Legislative Update 6/27/2022 and Call to Action on bad voting bill

June 25, 2022 Hi everyone! Here is an update from Sandy at the Sierra Club.  The Arizona Legislature finally adjourned Sine Die this morning at 12:25AM. This past week legislators passed a bi-partisan budget and a bi-partisan water bill. The budget was nothing to write home about relative to environmental protection, but it was better than the bare bones budget they had originally proposed. The Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund received $2.5 million not the $10 million that it should have received, the Arizona Trail received $250,000, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality received additional funding for the Water Quality Fee Fund to help, in theory, with its backlog of work on water quality as outlined in its performance audit. We shall see. Sadly, the budget was loaded up with border dollars including for a Border Strike Task Force and other funds. SB1740 water infrastructure financing; supply; augmentation  (Kerr) passed last night 48-1-11 in the House and 25-1-4 in the Senate. There is no doubt that it is a much better bill than when they started and it does not create a new totally unaccountable bureaucracy. The Democrats negotiated a conservation grant fund with a $200 million appropriation that can fund conservation programs and projects in cities, towns, and counties or some kind of partnership with those entities. The dollars can only be used for voluntary water conservation projects that include long-term reductions in water use, improvements in efficiency and reliability. The grants can fund education and research on reducing water consumption and improving efficiency, turf removal, rainwater harvesting, watershed protection and restoration, etc. Again, this is positive, but not enough and is overshadowed to some degree by the more than a billion dollars over three years for augmentation to bring water in from other states or countries to support business as usual -- unfettered growth, growing alfalfa and other thirsty crops in the desert, and continued invitations to data centers and other water-intensive industries to locate in our communities. SB1740 does not do anything to limit groundwater pumping or even measure it. There is no requirement for considering the environmental impacts of these water augmentation projects either. We badly need a stronger regulatory structure for water, but we just did not get it with this bill, so the Sierra Club could not support it. SB1322 NOW: TPT; use tax; hydrogen; exemption (Shope) failed on Third Read 14-11-5. It would have provided a sales tax exemption for hydrogen used as a fuel despite the fact that 99% of all hydrogen is derived from fossil fuels. Shope had changed his vote to ask for reconsideration, but they did not get back to it, so the bill died. Yay! There were a plethora of bad democracy, bad voting bills, that did not advance, but quite sadly there were several that did. HCR2015 initiatives; supermajority vote; requirement (Dunn; Biasiucci, Bolick) was amended in the Senate, but it is still bad and will be on the ballot this fall. If approved by the voters, the constitution would be amended to require a 60 percent approval by the voters for any ballot measure, including any constitutional amendment, that includes a tax. HB2243 voter registration; state residency; cancellation (also passed and is on Governor Ducey's desk. Please contact him and ask him to veto it. You can reach him at (602) 542-4331. The bill requires voter registration forms to include a statement that if the registrant permanently moves to another state after registering to vote in Arizona, the registration will be cancelled. It also provides another mechanism for county recorders to cancel registrations, possibly disqualifying voters inappropriately.

Comment on Clean Air For All to Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

f

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has released a plan to clean up air at our national parks and other areas, but it falls short of what is needed to clean up the air and protect our health.

Why This Matters

Millions of people visit our national parks and wilderness areas each year to see some of the most awe-inspiring views in the world. But over the decades, haze – from cars and trucks, gas and coal-fired power plants, along with other industrial sources– has degraded visibility and harmed people’s health in our national parks and local communities. In Arizona those places include Grand Canyon, Saguaro and Petrified Forest National Parks, Chiricahua National Monument and Superstition, Galiuro, Mount Baldy, Sierra Ancha, Mazatzal, Sycamore Canyon, and Chiricahua Wilderness Areas.

The Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule (RHR) requires clean up of the air in these areas and is a time-tested, effective program that has resulted in real, measurable, and noticeable improvements in national park visibility and air quality. The RHR requires all states, including Arizona, to do their share by reducing pollution within their borders to help restore clean and clear skies at protected national parks and wilderness areas.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has released a plan for cleaning up these areas, but it is weak and will not significantly reduce the pollution from facilities such as coal plants, cement kilns, smelters, and more. Please take a moment to send a comment to ADEQ and ask it to strengthen its draft plan to address the deficiencies. Please add a note about why clean air is important to you and experiences you have had with the affected parks and wildlands. Also, please add experiences with any respiratory issues you or your family have and the importance of an expeditious clean up of these polluting facilities.

The comment deadline is July 14, so please act now.

