Accomplishments of the 47th Legislature
Second Regular Session

TAXES

• The Republican Caucus provided the largest tax relief package in Arizona history. The package included a 10 percent income tax cut over two years and a three-year elimination of the state property tax. This provides tax relief over the next three years of nearly $1.5 billion.

• We permanently exempted military and National Guard pay from state income taxes.

• The Legislature also required all elections to increase property taxes to pay for bonds or seek budget overrides--to be held in November.

• We required publicity pamphlets to inform voters of total costs to homeowners and businesses of the life of bonds and overrides.

• In addition, the Legislature sent to the ballot a proposal to prevent windfall of revenues from property valuation increases for local governments.

BUDGET

• The Republican Caucus provided the largest pay increase for state employees in the last decade with a $1,650 per employee increase plus an additional 2.5% increase for performance pay.

• We deposited $474 million into the Rainy Day fund, bringing the balance to more than $630 million

• The Legislature eliminated the $191 million budget gimmick called the rollover for K-12 education

• Our budget eliminated the requirement for small businesses to make a double payment in June on sales taxes collected to only those businesses with more than $1 million in tax liability each year.

• We shifted nearly $100 million in DPS costs back to the general fund from highway funds, allowing these monies to be used for road construction instead.

• The Republican Caucus dedicated funding to several new initiatives, including $19 million for capital projects at the Phoenix and Tucson campus for the School for the Deaf and Blind, $12 million for autism and Alzheimer’s research and $8 million to combat methamphetamine abuse.

IMMIGRATION

• The Republican caucus adopted a comprehensive measure to combat illegal immigration. The bill provided for a high tech radar detection system at the border, deployment of the National Guard to the border to perform actual National Guard responsibilities, grants to local agencies of $55 million to assist in border interdiction, elimination of sanctuary policies, funding for 100 new DPS officers for border enforcement, employer sanctions for businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants, creation of a secondary offense for criminal trespass as well as numerous other border enforcement measures. The governor’s veto message called the bill “weak and ineffective”.

EMINENT DOMAIN

• Enacted a measure to place restrictions on a municipality’s ability to declare slum areas and limit eminent domain to the clearance and removal of slum conditions in a slum. Unfortunately, the governor sided with government bureaucracies and vetoed this private property rights legislation

EDUCATION:

• We expanded school choice in five areas: $5 million in scholarships for parents of disabled or foster children; $10 million in scholarships for low income children; $5 million in higher-education scholarships for private four-year institutions; and $500,000 in higher-education scholarships for former foster children.

• Enacted legislation providing additional funding for English language learners and implemented accountability measures and new teaching strategies for students learning English in our schools. The Governor allowed this legislation to go into effect without her signature. In the coming months, the Legislature will be defending this proposal in federal court.

• Increased K-12 base funding by 12 percent, with at least $100 million of that designated for non-administrative salaries.

• Provided $160 million for schools to use, at their discretion, for full-day kindergarten over the next two years.

• The legislative budget fully funded enrollment for the community colleges and universities and added $20 million for capital projects for the Universities with an additional $20 million divided by enrollment to fund each university’s top priority.

• We passed legislation establishing a task force to study technological applications within our public education system. In addition, a pilot program was established to allow first hand observation of e-learning strategies and state of the art technology in the classroom.

PUBLIC SAFETY/JUDICIARY

• We enacted an emergency measure that provides greater legal protection for a person defending himself or others in his home. The legislature required the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act with justification, if the defendant presents a justification defense, rather than requiring the defendant prove they acted with justification.

• Passed legislation requiring a person convicted of three violent or aggravated felonies to be imprisoned for life. It allows the person sentenced to life imprisonment to be eligible only for commutation of sentence after a period of 35 years.

• We passed legislation to expedite the ability of law enforcement officials to obtain a warrant for a sex offender who fails to register or re-register. We now allow a local law enforcement agency, in addition to the Department of Public Safety, to request the county attorney to petition the court for an arrest warrant if a sex offender fails to register or re-register.

• The legislature appropriated $1.5 million to require Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring of persons who are convicted of a dangerous crime against children and who are on probation or on certain types of release from the Arizona Department of Corrections.

• We established in law that failure to comply with a victim’s constitutional or statutory right is grounds for the victim to request a reexamination proceeding and established procedures and guidelines for the proceeding.

• The legislature enacted a measure that permits a person to renew his or her permit to carry a concealed weapon without attending the two-hour refresher training course. We now allow out of state permits or licenses to be recognized in Arizona if the permit or license is recognized as valid in the issuing state and the permit or license holder is not a resident of Arizona.

• We passed a neighborhood protection measure prohibiting an adult oriented business from locating within one-quarter mile of a child care facility, school, public playground or recreational facility, residence or place of worship.

