Urge Gov. Hobbs to VETO bad energy bill that props up dirty coal

Navajo Generating Station Implosion

 - photo credit Nizhóní Ání

I'm sorry to announce that  HB2679 power; public utilities; UCC; securities (Griffin) was rushed through the Arizona Legislature this week and landed on Governor Hobbs's desk -  despite the best efforts of the Sierra Club and their allies. 

You can read about the good fight here: 

We have heard that she is planning to sign it, despite the fact that it is a bill that will help promote the dirty coal agenda. It's a blank check to utilities and benefits utility shareholders and harms utility ratepayers. Call and email the Governor right away and ask her to veto HB2679! You can call 602-542-4331 and leave a message for the Governor. She could act on the bill as early as Monday.

When HB2679 came to the floor in the Senate and House this week, not one Republican Senator or Representative voted no on it. No Democratic Senators voted yes, but unfortunately 10 Democratic Representatives did. 

Special thanks to Senator Epstein, Gabaldon, Hatathlie, and Kuby, as well as Representative Cavero and Mathis for speaking up against the bill on the floor, and to Senator Sundareshan and Representative Peshlakai who helped work against the bill, but unfortunately missed the day they voted on the bill.

Representative Peshlakai and Simacek in the House also missed the vote.  Updates on the bill: https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/az/57th-1st-regular/bills/AZB00018939/

Arizona utility wins big at state Legislature:

https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/article_63908198-b7b2-4392-82f8-3effb9ad93f5.html

ACT NOW: Fight ESA Vouchers Wrapped into Prop 123 Renewal

AZ Republican lawmakers are attempting to hold Prop 123 hostage by forcing in a voucher poison pill. In strikers to HB2185 and SB1240, they enshrine vouchers into our state constitution with NO guardrails, accountability or transparency — while jeopardizing desperately needed dollars for AZ classrooms and teacher pay. It’s time to hold these lawmakers accountable.

Prop 123, passed by voters in 2016, is the initiative designed to pump additional funds into public schools, and it will expire within a few months. Lawmakers are attempting to insert a virtually unregulated universal voucher program into the Arizona Constitution.

In addition to taking money from public schools, vouchers for private schools were a primary force in creating a $1.4 billion budget shortfall in Arizona in 2024. To fix that deficit, Arizona's lawmakers made cuts to state programs and projects—like water infrastructure programs, highway expansions and repairs, and improvements to air conditioning in state prisons.

Arizona's voucher program, specifically the Education Savings Account (ESA) program, has faced several criticisms, including significant budget overruns, concerns about accountability and transparency, and the potential for inequitable distribution of funds. Additionally, there are concerns about the program's impact on public schools and the possibility of students losing protections afforded by public education. (See the bottom of this page for a more detailed look at the problems.) 

Join Save Our Schools Arizona for Zoom Power Hours over the next few days to call lawmakers. Your help is essential! Sign up HERE for either day.    Weds May 7, 4-5 pm Thurs May 8, 5-6 pm   If you can't join, you can take these actions on your own: Call Your Lawmakers: Go here to find yourlawmakers: azleg.gov/findmylegislator  Example Script: Hi, my name is  _____________, I live in legislative district ______. I’d like Representative/Senator ___________ to know that I support a clean Prop 123 renewal that does NOT include ESA vouchers. Enshrining the ESA voucher program into the state Constitution is incredibly reckless and would severely limit the Arizona legislature’s ability to put even basic guardrails on the program. Lawmakers should not be holding Prop 123 funding hostage from Arizona kids to protect private school vouchers. I urge Senator/Representative ___________ to listen to their constituents and vote NO on any Prop 123 renewal that attempts to enshrine vouchers in our state constitution. Thank you! Call the Sponsors of the Voucher Proposal: As the lawmakers moving this proposal forward, please also take some time to call: Rep. Matt Gress (R-4) - (602) 926-4105 Senator JD Mesnard (R-13) - (602) 926-4481     We need to flood the phones! Remember if you call during office hours, you'll probably get a friendly administrative assistant who will just tally your position. If you call after hours, please leave a message!   Thank you for this much-needed activism!   Here's a more detailed look at the problems with vouchers: 1. Financial Overruns and Budget Impact: Arizona's ESA program has seen its costs soar beyond initial projections. The original estimated cost of $65 million for FY 2024 ballooned to over $300 million, according to First Focus on Children.  The program has contributed to a state budget deficit of over $1.4 billion, reports ProPublica.  This financial burden has led to budget cuts in other vital public services, potentially disproportionately impacting low-income communities and communities of color. 2. Lack of Accountability and Transparency: Arizona's ESA vouchers have been criticized for lacking transparency and accountability measures. There are no requirements for private schools to meet state educational standards, conduct background checks on staff, or ensure safe learning environments, according to Governing. This lack of oversight raises concerns about the potential for misuse of taxpayer funds and the quality of education provided to students.  3. Unequal Access and Impact on Low-Income Students: While the ESA program is intended to be a choice for all students, low-income families are less likely to use the vouchers, reports ProPublica.  This is due to factors like the location of private schools, additional costs like transportation and uniforms, and the fact that vouchers may not cover the full cost of private school tuition, according to ProPublica.  The program has been criticized for benefiting wealthier families who were already able to afford private school tuition and for potentially siphoning funds from public schools serving low-income and rural communities.  4. Loss of Protections and Discrimination Concerns: Parents using ESA vouchers are required to sign away certain federal protections, including those for students with disabilities, notes Governing. This has raised concerns about the potential for state-funded discrimination against LGBTQ students, English language learners, and students with disabilities.  5. Impact on Public Schools: Critics argue that the ESA program diverts public funds away from public schools, potentially leading to cuts in funding and services.  This can negatively impact public schools, especially in rural communities that rely heavily on state funding.

