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Month: January 2009

Bennett sworn in as secretary of state

Former Senate President Ken Bennett gets a hug from Gov. Jan Brewer moments before he is sworn as secretary of state Jan. 26 on the second floor of the old Capitol rotunda.

In the same crowded hall where Jan Brewer took her oath as secretary of state six years ago, former Senate President Ken Bennett was officially sworn in as her replacement.

About 300 people were on hand Jan. 26 at the state Capitol Museum as Bennett took his oath of office from Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor.

Bennett spoke of the Secretary of State's Office as a clearinghouse where citizens can go to find out what's happening in government, and said it performs some of the state's most important functions, including elections.

"We are going to be working closely together with all 15 county recorders to make sure that the elections of this state, both statewide and local, are conducted in a manner that has the highest of integrity and accuracy, and that the people of Arizona can feel confident in," he said after taking his oath. "I commit every ounce of energy that I don't give to my family, I will give to the state of Arizona to make sure that the responsibilities of this office are conducted in a manner that's befitting of the great citizens and history of this state."

Brewer had high praise for her successor, whom she nominated less than two weeks before taking her own oath as governor.

"I know possibly better than anyone how critically important the office of secretary of state truly is to our democracy," Brewer said. "Ken's experience, his leadership and his credibility can give great confidence to the people of Arizona that their elections will continue to be completely fair, well organized and efficient."

Bennett said his first order of business would be replacing some of Brewer's top personnel who moved with her up to the Ninth Floor when she was sworn in as governor last week. Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Tyne, for example, is now serving as Brewer's chief of staff, and Joe Kanefield, who served as her elections director, is now the governor's general counsel.

Brewer was sworn on Jan. 20, the day after Janet Napolitano resigned following her confirmation by the U.S. Senate as secretary of Homeland Security in Barack Obama's presidential administration. During the interim week, Tyne served as acting secretary of state.

As secretary of state, Bennett has said Brewer wants his role to be essentially that of a lieutenant governor, putting to good use his eight years experience in the state Senate. As a state senator, Brewer had advocated the creation of a lieutenant governor position.

 "Governor Brewer has asked me to really be part of the administration and help her, maybe even with the budget and some of the issues I know having come from the senate president's office," Bennett said. "It'll be however she wants me to play it out. We're going to work that out over the next few weeks, I'm sure."

Senate to use Pearce/Kavanagh proposal as starting point for budget

The starting point for the Senate's work on closing the nearly $1.6 billion gap in the current year's budget will be the deep spending cuts and other options identified earlier this month by GOP budget leaders.

Senate President Bob Burns said today that a bill reflecting the options identified by Sen. Russell Pearce and Rep. John Kavanagh, the Appropriations chairs in each chamber, will likely be introduced tomorrow. That bill will be the basis for the Senate Appropriations Committee to craft a budget fix later in the week.

The options included $758 million in state agency cuts and $668 million in sweeping money from programs that have dedicated funding sources.

Once Republican leaders in the Senate are able to line up 16 Republican votes, Burns said they will begin work with the House to iron out any differences between budget plans. The House is scheduled to begin shaping its budget fix on Jan. 28.

When there is an agreement among the House, Senate and Gov. Jan Brewer, Burns said he expects the governor to call a special legislative session to approve the budget. Doing so in a special session allows the spending changes to go into effect sooner than if the bill was passed in the regular session.

Although large cuts to education and the universities have been criticized by some lawmakers, Senate Majority Whip Pamela Gorman said the biggest concern among members of her caucus was that the budget options being discussed do not cut enough state spending.

"Many of the members want to see more cuts," she said. "I was pleasantly surprised to hear those kinds of requests. It's going easier than we had anticipated."

Brewer names OSPB chief

As Arizona's fiscal crisis mounts, Gov. Jan Brewer named the OSPB chief who will help her sort out the state's budget problems. Brewer on Jan. 26 named Eileen Klein as...

