We asked a group of Capitol policy watchers to tell us what their groups expect from the 47th Legislature. We also asked for their No. 1 issue and if there is a topic they prefer lawmakers not tackle. Responses were solicited and received via e-mail.

Expectations Center on Water Policy

Arizona League of Conservation Voters

The Arizona Legislature should make Arizona’s water future its top priority for the most basic of reasons: Unless our elected leaders begin to take water conservation, water quality and sustainability seriously, Arizona, as we know it, cannot continue to exist.

Momentum surrounding this issue has been building for years. The drought continues, the needs of the natural world have become increasingly pinched, and our state’s rapid growth requires us to plan and manage our water resources better. We hope that Arizona’s legislators take note and seek to revisit our state’s water policies to ensure that we have the tools to address issues of water supply and quality. The urgency of this issue is well understood and accepted by the vast majority of Arizona citizens. A recent survey of Valley residents, for example, found support for water conservation at more than 80 per cent.*

At the Legislature, we hope to see a budget that includes the full appropriation for the Arizona Water Protection Fund, the sole source of state funding for riparian protection and restoration. The Arizona Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund also deserves to receive its full funding stream in order to ensure timely and adequate clean up of contaminated sites. We believe it would be a wise investment for Arizona to provide resources to study water supply and water quality issues in the state, as well as tools to enable better planning and management of those resources. Without sufficient information on hydrologic conditions and how much water we are using in the state, efforts to improve management, and create a culture of conservation, for this precious resource may not be as effective as they could be.

However, we do not expect it to be easy to move forward on issues related to water. It will require a great deal of effort and education to overcome inertia and the perceived “safety” of continuing under the current system. But, building sustainable and equitable water policies is not a luxury for an arid state such as Arizona — they are a necessity if we are to have a prosperous future. Arizonans support water conservation measures and are already prepared to participate in being part of the solution. Citizens understand that water conservation is an investment in the quality of life for future generations. The Legislature can act with the confidence that comes from broad public support, but it must act sooner, rather than later.

—Susan Culp, Arizona League of Conservation Voters

Children’s Action Alliance

We expect new lawmakers will take some time and effort to learn about the policy issues most critical to children and families. We also expect that when all lawmakers consider issues during debates and votes, they will ask themselves whether each proposal helps kids and families climb the ladder of opportunity.

The number one issue for Children’s Action Alliance is the need to end the childcare “waiting list.” For 30 years, child-care funding has given working parents choices for affordable, safe childcare while giving employers a more stable workforce and keeping families off the welfare rolls. However, since March 2003, we have been turning away qualified parents because of budget shortfalls. This forces parents to leave their children in unsafe situations or to quit their jobs and go on welfare. We will work with senators and representatives to appropriate childcare funding in the Department of Economic Security budget to keep up with Arizona’s growing number of children and stop turning families away.

We hope the Arizona Legislature stays away from more fiscal formulas. These have failed in other states because they prevent lawmakers from making decisions based on changing needs and circumstances. Arizona already has several constitutional fiscal formulas. State budgets should reflect much more than mathematical formulas — they should reflect our family values and shared goals.

The Legislature should also stay away from tax decisions that result in less revenue to fund the health, safety, and education of our future.

— Dana Wolfe Naimark, Director of Special Projects, Children’s Action Alliance

Associated Highway Patrolmen of Arizona

Arizona’s public safety crisis has only gotten worse in the year since the Associated Highway Patrolman of Arizona first came to the Legislature detailing the need for pay equity at the Department of Public Safety.

Gang activity is up in the Easy Valley and West Valley. Drug smuggling is on the rise and more violent in southern Arizona communities.

But while crime is up, the resources we need to fight it are down. DPS continues to lose our most experienced officers to better-paying jobs with less risk at other law enforcement agencies across the state.

That leaves fewer experienced officers working on the front lines of homeland security, even while we continue our traditional patrol and investigative missions.

It’s no wonder officers are leaving DPS and that the Department is struggling to recruit high quality new officers — even taking into account the slight raise in pay approved by the Legislature last year. According to recent statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Arizona’s top law enforcement officers are paid less than the average American police officer, the average officer in Arizona, and even the average officer working for the city of Mesa.

Last year the Legislature had a chance to stop the hemorrhaging at DPS. But the DPS Pay Parity Bills were held up, batted down, and outright ignored by certain key legislators.

This year the Legislature must get serious about protecting public safety in Arizona. Until the Legislature pays our officers what they are worth, DPS will continue to struggle — and Arizona’s public safety crisis will only get worse.

—Andy Swann, president, Associated Highway Patrolmen of Arizona

Prescribe Emergency Contraception To Rape Victims

Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona

Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona welcomes the freshman members of the 47th Legislature, and looks forward to an open-minded and productive legislative session that actually addresses the important reproductive medical care needs of women and families in Arizona.

Our top priority is legislation that will protect rape victims from the burden of an unintended pregnancy. If the medical community would take steps to provide or prescribe emergency contraception to rape victims, hundreds of women would be spared the agonizing situation of a forced pregnancy.

This Legislature would be doing a great service to Arizonans if they would forgo the typical squabbles over a woman’s fundamental right to choose and instead focus on the critical education and health care issues facing today’s families.

— Amy Kobeta, Director of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona

Reform Litigation Environment

Arizona Chamber of Commerce

We see a remarkable level of interest among lawmakers, the business community and health care interests to reform our litigation environment, be it medical malpractice or larger reform in general.

The Arizona Chamber has four “number one” issues this session, in no particular
order, business property tax relief, litigation reform, promotion of responsible budgeting and strengthening K-12 accountability.

The issue we would rather lawmakers stay away from≠ Tax increases.

— Farrell A. Quinlan, Vice President of Communications & Federal Affairs, Arizona Chamber of Commerce

Protect Home-Based Services

AARP

We’re expecting a year in which tough issues for social and health care programs serving the elderly and the vulnerable will again surface.

AARP Arizona is readying its positions in anticipation of a tough budget battle. Last year, lawmakers threatened to cut funding for home and community based services for the frail and elderly, but AARP along with advocates in the aging network were able to sustain funding for these services. However, everything is back on the table as lawmakers begin to deliberate their budget positions for fiscal year 2006.

During the session, AARP Arizona will also work to enact increased consumer protections to curtail predatory lending practices. We need to come to some type of consensus with all parties involved to see if legislative action in this area can finally happen. AARP research has shown that predatory lending practices strip equity from homeowners, many of them seniors, which can lead to foreclosures.

— Lupe Solis, AARP Arizona Associate State, Director of Advocacy —