Have Fun Advocating during Arizona Public Lands Action Week

​Monday, learn how to share your story and love for public lands on social media to bring awareness to the attacks on Public Lands. You'll learn why we're taking actions every day this week to stand up for public lands, monuments, forests and parks, how sharing your story can help make an impact and how to make your posts more effective with calls to action. RSVP here.

Wednesday, post your story to social media. Check out Mountain Mama's Call to Action Day - Protect Our Public Lands for Future Generations. The goal is to mobilize moms, families, and allies to flood lawmakers’ offices with calls demanding action to protect public lands from exploitation and ensure equitable access for all communities. RSVP here.

Thursday, make a call for public lands. For information and a script, email sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org. In Tucson, check out Dia de la Madre Tierra at Feliz Paseos Park. Join an all-ages celebration of our mothers and our Mother Earth. The event will include a short desert hike around the paved trails of the park (stroller friendly!), storytelling and panel discussion, arts and crafts, and refreshments to enjoy in community.

Friday, join the virtual letters to the editor workshop from 6pm-7pm. For this workshop, the Sierra Club will provide information on public lands and threats to them with tips on writing letters to the editor. There will be time to write and share. It will be a fun way to wrap up the work week.

Learn & Share: Help Shape Tucson’s Clean Energy Future

An Energy Forum and a Town Hall -  Help decide Tucson's climate future!   April 29, 30th and May 1st

First up - Tuesday, April 29th  Hear about the energy feasibility study that examines if Community Choice Energy or municipalization is right for Tucson.  Ask questions. 1- Energy Sourcing Study – Public Forum    This online forum will provide the latest updates on the City’s Energy Sourcing Study. This is a great chance to understand the findings of the study and ask questions about what they mean for Tucson’s future.  Live caption/translation available** 📅 Date: April 29, 2025  🕐 Time: 12:30 – 2:30 PM  💻 Location: Online  🔗 Register here: https://arcg.is/1PC5050 Link to the Energy Sourcing Study report:   Draft_ESS_Report_042225_CLEAN.pdf 2- Tucson’s Energy Future Townhalls – Part II    These sessions are a space for you to learn about ongoing energy and climate initiatives and to share your ideas to help shape a future Energy Collaboration Agreement.    In English:    📅April 30 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM | Virtual  📅May 1 | 5:30 – 7:30 PM | In-person 📍 Location: 300 S Fire Central Pl. Training Center Room 121 Your perspective matters. Whether you’re curious about how Tucson is advancing its clean energy goals or have suggestions to share, your voice helps shape the path forward.  🔗 Register:https://arcg.is/19XjOj1

Energy customers will do the heavy lifting if HB2679 passes....... Tell your Legislator NO WAY!

Arizona energy customer 

While there is a lot that is extremely disturbing happening at the Arizona Legislature, we want to recognize a few bright spots. The legislature finally agreed to fund programs for developmentally disabled people and the Governor signed the bill. Also, the Governor vetoed a slew of bad legislation, including a harmful immigration measure and four bad energy bills. Late last week, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed several bills that we advocated against: SB1309, HB2527, HB2774, and HB2788, all bills that would have implemented harmful energy policies. Please thank the Governor for vetoing these bills.

Several other bills that we advocated against are still being heard at our state legislature. I generally don't repost actions we already sent out. But there is a bill that Sandy Bahr calls "the most harmful energy bill of the session" that will go to the Senate Floor this week. Please use the Sierra Club's form to ask your Senator to vote NO on HB2679. Unfortunately, it currently has bipartisan support. HB2679 will help keep dirty coal plants running longer at the expense of ratepayers, our health, and future generations. You can read more about the bill in this op-ed by Autumn Johnson.

