Gov. Napolitano has allowed a contentious proposal on fire districts to become law without her signature.
The law sets procedures for county islands that do not share a boundary to form a fire district to contract a municipality or a private provider for fire protection.
If no municipality or private contractor is willing to perform the service, then the law requires the surrounding town or city to provide fire coverage, a mechanism that, according to its author, is designed to force feuding cities and county islands to come to an agreement.
If the latter were mandated, county island residents would pay a new tax for the fire protection.
“We shouldn’t have homes in the state of Arizona without fire protection,” Rep. John McComish, R-20, said.
“I am pleased that the bill will become law. That’s the primary issue. I wish she would have signed it but that’s okay. The net effect is that it has become law, and the people without fire coverage will be covered,” he told Arizona Capitol Times.
The bill was meant to be an emergency measure, but it did not get enough votes to carry the emergency provision.
In allowing H2780 to become law, Napolitano echoed the view of those who thought that it was better than nothing.
“The bill is not the best solution to the county fire island problem in Maricopa County, but it is an improvement over the status quo. Faced with the prospect of an indefinite period in which county island residents would risk having no fire protection whatsoever, I have concluded that on balance, it is better to allow this bill to become law,” she said in a statement June 4.
Napolitano said she has received assurances from the bill’s backers in the Legislature to improve the law next session.