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Six agency heads have resigned following Napolitano departure

Six state agency heads have resigned in the week since former Gov. Janet Napolitano announced she was leaving the Ninth Floor for Washington, D.C., and more could be replaced once...

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House Democrats offer options to GOP budget plan

House Minority Leader David Lujan and Assistant Minority Leader Kyrsten Sinema field a question from a reporter at a Jan. 26 news conference unveiling a budget proposal in response to one offered by GOP Appropriations chairmen in the House and Senate. The Democrats’ budget would make fewer cuts to education and health care.

House Democrats have proposed an alternate to the deep budget cuts Republican lawmakers have introduced, saying the state would be better served by deferring some state aid for higher education and health care to next year and protecting the jobs of all state employees.

House Democratic leaders said they hoped the counter proposal would help foster discussion with Republicans later this week when the House Appropriation Committee meets to craft a budget that closes a $1.58 billion deficit in fiscal 2009.

"We believe this is a great opportunity for us to put all our cards on the table and consider all options," said House Assistant Minority Leader Kyrsten Sinema.

The Democrats' proposal calls for reductions totaling $1.65 billion compared to a plan released by Republicans last week that identified $1.85 billion in cuts during the fiscal year that ends June 30.

Republicans Sen. Russell Pearce and Rep. John Kavanagh, the two chairmen of the Appropriations committees, released a budget proposal earlier this month that identified nearly $3 billion in budget cuts that can be made over the next 18 months in order to help bridge massive deficits. The proposal called for cutting nearly $1 billion from K-12 education and $500 million from university budgets in fiscal 2009 and 2010.
The options, the broad strokes of which were presented to lawmakers Jan. 15 in a special meeting, also included $530 million in cuts to public health care, $150 million from the state prisons and $176 million in staffing cuts that could result in job losses for state workers.

The Pearce/Kavanagh proposal called for a reduction of $1.84 billion in fiscal 2009, including $668 million in funds transfers, $445 million in specific agency cuts and $261 million in lump sum reductions.

Democrats, on the other hand, laid out a plan including $702 million in funds transfers, $202 million in specific agency cuts and $77 million in lump sum reductions. Democrats, though, also included a $75 million university rollover and $167 million in deferred payments.

Additionally, the Democrats' plan would not reduce state staffing levels. The options for solving the budget shortfall released earlier this month by the House and Senate Appropriations committee chairmen called for $52 million in personnel reductions.

Sinema said it would be unfair to workers to lay them off unexpectedly.

Pullen defeats James for GOP chairmanship

In the end, the applause after the candidates' speeches was an accurate barometer of how the election would go, and Randy Pullen was re-elected chairman of the Arizona Republican Party.

Pullen, who will serve his second two-year term as the head of the party, defeated Lisa James by 521-474 votes. Two years ago, Pullen edged James by only four votes.

In his speech before the voting at the party's statutory meeting Jan. 24, Pullen touted the legislative victories in November's elections and the recruitment of more than 300 new precinct committeemen.

"More importantly, I stood by my Republican principles…and not depending on the government to always come to your rescue," he said.

He also defended his public opposition to an illegal immigration bill supported by many members of the state's congressional delegation in 2007.

"It is easier to talk the talk than walk the walk… I said, ‘No.' I stood up and was counted, leading a grassroots revolt that went all the way to Washington," Pullen said.

The past two years under Pullen's leadership have been fractious for Arizona Republicans. Many of the party's wealthy donors refused to contribute to a Republican Party with Pullen at the helm, and his critics have accused him of dividing the party.

But Rep. Rick Murphy, a Glendale Republican who supported Pullen, said he expects some of the acrimony within the party to subside.

"I'm glad it wasn't a super-close vote. I think it'll help to move forward," he said. "Based on last time, it certainly can't hurt."

Others weren't so sure, though. Farrell Quinlan, GOP chairman in LD20 and a critic of Pullen's leadership, said the 2010 elections will present a challenge for Republicans because they will have to defend making possibly large budget cuts in the face of severe state budget problems. It will be Pullen's job, he said, to help Republicans at all levels get elected.