You can send a comment on the plan by using the link below.

https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/support-clean-air-for-all?promoid=7013q000002JOwFAAW

Consider joining the Sierra Club for the Energy and Climate Action Team Meeting and Learn about Clean Air for All

Tues, June 28 at 6:30 pm (Tucson time)

Join the Energy and Climate Action Team to learn more about an upcoming opportunity to promote clean air at our national parks and monuments, as well as wilderness areas; better protect our health; and help reduce pollution that contributes to the climate crisis. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has just released a plan for addressing regional haze pollution. We will be discussing the importance of this plan and how it affects our communities, plus include action items such as commenting on the proposed plan.

https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q000002GIbxAAG&id=70131000001

Fight back against massive voucher expansion bill progressing in AZ Legislature

Utterly disregarding the voices of Arizona voters, the Republican-controlled AZ House Ways & Means Committee passed a massive voucher expansion bill (#HB2853) on Wednesday. Adding insult to injury, the committee also advanced #HB2854, a $400 million school funding increase—only effective if the voucher bill passed as well.

These bills would need to pass the full House, then cross to the Republican-controlled AZ Senate to pass committee and full chamber there.

We have hope we can stop these awful bills—but only if we get LOUD: We've asked before, but we have never needed you more: call your Representatives (HERE) and then email them as well, using our one-click tool HERE.

Newsletter with more information on bad education bills here

Support filmmaking in AZ by supporting SB1708

 

SB1708 Goes to the House Next Week

We're being told that the AZ House will be debating SB1708 early next week. Yes, there is still tenacious opposition, but we are confident that our message-- this bill will create more AZ jobs!--is hitting the intended target. This is one of our last chances to advocate for SB1708. We simply can't afford to see this bill die. Here is what you can do to help:

Task #1: Send an e-mail to all 31 Republican members of the House and politely urge them to support SB1708. Keep the message positive and aimed at the economic benefits of this bill--for example: "Thank you for supporting SB1708 which will bring thousands of jobs to Arizona." "Thank you for voting 'yes' on SB1708 which will create economic opportunities for small businesses like mine throughout the state." "This bill is a fiscally responsible way to bring jobs to AZ." "SB1708 is better than any competitive film bill created by other states because it emphasizes infrastructure and permanent jobs." You can copy/paste the e-mail addresses of all the House Republicans from this PDF. If you wish to know their full names and districts, click on the list of the entire House here.

Task #2: Send an e-mail to all 29 Democratic members of the House and courteously advocate that they support SB1708. Maintain an upbeat message emphasizing that SB1708 brings creative jobs and benefits education--for example: "Thank you for supporting SB1708 which will provide permanent creative industry jobs throughout the state." "SB1708 will allow high school, college, and university graduates to stay in AZ to fulfill their dreams here rather than moving away to CA." "Film students at AZ colleges and universities will now be able to intern on big-time productions, benefitting their education and fortifying their resumes." "This bill will benefit local actors and artisans alike due to the increased production in every corner of the state. You can copy/paste the e-mail addresses of all the House Democrats from this PDF. If you wish to know their full names and districts, click on the list of the entire House here.

Task 3: Continue flooding your social media with positive messages (complete with hashtags) which reaffirm why film incentives are great for small businesses and the AZ economy. Feel free to add your own wording to help personalize it. Suggested examples of what to post on Twitter and Facebook are in this PDF. - Film Tucson

Public Comments needed in support of beavers being re-established into the Las Cienegas National Conversation Area

 

I am posting Watershed Management Group's call to action because I support having beavers re-established into the Las Cienegas National Conversation Area. Beavers were the first rainwater harvesters. Their dams slow down and spread the water which encourages new plant growth creating a diverse habitat. Beavers have actually restored watersheds!

Please, read through the following information and draft a short, personalized public comment to the Bureau of Land Management before the deadline on Saturday, June 18th. WMG has put together everything you need to write your public comment below.

 

It’s an important time to take action and help Release the Beavers! The Bureau of Land Management is accepting public comments until next Saturday, June 18th on whether to re-establish beavers in Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area. WMG’s staff has carefully reviewed the full Environmental Assessment on this proposal, and they believe this a much-needed opportunity for beavers to do their amazing work recharging groundwater, improving water quality, and creating climate resilience in Ciénega Creek. Can you make a public comment in support of this proposal?

WMG has been working to re-establish beavers in Ciénega Creek since 2019 through public education, advocacy, our recent Beaver Practitioners Workshop at Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area, and our Binational Beaver Survey in Southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. In 1999, 16 beavers were released into the San Pedro National Conservation Area, and in the decades since, this population has fluctuated and expanded to other areas, such as Sonora, Mexico. Our 2021 Binational Beaver Survey assessed the latest beaver populations in this area on both sides of the border, and found an estimated 52 individual beavers within 9 family groups along the San Pedro (see the map above).

