The Arizona State Senate passed a budget early on the morning of June 26 and the House passed the same budget that night. It is on its way to the Governor. Considering they are making up a nearly $2 billion shortfall, it could have been a lot worse — although most environmental programs are already underfunded. The Legislature cannot get the votes to really increase revenues substantially, so cuts, fund transfers, bonding, and rollovers are the focus.
The Arizona State Parks system is hit hard again with over $7.4 million in fund transfers; at the Department of Water Resources, the Arizona Water Protection Fund dollars were rolled back again; and the Department of Environmental Quality had $8.6 million in fund transfers.
The Governor and Legislature did not hit the Heritage Fund, however. These dollars are critical to parks and wildlife and are inadequate as is. Please thank the Governor and legislators for keeping the Heritage Fund intact.
- You can reach the Governor at azgov@az.gov. Or, call 602-542-4331 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-253-0883. You can also write to: The Honorable Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona, 1700 W. Washington, 9th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85007 or by fax at 602-542-1381.
- To contact your state legislators, go to www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp. If you are not sure who your legislators are, go to www.vote-smart.org (you will need your 9-digit zip code) or call the House or Senate information desks. If you’re outside the Phoenix area, call your legislators’ offices at 1-800-352-8404; in the Phoenix area call 602-926-3559 (Senate) or 602-926-4221 (House). Correspondence goes to 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890.