"We're living in an age of hope, I understand," he said.

Bill would allow Treasurer to hire own attorneys

State lawmakers on Jan. 27, will hear a proposal that could signal the beginning of the end of a lengthy legal quarrel between Attorney General Terry Goddard and State Treasurer Dean Martin.

The House Committee on Government will consider House Bill 2103, which would add the Office of the State Treasurer to a list of agencies permitted to hire their own attorneys to settle legal affairs and disputes.

In official capacity, Martin must be represented by the Attorney General's Office. But a bill filed by Rep. Sam Crump, a Republican from Anthem, would attach the Treasurer's Office to a list of nine state agencies allowed to hire and pay for their own legal representation.

Crump did not immediately return calls for comment on the legislation.

The issue of the treasurer's access to independent counsel stems from a years-long dispute between Goddard and Martin over a legal bill Martin's office was asked to pay in return for money recouped in a multi-state fraud settlement.

The fraud, committed in 2002 by National Century Financial Enterprises, cost Arizona governments approximately $131 million. Two hundred local Arizona governmental entities and many governments in other states invested in NCFE, which made loans to inner-city Medicare hospitals, before collapsing in 2002 in a fraud scandal involving $3 billion in lost investments.  

After the legal battle, then-Chief Deputy Treasurer Blaine Vance refused to transfer payment for the attorney general's legal services without written approval from the state solicitor general. But in June of 2006, the state Treasurer's Office agreed to pay the Attorney General's Office $1.9 million for legal expenses associated with recouping the lost investments.

The payment was not disclosed to the state Board of Investment, which oversees the state's investment portfolio.

The deal came months after agents with Goddard's office seized computers, 15,000 pages of documents and other materials from the Treasurer's Office as part of an investigation into allegations that Petersen had committed several felonies by using his office to promote character-building teaching materials sold by Character First.

Initially, Petersen faced charges of theft, fraud and conflict of interest. But weeks after resigning in October 2006, he pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count for failing to disclose a $4,200 commission he received for selling Character First products.

Martin, as a candidate running for treasurer in 2006, cast suspicions on the payment and criticized Petersen's sentence, which included three years of probation, as a "slap on the wrist."

Goddard has defended the payment repeatedly; pointing out that state law authorizes the Attorney General's Office to receive 35 percent of all state funds it recovers.

Upon taking office, Martin stopped issuing Goddard's office a portion of the fraud settlement, which was being distributed to the state periodically, and asked Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to investigate the payment.

Martin has asked for separate legal counsel to review the deal and to conclude how much the Attorney General's Office should be paid. The treasurer has stated on numerous occasions that a Texas law firm helped recover funds from the NCFE case, and has said he is not sure whether Goddard's office is entitled to the full 35 percent.

Two-hundred local Arizona governmental entities and many governments in other states invested in NCFE, which made loans to inner-city Medicare hospitals, before collapsing in 2002 in a fraud scandal involving $3 billion in losses to all investors, including the $131 million in Arizona.

Of that amount, the state treasury lost $14.3 million.

Bivens out after Eckerstrom's last-minute bid

Don Bivens (shown) was defeated by Paul Eckerstrom in the race for state Democratic Party chairman.

In a stunning upset, former Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Paul Eckerstrom has wrested control of the Arizona Democratic Party away from former chairman Don Bivens.

Going into the Jan. 24 state party convention, Bivens stood unopposed, and the fireworks were expected to be at the Republican convention across town. Yet state GOP Chairman Randy Pullen successfully staved off a challenge from opponent Lisa James earlier in the day to retains his position, while Bivens was unseated by a challenger who decided that morning to run against him.

Eckerstrom's surprise candidacy seized on widespread discontent among state Democrats over the party's failure to win seats in the 2008 legislative races. He said before the vote that he had "no idea" if he had a chance of winning. Though he has formerly served as a deputy attorney general in Arizona and had campaigned actively for both former Gov. Janet Napolitano and President Barack Obama, he said he didn't know if his credentials and the dissatisfaction among the party rank-and-file would be enough to carry the day.

