinery (Carter P) establishes this committee to look at the availability of gas and oil and to look at the feasibility of constructing refineries. OPPOSE Wednesday, February 18th Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee at 1:30 PM Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. SCR1027 general election day; all offices (Mesnard) is a proposed constitutional amendment that would go to the ballot. It requires that a general election for city, town and school district officials must take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even numbered year -- at the same time as the state general elections. This is a direct attack on Tucson, which holds their city office elections on odd years. OPPOSE

Do your homework on RTA Next

RTA Next pays for wildlife crossing like this one over Oracle Road 

How should someone who cares about the environment vote on Props. 418 and 419? It is a complicated issue. WMG has joined Living Streets Alliance in advocating that we vote "No" because they want more budgeted for complete streets (green infrastructure, and safe infrastructure for bike riders, pedestrians, and transit riders.) But all of that is included in the proposed RTA Next road widening projects. There is also money for safety features like HAWKs. If this is passed they will finally add more buses and much needed bus routes. If it doesn't pass, the 10 million dollar shortfall will mean that we will lose many of the routes we already have. How is that sustainable? They are assuming the people of Tucson would approve another budget with more money for bike trails and green infrastructure. But if the responses on Nextdoor are any indication, that is highly unlikely. This is a "car town." Most people's priority is streets and getting those damn potholes fixed. The RTA Next budget includes money to repave the arterial and connector streets. If this doesn't pass - no one will get what they want.

Today Dan and I attended a meeting with the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. That environmental organization has advocated for years for RTA to pay for desperately needed wildlife crossings of I-10 at Avra Valley Road and Cienega Creek (like the successful wildlife crossing over Oracle Road.) This is important because the genetic diversity of wildlife is diminished when they are isolated by these traffic barriers, leading to population decreases of a number of species - especially bighorn sheep.

Mule deer safely cross over Oracle Road

https://www.sonorandesert.org/2026/01/13/a-vote-for-props-418-419-is-a-vote-for-wildlife-linkages

Map of priority biological resources of the Sonoran Desert conservation plan: 

ecf5e3ab-d4d2-4251-8374-94926f83c72c

Local enviros fret that without RTA Next, crucial wildlife linkages will lose funding

RTA Next is definitely not perfect - everyone can find something to dislike in it. But something is better than nothing. 

Check it out yourself:

https://rtanext.com/wp-content/docs/next/RTA-Next-Plan-Final-Approved-8-25-2025.pdf
More information:

RTA Next vote explained: What Props 418 and 419 mean for Pima County

Ballots are arriving this week for Propositions 418 and 419 — collectively known as RTA Next — asking voters to extend the half-cent sales tax for another two decades.

Urge AZ Legislators to Save our Solar and Water

HB2267 makes residential solar illegal

Whew!  We have narrowed it down to 31 Request to Speak actions this week. So many bad bills that make transitioning to clean energy more difficult; while other bills allow installation of fossil fuel and nuclear generators without environmental certification. There are even some to force through data centers. One bill would make our residential solar installation illegal! Gail Griffin has so many destructive water bills that she had to schedule two meetings of the House Natural Resources, Energy, & Water Committee this week. You will also find bills to make it harder to vote and that hurt wildlife. 

The bright side is that one of the 31 bills is one we recommend supporting (Look out for SB1488).

Please do what you can. You might want to do the ones that start on Wednesday in a second shift.

