SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS - Bills Introduced and Passed
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SB 1107 (2001) and SB 1097 (2002) – State Retirees; Health Insurance; Subsidies – created a subsidy for rural retirees in areas where there are no HMOs so that urban and rural retirees pay more equal premiums. (2001)
SB1036 / HB2349 – Public Retirees; Rural Areas; Insurance – continues the rural subsidy for health insurance for public employee retirees to 2005.
SB 1106 and SB 1221 (2003) – created the Retiree Health Care Study Committee – to examine the significant differences in health insurance premium costs between the urban and rural areas. Arzberger is the Senate Chair. (2001) SB 1221 continued the committee.
SB1221 – ASRS; Study Committee; Health Costs – I sponsored legislation that would continue a legislative committee to examine the broader issue of reducing health insurance costs for all state retirees and increasing availability and quality. (2003)
SB 1192 – Retiree Health Insurance Study – inserted into the final budget document, this bill mandates a study to examine the benefits of combining retirees from all systems in a retiree health insurance plan, as recommended by the independent study. (2004)
SB1037 – ASRS; Surviving Spouses; Health Insurance – retirees in the Arizona State Retirement System can now designate their surviving spouses or dependents to receive the state subsidy for health insurance. (2003)
SB 1038 – Telemedicine Grants for Rural Hospitals and Community Health Centers – $250,000 per year for two years.
SB 1126 / HB 2459 – Capital Grants for Rural Nonprofit Hospitals and Clinics – My bill was combined in the Health Omnibus Bill. It appropriated $2.5 million for capital projects to public and private nonprofit entities that provide health services in rural areas.
SB 1194 (2004) & SB 1191 (2005) – Rural Hospitals; appropriation; fund
I introduced this bill in 2004, and co-sponsored it in 2005. The budget provided $4 Million to equalize reimbursements to rural hospitals for AHCCCS patients. Before, rural hospitals received 51% of cost for treating AHCCCS patients and urban hospitals received 95% of cost.
Rural Physicians Malpractice Study Committee – Arzberger created this ad hoc committee to study the problem of physicians leaving rural areas due to the rise in cost of malpractice insurance and the impact on medical services in general because of the cost of malpractice insurance. Arzberger was the chair of the committee. (2004)
SB 1036 – Medical Malpractice Procedural Reforms – co-sponsor. This bill made some reasonable procedural changes in the malpractice statutes. It is not a cap on malpractice awards. (2005)
SB 1039 / HB 2243 – Health Insurance for Community Colleges and School Districts – Senator Arzberger and Representative Mark Maiorana introduced similar bills and combined them. Allows community colleges, school districts and all government entities to join the state health care system.
SB 1079 – S/E Appropriation; AHCCCS; Critical Access Hospitals – I was a prime co-sponsor. (2002)
SB 1381 – Provisional Community College Districts – assists the formation of new community colleges in those counties that do not have one.
SB 1239 – School bus signs – corrected statutory language that required school buses trans-porting students to sports events, field trips, etc., to cover the words “School Bus” on the buses.
SB 1240 – Schools transportation costs – I introduced SB1240 which gave schools transportation funding for the full school year of 180 days. Before, transportation funding only covered 175 days.
Help for one small school – I was successful with an amendment in the budget to help one small school in our district to repay their over-expended budget over five years instead of two, so they would not have to cut teaching staff and reduce to a four-day school week.
In addition to personal bills, I have been a strong, steady supporter on the Appropriations Committee for increased funding for K-12 Education, Community Colleges, Universities, and financial aid for Arizona students.
SB1334 – Hydrologic Studies; Benson Subwatershed – The area around Benson is experiencing explosive growth. I introduced this bill to provide funding for a scientific hydrological study of the water resources in that area. Special emphasis on the impact of new development on Kartchner Caverns was written into the bill. I worked vigorously for funding for Rural Water Studies for the Department of Water Resources, which was included in the budget. The Dept. of Water Resources subsequently declared both the Sierra Vista and the Benson sub-watersheds as critical areas and hydrologic studies have begun in the Benson and Willcox areas. (2005).