However, Eckerstrom said he was compelled to run by what he called one-sided news coverage of Arizona's budget crisis, laying the blame at Napolitano's feet.

"What threw me over the edge was that I just got back from the inauguration, and I saw the state is going one way, the country's going in the other."

"The news media has been speaking with one voice," he continued, "saying 'This is Janet, this is her fault.' The one person who should be standing up to them (Bivens) wasn't there."

Prior to the nominations and voting, Bivens had laid out his strategy for how Arizona Democrats should proceed toward 2010, when there will be gubernatorial and Senate races in addition to contests for seats in the Legislature and U.S. House.

The centerpiece of Bivens' plan was the convening of a panel to review the positive and negative attributes of the 2008 campaign, which he announced would be finished by April.

"It will be the seed crystal for a coordinated campaign effort," Bivens said.

He also said success in the future will hinge heavily on the efforts of Democrats to adjust voter mobilization to suit the increasing popularity of vote-by-mail, and to campaign in every district in the state, "no matter how red."

Attorney General Terry Goddard, the state's highest-ranking Democrat and a likely candidate for governor in 2010, officially nominated Bivens, saying victory for Democrats in 2010 depends on Bivens leading the state party. However, it was a harbinger of things to come when Bivens received only tepid applause when accepting the nomination.

In stark contrast, Eckerstrom, whose speech was unpolished but empassioned, was greeted with encouraging hoots and hollers when he rose to address the room.

Though one of the main planks of his platform raised quite a few eyebrows – trying to convince Arizonans to approve tax increases for education – he also received a partial standing ovation when he wrapped up, and the wild cheers of approval went on for at least a minute.

When the votes were counted, though, the margin in his favor was decisive. Out of 569 ballots cast, Eckerstrom took 324 votes to Bivens's 255.

Many saw the result as being more unfavorable to Arizona Democratic Party Executive Director Maria Weeg, who many blame for the failure to parlay a whopping money advantage over state Republicans into pickups in the Legislature. Several precinct committeemen present opined that if Bivens had fired Weeg, he might have been able to spare himself defeat.

One supporter of that notion was Sandra Kennedy, who was one of two Democrats elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2008 and the person who nominated Eckerstrom.

"I look at my seat in particular, and the party didn't help me at all," Kennedy said. "There have been problems at the party – getting through to staff, things like that."

"If Don Bivens had said, 'Hey, we made mistakes,' if he'd said, 'Maria, you've got to go,' he might have saved himself," Kennedy said. "Unfortunately it had to happen this way."

Emily DeRose, spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party, said she hadn't heard any such recriminations, and did not know of any staff changes that were being discussed.

Democrats also elected officials to the following positions:

  • First Vice Chair: Harriet Young of Coconino County
  • Senior Vice Chair: Ken Smith of Navajo County
  • Vice Chairwomen: Bree Boehlke of Maricopa County; Jo Kelleher of Yavapai County and Mohur Sidhwa of Pima County
  • Vice Chairmen: Matt Capalby of Coconino County; Ruben Gallego of Maricopa County and Vince Rabago of Pima County
  • Secretary: Lois Pfau of Maricopa County
  • Treasurer: Rick McGuire of Maricopa County
  • Education Coordinator: Anne Greenberg of Maricopa County

Affirmative Action Coordinator: Gerald Richard of Maricopa County

 