These results are encouraging. They show that it’s possible to re-establish beavers in our perennial desert creeks and for them to flourish, grow, and disperse to help restore rivers in our region. This is possible in the San Pedro River, and it is possible in Ciénega Creek!

Now, to make the proposal for beavers in Ciénega Creek a reality, the Bureau of Land Management needs to hear from more beaver advocates like you. If you haven’t had a chance to make your comment yet, see below to learn about our take on the Environmental Assessment, learn about the process, and learn how to make your comment today. Our collective voices got this proposal off of the backburner, and together we can also make it happen! (See details below.)

What’s An Environmental Assessment, and How Does It Work?

According to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), all major projects on public lands in the U.S. must have Environmental Assessments before being approved. This means the agency implementing the project must evaluate and share how the project will impact the local environment, suggest multiple ways (aka "alternatives") to accomplish the project, and consider public comment before making its decision. The public comment period for this Environmental Assessment will stay open through Saturday, June 18th - 10 more days!

WMG'S take on the Beaver Environmental Assessment

The Environmental Assessment makes it clear that reintroducing beavers to Ciénega Creek will have significant positive impacts for recharging groundwater, improving water quality, creating climate resilience, providing steady surface flows for aquatic species, and more. The Environmental Assessment also thoroughly evaluates possible concerns for Ciénega Creek resulting from re-establishing beavers, and makes a strong case that beaver-based restoration will strongly benefit the area.

The Environmental Assessment suggests three possible courses of action:

Alternative A: Re-establish Beavers with Option to Include Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs)
Alternative A would re-establish beavers in Ciénega Creek, with the option of also using Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) – low-impact, natural structures made from materials like wooden posts that mimic the natural activities of beaver dams, and help make pools deeper for beavers to support them when they are first released. By providing additional support, BDAs increase the chance that beavers will be able to successfully build dams and create communities in Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area. WMG supports Alternative A to provide more flexibility for beaver-based restoration, and a greater chance of success for the beavers!

Alternative B: No Action
Under Alternative B, beavers would not be re-established in Ciénega Creek. The Environmental Assessment makes it clear that this would have a negative impact on the creek, resulting in Ciénega Creek continuing to dry up, reduced groundwater supply, and reduced habitat for native riparian species.

Alternative C: Re-establish Beavers without Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) Alternative C is identical to Alternative A, without the plan for Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs). WMG supports Alternative A instead of Alternative C to provide more flexibility for the project, and to create a greater chance of success for the beavers.

How to Comment on the Environmental Assessment (EA)

The public comment period for this Environmental Assessment will stay open through Saturday, June 18th - 10 more days, and we encourage you to make your comment as soon as possible!
To make your public comment, click the green "Participate Now" button on the left side of this page. Once you're on the "Participate Now" page, place your cursor over the "Beaver Reintroduction" link and scroll to the right until you see a green "Participate Now" button:

Then, click the "Participate Now" button and make your public comment! Or, to reach the public comment page directly, click here.

What Should I Say in My Public Comment?

There is an example public comment below that reflects WMG’s views, but you can also write your own! We encourage you to read the full Environmental Assessment and personalize your comment to reflect why this issue matters to you.

Toward the end of the comment form, there is a question asking if your comment is representative of a group. Since WMG has already made our official public comment, your comment represents you as an individual, and not the organization.

Sample Public Comment:

"Thank you for releasing the Environmental Assessment for the Re-establishment of Beaver (Castor canadensis) on Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area. The assessment makes it clear how much re-establishing beavers would benefit Ciénega Creek and the surrounding area: recharging groundwater aquifers, maintaining steady surface flows for aquatic species and slowing down flood flows, improving water quality, mitigating drought, and more. Please move forward with re-establishing beavers in Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area and support Alternative A of the Environmental Assessment to allow the flexibility to use Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs). I also ask that you approve and begin implementing this project quickly after the 30-day EA comment period ends so beavers can start doing their good work at Ciénega Creek, and so we have this example to learn from and potentially apply to other desert creeks and rivers for beaver-based restoration. Drought, climate change, and water shortages pose serious risks to Ciénega Creek and southwest desert creeks and rivers, and it’s important to move this project forward as soon as possible. Please support Alternative A and allow beavers to help restore our watersheds! Thank you for your consideration."

Once you’ve made your comment, I hope you’ll share this advocacy opportunity with friends and family by sharing this blog! Thank you for advocating for beavers to help restore Ciénega Creek.