SB 1484 – Water Planning Districts – I introduced SB1484 to develop local water planning organizations to evaluate water resources and plan for future growth and drought conditions. The bill did not proceed, but the Statewide Water Advisory Group was formed. SWAG is a task force that will propose legislation for water management tools for local governments. I am one of three legislators included in the group. (2006)
Rural Water Legislative Study Committee – this important bill passed and continues as a screening committee for water legislation. I was prime co-sponsor. (2005)
SB 1143 – Small Water Systems, Interim Operators – When water systems in southwestern Cochise County went bankrupt, hundreds of people went through long water shortages. Representative Manny Alvarez and I introduced duplicate bills to create an emergency fund for repairs. Both bills proceeded; Alvarez’s House bill won the race through the process and was passed and signed by the Governor. (2006)
An Arzberger Amendment to water legislation allows public notice when assured water supply certificates are transferred to another company. Local residents have the opportunity to submit information or comments. (2004)
AGRICULTURE AND CATTLE INDUSTRY
SB 1246 – New Pesticide Approval process – landmark legislation for agriculture – was the result of a year’s cooperation between the agriculture industry and the Dept. of Environmental Quality. The new process will facilitate approval of newly developed products that are less costly to growers, safer for workers, and more environmentally friendly. (2004)
SB 1001 – Fertilizer Transport; Transaction Privilege Tax – I was proud to help a local industry in District 25 that was prohibited from shipping fertilizer products by rail because of a glitch in state sales tax law that taxed rail shipments but not truck shipments. This law actually meant that out of state companies could compete unfairly and ship fertilizer into Arizona without paying the tax. (2004)
SB1282 – Agriculture Department; 2005 omnibus act – I sponsored the Department of Agriculture Omnibus bill, which passed and was signed by the Governor. All members of the various agriculture industries participated in the drafting of the bill. The bill updates language in the Department’s statutes and makes other positive changes to help our Agriculture Department do its job well.
SB 1103 – Agriculture Omnibus Bill – Again this year, I was privileged to sponsor SB1103, the omnibus agriculture bill, which passed and was signed by the Governor. It contained important new provisions to protect personal information with the new federal I.D. for cattle.
SB 1174 – Use Fuel Refunds; Use Taxes – This bill benefited agriculture, contractors and other small businesses that use off-road diesel fuel, particularly small farmers and businesspeople who were not aware that they owe sales (use) tax when they are exempted from highway tax for off-highway equipment use. It was an unpleasant surprise when the Dept. of Revenue started sending bills for past years. Senator Arzberger negotiated with the Dept. of Revenue and Dept. of Transportation and passed a bill to change the process of collecting use taxes on off-road diesel fuel. Part of the negotiation was that there would not be tax bills for prior years and penalties would be waived. (2004)
HCR 2047 – I was a prime co-sponsor – Honoring the $6.6 Billion contribution of agriculture to the state’s economy, and 72,000 jobs
SB 1070 – Citrus, Fruit and Vegetable; Council -- prime co-sponsor
SB 1349 – HURF Distribution -- eased the burden on counties and cities transportation budgets when the Dept. of Transportation finds errors in Highway User Revenue Fund collections. (2001)
SB 1349 – HURF Distribution – further protects county HURF funding for roads by reducing the impact of overage revertments due to discrepancies in reporting by distributors. (2002)
SB 2626 – An Arzberger amendment assisted Ajo, Arizona, in receiving federal funds for bus transportation to Phoenix. (2004)
SB 1350 – State Employee Salaries Increase – I introduced this bill to implement a law passed several years ago to bring state employees salaries up to market level and reduce the enormous turnover that is costing the state. Employee salary increases were agreed upon in the budget, a 5% wage increase for state employees for 2002 and 2003.
Member of the State Employees Wages and Benefits Committee since 2002. As a member of this committee, I was in a position to push for increased wages for state employees.
SB1072 – Southern Arizona Veterans' Cemetery; Donations – The bill creates a fund for private donations and federal funds to be used for maintenance and operation of the cemetery. (2003)
SB 1160 ASRS; Veterans; Service Credits – passed as an amendment on another bill. Corrects an inequity affecting a few state employees who served our country in the military, allowing these veterans to participate in a revised calculation for purchasing retirement credits for years of military service. (2003)
Co-sponsor of numerous bills benefiting veterans, I have made special efforts to get support for increased funding for the Arizona Department of Veterans Services.
There has been a lot of talk on this subject. I support a reformed immigration policy that is comprehensive, sensible, and includes a legal worker program. In 2003 I PERSONALLY DID SOMETHING about the problem by passing SCM 1001.