Up Close with Grant Woods

It has been 10 years since Grant Woods held elected office, but the former two-term attorney general still has a front-row seat at Arizona’s political theater.
Woods got his start in politics as John McCain’s first chief of staff, and went on to spend eight years as Arizona’s top law enforcement official. During that time, he didn’t always see eye to eye with his own party, and his standing with the GOP hasn’t gotten any better since then.
Woods spoke with the Arizona Capitol Times shortly after the New Year, and talked about his mentor’s unsuccessful run for the White House, the incoming Brewer administration, his old friend Roland Burris from Illinois, and how he thinks the Republican Party can find its way again.
You were with John McCain at the start of his political career, and worked on his presidential campaign in 2008. How disappointing was it to see him lose that race?
I always thought he was the underdog. He was the underdog in the primary, and he was the underdog in the general. And I didn’t ever really believe myself he was going to win. I hoped he would win, but I didn’t really believe it, I guess.
I also think that the Democrats nominated their best candidate, and I felt that from the beginning as well. If I had to pick the two candidates, it probably would’ve been Obama and McCain. That rarely happens, that two people who you really like win. So, for once, it wasn’t the lesser of two evils. It was the two best people, I thought. I said it during the campaign. It made its way into the press a couple times back East, and apparently it wasn’t that popular within the campaign. But I said then I thought Obama had the potential to be a great president, and hopefully he will be.
So even though you backed McCain, you’re still optimistic about the Obama administration?
He has some tremendous qualities. He has certainly the ability to be a great president. A lot of us obviously were very concerned that he would be way too liberal, and you have to continue to have that concern. But so far, so good.
The bigger point is it has always struck me that people on both sides forget that we only have one president at a time, and if the president does well, generally that means the country is doing well. So even if it isn’t the person you campaigned for, I would think you would turn around and support them and do everything you could to make them a success because that’s what’s good for the country. And yet, that doesn’t seem to happen too often.
Here in Arizona, the same principle applies. I hope that the people who were supportive of Governor Napolitano will roll up their sleeves and try to be helpful to Governor Brewer. And that includes me. I supported Governor Napolitano. I think she’s been an excellent governor, and I think it’s incumbent upon me to do whatever I can to help Governor Brewer now. And I will.
Given the circumstances surrounding the election, do you think the presidential race was even winnable for McCain?
I think it’s doubtful, given everything that happened. I will say the only way I think he might have had a chance to win is when the whole economic tsunami hit and he suspended his campaign and went to Washington, if he would’ve drawn a line there and said, “This is a bunch of nonsense and I’m not going to support any sort of bailout, period. Until this is thought through and we really know what we’re talking about, I’m not just going to sign this three-page bill giving unlimited authority and hundreds of billions of dollars to the executive branch.”
Then I think there would’ve been a big contrast to Obama, who just showed up and went along with it. And I think he would’ve been on the right side of that.
But that wasn’t the judgment that he made. Without doing that, no, I don’t think he could’ve won. I think the campaign was over right then.
Probably the biggest point of contention over McCain’s campaign was his decision to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate. How do you feel about that decision?
In honesty, at the time he made it I didn’t think it was a great idea, so I have to say I thought he should have picked (Mitt) Romney. If it was me, I would’ve chosen him. Having said that, I don’t think any of the choices were very good. I think Obama had a lot of good choices, but I don’t think we had any that were just automatic.
(Sen. Joe) Lieberman I think is who John wanted to pick. I don’t think that would have gone over at all at that convention. I don’t know if they would’ve nominated him. I think it would’ve been a disaster. (Tom) Ridge, just because of the pro-choice thing, that would have been problematic. So he nominated Palin, and I will say, it had plusses and minuses. It took away the experience argument completely. Obviously, they’d come to the conclusion that that wasn’t going to carry the day and they needed something else. They wanted to go with the maverick argument. I would’ve stuck with the experience argument.
But she had a lot of plusses. She energized that convention, she energized the base, and I thought she performed extremely well. The people who are critical of Sarah Palin, I think, are way off-base. Especially the McCain people who are critical of Sarah Palin, because she did everything, I think, that she could’ve been asked to do, and she did it very well.
You talked about wanting Jan Brewer to be successful as governor. What are your hopes and expectations for her administration?
I hope that she’ll be known as a pragmatic, compassionate conservative, because I think that’s the way the governor should be, and so she has the potential to be that person. … We’ll probably see an emphasis on certain areas, certain new areas, and that can be a very positive thing.