• We submitted a proposition to the voters so that judges can require methamphetamine users to submit to drug rehabilitation or go to jail if they refuse.

• The legislative budget added funding for 45 new highway patrol officers.

• We appropriated $17 million to fund increased border enforcement focusing on gangs and drug smuggling and human smuggling, including an additional 100 DPS officers.

• The Republican Caucus increased corrections officers’ salaries by more than $5,200 from last year; a 19% increase.

• Stating that she is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, the governor vetoed legislation that prohibited government officials from seizing firearms or ammunition during a state of emergency.

HEALTH

• Enacted legislation to help reduce the number of uninsured by making vouchers available to certain small business and individuals to help buy down the premium costs for health insurance.

• Enacted a measure to promote cord-blood donations, by requiring health professionals to notify pregnant patients about options related to umbilical cord blood stem cells and appropriated funds for the creation and distribution of a brochure with information on umbilical cord blood donations. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood are being used in treatment of blood cancers and the replacement of cells destroyed by chemotherapy.

• The Legislature passed a bill that addressed the liability concerns plaguing emergency care providers by requiring “clear and convincing evidence” rather than the “preponderance of evidence” standard now used to prove malpractice in emergency cases. The bill would have made questionable lawsuits more difficult to win. Fewer lawsuits would have been filed. The governor vetoed the bill.

• Provided an additional $6.3 million for home and community based services for the elderly.

• Enacted a temporary medical coverage program to allow persons who have become disabled and unable to work to purchase, on a sliding fee scale, AHCCCS coverage for the 24 month period prior to qualifying for Medicare.

• To help offset the cost of prescription drugs, we established a prescription drug donation program allowing the redistribution of unused prescription medication.

• Appropriated an additional $2 million for the costs associated with maintaining trauma center services in southern Arizona.

• To address the state’s physician shortage, we appropriated an additional $5 million for the expansion of existing graduate medical programs.

FAMILY SERVICES

• We passed legislation that continues the ability of parents who are facing termination of their parental rights to go before a jury of their peers if they so choose, instead of limiting such cases only to judges. The legislation also included provisions limiting the ability of bringing a subsequent termination case against a parent after they have been cleared of past incidents.

• We expanded the safe haven statutes for newborn infants this session to allow volunteers, in addition to their staff, at a private welfare agency, adoption agency or church to accept newborn infants as a safe haven provider.

• We passed legislation that establishes a two-year Integrated Family Court Pilot Program. An integrated family court system utilizes a one family-one judge approach to better coordinate problem solving methods and resources.

NATURAL RESOURCES

• We provided $13.5 million to settle the Gila River Indian Community Settlement

• The Republican Caucus submitted a proposition to the voters dealing with state land reform. The measure authorizes state trust land acquisition of up to 520,000 acres for conservation and provides other trust land management reform measures dealing with planning, auction, sale and rights of way issues.

• We enacted consumer protection measures requiring water supply disclosures and notification to the land division affidavit of disclosure. In addition, we required the State Land Department to create earth fissure maps and required the Department of Real Estate to make the maps available to the public.

• Our budget included $750,000 for one-time grants to interim operators or managers of small rural water systems.

VETERAN/MILITARY ISSUES:

• We appropriated $10 million to the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services for a veterans’ home facility in Tucson.

• We appropriated $69,000 to the Department of Veterans’ Services for a new Pearl Harbor memorial and visitors center to be located in Honolulu, Hawaii.

• We expanded the use of the National Guard Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to families of Arizona National Guard members mobilized in support of a contingency operation or state emergency rather than only Guard members placed on active duty and in a combat zone.

• We established requirements for payday loans to members of the United States military or their spouses.

TRANSPORTATION:

• The Republican budget appropriated $345 million to a permanent fund to accelerate highway construction statewide.

• We strengthened drunk driving laws by increasing the look back period for second offense driving under the influence violations from five years to seven years.

OTHER:

• We prohibited homeowners’ associations (HOA) from foreclosing on a lien for delinquent assessments of less than $1,200 or assessments that are delinquent for one year. We established a timeline for an HOA to make records available for review and to provide copies of the records to an HOA member and we established a process in which an HOA member can respond to a notice of violation prior to enforcement of the community documents.

• We protected peoples’ personal information and identity by creating record discard and disposal requirements for businesses and government, requiring a business or governmental entity conducting business in Arizona to notify state residents of a breach of their security system when personal information of the individuals has been compromised. We prohibited the inclusion of certain personal identifying information in documents and records that are to be recorded and later accessible to the public through the internet and other means.

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For further information contact:
Nick Simonetta, Communications and Policy Advisor to the Majority
 Arizona State Senate
Office: (602) 926-5418, e-mail: nsimonet@azleg.gov
OR
Barrett Marson, Director of Communications
 Arizona House of Representatives
Office: (602) 926-3233, e-mail: bmarson@azleg.gov