Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

Four bills were proposed by Democrats during the 2010 legislative session that would have revised energy-reduction deadlines and created new standards for energy consumption in state buildings, but none of them have received committee approval and appear dead for now.

The Board of Regents, which oversees the three state universities, failed to meet the 2008 deadline to decrease energy use by 10 percent, instead achieving a meager 1.3 percent reduction.

Back in 2003, lawmakers passed a law that required state agencies and universities to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent by the end of 2008. The legislation had overwhelming bipartisan support, but the results were disappointing.