Sign into the Request to Speak system: https://apps.azleg.gov/account/signon If you haven't signed up for the system, you can find the form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdjBMoAJrjHD57GGegmdUCKAowcr93K4vQA6a7_AjyElBtrQ/viewform Directions on how to navigate the system: https://desktopactivisttucson.blogspot.com/2018/03/request-to-speak-time.html r Monday, February 9th Senate Federalism Committee at 1:30 P.M.  Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. SB1281 federal government; land acquisition; consent  (Farnsworth) requires that the governor and legislature approve any sale or transfer of private land to the federal government. This is a measure to block acquisitions to protect lands around the headwaters of rivers and springs, inholdings, and to otherwise protect blocks of public lands or areas with special habitat or cultural resources. It also would interfere with private property rights and is unconstitutional on several levels. OPPOSE Senate Military Affairs and Border Security at 1:30 P.M. Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. SB1520 agencies; immigration; data sharing (Rogers: Finchem) mandates that the state and any state agency must share data requested by the U.S. government relating to unauthorized noncitizens, undocumented immigrants, and visa overstays. OPPOSE House Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee at 2:00 P.M.  Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2100 small land subdivision; requirements (Griffin) allows for skirting subdivision requirements and thus avoids requirements for assured water supply. OPPOSE HB2159 Mexican wolves; landowner permits; rules (Diaz)  would allow the killing of Mexican gray wolves by landowners in Arizona. The bill would authorize private individuals, through permits issued by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, to kill wolves on private and/or public lands. In some cases, the Game and Fish Department would be required to issue those permits at the direction of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. This bill is contrary to the Endangered Species Act which protects the Mexican gray wolf as a listed species. OPPOSE HB2497 right to hunt; fish; harvest (Way) undermines Arizona Game and Fish authority relative to wildlife regulation by asserting the Arizona Legislature has exclusive authority over regulation of wildlife and says they "may" delegate it to Game and Fish. They have already delegated it via Title 17, so are they trying to pull it back. Hunting is a privilege, not a right. OPPOSE HB2787 federal nullification; Mexican wolf; reintroduction (Diaz) prohibits the state from administering, enforcing, or cooperating or spending any money on Mexican gray wolf reintroduction and recovery. This is another short-sighted bill to hinder wolf recovery. OPPOSE Tuesday, February 3rd   Senate Natural Resource Committee at 1:30 PM Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. SB1488 appropriation; coal-impacted workforce; study (Hatathlie: Diaz, Epstein, et al) establishes a coal-impacted communities study committee and appropriates $600,000 to the Office of Economic Opportunity to conduct a workforce development study on the communities in Coconino County impacted by the closure of the Navajo Generating Station. SUPPORT House Natural Resources, Energy, & Water Committee at 2:00 PM Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2027 physical availability; review; designated providers (Griffin) prohibits the ADWR from using the Pinal AMA method of calculating the physical availability of groundwater to a municipality in the Phoenix AMA that has an assured water supply designation. It requires the ADWR Director to review the physical availability of groundwater and stored water of each municipality in the Phoenix AMA with an assured water supply designation. This is an attempt to stop enforcement of the Groundwater Management Act and to create more loopholes, the last thing we need. OPPOSE  HB2028 DWR; application; administrative completeness (Griffin) makes licenses from ADWR appealable agency actions, allowing an opportunity for developers and others to sue earlier in the process before a decision is final. It would create even more chaos relative to our water. OPPOSE HB2031 grandfathered right; Willcox AMA; extension (Griffin) extends through the end of the year the amount of time someone has to file for grandfather rights. This AMA has been around for two years -- that should be plenty of time. OPPOSE HB2094 assured water supply; certificate; model (Griffin) requires the ADWR to review the merits of an application for a certificate of assured water supply in the Phoenix active management area (AMA) and issue a new determination within 15 days if certain criteria are met, including if the application was submitted on or after January 26, 2021, and on or before May 31, 2023. The bill also directs use of long-term storage credits, which may be "paper water" that's not physically available to the site of the application. For Salt River and Lower Hassayampa, the bill directs ADWR to approve the application using outdated groundwater models that have recently been updated. This bill promotes unsustainable water use. OPPOSE HB2095 assured water supply; well depth (Griffin) weakens the definition of physically available relative to depth to water as part of an assured water supply determination for a subdivision. Another way to get around the assured water supply. OPPOSE HB2102 