I hope Governor Brewer will help us move beyond the rancor that surrounds (the immigration debate). And my view on that is we need to close the border, and I think everything follows from that. The federal government should do it, and I trust they will do it, but if they don’t do it, then I think we should figure out how to close our own border. Because once you close the border and stop the inflow, then I think you can deal with everybody who’s here in a reasonable way. And I think you can move forward with business, you can move forward with seasonal labor. We can solve those problems, but when you have an unending flow of people into the state, you really can’t deal with it.
What would you like to see Brewer and the Legislature do in regards to the state’s budget crisis?
I don’t know. Since I’m not in their shoes, I’m not going to give them advice on that unless she calls me in to ask — which is possible — and then I will, privately. But I don’t know. It’s a huge mess. I don’t envy the governor in particular here.
When you have the inevitable budget cuts, then they’ll try to brand (Brewer) as some sort of right-winger who doesn’t care about kids and the vulnerable and old people, your typical deal. And that probably will not be fair, given the enormity of the budget problem she’s facing. You’ve got to make cuts. Some worthy programs are going to be hurt, I’m sure. So it’s going to be a challenge for her.
Since the election, there has been a lot of talk in Republican circles about the need for the party to
find a new direction. As a Republican who has butted heads with your own party on a number of occasions, what do you think that direction should be?
“Conservative” in Arizona has gotten a bad name because sometimes it means vindictive or hateful or uncaring, and that’s not what conservative is. … I think if conservative meant Barry Goldwater conservatism, which you’d think it would in Arizona, then I think that the Republican Party could do very well for a long time here with that sort of leadership. But we really haven’t done that. The Republican Party nationally I think has been a disaster, and locally not so good.
I would like to see the party go back to the basics, back toward a Goldwater conservatism, and that means less government, not more. But it means that whatever government does, it does well. … In other words, if we’re going to be involved in public education, which we should be, let’s make it the best. I don’t know why Arizona’s not first in the country in public education. We should be. Someone’s first. Why not us? We live here. If government’s responsible for infrastructure, we should have the best roads and bridges.
On the other hand, what government doesn’t need to do in my view is get involved in everybody’s personal life. It doesn’t need to dictate morality by putting everything in a statute. It needs to lead by example and not by the power of the government.
You seem to still have some strong opinions about Arizona’s future and about the Republican Party. Do you miss being involved in elected politics?
I have to say not really. I thought a lot about public office recently just because of the possibility that I would’ve been appointed by the governor to replace McCain had he won, so you have to think through that situation. … Now, my old colleague Roland Burris is the one to replace the president-elect, and not me.
You worked with Roland Burris while the two of you were in the National Association of Attorneys General. There has been a lot of criticism of him for accepting a Senate nomination from a governor who is accused of massive corruption. Do you feel that criticism is justified?
It didn’t surprise me he took it, because what else has he got to do? I think that’s why they picked him. I mean, it was a brilliant political pick by the governor. It was classic. Honestly, you know the expression, “Your mouth fell to the floor?” I was watching CNN when they announced it, and it literally did because I hadn’t heard Roland’s name, except stories we would tell, for years.
I wouldn’t criticize him for it. Roland, again, he’s a politician. He’s a career politician. So it was an opportunity. Now he’s 71 years old and every camera is on him. So he’ll be senator for two years, and it will be a great way to end his career. No, I don’t criticize him for accepting it. The governor himself is an unbelievable loser. It’s just appalling to see this guy in action. But he’s not the first one. When he goes to prison he can bunk with the guy he replaced, because he’s in prison.
By the way, this whole thing about the legitimacy of his appointment — I served with a governor who was under indictment for a long time. … I didn’t hear people saying he shouldn’t be able to act as governor. Now, (Fife Symington) was not accused of doing things illegally (in his capacity) as governor, but nonetheless he was under indictment. So the point is, if the Legislature doesn’t think the person is fit, then they should impeach him and kick him out. But in the meantime, he’s the governor and he makes his appointments. And that’s only fair, because you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty.
You were part of a lawsuit against the Citizens Clean Elections Commission over the disbursement of matching funds. Do you believe the problems you saw with matching funds have been resolved?
These sorts of situations I still think are problematic, but overall I think it’s OK.
There always will be (problems), because ultimately somebody’s got to make a judgment on that thing. It’s OK. I think it’s an experiment that I’m OK with.
The idea that senators, for example, have to be on the phone hours and hours every day for most of their time in office raising money is ridiculous. That’s not right. And I’m not even talking about the potential for corruption, the potential for favoritism to people who give. I’m just talking about (how) it’s demeaning, in my view.
I view it as negative for both sides — the people giving and the people asking. So if you could eliminate that, I think it’s a good thing, and I think we have eliminated it some. I give a thumbs-up on that.

