Brenda Burns: Commission should work better with Legislature on solar

Brenda Burns has a well-known name in Arizona politics, with 16 years combined in the state House and Senate.

In seeking a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission over Democratic rivals, the Scottsdale Republican is touting her private-sector experience, going back 30 years when she and her former husband ran an optometry business.

She is also promoting the fact that she and her GOP running mate Gary Pierce were named as “Friends of the Taxpayer” by limited-government advocates.

“Our opponents like to grow government,” she says.

Burns, 59, headed a consulting business, Brenda Burns Consulting LLC, from 2004 to 2008 and has been a licensed real estate agent since 2003.

She says that during her time in the Legislature she worked on regulatory reforms such as clarifying the time frame that applicants for state permits can expect to receive word regarding approval.

On solar power, Burns says she sees the need for lawmakers and the Corporation Commission to cooperate to solve the state’s growing solar energy challenges, although the Legislature has “more tools in its chest” to promote bringing more manufacturing and research businesses to Arizona.

Burns says it is also the Legislature that should decide whether the commission has too broad a purview over too many industries.

“The structure is unique to Arizona, which is one of a few states where the commission is elected,” Burns says.

One area that could be looked at is corporate filings, which are in the hands of the commission at present, but sole proprietorships file license applications with the Secretary of State’s Office, she says.

One of the biggest issues facing the commission in the next four years is economic development, which while not the direct task of the commission “it can be a very big byproduct,” she says.

“Our population is expected to grow tremendously and double in the next 20 to 25 years,” Burns says.

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