Reps. Chad Campbell and Russell Pearce are not on the same page when it comes to the Sierra Club’s 2008 environmental report card.
Campbell, District 14 of Phoenix, sits at the top of the page, one of four House Democrats to receive an A-plus for their votes on bills identified by the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter as good or bad for the environment.
Flip the page over, and Pearce, District 18 of Mesa, is listed last, one of 28 House Republicans to get F’s for their votes. The most green House Republican, as it happened, fared worse than the least green House Democrat.
In the Senate, Democrats generally fared better than the Republicans, though the split wasn’t quite so dramatic. Sen. Tom O’Halleran, R-Sedona, for example, rated higher than three Democrats. He received a C. Amanda Aguirre, D-24 of Yuma, on the other hand, fared worse than four Republicans. She got a D.
The report card recognized two Republicans for their work on specific bills, despite poor grades overall.
Rep. Lucy Mason of Prescott, District 1, got a D on her overall report card. But she received high marks for her work on the omnibus energy bill (H2766), which promoted renewable energy and energy efficiency.
“She recognizes that our energy use and how we generate it is one of the greatest challenges we face,” the report stated.
Rep. Jerry Weiers of Glendale, District 12, received a failing grade, but the report recognized his work in shepherding through a bill regulating off-highway vehicles (S1167).
Reps. Jennifer Burns, R-Tucson, and House Assistant Minority Leader Jack Brown were recognized as “most improved.” Burns went from a D last year to a C. She worked on protecting the San Pedro River, the report said. Brown improved from C to a B. He was cited for his votes on the omnibus energy and off-road vehicle bills.
The lawmakers were graded on 12 votes in the House and eight in the Senate. The bills were weighted. For example, a vote for a bill (H2017) to overrule administrative regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions got a minus five. (Voting for it, a plus five.) A vote for a bill to give some regulatory relief to sand- and gravel-pit operations was given a minus one.
House members who voted for the Mason omnibus energy bill got a plus five. It never came to a vote in the Senate.
Gov. Janet Napolitano got an A for signing four bills supported by the Sierra Club and vetoing three bills it opposed. She signed one bill opposed by the Sierra Club, H2772, which granted an exception to the groundwater code for the city of Williams.
Overall, the Sierra Club said the Legislature underperformed.
“Once again, the bad environmental legislation outweighed the good,” the report stated.
But the report showed it could have been worse.
Some bills deemed objectionable were vetoed by the governor, while others died in the House or Senate. One, HCR2037 would have referred to the ballot a constitutional measure to limit Arizona Game and Fish’s authority to manage wildlife. It died in House debate.
The House’s A-plus member, Campbell, said he was proud of his score, adding it reflected his commitment to protecting the environment.
As for those on the other page, he added: “I would hope that anybody toward the bottom of the scorecard would really take a closer look at the issues and realize the importance of some of the environmental issues that we’re dealing with here in Arizona.”
Pearce could not be reached for comment.
The full report card is available at www.arizona.sierraclub.org.