UPDATE APRIL 29, 2025

Dmocratic State Senators, joined by a former corporation commissioners and environmental policy experts, gathered to highlight the dangers of HB 2679 (power; public utilities; UCC; securities). HB2679 shifts from historical uses of securitization by expanding how it can be used by Arizona utilities with no assurance of sufficient oversight and with serious implications for local communities.

Senator Lauren Kuby (LD8) stated, “The Arizona Corporation Commission, the Attorney General, grid experts, energy-efficiency experts, environmental and consumer groups are united in opposing this bill. It forces the public, not the shareholders to pick up the tab for bad investments. It is written by and for utilities and prioritizes utility profit over consumer protection. Let us work toward solutions that protect ratepayers, promote clean-energy investment, and ensure financial accountability. Let's slow down this rushed process, bring it before stakeholders and ratepayers in an ACC-led process and then come back to the Legislature with a more robust plan, because Arizonans deserve energy policies that are transparent, fair, and accountable.

Sandra Kennedy, former corporation commissioner and current SRP Board Member, provided comments in her personal capacity, “Today, I want to highlight the serious concerns surrounding House Bill 2679. This bill would allow utility companies to move their bad debts off their books through a financial tool called securitization — essentially forcing ratepayers to pay off their mistakes through bonds, with no real accountability. While securitization can sound harmless, in this case it acts more like a Ponzi scheme: older debts are paid off with new charges, yet locking ratepayers into decades of payments without addressing the root causes of the debt while guaranteeing profits for the utility companies and Wall Street investors and leaving the distressed ratepayers…to pick up the tab. We cannot accept financial shell games that reward corporate mismanagement while shifting the burden onto our hardworking families. House Bill 2679 is wrong for our ratepayers and it’s wrong for our future.”

Robert Burns, former corporation commissioner, added, “House Bill 2679 has the potential to negatively impact millions of Arizona ratepayers and deserves a thorough evaluation not the fast-track treatment it has received in the legislature. A delay of a few months seems to be a reasonable price to pay to ensure that the millions of rate payers in Arizona are protected...The framers realized that regulated monopolies operate with a special privilege, a captured clientele and no competition. The good intentions of Arizona utilities, may not always also benefit the ratepayers and a bill of this size fast tracked through the legislative process puts millions of Arizona utility customers at possible risk.”

Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan (LD18) concluded, “Securitization can be an important tool in the energy transition, if it’s done correctly. However, this bill does not yet contain the necessary safeguards. In the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Democrats voted no and explained our concerns including the lack of a transparent stakeholder process, lack of just transition support for affected communities, and above all the failure to limit this tool only to assets that are retiring. We would unabashedly support this bill if it was limited to retiring assets, because this is the critical component that makes securitization a powerful tool to facilitate the closing of polluting coal-fired power plants and mitigate the worst effects of climate change. But the utilities have rejected my amendment to do so – precisely because APS wants to sell their Four Corners coal-fired power plant and allow it to remain in operation while saddling the purchaser with a bad asset. Our state government does not need to step in to help our utilities shuffle their bad debts onto less sophisticated purchasers.”

While unable to attend the press conference in-person, the following written comments were provided to add further context on HB2679:

Senator Theresa Hatathlie (LD6) added, “HB2679 is concerning in its expansive scope, it is described as more extensive than any other securitization legislation, raising red flags about potential unintended consequences. This bill will adversely impact ratepayers when this legislation removes the ACC’s decision-making responsibility to set guard rails to cap rates for consumer protection; it will also provide utilities a blank check as they would have no set parameters to continue securing finances for their use. Lastly and most importantly, this initiative did not provide our constituents an opportunity to have a say in its impact to tribal communities as it relates to utilities located on tribal lands. This represents the long practice of using tribal lands as sacrificing grounds to exploit and monetize native resources for capitalistic gains and greed. This needs to stop! We continue to suffer and mourn the effects of the federal government’s desecration of our homelands. These actions have brought to our community's generational harm, such as cancer clusters, birth defects, drinking water contamination, air pollutants, and rare illnesses resulting in premature deaths, and adverse health impacts. Overall, these entities create existential harm to certain Arizona populations some of which live in homes that do not have services that are not provided by quasigovernmental entities. These entities do not provide long-term sustainable community benefits that outlive the life of utilities. An example of reality, SRP is long gone yet there are still homes that exist near its vacant site and many still do not have electricity. This is only scratching the surface of why I do not support HB2679.”

Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director of Tó Nizhóní Ání, added, “As a Navajo Organization with over 25 years experience, working in the environmental justice and economic justice capacity, Tó Nizhóní Ání “Sacred Water Speaks” (TNA) urges legislators to vote no on HB2679.

When developed and executed correctly, securitization can be of great benefit to utility ratepayers through reduced costs. It can set communities facing the closure of utility projects towards replacement power that is less expensive and cleaner. It can be an opportunity for reinvestment in the host community towards more efficient replacement power and therefore continuing jobs, new economic opportunities, job training in a new energy field and so on. It’s an opportunity to move towards investments that are better for the community. However, HB2679 does not provide assurance that utility consumers will receive tangible, financial benefits. 

Securitization should not result in the abandonment of aging projects in rural and tribal communities but instead needs proper reclamation and clean up provisions. Utilities should have to retire an asset to securitize it. The bill as written allows them to sell, transfer a coal plant to someone else and securitize it, even if the plant continues to operate. This will allow utilities to shirk their responsibilities and continue to treat tribal lands as dumping grounds...A Vote of No on HB2679 is a yes vote for the people, beautiful Arizona and the planet.”

Rally for the Santa Ritas: 2:00pm to 4:00pm Saturday, May 3rd at the Tucson Federal Building

Join concerned residents from around the region for a Rally for the Santa Ritas on Saturday, May 3, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Tucson Federal Building, 300 W Congress St.  This critical event will bring together residents, environmental advocates, and regional leaders in a powerful demonstration of opposition to the proposed Copper World mining project and the broader threats posed by the unchecked power of the mining industry in Arizona.

Key attendees and speakers include the following:

• Adelita Grijalva, former Pima County Supervisor
• Regina Romero, Mayor of Tucson
• Kevin Dahl, City of Tucson Councilmember
• Russ McSpadden, Center for Biological Diversity
• Rob Peters, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas     

Event organizers: Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, Center for Biological Diversity, Great Old Broads for the Wilderness, Living Desert Alliance, and the Corona de Tucson Preservation Alliance. 

Link to RSVP: https://www.scenicsantaritas.org/event-details/rally-for-the-santa-ritas

Urge Gov. Hobbs to Veto Bad Energy Bills

Happy Earth Day! 

I think we all could use some good news, don't you? Governor Hobbs has vetoed seven bad water bills that we advocated against, all sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin. In her veto message, the Governor said, "These bills either weaken rural groundwater protections or make pointless, trivial statutory changes that demean the rural Arizonans who have been asking the Legislature for years to institute meaningful rural groundwater management measures." 

Please take a moment to thank Governor Hobbs for her veto of these seven bad water bills (by using this handy form from the Sierra Club.) 

Unfortunately, there are three harmful energy bills on the Governor's desk that should be vetoed: HB2527, HB2774, and HB2788. Please, use the Sierra Club form to send her a message. Editing the insert to be in your own words would make it even more impactful.

HB2527 corporation commission; electricity; reliability; management prohibits the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) from authorizing a power plant retirement unless there is a new plant with equal or greater power. It requires that the ACC prioritize thermal (gas, coal, or nuclear) replacement resources for power plant retirements and increase them by 5% by 2030. This would disadvantage renewable resources – solar and wind – as they are not considered dispatchable per the bill definition. HB2527 also includes language to define solar and wind as not reliable as they are intermittent – intermittent and reliable are two different things and should not be conflated as they are in the bill.

HB2774 NOW: small modular reactors; co-location (Carbone) preempts 13 of the 15 counties in Arizona – all except Maricopa and Pima counties – from regulating the location of small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with a large industrial electricity user, which in many cases would be data centers. Note that many data centers use significant amounts of water

HB2774 also exempts small modular nuclear reactors from the requirements for a certificate of environmental compatibility (CEC) if they are being co-located with a big electricity user, aka data centers, and when they are replacing a gas or coal plant or other thermal plant. The potential environmental impacts vary between different electricity generating resources and should be evaluated and mitigated in the CEC process.

HB2788 utility; resource plan; commission review (Olson). This bill codifies resource planning provisions for utilities regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Currently, the provisions for resource planning are in rules and can be changed by the ACC to adjust and adapt to emerging needs. This bill will remove flexibility and could result in limiting public involvement in the resource planning process. 

Finally, ask your senator to oppose HB2679! It will help advance the agenda to keep dirty coal plants running longer at the expense of ratepayers, our health, and future generations. Send a message this week. Senators need to hear from you!

Find out who your senator is by using this link: 
https://www.azleg.gov/findmylegislator/

Find your senator's phone number here.