Comments on: Corp. Comm. attorney: Measure to restrict renewable standards is power grab  http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2012/03/15/corp-comm-attorney-measure-to-restrict-renewable-standards-is-power-grab/ Your Inside Track to Arizona Politics Fri, 24 May 2013 20:26:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Todd Landfried http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2012/03/15/corp-comm-attorney-measure-to-restrict-renewable-standards-is-power-grab/comment-page-1/#comment-71416 Todd Landfried Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:37:16 +0000 http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2012/03/15/corp-comm-attorney-measure-to-restrict-renewable-standards-is-power-grab/#comment-71416 The arguments for HB2789 are ideological, not practical. The ACC can work on policy issues with the Legislature all they want without handing the ACC's Constitutional authority over to them. The Legislature could send staff to ACC meetings and vice versa. Legislators themselves could attend ACC meetings or watch them online. Communication among branches is not prohibited by any part of the state or federal Constitution. The argument used at the Senate hearing that "the people don't have a say in how the ACC sets policy" is simply nonsense. "The people" elect the ACC. If, as we hear after every election that "the people have spoken," then they know exactly what they're voting for. If they don't like the direction the commission takes, they can change the people who make it in the next election--like this year. This begs the question of whether the current batch of ACC candidates support the Chairman's position. I have to say it will be an interesting campaign question of how someone running for a Constitutional office can possibly support an unconstitutional act. The bottom line is the current system works, whether some people like the outcomes or not. HB2789's supporters have invented a constitutional crisis that is better solved by people at the legislature picking up the phone or attending meetings. Legislators are citizens, just like everyone else, and they have the same communications methods to have their opinions heard by the ACC, just like everyone else. The arguments for HB2789 are ideological, not practical. The ACC can work on policy issues with the Legislature all they want without handing the ACC’s Constitutional authority over to them. The Legislature could send staff to ACC meetings and vice versa. Legislators themselves could attend ACC meetings or watch them online. Communication among branches is not prohibited by any part of the state or federal Constitution.

The argument used at the Senate hearing that “the people don’t have a say in how the ACC sets policy” is simply nonsense. “The people” elect the ACC. If, as we hear after every election that “the people have spoken,” then they know exactly what they’re voting for. If they don’t like the direction the commission takes, they can change the people who make it in the next election–like this year.

This begs the question of whether the current batch of ACC candidates support the Chairman’s position. I have to say it will be an interesting campaign question of how someone running for a Constitutional office can possibly support an unconstitutional act.

The bottom line is the current system works, whether some people like the outcomes or not. HB2789′s supporters have invented a constitutional crisis that is better solved by people at the legislature picking up the phone or attending meetings. Legislators are citizens, just like everyone else, and they have the same communications methods to have their opinions heard by the ACC, just like everyone else.

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