Bill protects renters from landlord foreclosures

Just before Thanksgiving, Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor found out about a constituent who was given five-days notice to move out of a duplex she and her family had been renting.
It turned out the property owner had let the home slip into foreclosure.
The constituent was caring for an elderly wheelchair-bound family member and a disabled child, and the family had to scramble to find an affordable place to stay that had access for disabled people, said Landrum Taylor, a Phoenix Democrat.
Now the senator has filed a bill to mandate landlords facing foreclosure action to provide tenants with a written notice at least 30 days before the date of a foreclosure sale.
Under S1108, a landowner who knowingly fails to provide a notice could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.
“I’ve had more than my share of constituent phone calls — of folks just beside themselves because they have only had five days to move out of a property that they had been paying rent on,” Landrum Taylor said. “I could not hear about another family going through this.”
Landrum Taylor said the misdemeanor charge is a starting point for her legislation and added she is willing to modify it if necessary.
“The only thing that I am really concerned about is making sure that those renters are being protected,” she said.
One of the hardest hit states in the nation, Arizona is facing a record number of foreclosures.
According to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, Arizona saw a total of 116,911 properties go into foreclosure during 2008. It was the third highest in the country next to California and Florida.
In fact, foreclosure activity in the state increased 203 percent from 2007, and 655 percent from 2006, RealtyTrac said.
“It’s time for a new law to be created and not have these renters just blindsided with what’s going on,” Landrum Taylor said.

Three bills filed to repeal equalization tax

Legislative Republicans aren’t taking any chances when it comes to the repeal of the state’s equalization property taxes.
With the 2009 legislative session barely a week old, three Republican lawmakers have submitted bills to permanently repeal the tax, which was suspended for three years in 2006, but is scheduled to go back into effect later this year.
To many Republican lawmakers, allowing the tax to go back into effect would be tantamount to a tax increase, and its permanent repeal has become a top priority.
Senators Jack Harper and Jim Waring, and Rep. Andy Biggs, have all submitted identical bills aimed at permanently repealing the property tax. Biggs’ bill, which has 34 cosponsors, was referred on Jan. 15 to the House Ways and Means and Appropriations committees.
All three versions of the bill contain the same text — “The state equalization assistance property tax, suspended since 2006 but scheduled to resume in 2009, is repealed.”
Biggs, who submitted his bill on Jan. 14, said the issue was important enough for him to submit a mirror bill in the House to go along with its Senate counterparts.
“I wanted to run mirrors because this is very important to me and we need to get it done right away because we’re coming up on the expiration of the moratorium on the tax,” the Gilbert Republican said.
A similar bill passed during the 2008 legislative session but was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano. If reinstated, the tax is expected to provide about $250 million in revenue to the state, and Napolitano included that money in her proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year.
But Napolitano has joined President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as secretary of Homeland Security, and Jan Brewer, long known as an anti-tax Republican, was sworn in as her replacement on Jan. 21. Opponents of the tax are hoping the former secretary of state will be more amenable to the permanent repeal than her predecessor.

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