SCM 1001 – Immigrants; Legal Worker Program – This Senate Concurrent Memorial (SCM) is an official request to Congress and the President of the United States to take action to address the serious illegal immigration problem in Arizona by creating a legal worker program that allows immigrants to enter this country through official ports of entry and be documented. This would free law enforcement agencies to focus their efforts on stopping criminals and drug smugglers. Senator McCain, Congressman Flake and Congressman Kolbe introduced a legal worker program bill in Congress. President Bush supported this policy a few months after this memorial was passed. (2003)
SB 1020 – Aircraft License Taxes; Antique; Classic – updated current law that defined “antique aircraft ” as an aircraft manufactured before 1941. This bill changed the language to define antique as over 50 years old and classic over 40 years old. Owners of antique and classic aircraft will receive a break on their registration fee, similar to that given automobiles as they get older. (2004)
Aviation Fund Restored – I took this issue to the budget negotiation table as my personal issue to restore the Aviation Fund, which has been “raided” to balance the budget for several years. This fund comes from aircraft property taxes paid by aircraft owners, and provides grants for cities and counties. The grant money is the match for federal funds, sometimes an 80-90% federal fund match to keep runways, taxiways and infrastructure repaired, to maintain safety, and to construct new hangars. (2004)
SM 1002 – Tohono O'odham Nation's Citizens Act – This Senate Memorial was requested by the Tohono O’odham Nation, which is now in District 25. The memorial is a request to Congress to grant citizenship papers to registered tribal members of the Tohono O’odham nation who have no birth records. Many of these elders served in the United States military. (2003)
SB 1453 – Transportation Board; Native American Member – prime co-sponsor – This bill requires that a member from one of the state’s Native American Nations be appointed to the State Transportation Board. (2005)
SB 1008 (2003) AND SB 1037 (2005)- Nuclear Emergency Appropriation and Assessment - The Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant is in Legislative District 25. I sponsored both of these bills to make sure there is an emergency preparation plan in place in case of any incident. The plan is funded by an assessment on nuclear power plants.
SB 1104 – Veterinarians; Crematory Licensure; Animals – The Veterinary Board and local veterinarians requested this bill to modernize their statute language and the owners of animal crematories requested that the facilities be regulated by the Board. (2004)
SB 1188 – “Second Chance” Bill – I introduced SB1188 to allow former non-violent convicted felons who have their civil rights restored and convictions expunged to qualify for a bailbond insurance license. The bill was passed and signed by the Governor. In Washington, Congress is taking up the issue at this time, and a “Second Chance” bill is being considered on a much broader scale. (2006)
SB 2464 – An Arzberger amendment protected truck drivers from losing their CDL license because of a minor driving infraction while driving a non-commercial vehicle. (2004)
An amendment to help rural fire districts – I was successful in including an amendment to help our rural fire districts in a bill. (2006)
An Appropriations amendment to fund training for Developmentally Disabled citizens so that they can work at a job. (2005)
PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS & INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
SB 1090 – Home Protection – I introduced this bill, a “Castle Doctrine” self defense bill. An almost identical bill on this subject was passed and signed. (2006)
SB 1091 – Eminent Domain – Private Property Rights – I introduced this bill to protect private property rights bill. Several bills on the same subject were introduced, and one bill was chosen to proceed. That bill focused on urban situations and was very restrictive for city governments, whereas my bill codified in statute the protections stated in a recent Arizona court decision. The urban bill passed, but was vetoed. (2006)
An Arzberger Private Property amendment protected property owners from tax assessments in new recreational corridor districts unless more than fifty percent of the owners agree. (2004).
In addition, I successfully passed six or more Private Property amendments in various bills.
BUSINESS
SB 1089 – Health insurance– I introduced this bill to allow small businesses and non-profit organizations to join HealthCare Group insurance without the six-month “bare” period. The bill was opposed by insurance companies and did not proceed. (2006)
SB 1049 (2005) & SB 1114 (2006) – Bad checks– makes a bad check over $5,000 a felony Class 6 if the check is not made good in 60 days. Currently writing a bad check, no matter how large, has only a misdemeanor Class One penalty, yet shoplifting $250 worth of merchandise is a class 6 felony. The bill was stopped after passing the Senate in 2005. I reintroduced the bill in 2006. Despite strong support in committees and among members of both chambers, the bill was stopped by the Rules Chairman. Business and retail organizations, Cattle Growers, Farm Bureau, and numerous Chambers of Commerce supported the bill.
SB 1088 – Property Tax Cut – I sponsored this bill, which raised the income level so that more senior citizens could qualify for the senior property tax freeze. This bill was absorbed into another bill, but that bill did not proceed. (2006)