domestic water improvement districts; hauling (Griffin) allows an improvement district to be established in a subsequent AMA in order to pump groundwater for water hauling. This weakens the protections for these AMAs. OPPOSE HB2933 groundwater transportation fee; counties; fund (Biasiucci: Griffin) deposits fees in the general fund of counties where groundwater is being hauled out of the county. The problem is, you can't drink money. OPPOSE HB2934 Harquahala; groundwater transportation fee (Biasiucci: Griffin) is like 2933, except for the Harquahala INA. OPPOSE  HB2986 department of environmental quality; program (Griffin) is the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality omnibus bill that is mostly clean-up relating to lead acid battery fee collection, pushes the date out on conditional enactment for air quality state implementation plan revisions, and removes funding for recycling of used oil. It weakens environmental protections.OPPOSE  Wednesday, February 11th Environmental Day at the Capitol 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM House Judiciary Committee at 9:00 AM  Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2136 civil terrorism; disorderly conduct; subversion (Way) attempts to define things like disorderly conduct (that might happen at a rally) as civil terrorism which is treated like a felony. OPPOSE HB2862 unlawful masking; violation (Nguyen) makes it a crime to wear a mask for the purpose of concealing your identity in a public gathering. This is overly broad which means you couldn't even wear a covid mask. This is probably unconstitutional. OPPOSE  Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee at 1:30 PM Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. SB1568 early ballots; registration signatures; curing (Hoffman) requires that people submit a new signature every five years in order for their early ballot to be counted. OPPOSE Thursday, February 12th House Artificial Intelligence Committee at 9:00 AM  Members of the public may access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2456 small modular reactors; zoning; co-location (Wilmeth) prohibits counties from doing anything to restrict or regulate small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with large energy users like data centers. OPPOSE HB2457 public utilities; plant construction; colocation (Wilmeth) loosens requirements for siting power plants as long as they are co-located with large electricity users. OPPOSE   House Natural Resources, Energy, & Water Committee at 12:30 PM Members of the public may attend in person or access a livestream of the meeting here. HB2267 public nuisance; renewable energy; exceptions (Marshall) declares any renewable energy project to be a public nuisance, unless it was permitted before the amendment was approved, it has a certificate of environmental compliance, or it is a non-exporting rooftop installation. (Note that this would make residential solar installations connected to the grid - as most are - illegal.) It further requires the attorney general to take action in superior court to prevent any of these projects from being completed (which will make the AG's office very busy) and will essentially kill any solar or wind development in Arizona.  OPPOSE HB2425 auditor general; state lands; audit (Griffin) mandates a special audit of the State Land Department relative to solar leases, land sales initiated by the Commissioner, etc. Why not mining or grazing leases or other commercial leases? This is just targeting certain activities. OPPOSE HB2755 state land use; highest; best (Griffin: Blackman) says if there is a conflict between mining and another use the Commissioner has to assume that mining is the highest and best use. OPPOSE HB2781 decommissioning; solar energy; standards; fund (Carter N) places special requirements on solar energy generation, unlike fossil fuels, and requires a decommissioning plan for solar which would include a decommissioning bond. This is intended to be another barrier for solar. OPPOSE HB2913 county land commissioner; state lands (Biasiucci: Carter P, Diaz, et al) adds a land commissioner for each county. Why are they creating more government relative to state trust lands? This was not requested by the counties. This is also throwing our tax money away. OPPOSE HB2943 state land oversight board; establishment (Marshall: Heap) establishes an elected state land oversight board, but focuses it on things like looking at allegations related to the Business Bill of Rights. It seems like one more way for the mining, livestock, and development interests to exert pressure on the State Land Department. OPPOSE HB2956 state trust lands; public auction (Martinez) says people who lease state trust lands can buy them unless they have a solar or wind lease. This is clearly discriminatory toward solar, but also likely violates the constitution. OPPOSE HB2975 state lands; solar score; maps (Heap: Marshall) says the state land department cannot use solar score maps or other similar types of evaluation of state trust lands. OPPOSE HB2985 CAP water; state land; allocation (Griffin) says the State Land Department has to develop a process for distribution of its allocation of CAP water to state lands to be sold or leased which will promote development. OPPOSE   HB4009 data centers; state lands; map (Weninger) requires the state land department to identify the highest and best places for data centers in consultation with the computer data center industry.  OPPOSE